Who Has Added Smartcraft to their Engines?

Update - Everything works!! I just needed the double resistor cable and “gender bender” (single engine).

Thanks alnav for the info.
 
I need some help. I have everything setup for vesselview on a 2002 496. It is a simrad unit, which is essentially a vesselview 9. I am getting readings from engines, everything is good there. The issue I am having is getting the fuel tank sender harness wired up. I cannot find the plug on the engine to hook this thing up. From reading other forums, I got part # 84-864218 which seemed to be the consensus on what I needed for that era engine, but I cannot find a connector on the block to hook this up. The only 3 pin I have found is the connector which provides power to the can bus on the engine.
 
I need some help. I have everything setup for vesselview on a 2002 496. It is a simrad unit, which is essentially a vesselview 9. I am getting readings from engines, everything is good there. The issue I am having is getting the fuel tank sender harness wired up. I cannot find the plug on the engine to hook this thing up. From reading other forums, I got part # 84-864218 which seemed to be the consensus on what I needed for that era engine, but I cannot find a connector on the block to hook this up. The only 3 pin I have found is the connector which provides power to the can bus on the engine.

I’m assuming you are using some type of gateway to get SC data ported to NMEA 2000 to import to Simrad display.

The reason why you can get engine telemetry and not boat data is that the engine data is needed by the engine computer (Ecu,Pcu?) to make the engine run. Stuff like tank levels is not needed by the engine as a result it was not ported to the engines on boats that did not get Smartcraft gauges.

If you have not changed your gauges, you have analog gauges at 12vdc. More on the significance of 12vdc later.

To connect fuel tanks you need a three wire harness (tank 1, tank 2, and ground). I don’t know if that part number you gave matches that as I am speaking from how I did the 496 on our 280. That plugs into the engine harness to a plug on the back (flywheel end) of the engine. Mine was tagged and labeled and capped off. The tank wires are then attached to the tank sender pink wires, and ground is grounded.

Now here’s where the 12vdc analog fuel gauge becomes the problem. Smartcraft and the engine telemetry runs on 5vdc. That means you must cut the pink wire coming from the helm and then splice the Smartcraft wire to the pink wire that goes to the tank, NOT THE LEG THAT GOES BACK TO THE HELM. Sorry for the emphasis, but connecting 12vdc to Smartcraft will toast your ecu/pcu and make you wish you never heard of Smartcraft. This also means you will lose your helm fuel gauge function.

At this point I’ll pass along the caution I received from Mercury when I updated our 496. They believed that using The analog gauges with Smartcraft, could lead to 12 vdc being introduced to into the engine systems and destroy the engine electronics.

I was planning to re-gauge so it didn’t matter to me. Other folks here on CSR who have done the conversion have kept their analog gauges and had no problems. So I’ll leave with you to make your own choice.

Now here is another complication. Smartcraft requires the tanks be calibrated to get the fuel gauge to work. This is done through the System Tach, VesselView, or older SC500 displays. I hope your Simrad display will do that, otherwise you might end up with nothing.

What Simrad do you have? I’m looking to replace my 7” Volvo engine display and am considering using a Simrad GO 7 or 9. My situation is a little simpler as all my telemetry is based on NMEA 2000 senders and components.

Henry
 
I wish my tanks where hooked up. But they are anolog. And not. Did not want to cut the wires to them and loose that function.
 
I wish my tanks where hooked up. But they are anolog. And not. Did not want to cut the wires to them and loose that function.

If you also have NMEA 2000, you can add analog sensors from YachtDevices that tap right into you gage wires and will display your tank levels in parallel with your existing gages.
 
I wish my tanks where hooked up. But they are anolog. And not. Did not want to cut the wires to them and loose that function.
Hooking tanks up to Smartcraft is easy; small wire harness that plugs into engine in the back (flywheel end). Then find the pink wire coming from the sender cut & join to SC harness. If you have not updated the gauges you will lose the fuel level on the analog gauge, but data will be available via SC.

Shifting gears slightly, on the topic of engine telemetry. I had been thinking about using one of the Simrad GO displays for my engine data (I only have tachs, no other gauges and proprietary Volvo display for that.). I’ve gone with Garmin 7608 because of space issues and that Garmin has built Volvo’s Glass Helm displays based on the 76xx design. I ordered the stuff this morning from BOE and should have it by mid week. Should be a simple task to hook up to the nmea 2000 and configure a gauge suite.

