SMIS Engine Hours

[mrobertson]

Engines - 2012 DF150
Interface Cables - v 2.9
SMIS Gauges - v2.6

My engines were dealer rigged with suzuki branded analog tach's with the warning lights. Engine hours were displayed when you turned the key the needled went up to the number of hours the engine had. It would beep 3 times at each 100 hour increment letting you know it needed service.

Over the winter - i got a solid deal on (2) v 2.6 SMIS gauges. I bought the interface cables from Browns Point. I've got it all wired up and gauges configured. I am getting all the data i should and even my fuel burn is accurate to within 1-2%.

The one thing that is not working - ENGINE HOURS.

When i first got everything up and running - it showed 0 engine hours as if they were brand new. And now as i use them, it is counting up. It's showing like 2 hrs, and i know i have like 450.

I thought the engine hours were stored in the ECM and the display just showed them ?

**NOTES** (in case this makes any difference)

- I first thought my engines were 2013, and bought v3.5 interface cables. Installed them and got all kinds of errors. Figured out promptly i had software issues, realized my engines were 2012's - and got the right cables.

- I also have (2) garmin MFD's on the network, and they are also showing the false hour readings on each engine (so i dont think its the gauges)

- I tried a hard reset on the SMIS gauges and then reconfigured them. When i got them all setup - still showing the false hours.


Has anyone else experienced this or can think of anything else i should try?


Mike

[Moonlighter]

It must be a software gitch, because yes, the engine engine hours is drawn from the ecu's

Only suggestion I have is to do an auto-select on data sources. May help, may not.

Never seen this before ......

If you are in the USA, send a email to Mike at International Marine or George at Brownspoint Suzuki. If anyone has seen this, it will be one of them.

[mrobertson]

Yeah - i'm assuming a wacky glitch.

Question on data sources :

Where am i supposed to be seeing that? In the SMIS gauge?

The only source selections i see are regarding fuel burn and where it gets it's numbers from (flow sensor vs interface) and (ground speed vs pitot speed).


Also - does anyone have any re-written documentation for what i'm supposed to be seeing on the versions of software i have?

For instance :

Suzuki SMIS 2 Engine 2 Tank not working - The Hull Truth - Boating and Fishing Forum

This is exactly what i experience. It does not give me an option for port/starboard/center tank. Apparently it wasn't like that in previous versions.

I'm reading the lowrance LMF-400 documentation but i think it was written when this stuff first came out and software revisions have changed alot of it.............so at least some of the stuff in the manuals i'm finding, i dont even see or get.

[mrobertson]

Just logging information for anyone that ever runs into this :


I have tried every combination of NMEA components that i have. I have tried 1 interface with 1 gauge and nothing else on the network. Same result. I have tried the interfaces with just the MFD. Same result. I have tried to completely wipe everything, including MFD's, same result.

Awaiting reply from George or Mike @ international.

Will report new info

If anyone has any recommendations of stuff to try - let me know

[ChrigelKarrer]

I have the same problem, used a old SMIS gauge on my dive boat,
engine hours show now time from when i installed the SMIS gauge.

You have most likely the wrong software on your SMIS gauge,
your dealer should figure that out.

Downgrading the SMIS gauge is somehow complicated as you need either a NAVICO unit or a special adaper box, a windows 7/8 pc and the free downloadable Lowrance emulator.

Chris

[mrobertson]

I'm an IT engineer by trade - which means nothing regarding Suzuki or NMEA but what it does mean is i am confident in my troubleshooting skills.

At this point i am 99.9% sure i do NOT have a component/hardware issue

My NMEA network was all new when i installed this stuff a month or so ago. Bought brand new from BOE marine. These are garmin components.

I went at it again today with some new T's - made no difference.

I have 6 nodes on my network :

(2) Suzuki Interface v2.9
(2) SMIS Gauge v2.6
(1) Garmin 741xs
(1) Garmin 1040xs

I have tried every combination of drop cable and T's that i have. The only thing i do not have is an extra power cable - but i have confirmed 12v reliable power.

Today i tried reconfiguring the interfaces with the batteries on a charger - no change

I tried reconfiguring the interfaces with the engines running - no change

i tried reconfiguring 1 gauge + 1 SMIS (with every combo of cable/T/SMIS/Interace) - no change


I left a message with George @ Browns Point - waiting for a call back

At this point i can't do anything else other than get a dealer involved. I'm a little hesistant to do so because i dont think my local dealer is a spe******ts like Browns or International - and i dont want to pay them hours of time to do what ive already done.

At the very least - i need them to pull my engine hours so i can mark it down and hand calculate for service.

