Merc 8.1 Horizon - where's the data at?

Atalla

Active Member
Sep 1, 2020
244
Seattle
Boat Info
2007 38 Sundancer
Engines
Twin Merc 8.1 S Horizon V-Drives
Is the engine responsible for sending rudder position and trim tab position to the smartcraft or vesselview consistent across boats? Will it always be port or always starboard? Do both send the data and I just flip a coin?
 
In looking at the rudders on my boat there is a variable resistor on top of the one post that provides the position. Is your question if it goes directly to the SC or does it first go through a harness at the engine and then to the SC? I don't have trim position indicators.
 
In looking at the rudders on my boat there is a variable resistor on top of the one post that provides the position. Is your question if it goes directly to the SC or does it first go through a harness at the engine and then to the SC? I don't have trim position indicators.
It appears when reading the VesselView manual that steering position can either be sent via a Thrust Vector Module or from the PCM on one of the engines. I admit to not having any idea what a TVM is. You get to choose which PCM to read the data from and I'm unclear if that is just a random choice or if only one engine PCM is configured to transmit rudder position to the VV.

Same with Tab position except that there is also the possibility of a Trim Tab Interface Module that could directly transmit this position in addition to either a TVM or one of the engine PCMs.

I'm just trying to get out how to figure out where the data is at, particularly since I haven't any idea what a TVM is or whether I have a Trim Tab Interface Module nor if either of those things existed in 2007.
 
TVM is mercruisers reference to "Thrust Vector Module" for their joystick piloting systems (zeus or axius)
 
TVM is mercruisers reference to "Thrust Vector Module" for their joystick piloting systems (zeus or axius)
Thanks. I knew what it stood for...just didn't know what it was. :)

So I'm getting rudder position from a PCM on one of the engines. Anybody know if both engines transmit this data equally? I'm unclear why the VV is asking me to choose as it would seemingly be easy to detect. Frankly, I'm just going to go down to the boat and start playing around with settings, but I figured I'd ask as folks on the forum tend to be good at explaining the what, why and where and I find that helpful.
 
Thanks. I knew what it stood for...just didn't know what it was. :)

So I'm getting rudder position from a PCM on one of the engines. Anybody know if both engines transmit this data equally? I'm unclear why the VV is asking me to choose as it would seemingly be easy to detect. Frankly, I'm just going to go down to the boat and start playing around with settings, but I figured I'd ask as folks on the forum tend to be good at explaining the what, why and where and I find that helpful.

For me,
I had to select a single source for my rudder position to be available on my vessel view.
I don't recall whether I selected port or starboard, but I definitely had to choose one.
Hope that helps somewhat.

Edit:
I found an old post
http://www.clubsearay.com/index.php...-pod-angle-icon-indicator.98748/#post-1141107

PCM0 for starboard or PCM1 for port
I used PCM0
 
Last edited:

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