Dual Circuit Installation help

[a7ewizard]

I am in the process of 1) doing an I/O to DF300AP conversion and 2) re-wiring for a dual circuit system.
The engine will have the auxiliary charging cable option. There will be a Blue Seas 5510E dual circuit battery switch and a engine/starting battery and a house/electronics battery. I am pretty sure from the other threads on how to do this.

My goal is to avoid my MFD from dropping off every time I start the engine and protect electronics from voltage drops and spikes. Thus the dual circuit decision.

My understanding is the Suzuki wire harness/interface cable/etc will power the C10 display thus powering the network backbone. Am I correct so far?

This leads to my major question. Do I continue the Suzuki powered backbone to connect with MFDs, autopilot (Raymarine Evolution 100)? All of these items will be powered by the other battery.

The autopilot's heading sensor and control are backbone powered. I am not sure but I believe the heading sensor is always powered when the backbone is powered while the control has the power switch.

I want to enable the C10 to display MPGs for which a GPS source is required thus networking to a MFD. Or, is adding a GPS puck to the Suzuki network and also creating a separate electronics network a better option?

[Moonlighter]

You are slightly off on the power for the C-10. The C-10 catually gets powered by the network, not directly from the harness. Its power comes thru the NMeA2000 drop cable.

So you connect the network power node to the harness. The C-10 is, however, likely to be the only device on your network that gets its power to operate this way. The result is that whenever the engine key is turned to on, the C-10 will also be on.

The other devices attached to the network, such as your MFD's, autopilot and so on, still require their normal connections to a power source. So it doesnt make any difference if they get power from a different battery than the power source for the network.

When you are underway, it is highly unlikely that you would not have the MFD's turned on, meaning that the network will have GPS signals available when it needs them. At the same time, when you are stopped and the engine is turned off, the MFD still have their own power supply so will operate as normal.

Most people run a single network for simplicity. Some prefer separate networks. Largely its a matter of personal preference.

[a7ewizard]

So you connect the network power node to the harness. The C-10 is, however, likely to be the only device on your network that gets its power to operate this way. The result is that whenever the engine key is turned to on, the C-10 will also be on.

When you are underway, it is highly unlikely that you would not have the MFD's turned on, meaning that the network will have GPS signals available when it needs them. At the same time, when you are stopped and the engine is turned off, the MFD still have their own power supply so will operate as normal.

Most people run a single network for simplicity. Some prefer separate networks. Largely its a matter of personal preference.

I appreciate the clarifications. I am new to this networked electronics.

If the network backbone is powered from the engine harness, does the harness provide fuse protection?

In thinking through my installation, the only other item that is fully powered from the backbone is the EV-1 attitude sensor (so it is always on with the ignition on; drawing 30mA).

In thinking this through, the only times I need the functionality of the backbone (autopilot, fuel mpg, C10) is with the engine running. With the engine off and drift fishing, I will have the MFD, sonar, and/or radar operating but they all connect directly to the MFD.

[Moonlighter]

I appreciate the clarifications. I am new to this networked electronics.

If the network backbone is powered from the engine harness, does the harness provide fuse protection? No, the network power node connector that you get in a a network starter kit has a inline fuse.

In thinking through my installation, the only other item that is fully powered from the backbone is the EV-1 attitude sensor (so it is always on with the ignition on; drawing 30mA).

In thinking this through, the only times I need the functionality of the backbone (autopilot, fuel mpg, C10) is with the engine running. With the engine off and drift fishing, I will have the MFD, sonar, and/or radar operating but they all connect directly to the MFD.

Comments in red above. I think you have it sorted now. On some occasions, there can be conflicts between autopilots and the Suzuki but fairly uncommon. If it all hooks up and works fine, you will be good.

Perhaps have a read of the "sticky" thread towards the top of the forum where I talk about setting up networks.

Good luck with it all, let us know how you go.