NMEA 2000/Electrical consistent headaches

You can always just unplug the Raymarine e120 from your multi plug - and leave the DSM150 and MercGateway in there.

But as I said before :) as with any debugging - eliminate the easy stuff first. Clean your transducer face, check your batteries and maybe remove the e120 from your SeaTalkNG plug. That would be a start. :) - when you debug many issues - first issue is to bring the list of potential issues down. The "faulty" DSM300 is ALSO very sensitive to voltage issues - so as I said. :) start with my little list first.

But sorry to hear Raymarine now wants money for the "update" I thought I read it would deadline at the end of march. But check it out anyway. But IF you consider upgrading to the new e series - get the e127 where the DSM300 is built in. That works very well. But then you also need a new radar :(

And my brain kind of just absorbs useless information :) which is why I know a lot of the Raymarine issues....

And if you want to buy some cables etc. - try and find a NMEA 2000 starter kit on eBay. Then you at least have a complete "independent" NMEA 2000 net - and then buy one of the Navico blocks. Then you are future proof - and have a few items in your "dock box" for future use. You can pick up starter kits for < $50 on eBay if you wait a bit.

And about NMEA OneNet - it is not meant as a replacement for NMEA 2000. It is an addition for items that need high speed data - like Sounders, Radar, cameras and Internet access. I think most of the current generation MFD's can be upgraded to OneNet as they all have Ethernet. Raymarine and Garmin has been a bit "hesitant" to follow Ethernet (IP) standards despite having RJ45's equivalents on their machines - but Navico (Simrad/Lowrance/B&G) are VERY open in the network part and can already now be setup as you want - and follows RFC's for IP traffic.

And I can for the life of me not understand why so many boat owners insists on Raymarine - when Simrad makes the VesselView 7 for Mercruiser (and the N2k gateway) - and the VesselView 7 + Simrad chartplotter are such a great match. :) IMHO Simrad beats Raymarine current generation by MILES in usability if you have Mercruiser engines. :grin:

I may just unplug the Raymarine. Everything the raymarine spits out, the Maretron does, and shows more. That may be my temp fix, but doesn't obviously allow me to expand in the future. I don't really think there is anything else I would want.

Yes, the rep at Raymarine said it stopped at the "end of February", so I guess it's done. He told me to pull it out and see if it's made in Mexico. If so, I should send it in to get repaired. He said it would take 3-4 weeks, which puts me out of not being able to take my boat out until mid-late May. That's IF I get it out today and send it. Why would I need a new radar for the new e127? Doesn't the e125 work with my current DSM and radar?

I think I'm going to go ahead and get the starter kit for such a low price. That way, I can go ahead and extend whatever I need for future use. I would like to have some other maretron sensors they offer.. they're just so damn expensive.

I only kept Raymarine since it came on my boat when I bought it. I really don't have a preference, but they look slick.. at least the newer ones do. I may look into Simrad and see what they have to offer.

I'm going to the boat today to test the batteries, unplug the Raymarine, plug the gateway and DSM 150 into the block, and test. Maybe it will work even without a weird power on sequence and the NMEA 2000 hook up is incorrect and causing that issue. Either way, I will definitely let you know. I'm putting money on a bad battery. I went and picked up a battery tester last night, so I don't have to take all the batteries out which are a pain to get to on my 99 310DA.
 
Regarding having the second terminator hanging off of a length of cable instead of directly on port 5, it reminds me of older 10Base2 or token ring networks that used coax cable. There was a certain minimum physical distance required between terminators. If they were on too short a segment, it would cause a lot of problems. I suspect that the NMEA 2000 cabling suffers from a similar requirement.
 
You can always just unplug the Raymarine e120 from your multi plug - and leave the DSM150 and MercGateway in there.

But as I said before :) as with any debugging - eliminate the easy stuff first. Clean your transducer face, check your batteries and maybe remove the e120 from your SeaTalkNG plug. That would be a start. :) - when you debug many issues - first issue is to bring the list of potential issues down. The "faulty" DSM300 is ALSO very sensitive to voltage issues - so as I said. :) start with my little list first.

But sorry to hear Raymarine now wants money for the "update" I thought I read it would deadline at the end of march. But check it out anyway. But IF you consider upgrading to the new e series - get the e127 where the DSM300 is built in. That works very well. But then you also need a new radar :(

And my brain kind of just absorbs useless information :) which is why I know a lot of the Raymarine issues....

And if you want to buy some cables etc. - try and find a NMEA 2000 starter kit on eBay. Then you at least have a complete "independent" NMEA 2000 net - and then buy one of the Navico blocks. Then you are future proof - and have a few items in your "dock box" for future use. You can pick up starter kits for < $50 on eBay if you wait a bit.

And about NMEA OneNet - it is not meant as a replacement for NMEA 2000. It is an addition for items that need high speed data - like Sounders, Radar, cameras and Internet access. I think most of the current generation MFD's can be upgraded to OneNet as they all have Ethernet. Raymarine and Garmin has been a bit "hesitant" to follow Ethernet (IP) standards despite having RJ45's equivalents on their machines - but Navico (Simrad/Lowrance/B&G) are VERY open in the network part and can already now be setup as you want - and follows RFC's for IP traffic.

