4-in-1 gauge and Maretron TLA100

quality time

Well-Known Member
Oct 30, 2007
2,352
Upper Chesapeake Bay
Boat Info
Miss Stress
2006 50' Post
Engines
Series 60 Detroits
I’m trying to figure out a way to get my fuel tank levels onto my NMEA network while still leaving the analog gauges in tact. The issue is that my boat has the analog 4-in-1 gauges with 4 wires going into the back of it. I was told by Maretron that it is not possible to use the TLA100 with this type of gauge.

Does anyone know how these factory gauges are wired? My thought is that the individual sending unit wires must go to a buss block where they transition to the 4 wire plug on the back of the gauge. I have tried tracing backwards from the dash but they just get lost in the bundle.

Or am I missing another option?
 

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I’m trying to figure out a way to get my fuel tank levels onto my NMEA network while still leaving the analog gauges in tact. The issue is that my boat has the analog 4-in-1 gauges with 4 wires going into the back of it. I was told by Maretron that it is not possible to use the TLA100 with this type of gauge.

Does anyone know how these factory gauges are wired? My thought is that the individual sending unit wires must go to a buss block where they transition to the 4 wire plug on the back of the gauge. I have tried tracing backwards from the dash but they just get lost in the bundle.

Or am I missing another option?
Seems odd to have 4 gauges and only 4 wires. Is there a ground on the gauge in another location?
 
No other wires, you can see in the picture that the 5th spot on the plug is actually plugged. Both gauges are wired the same way.
 
That looks to be Smartcraft. The other end of the cable should connect to a Smartcraft J-Box. Those are not the Link gauges which came out later.
So, the fuel tank resistive senders are connected at the engine Smartcraft harness and the electrical signal is converted to Smartcraft data in that Motorola black box called the System Integration Module that is mounted next to the engine's ECM. There is three ways to get your fuel level data on your NMEA 2000 network: 1 - add a Smartcraft vessel view Link . 2 - add a second sender (Maretron TLM100) to your fuel tanks or 3 - add a Maretron TLA100 in line with the existing fuel senders. If you go the TLA100 route contact Maretron to make sure the device will not mess with the existing fuel tank level sender signal to the Smartcraft network.
upload_2021-12-7_9-23-9.png
 
I have Cummins ED-1's and do not have Smartcraft as far as I know, it looks like they started putting them on the 480DB's the following year.
 
I have Cummins ED-1's and do not have Smartcraft as far as I know, it looks like they started putting them on the 480DB's the following year.
Hmm - OK I was thinking you had a Diesel View on your boat.
I would still go and look closely at the engine harness to see if the fuel tank senders are connected.
 
I think your easiest alternative is Tom’s alternative #1, add a Smartcraft vessel view link.

Adding a MaretronTLM100 would require cutting a hole and tapping 5 screws for the new fuel sender. Adding a TLA100 would change the resistive values of the sender and probably neither the existing gauge or the TLA100 data would be accurate, hence why Maretron says it won’t work.
 
I think your easiest alternative is Tom’s alternative #1, add a Smartcraft vessel view link.

Adding a MaretronTLM100 would require cutting a hole and tapping 5 screws for the new fuel sender. Adding a TLA100 would change the resistive values of the sender and probably neither the existing gauge or the TLA100 data would be accurate, hence why Maretron says it won’t work.
Dave - I'm not sure the Link is compatible with his early Smartcraft....
If Maretron says their TLA100 can't be paralleled, then a separate TLM100 sender would be where I would land.
 
Dave - I'm not sure the Link is compatible with his early Smartcraft....
If Maretron says their TLA100 can't be paralleled, then a separate TLM100 sender would be where I would land.

Ah…just saw the follow up reply.

I can definitely recommended the Maretron TLM100. They are one of my favorite upgrades I’ve done on the boat.

Quality Time…if you end up doing the TLM100’s I have a USB100 you can borrow, that allows them to be programmed (takes about 2 minutes each).
 
Thanks for the replies Tom and Dave. The additional sender was the only other solution I could come up with also but a bit more of a hassle than I want to deal with. Was just hoping I was missing something easy.

I replaced my senders a few years ago and they are dead on, so with the data I get from my J1708 converters I pretty much know my level and range. Was just looking for another cool trick to put on the DSM410.
 
Just thinking in public...

Would this be a solution? Might give them a call.

Screenshot_20211207-105407_Chrome.jpg
 
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Those are the J1708 converters that I have piggybacked off of my ED1's. The ED1's do not display fuel level just gallons per hour. I actually purchased Yacht Devices version of the TLA100 and played around with connecting at the sender but the readings were incorrect.
 
Just browsing the YDES-04 manual…isn’t fuel qty a parameter that can be turned on/off and programmed? I’ve not worked with their equipment, so not sure…curious…maybe requires a firmware update?

seems to support PGN127505 Fuel Qty and Tank capacity…

I’m sure there is more to this I’m not getting. Gotta love modern electronics for boats…
 
Just browsing the YDES-04 manual…isn’t fuel qty a parameter that can be turned on/off and programmed? I’ve not worked with their equipment, so not sure…curious…maybe requires a firmware update?

seems to support PGN127505 Fuel Qty and Tank capacity…

I’m sure there is more to this I’m not getting. Gotta love modern electronics for boats…

I see what you're saying and maybe the data is there. Heck I thought my fuel gauges were analog up until this morning! The Cummins ED1's do not display fuel level, only engine parameters so I'm not sure the data is sent to them which is where my YDES-04's are piggybacked off of. I feel like the circuit for the 4-in-1 gauge is separate from the Cummins display.
 
I'd have to look at the schematics, but that data has to be available,those guages appear to be networked. The issue is getting it converted from what ever standard its transmitting in , to the N2K side
 
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... I feel like the circuit for the 4-in-1 gauge is separate from the Cummins display.

If the schematic that Tom posted in #8 is your configuration, then you are correct. They bypassed the Cummings Engine Display all together. You might want to try adding, in parallel with the existing, an analog to NMEA 2000 sender like Yacht Devices has, Garmin has one too but is more pricey and you seem to like Yacht Devices so why change. These adapters should be high impedance so putting them in parallel should not affect anything. This is one way to keep your existing and add the new to N2K, assuming post #8 is your configuration.

Edit: Missed the TLA100 comments. But did you configure them with the ohm readings?
 
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