H
 
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If you also have NMEA 2000, you can add analog sensors from YachtDevices that tap right into you gage wires and will display your tank levels in parallel with your existing gages.
What!!! Please tell me more!

Link and or part number?
 
Google says YDTA-01??

150 bucks each. 2 tanks. 300 bucks to get fuel info on the god screen.

What I would love it love genny data on the screen when anchored like having the whole gender monitor...
 
Google says YDTA-01??

150 bucks each. 2 tanks. 300 bucks to get fuel info on the god screen.

What I would love it love genny data on the screen when anchored like having the whole gender monitor...

Yep. that's the one. Be sure and order the variant that has the connector appropriate to your network. (SeaTalk / NMEA)

I haven't tackled the generator side of things yet.
 
Google says YDTA-01??

150 bucks each. 2 tanks. 300 bucks to get fuel info on the god screen.

What I would love it love genny data on the screen when anchored like having the whole gender monitor...
If your generator has a J1939 (could be called CAN bus) port, either the Yacht Devices YDEG-04 or Maretron J2K100 would convert its data to NMEA 2000.
 
I am pretty sure my westerbeke 4.5 Bcgb does not have one? At least I have not seen one it can find one in the manual.
 
I am pretty sure my westerbeke 4.5 Bcgb does not have one? At least I have not seen one it can find one in the manual.

Yep it doesn't. One of the things they touted in their marketing of the era was the simplicity and lack of electronics.
 
They do have wiring harnes and plugs. I have though about buying blank male and female plugs, so I can make a I line plug and wire to something that would
Send it over Nmea 2000 and then can just adapt it to different models and plugs... and sell them ha.

Leaving the GPS on when Parker I do often as it’s nice to see barges coming and stereo control.. would be awesome if main screen was genny gauges while parked.
 
They do have wiring harnes and plugs. I have though about buying blank male and female plugs, so I can make a I line plug and wire to something that would
Send it over Nmea 2000 and then can just adapt it to different models and plugs... and sell them ha.

Leaving the GPS on when Parker I do often as it’s nice to see barges coming and stereo control.. would be awesome if main screen was genny gauges while parked.

Not sure I'm following. In the year range we're talking about, the Westerbeke does not even have a computer. You could do something with an Actisense, I suppose and convert the analog info to NMEA.
 
Success! I finally got everything hooked up and working. I still need to play around with the settings on the MFD, but will have to wait till tomorrow so as not to disturb the neighbors. I added both VesselView Mobile and the Mercruiser gateway. I did have to program the Port engine as it was having an identity crisis (programmed as Starboard from the factory). I can't wait to get the MFD dialed in.
 
So I was under the impression anything 8.1/496 2001 on was smart-craft capable. but my boat was not rigged with it. so I woul dhave to plug into motors, then junction boxes, and then together, and then run line to helm, and power the backbone, and then tie into the NEMA 2000 on the new GPS. but once I did all that it would work?

is that not the case? not all 8.1s work?
My boat was built end of 2000 as a 2001 with 8.1S. I have the plug and have added the plug and play Vessel View. All data on my guage now availble turn key to digital English on my tablet. And much more.
 
Not sure I'm following. In the year range we're talking about, the Westerbeke does not even have a computer. You could do something with an Actisense, I suppose and convert the analog info to NMEA.
Yea i just mean the white plug for all the sensors on the genny it’s self. Like over temp switch break or not break. I just assumed we could maybe use that plug to break out the anolog data and then convert.
 
Yea i just mean the white plug for all the sensors on the genny it’s self. Like over temp switch break or not break. I just assumed we could maybe use that plug to break out the anolog data and then convert.

Gotcha. Yeah. I think the Actisense would work for that as long as there are actual temperature and pressure values there, as opposed to just simple switches (which I suspect)
 
That's how mine is set up via 2001. Plug and play to your helm or just VV bluetooth it. I love the bluetooth version. Bought a 12" android tablet and mounted it by suction cup bracket at the helm and now have full digital info at my finger tips without going into major boat bucks.

Plus the tablet is my redundant navionics platform.
How did you connect the vessel view to two engines?
 

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