Mercury SmartCraft connect gateway new install questions

[iguy1967]

Current setup….

2007 Sea Ray SDA 38

(2) MerCruisers 8.1 Horizon s

Smartcraft SC5000

With transducer (depth and water temp),outside air sensor, rudder angle, shifter positions, manifold water pressure, fuel tanks, rpm, engine temp and battery voltage.

Garmin 1243 xsv

NEMA 2000

Installed

Mercury SmartCraft connect gateway

Questions:

1: The chart plotter is throwing back Pitot fault 451-25 for both starboard and port. My SmartCraft SC5000 says everything is fine. I’ve added the 100 psi sensor under the Mercury manager app configuration under supported data for both the port and starboard engines and it’s still throwing the fault. I noticed when I go back into your configuration tool it does not remember the 100 psi Setting. I’ve also noticed this on the engine configurations where it will not remember the engine type i.e. 8.1 horizon if you reconfigure your motors.

2: Why is the mercury gauges on the chartplotter showing trim level gauges when I have a gas inboard motor with shaft drives? How do I get rid of them?

3: When I first started the install, I noticed a rudder position (and working) representation on the upper screen of the Chartplotter mercury gauge pallet. When I was finished configuring the rudder position was gone. Can I get I’d back?

4: Can the air temp information be sent to the Chartplotter and if so how?

Everything else works great!!


Thank you in advance for the help!!

 

[alnav]

Current setup….

2007 Sea Ray SDA 38

(2) MerCruisers 8.1 Horizon s

Smartcraft SC5000

With transducer (depth and water temp),outside air sensor, rudder angle, shifter positions, manifold water pressure, fuel tanks, rpm, engine temp and battery voltage.

Garmin 1243 xsv

NEMA 2000

Installed

Mercury SmartCraft connect gateway

Questions:

1: The chart plotter is throwing back Pitot fault 451-25 for both starboard and port. My SmartCraft SC5000 says everything is fine. I’ve added the 100 psi sensor under the Mercury manager app configuration under supported data for both the port and starboard engines and it’s still throwing the fault. I noticed when I go back into your configuration tool it does not remember the 100 psi Setting. I’ve also noticed this on the engine configurations where it will not remember the engine type i.e. 8.1 horizon if you reconfigure your motors.

2: Why is the mercury gauges on the chartplotter showing trim level gauges when I have a gas inboard motor with shaft drives? How do I get rid of them?

3: When I first started the install, I noticed a rudder position (and working) representation on the upper screen of the Chartplotter mercury gauge pallet. When I was finished configuring the rudder position was gone. Can I get I’d back?

4: Can the air temp information be sent to the Chartplotter and if so how?

Everything else works great!!


Thank you in advance for the help!!

I got a Connect Gateway around the time they were first available. It worked fine as long as my legacy Smartcraft was disconnected. When both were online, the Connect threw a lot of errors. So, unless you've already tried, you might try disconnecting the SC5000 and see if that fixes some of your problems.

 

[SoCalZonie]

New to Smartcraft here and need an expert's opinion. I have a 2007 Sundancer 280DA with Smartcraft. Works well, except for the tach/digital combo gauge which is erratic probably due to age. Got a Smartcraft Connect, updated firmware, installed & configured it and am able to send engine (and even depth!) data to my Ray Axiom +9 MFD with two issues:

A. (minor) The oil temperature is showing 5400 degrees on the MFD (it shows normal ranges on dash gauges)

B. More annoyingly and ONLY when I connect the Smartcraft Connect to the Smartcraft network at the under-helm junction box (I have the under-helm model) is a constant warning buzzer that I believe may be "buzzer 2" in Smartcraft lingo? It's not the loud single tone beep that you get when energizing the engine's ignition circuit. It's not a series of beeps. Can't upload a video or sound file here but think instead of the 1-second "EEEEEE" like you get on startup, it's a loud and continuous "BRRRRRRRRR" sound. If I look under the helm I see two buzzers - one near the ignition switch (the loud single-beep one) and one near the Smartcraft gauges (the one making this sound when SC Connect is connected).

