4 in. SMIS gauges

[bassyac]

Good Day Guys;
My SMIS gauges work fine for hours even days, then I be running and they start to blink. I go through all the screens and all are blinking with the data at that time. I am also having issues with my dealer and I get by far more information from this forum. then he has TIME for. He thinks it may be the battery switch, a new one is on order from PROLINE.
Any Help Thank You;
John

[Moonlighter]

The SmIS gauges are powered from the NMEA2000 network so its unlikely to be the battery switch, although it is possible.

Check the network power node to make sure the wires are all good, check the fuse to make sure the connections are all good, and also undo all connections at network t pieces, inspect for corrosion, clean, apply dielectric grease and reconnect.

I would also be tempted to do a soft reset on the gauges - this basically re-boots the gauges software. But if both of them are doing it, Would suspect a T piece connection or power supply could be corroded- so check as per above.

[bassyac]

Thank you Sir
Will do
John

[bassyac]

Can not find where power to the NMEA network is. The engine is new to the dealer. It is the DF300AP 2014. I am going to try and take picture because it happened again. He still believes it is the battery switch. Received a new switch from Proline, it's a 2014 boat. He is reading 2 v0lts in the off position, however the dash still has power, the only thing the switch is shutting down is the engine. He has a call into the Suzuki service rep. may know more tomorrow. Dealer doesn't work on Mondays.
Thanks
John

[artdf175]

Grant I know you are the best in area but a couple of questions for bussyac
Are any of the other gauges acting up? Any motor starting / stalling out?
Grant - isn't the power source come through the gauge for the backbone ?
Bussyyac. Might double check power lead to gauges and the grounding side
A far number of problems have been solved on the grounding side
Art

[Moonlighter]

Actually, it is the other way around Art - the SMIS gauges are powered by the network, hence my suggestion is to find the network power node and check it out.

Bassy: John, behind the dash you will find some black network T pieces, probably in a cluster. The SmIS gauges will be connected to them thru a black cable plugged into the leg part of the T piece, so if you cant see them, get access to the back of the SMIS gauges and trace the black cable from them to the T pieces.

One of the other T pieces will have a connection to power. Trace the wires from the T piece to the power source and check fuse connectors etc there.

It is worth checking the above, although the fact that the gauges are still showing data but blinking makes it seem less likely to be a power problem.

I would also check the connection of the engine interface cable to the network. Again, it is most likely to be connected to a T piece behind the dash. They have to be firmly plugged in, sometimes they are not 100% in properly so unplug and plug back in very firmly. Check the wires where the go into the back of the plugs to make sure none of the plug pins are loose or not clicked into the housing properly.

The thing with these networks is that all the devices, whether that be a SMIS gauge, GPS antenna, sounder, engine interface or something else, must only be plugged into the "leg" part of a T piece. The top "cross" part of the T pieces can only connect to another T piece or a terminating resistor. They can have an extension cable between the T pieces or the T's can connect directly together. At enach end of the network, the last T piece has a terminating resistor attached to finish it off.

And just to confuse things, there are some terminating resistors that also have the power connections integrated, so the power supply might be there if you cant find it anywhere else.

Get just one of those connections in the wrong place, and you will get problems. Also, if one of the T pieces is faulty internally, the only way to check is to replace them and test again.

So worth checking all of that out.

It could also be a software conflict between the gauges and the engine. The Suzuki rep should be able to check and verify that.

Hopefully your Suzuki rep will be able to diagnose what is happening when they visit with the dealer and check the boat.

But it would be a good thing to do all the above checks beforehand so you can run thru the list of your attempted solutions with them and eliminate those as the problem. Save everyone some time at the very least, and might even solve the problem.

[dolphinmarine]

That's what I call a good answer Mr Moonlighter!

[Moonlighter]

Had a bit more of a think about this.

John, if the gauges are flashing and data is frozen, i dont think it is a gauge problem. I think it is either a bad connection somewhere or a bad interface cable to the engine.

I will tell you why: the gauges themselves do not record data, they just display it. The data is recorded in the Suzuki interface cable memory module (the black rectangular section of the interface cable). So the gauges flashing is most likely the symptom, not the root cause of the problem.