Stay tuned

[Moonlighter]

Have you tried different SW versions on the SMIS displays?

Sorry, I take that back - you dont seem to have a suitable device on your network that can upload changes to device software versions. Only Suzuki devices such as C-10 or Navico MFD's such as HDS, Simrad NSS/GO series can do it. Garmin units cannot upload sw changes, so no point trying that!

If you can get hold of a Lowrance HDS that you can connect to 12v power and temporarily connect to the network, you can quite easily change the software version on the SMIS displays (one a a time).

I think this may be the problematic software issue.

You do need to be a little careful when doing this, because as soon as you try to upload the software the network will try to update all SMIs displays it finds simultaneously, and this usually causes a fail. Simple solution: unlpug one SMIs from the network, do the sw change, take it off, reconnect the other one, do it. Then both can be reconnected to the network.

The only other suggestion I can think of is that your 2012 engines might actually be 2013, which would mean you could need interface cables running V3.5.0 software rather than the 2.9.0 you ae currently using.

Maybe call your Suzuki dealer, get them to check your serial numbers and confirm what MY they are. Remember, the calendar year they are made may not be the same as their MY.

[mrobertson]

Thanks for the reply, Moonlighter

Funny - i actually have 2 sets of interface cables. I originally bought a pair with v3.5 on them, thinking my engines were 2013's. I installed and as soon as i configured the interface i got non-stop errors. I fooled with it for a while only to cross check my engine serial #'s to find that my engines are listed as 2012's.

So - i instead of trying to downgrade (which i can't do anyway) i bought a new set of cables from Browns with v2.9 on them.

Installed them and i get no errors and everything works except engine hours. Even my fuel flow is accurate out of the box.

I guess my next step is to try different SMIS versions. Chicken and Egg scenario - do i try to find/buy a cheap HDS or just pony up and take it to the dealer and ask them to do it??

i will keep posting my progress

[Moonlighter]

Its a fairly short job for a dealer to change sw versions on a SMIS. Most of them would have a laptop and the necessary cables to connect to your network.

I would suggest doing one SMIS, taking the second one off the network (unplug it) and see what happens. If it works and shows hours etc, then do the second one.

It certainly is a weird problem.

[mrobertson]

Moonlighter -

First - can you tell the previous versions of software for the SMIS guages, and where to find them?


I have scored an HDS 5 and i'm going to go back at it.


I'm on v2.6 now - can i downgrade and them upgrade back to 2.6 if its somehow worse?

[Moonlighter]

Here is a link to where you can download versions 2.5.0 and 2.6.0 that I put on this forum. Just copy the file to a SD card suitable for your HDS. A small capacity card is required, the HdS cant deal with larger cards. I use an old camera SD card.

http://www.suzukioutboardforum.com/s...-networks.html

There are instructions on How to in the document on that page as well. Read them please.

Yes, you can change them back to 2.6 again if required.

[danman421]

I posted this on THT and ill also post it here.

Sorry I cant help but I have the same issue with one of mine. I have twin 2007 DF200s and one of them shows the hours correctly and the other started as new. This was last year so now it shows 136 hours or something on one and 450 on the other. I know for a fact nothing is wrong with the engine nor has anything been replaced. I verified it with the tach before the C10 gauges as well as my Suzuki tech put it on the computer and I got the print out when I bought the boat. This year I tried swapping the engine interface cables to see if that helped, it did not. Also my 3 C10 gauges were brand new this year after getting warranty replacements for the condensation issue.

[mrobertson]

I still have not figured this out. Here is some more info to date. I have tried SW version 2.5 and 2.6 on the SMIS gauges - no change

I pulled my garmins off the network and put a Lowrance HDS on it - tried re-configuring the interfaces with it - no change.

I talked to George at Brown's point - he was stumped. I asked him if i could run C10 gauges - they are for 2013 and newer (mine are 2012) so i can't. He simply said to deal with it because everything else is accurate and it's not worth risking fudging that up (i'm beginning to agree)

I got an email from Mike @ International - he recommended trying to SEPERATE the 2 networks - suzuki stuff on 1 - garmin stuff on the other - power them seperately - and put a yellow power isolator on the garmin network.

At this point the only common thing is power and the drop cables. I only have 1 nmea power cable (garmin). I might try a different one. I'm definitely not interested in buying new drop cables. It would only cost me a few bucks to seperate the networks - so i might try that.

I might end up getting the engine hours pulled and just manually track them.....however annoying that is.

Outside of that i get all other data on SMIS and Garmin and my fuel burn is accurate to less than 1%, which is really what i was after in the first place

oh what fun.................