Additional context: Boat also has VesselView bluetooth module from prior owner, but I wanted data on MFD not phone hence Smartcraft Connect. On VV it repeatedly throws faults for a "702-24 Tank B" (I don't have 2 tanks) and "1031-24 Steering Position" (I believe my steering is not digital and doubt I have a sensor - BTW I do not have an autopilot installed). Smartcraft Connect mirrors these faults on the Raymarine MFD. The Smartcraft gauges however show no errors at all, and boat is running totally fine. After looking at another thread about SC Connect/VV conflicts I tried disconnecting VV but the buzzer still sounds.

Questions for the experts:

1. Has anyone else run into this "buzzer" issue when installing Smartcraft Connect? Happens when engine running or not, and goes away the minute I take SC Connect out of the equation. Also stops briefly while SC Connect is rebooting after saving new config so I know it is Smartcraft Connect initiating this buzzer. When SC Connect comes back online, so does the buzzer sound.
2. Have any of you seen situations where SC Connect is seeing faults (that aren't real), and triggering the buzzer? If so, is there a way to permanently clear faults for sensors I don't have?
3. Could it be that the phantom 5400 degree oil temp is freaking SC Connect out and causing the buzzer to sound?
4. On that front, does anyone know how to address the 5400 degree oil discrepancy? This isn't a huge deal unless it is the cause of the beeping which is like a worm eating my brain. All other units of measure seem to match between gauges and data shown on MFD.
5. Any other things I should investigate?

 

[alnav]

New to Smartcraft here and need an expert's opinion. I have a 2007 Sundancer 280DA with Smartcraft. Works well, except for the tach/digital combo gauge which is erratic probably due to age. Got a Smartcraft Connect, updated firmware, installed & configured it and am able to send engine (and even depth!) data to my Ray Axiom +9 MFD with two issues:

A. (minor) The oil temperature is showing 5400 degrees on the MFD (it shows normal ranges on dash gauges)
View attachment 160665
B. More annoyingly and ONLY when I connect the Smartcraft Connect to the Smartcraft network at the under-helm junction box (I have the under-helm model) is a constant warning buzzer that I believe may be "buzzer 2" in Smartcraft lingo? It's not the loud single tone beep that you get when energizing the engine's ignition circuit. It's not a series of beeps. Can't upload a video or sound file here but think instead of the 1-second "EEEEEE" like you get on startup, it's a loud and continuous "BRRRRRRRRR" sound. If I look under the helm I see two buzzers - one near the ignition switch (the loud single-beep one) and one near the Smartcraft gauges (the one making this sound when SC Connect is connected).

Additional context: Boat also has VesselView bluetooth module from prior owner, but I wanted data on MFD not phone hence Smartcraft Connect. On VV it repeatedly throws faults for a "702-24 Tank B" (I don't have 2 tanks) and "1031-24 Steering Position" (I believe my steering is not digital and doubt I have a sensor - BTW I do not have an autopilot installed). Smartcraft Connect mirrors these faults on the Raymarine MFD. The Smartcraft gauges however show no errors at all, and boat is running totally fine. After looking at another thread about SC Connect/VV conflicts I tried disconnecting VV but the buzzer still sounds.

Questions for the experts:

1. Has anyone else run into this "buzzer" issue when installing Smartcraft Connect? Happens when engine running or not, and goes away the minute I take SC Connect out of the equation. Also stops briefly while SC Connect is rebooting after saving new config so I know it is Smartcraft Connect initiating this buzzer. When SC Connect comes back online, so does the buzzer sound.
2. Have any of you seen situations where SC Connect is seeing faults (that aren't real), and triggering the buzzer? If so, is there a way to permanently clear faults for sensors I don't have?
3. Could it be that the phantom 5400 degree oil temp is freaking SC Connect out and causing the buzzer to sound?
4. On that front, does anyone know how to address the 5400 degree oil discrepancy? This isn't a huge deal unless it is the cause of the beeping which is like a worm eating my brain. All other units of measure seem to match between gauges and data shown on MFD.
5. Any other things I should investigate?

