Suzuki df200 fuel sensor

[ChrisB]

Hi all I am from Australia and have a 2007 Suzuki DF200 and am after some advice from you know it all people. I am wanting to install the Lowrance SMIS interface fuel sensor to my motor through my Simrad NSS7 head unit. I have been told here that I can't get anything that will work by the Suzuki dealer here but found this interface sensor on good old google so any help would be greatly appreciated as I hate not knowing my fuel usage. I would been keen to correspond with people who have already done this to success thanks.

[Moonlighter]

Hi Chris

Please have a read of the info I wrote on this sticky thread in this forum. It explains everything.

And once you have read the info, if you still have questions please come back and ask, happy to help.

follow this link

http://www.suzukioutboardforum.com/f...a2000-networks

[ChrisB]

Hi Moonlighter
Thanks for the reply and I'm happy the guru is from Oz as I will give him a call and see if he can either do this for me (I will tow my boat to him from Adelaide) or if he knows anyone here in Adelaide who can guarantee me what I require as I'm not that good with computer stuff. I was very surprised that it was such a drama as I thought it was a simple fix but not so at.
Thanks again Chris

[Moonlighter]

Hi Chris

The interface cable that you bought on ebay - what details do you have about it? Hopefully its the correct model!

I am located near Brisbane so that’s a long tow from Adelaide! LOL!

This is definitely do-able with your engine and Simrad display. But it all depends on getting the old model interface cable, which is needed for a 2007 engine. So if you have that cable, its nowhere near as hard as it might sound.

there area couple of Suzuki dealers in Adelaide, I have a mate over there who has his engine networked so I can find out from him which one is the best for you to use?

[ChrisB]

Hi Moonlighter
I haven't bought anything yet as I only just found your post the other day.
I'm originally from Perth and the dealer over there couldn't guarantee me the end result as they had tried with another client and didn't succeed so I stopped enquiring and then I decided to search again after seeing a new sensor in the Whitworths catalogue .
I will take my boat to where ever to get this as I was seriously going to buy a new motor so I could get fuel usage data as I fish alone a lot and like to know my fuel usage. I love the motor for hole shot and the timing chain but was a bit pissed with the last service for shimming as it was very expensive but that's boats ay. At the moment I am fishing in the Spencer Gulf but soon will be living either in Victor Harbour and fishing around KI or will be in Port Lincoln out wide or the Boston bay.
If you could put me onto your mate I would be very appreciated as I thought that I was going to hand over hard earned cash for another motor .

[Moonlighter]

The shim kit for adjusting valves should be a one-off. They rarely require adjustment a second time.

As you may have read from the stick thread, the problem is that Suzuki changed the interface cables about 5 years ago and discontinued the old cables.

So, the current cables really only can be sure to work with motors from about 2009. So you need to get a hold of a used Interface cable - sometimes they come up on ebay, but probably the best way to get one is to find a Suzuki dealer that does lots of repowers from older Suzukis to new ones - they often keep the old cables and resell them.

For your motor I would recommend an old version cable, running Version 2.5.0 software. But any old version cable will do because we can quite easily upload v 2.5.0 software once it is installed, via your Simrad display.

I have messaged my local Suzuki guy to see if he has any on hand.

I will message my SA mate and find which dealer he recommends and will let you know.

[Moonlighter]

Ok that was quick!

SA mate says he uses Arno’s Marine for servicing his Suzuki.

http://www.arnosmarine.com.au/

You could check with him re old interface cables - need to specifically ask if they have any:

Old version Suzuki engine interface cables that run .luf software.

That is what you want. Tell them NOT THE VERSION RUNNING .swup software!!

If you can get hold of one of those, its pretty easy to set it all up from there. Costs would be the interface cable, plus a NMEA2000 starter kit (about $70 from Whitworths), plus a SDS adapter cable. Can make up you own SDS adapter cable for less than $30, or I may be able to source one here, or possible that Arno’s can get one for you (you want the long one) from Suzuki.

