fly by wire cables

[rkoneal]

I am trying to reposition my helm on a houseboat and have to extend the main wiring harness for a pair of DF150s. these are the "fly by wire" engines and I have been unable to locate a harness extension long enough, approximately 25 feet. Has anyone tried splicing an existing harness to lengthen it? Would it create problems if I were to add 25 feet of wire in the middle of the existing harness? Thanks in advance for any help.

[Greg Moore]

Probably not if you're good at this. Splices should be soldered and glue lined heat shrink, not crimp ons. Also pay attention to the types of wire used, you may find the harness includes tightly twisted data cable (IE for NMEA data to gauges) and you may find shielded wiring within the bundle. You must maintain this makeup as you extend. You have to match like for like exactly. IE if you don't use tight twisted wire where it is now, noise from adjacent wiring can get in and cause your gauges to act bizzar etc.

[rkoneal]

Thanks Greg! I am a fan of the glue and solder filled heat shrink for anything on the boat. My first choice was to buy a couple of waterproof 16 pin terminals and make up a cable but the connectors are hard to find (no identifying marks) and I was worried about identifying the individual wires. Cutting my cable will allow me to (hopefully) successfully identify the wires and lengthen to exactly what I need.
thanks again!

[Greg Moore]

Doesn't hurt to gently peel off some outer sheath before you cut. Lets you see what's inside without having to commit to splicing. That way you can be sure you're able to get what you need for it. Shouldn't be anything hugely special but anything that is data only is sensitive to noise and you're adding a good distance to it.

[Ahmet Efe]

I have 2010 Model DF150. Harness wiring is dead and The code on my part is 36610-96J80-000 but in Boats web site same part`s code is 36610-96J40. Is the part on Boat`s web site can be the replacement that I have? I am living in Turkey. So, I do not want to order wrong part. It will be a long process to turn it back. Thanks

[rkoneal]

Hello all, just an update on extending the primary wiring harness on a fly by wire controlled pair of suzuki 150s. I purchased some 18 guage wire and cute the harness and spliced in approximately 15 feet of wire. I used the hear shrink connectors with the solder inside. Took a couple of hours to cut, measure, join, and test but after it was all done and back in the boat it works perfectly! I am very happy I went this direction instead of buying a couple of extensions.

[TxAg66]

I'm curious as to how many individual wires you found in the harness bundle. Thanks.

[rkoneal]

There were 16 individual wires and two of those were twisted together. This is the main engine harness.