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Hi guys, i recent had some battery and electrically work done to my boat. I current have twin 2014 DF 300s with LMF 400 gauges. My first issue is this. When i now turn on the batteries, all the gauges turn off even with the key in the off position. This did not happen before. The mechanic who did the work stated that the NMEA network had to be on its own power sources and this was going to occur no matter what. I know this not to be true because it was not happen before. Any suggestions? My second is that my starboard gauge is just flashing the S on it and will not do anything else. Suggestions are welcomed for this as well. Thank you for the help.
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Regrettably this is what happens when people who are not skilled with NMEA2000 networks play with your electrical system! Pretty rude of them to do something like that without consulting you too.
Now i want to get something right because your message does seem very strange- you said that the SMIS displays turn OFF when the batteries are turned ON and with the engine keys in the off position.
Surely you mean it the other way around??? That the SMIS turn on as soon as the batteries are turned ON?
Please check and confirm that to start with.
Now, the first thing to note is that the SMIS displays get their power from the network, so, whenever the network has power turned in, these displays will also turn on.
But
They will only show engine data when the engine keys are also both turned on. So, the network needs power AND keys must be on for the displays to give you engine data.
Assuming that the SMIs are turning on when batteries have been turned on, then the person who did the electrical work has clearly changed the network power supply source.
The vast majority of people connect the network power supply to a spare positive connector on the engine harnesses behind the dash - so the network gets powered on as soon as that engine's key is turned on. Yours was most likely done that way. There are also dual and quad power supply nodes that allow you to connect power to 2 sources, and on twin engine installations like yours, this is often to both harnesses - the result is that even if only one engine key is turned on, the network always has power with the result that the displays turn on. But turn the engines off and the network and therefroe the displays also go off.
Now it sounds like the person who did your work has changed that power supply and simply connected it to the positive busbar behind the dash, or possibly to another source that is live whenever the main battery switch is turned on. Bad idea! The network always being on means the gauges will always be on and this will annoy you when the engines are tirned off. Silly idea.
I would reconnect how it was previously.
The second issue of the gauge just showing a S suggests a gauge fault. But Fix the power supply issues first.
Then Try doing a reset of that gauge. As follows:
1.Turn network power off
2. Press and hold the DOWN button
3. Turn on (turn network power on)
4. Release DOWN button after test screen appears.
5 turn off.
What else is connected to your network?
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