Looks like your original configuration was Smartcraft gauge cluster only? So, all Smartcraft data was only flowing to the gauges? Is the buzzer wired as an output from the gauges or as a separate feed off the harness? I wonder if the Connect contention issue might extend to a Connect/SC gauge combination. I would try disconnecting the gauges from the harness and see if that changes things.

 

[SoCalZonie]

Looks like your original configuration was Smartcraft gauge cluster only? So, all Smartcraft data was only flowing to the gauges? Is the buzzer wired as an output from the gauges or as a separate feed off the harness? I wonder if the Connect contention issue might extend to a Connect/SC gauge combination. I would try disconnecting the gauges from the harness and see if that changes things.

Correct - Smartcraft gauges were orig equipment, then PO added VesselView, then I added Smartcraft Connect. The offending buzzer appears to be tied into the gauge wiring harness but I can't be sure if it's the harness or a direct wire to specific gauge (lotsa wires bundled up together and of course it's at the very top of the helm).

Thank you for this suggestion - I'll check electrical diagrams and try to unplug a few next time I'm at the boat later this week.

 

[stg099]

My understanding is that the Vesselview mobile and Smartcraft connect cannot both be on the network at once. Have you tried disconnecting the VV mobile to see if that solves for the issue?

 

[SoCalZonie]

Yes that was my approach 1st time I tried to add Smartcraft Connect and first discovered the continuous beep. Have tried with VV in the system and off the system both end up in the continuous beeping.

 

[alnav]

I think I would first unplug the gauge harness(es) from the J-box and see how the connect behaves. One other thought: when you plugged in the Connect, did you leave the termination resistor in place? I think there should have been one taking up one of the J-box connectors.

 

[alnav]

I found this pub in my files. It has multiple system diagrams, one of which I hope is yours and might be useful. Looks like the Accessory Horn was exclusively for depth warnings FWIW.

 

[ttmott]

First - is the alarm coming from Vessel View?
If so you probably need to set up the alarm limits. There are a host of settings from; water depth, to anchor drag, to XTE, to high and low voltage, etc. You can even turn it off as one setting but not recommended.
The second thing the gauges are called SysLink - not Smartcraft. They require a "master gauge" which can be an SC1000, SC5000, Diesel View, or Vessel View. These provide the data to drive the SysLink gauges. The gauges are driven off unique connectors on the wire harness that interfaces with the master gauge. The Port gauges are daisy chained together and the Starboard gauges are daisy chained together.
So the inputs need to be known into the system and the limits set based upon that. One thing I noticed early on is it can be a bit confusing on making a setting and having it saved - double check on how you are making and saving configuration.

 

[SoCalZonie]

First of all, thank you @alnav and @ttmott for helping me understand this system and helping tighten up my terminology! Also the Smartcraft doc is much appreciated -- I will use it to check for limits and see if there's a way to disable the faults for sensors I don't have. I will also try disconnecting gauges from the harness to see if any one of them is triggering the buzzer thru some kind of Smartcraft protocol conflict.

My hunch is that since the buzzer wired to a gauge and still sounds when VesselView Mobile is disconnected, Smartcraft Connect is not liking one of the gauges, or vice-versa OR that there is an underlying fault signal that the SysLink gauges are ignoring but the Smartcraft Connect is finding and alerting the buzzer on.

My boat is set up very close to this setup (from 2007 280DA specific information manual).

It has a VesselView Mobile (the bluetooth dongle thingy - not a full VV display) added by the PO, but based on what @ttmott said above I suspect the "master gauge" is what is called a "SmartTach" and that is showing no errors. (picture below)

The VV mobile shows the two errors I mentioned in the original post and I have attempted to block them there, but I don't know if that keeps them off the Smartcraft network.

 

[Fill Ess]

I'm not as familiar with Garmin, but on my SIMRADs, there is a way to go into settings and select the "source" for each item (like air temp). Maybe that is possible on the Garmin?

Also with the SC connect ....