I will let you know if I hear back from my local Suzuki guy if he has any old version cables available.

[ChrisB]

Thanks heaps Moonlighter I will give them a call and see how I go.

[Moonlighter]

No prob’s.

Report back so we know the result. I will also post any info I receive from my Suzuki guy.

If you can get the parts I can walk you thru how to set the network configuration up on the Simrad. Pretty easy, just has to be done right. The hardest part of the wiring install is getting the cable from the engine back thru the rigging tube and into the boat. From there its a piece of cake.

[ChrisB]

Just got onto the Arno's marine and he has put me in touch with a guy who is going to do a fuel sensor and then connect back to chartplotter. He said that to find the interface cable was practically impossible from within Oz and the one's on ebay are always wrong so will go with his advice on this.
Thanks for your time Moonlighter and will let you know how I go.

[Moonlighter]

The sensor is probably this one:

http://ww2.simrad-yachting.com/en-GB...sor-en-gb.aspx

Before you get it done, ask them what its lowest flow rate is - because the Suzuki flow rate at idle speed is so low that some of these sensors will not read it. That means that if you do a lot of idling around, your fuel used data will be inaccurate. By however much you have used while idling around.

I would still prefer the proper Suzuki interface to get better fuel flow and fuel used data. It is more reliable too because it comes direct from the engines computer. As I said, provided you get the early model that runs .luf software, the software version can easily be changed to suit your engine year. 2 minute job.

My Suzuki guy is closed today but hopefully I will hear back from him tomorrow. I have also message a contact in the USA who sometimes has them.

if I draw blanks then the fuel flow setup recommended by Arno’s is probably the next best solution.

[ChrisB]

See what happens Moonlighter I'm not concerned about the fuel used at idle as it's pretty low from the data on the Suzuki web page for real boat water test. If I can get it done here it is a bonus for me as I thought there was nothing for my engine. One thing Arno said was that if I have a round plug it is impossible but if I have the square plug it is do able, what he meant I not sure but I think it was the ecu under the cowling. I am driving to Adelaide tomorrow so will go and see the guy he recommended and will ask the stuff you have suggested I really appreciate your time as I wouldn't have even known about what you where talking about.

[Moonlighter]

The round plug he is talking about is the plug that they connect the laptop to when they service the engine - to see any fault codes stored in the engine’s computer. It changed in 2008 from an 8 pin round plug to a 4 pin rectangular plug. If you lift the cowl and find the computer (near the fuse box) you should see it held in a rubber cover.

This plug is called the SDS plug (Suzuki Diagnostic System) plug.

If you use the Suzuki interface cable, it connects to that plug via an adapter cable that concerts the round plug to the smaller rectangular plug. Or, the round plug can simply be changed to the rectangular one.

Unfortunately my USA contact has come back to say they have no early model interface cables available. Havent heard back yet from my local guy.

[ChrisB]

Moonlighter where did the interface cable come from originally as it seems weird that they don't keep making them.

[Moonlighter]

What happened was that Suzuki changed the interface cable hardware and software to a new type about 5 years ago. When they did that it was incompatible with early engines, particularly those made earlier than 2008.

The cables have a module built into them that converts data from the engine ecu into a format that the NMEA2000 network can read.

So the result is that people with engines like yours were left out in the cold by Suzuki - many people, especially in the USA, with those engines were using the first generation of digital Suzuki gauges that will only work on a NmEA2000 network. If their interface cables fail (and they can as they get old) those people are, as we say here in Aus, stuffed!

It was very poor form on Suzuki’s part to do this, and many of us, including major Suzuki dealers in the US and here, tried to get the message thru to them but it was to no avail.

They wouldnt even let Lowrance, who actually manufacture the cables for Suzuki, to continue to make and sell the old version cables. That would have been the easy solution and I cannot understand why they didnt allow it.