So i would be looking at the interface cable connections at both ends: the connection to the network T piece, and the connection to the engine. The engine end is the most likely - check where the white plug on the interface cable plugs into the engine harness, and check that firstly, it is plugged in firmly and that the pins on the plug are free from corrosion or other damage and that they are inserted into the plug housing correctly .

the pins should all line up and be evenly positioned. Sometimes a pin has not been put into the plug correctly, so check the back of the plugs to ensure that the wires are all good and pins pushed in and cant be easily pulled out of the back of the plugs. If they do pull out easily, they can be pushed back into the plug until they click into place.

Lastly, the interface cable itself is powered by the red wire in the connection to the engine harness. Make very sure that the red wire and the pin it is attached to is good and maybe check that the wire it connects to in the harness is good -trace it back in the engine harness and check any connectors to make sure they are good. No power to interface cable = no data from engine to network = no fuel flow = no fuel used data being recorded. Result: gauges flashing to tell you there is a problem.

If all this is good and the problem persists, it is likely that your interface cable is faulty. Only one thing to do then: replace it and try a new one.

The one other thing to do before that fairly drastic step might be to replace the Network T piece that the interface cable is attached to. A dodgy T piece with a crook connection that intermittently fails could be the sole cause! So for a few $ and a minute of work, the dealer could exchange that T piece for you and see how that goes. I will say its on the "less likely" end of the scale, but it is definitely possible!

I helped a friend a while ago set up his new network, we had everything connected up, but no engine appearing on the network device list no matter what we did. Pulled our hair out one afternoon trying to figure it out. Eventually we ruled everything else out and replaced the T piece that the interface was connected to and bingo! It all worked perfectly. Brand new Garmin T piece was faulty out of the box. Who would have thought..... So it does happen.

Good luck sorting it out.

Cheers

Grant

[bassyac]

file://///Designdistrib01/company/JY%20082813/JY%20Docs/My%20Pictures/dashNMEA/dashNMEA%20001.jpg
Grant
Thank you for that much information.
May I copy it and forward it to my dealer?
I tried to download the pictures I took,but do not how to post them where you can view it.
I looked all the connections on the NMEA network and did not find a connection to the power block,however I do believe it comes through the harness on the engine. I looked for a wire diagram, no avail.
Thank you
John

[Moonlighter]

No problems John. Just tell them my "success fee" is a bottle of top shelf bourbon! Only joking!

Grant

[bassyac]

They replaced the wiring harness and the ECM on the engine. This fix even took care the battery switch problem. The Suzuki rep had been called to try to figure this out. Lets hope!! No top shelf bourbon.

[Moonlighter]

They replaced the wiring harness and the ECM on the engine. This fix even took care the battery switch problem. The Suzuki rep had been called to try to figure this out. Lets hope!! No top shelf bourbon.

Glad they sorted it out..... And I was looking forward to that bourbon, too, Rats!

[bassyac]

Good Day All
Gauges Stopped Blinking this week. between the dealer and the Suzuki Tech, they changed the ECM And the wiring harness on the engine first, no luck.
Now the dealer just changed the the engine interface behind the dash, no more blinking 3 uses, Battery switch now stopped operating again.
Just wanted to give you an update. 31/2 months old. Should I start a new thread to ask if any one knows what sensors are standard equipment on this engine. Called Suzuki, they talk to dealer, he's away for a few days you guys know more.
Thank You John
No burbon

[Moonlighter]

Good Day All
Gauges Stopped Blinking this week. between the dealer and the Suzuki Tech, they changed the ECM And the wiring harness on the engine first, no luck.
Now the dealer just changed the the engine interface behind the dash, no more blinking 3 uses, Battery switch now stopped operating again.
Just wanted to give you an update. 31/2 months old. Should I start a new thread to ask if any one knows what sensors are standard equipment on this engine. Called Suzuki, they talk to dealer, he's away for a few days you guys know more.
Thank You John
No burbon

No bourbon?????

Sheesh! You are really stretching the friendship!!

In terms of data transmitted from the engine over the NMEA2000 network, you get:

Rpm
Alternator voltage
Engine hours
Temperature
Trim
Fuel rate
Fuel used
Seasonal fuel used
Transmission gear (300 only)
Trip fuel
Water pressure (df70/90A &300)
Water speed (pitot) (df70/90A &300)

Not sure if thats what you were after but hope it helps.

Thre are also some other sensors available to fit that can transmit data to the network: see here

http://www.brownspoint.com/store/pc/...ensors-c39.htm

[bassyac]

Hi Friends
I just wish they had oil pressure, oil level, went to that link, no good. MY GPS screen has a ton of gauges that could be utilized.
John