I installed one last year on my CC. It wasn't completely plug-n-pray. There is an app to download, then you need to connect to the gateway with your phone/tablet and do some configuration. Apologies if you said you did that already, but I didn't see it.

 

[ttmott]

The SysLink gauges do not feed back data to the master gauge. The system could care less if they are working or not. So disconnecting will doubtfully realize any changes.
quite possibly there is a conflict between the VV mobile and the master gauge. I would try disconnecting the VV mobile then getting all of the settings in the master gauge correct then try and reconnect the VV mobile dongle.

 

[SoCalZonie]

I had a chance to get down to the boat last week and have updates:
- ttmott, your hunch was correct. Disconnecting gauges did not stop the buzzing or help
- I also removed vessel view mobile from the system, no improvement

I also confirmed a couple facts and tried a couple things with Vessel View mobile disconnected:

1. The buzzer is wired up to a wiring harness that connects fuel, trim, speedo (no LCD panel) and pressure/temp. This wiring harness is connected to a SmartCraft junction box with the only other connections being the cable leading back to the engine and the digital tach, and of course SmartConnect. Any empty spots (there are two) on the junction box have terminating resistors. In essence, it matches the diagram I posted above last week.

2. the digital tach is set up for 0.0ft shallow water alarm depth (and boat depth reads 17ft) so depth is not the cause of buzzing (check this based on some other threads)

3. The Smartcraft Connect is sending a "1031-24 Steering Position" fault to the MFD over N2k, even if it is configured to not have/recognize a steering sensor. Rest of messages to MFD "mostly" are fine; some of the temperature ranges are off.

4. At no time does the digital tach w/ LCD ever register a fault/error (it's settings are set to no steering sensor) with or without Smartcraft Connect attached.

5. When I disconnect Smartcraft Connect the buzzing stops.

6. not sure if this is relevant, but on the SmartCraft iOS configuration app the "CAN H" Light is flashing red/green very, very fast (so fast that it looks orange-ish) when the Smartcraft Connect is operating/connected.

My hypothesis is the engine computer is sending out a "1031-24 Steering Position" because it doesn't have one, and the rest of the boat is evidently set up to happily ignore this message on the Smartcraft network. Smartcraft Connect however is seeing that code, somehow triggering the buzzer and also repeatedly sending the fault as an alarm to the MFD (even though I configured it to not have a steering input).

My goal is to stop all the buzzing and beeping.

Question 1: Does my hypothesis sound plausible?

Question 2: If my hypothesis sounds plausible is there a way or tool that would allow me or a technician to tell the engine to stop sending the "I can't see my steering sensor" message altogether? (I may be using the wrong terms but I am new to Smartcraft)

I appreciate this group's willingness to help - also wrote dealer I bought the Smartcraft Connect from online; haven't heard back yet.

 

[Fill Ess]

Have you downloaded the Merc app and configured the SC Connect yet?

 

[SoCalZonie]

Have you downloaded the Merc app and configured the SC Connect yet?

Yes - during that process was able to config the SmartConnect and tell it that I had no steering sensor. Was able to save that config successfully, but still get the alerts.

 

[alnav]

On the diesel harness, there is a steering input connector off the same branch as the tank and depth connectors. Dunno if the gas harness is the same, but if you can locate a steering connector, try jumping that and see what happens.
It seems to me that your configuration can't be all that unique and Mercury ought to have seen this problem before and know how to deal with it. Have you tried to press them to escape the first level of support and find a tech who might know of a fix?

 

[SoCalZonie]

On the diesel harness, there is a steering input connector off the same branch as the tank and depth connectors. Dunno if the gas harness is the same, but if you can locate a steering connector, try jumping that and see what happens.
It seems to me that your configuration can't be all that unique and Mercury ought to have seen this problem before and know how to deal with it. Have you tried to press them to escape the first level of support and find a tech who might know of a fix?

Thanks for these @alnav - I will look for that branch (is there a risk of damage from shorting it?) and I had planned to call Mercury this week (just need to find a block of time to climb the tech support ladder)