And I can for the life of me not understand why so many boat owners insists on Raymarine - when Simrad makes the VesselView 7 for Mercruiser (and the N2k gateway) - and the VesselView 7 + Simrad chartplotter are such a great match. :) IMHO Simrad beats Raymarine current generation by MILES in usability if you have Mercruiser engines. :grin:

I tested the batteries today, all in good order.. so who knows what the problem is. I really wish I knew. I also tried to hook up just the Maretron, but I don't have the proper cabling. I went ahead and ordered the extra cables based on your suggestion from my diagram I sent in an earlier post. I can't see to win with this. Hopefully maybe fixing the NMEA2000 network will resolve my issue. I can deal with the Raymarine randomly restarting each time the port engine starts. I can simply power on the electronics after the port engine starts.
 
I tested the batteries today, all in good order.. so who knows what the problem is. I really wish I knew. I also tried to hook up just the Maretron, but I don't have the proper cabling. I went ahead and ordered the extra cables based on your suggestion from my diagram I sent in an earlier post. I can't see to win with this. Hopefully maybe fixing the NMEA2000 network will resolve my issue. I can deal with the Raymarine randomly restarting each time the port engine starts. I can simply power on the electronics after the port engine starts.

Have you checked the power at your console as well? If the batteries are fine - the voltage on your battery tester - should be close to the voltage at your panel where the RM is mounted. If it is not - it can be corrosion on a connector on the way to your front panel.

But it can also just mean your e120 is getting sick - but they are "voltage" sensitive from the factory. But a $15 multimeter (AC/DC Volt/Ohm) is an on boat necessity.
 
After ordering the cables, I realize the setup you mentioned won't work. I can't put anything on port "5" except a terminator. I can't attach another raymarine cable. This is very frustrating, I probably can't return this cable now that I've opened it. Kaz, I PMED you, and I still have not received a reply.
 
Have you checked the power at your console as well? If the batteries are fine - the voltage on your battery tester - should be close to the voltage at your panel where the RM is mounted. If it is not - it can be corrosion on a connector on the way to your front panel.

But it can also just mean your e120 is getting sick - but they are "voltage" sensitive from the factory. But a $15 multimeter (AC/DC Volt/Ohm) is an on boat necessity.

Turns out, I have to order a backbone cable off the Raymarine set of 5 ports. Then, I have to get a T connector (Still raymarine), then use the terminator for that. THEN, get a female NMEA2000 connector cable that goes from the raymarine t connector to the DSM 150. I ordered 1 cable last week with a t connector, and NMEA2000 terminator that I have to return.
 
Have you checked the power at your console as well? If the batteries are fine - the voltage on your battery tester - should be close to the voltage at your panel where the RM is mounted. If it is not - it can be corrosion on a connector on the way to your front panel.

But it can also just mean your e120 is getting sick - but they are "voltage" sensitive from the factory. But a $15 multimeter (AC/DC Volt/Ohm) is an on boat necessity.

After ordering the correct parts I needed, I hooked up everything based on Raymarine's suggestions. Everything is working.. however, I am still having the issue. The only way for it to not reset is to do an emergency start. Even after doing that, it dims a lot, and the screen goes black for a instance then comes right back. Either way, my depth goes away when the port engine is started and running. The starboard continues to show depth even after being started. Doesn't reset the MFD or dim it.
 
You really need a way to prevent the voltage sag that comes when you start the engine. I don't have the electronics experience to tell you exactly what to do, but this is EXACTLY what car audio people use capacitors for - prevent the big bass-hits (which draw a ton of current) from dropping the system voltage.

You might want to look into how they rig their caps, because that would be a possible solution for you.
 
You really need a way to prevent the voltage sag that comes when you start the engine. I don't have the electronics experience to tell you exactly what to do, but this is EXACTLY what car audio people use capacitors for - prevent the big bass-hits (which draw a ton of current) from dropping the system voltage.

You might want to look into how they rig their caps, because that would be a possible solution for you.

...or I could just sink my boat, and get a new hobby.
 
Before you sink her, I need you to park her back at ABH for a week and look the other way, OK? <rubs hands>
 
You're gonna look real stupid with an avatar of you and 5 white spaces where girls used to be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:grin:

Saw you were out this weekend. How is she running?

Well, no. The boat was out, but I wasn't. It's parked at MC & Jerry's down the Appomattox. She's finishing up some canvas work and replacing my sun shades. It's been there about 3 weeks now, and she's almost done. Hoping to have her back before next weekend. When you moving next to me?
 
Guys
I've been 1/2 following this thread, skimming. And I'm too lazy to read the whole thing from the beginning. But regarding the reset when you crank the engines (forgive me if this was covered already), that used to happen with my previous boat and my Garmin plotter. Until I replaced the stbd batteries. They were on their last leg apparently.
 
Guys
I've been 1/2 following this thread, skimming. And I'm too lazy to read the whole thing from the beginning. But regarding the reset when you crank the engines (forgive me if this was covered already), that used to happen with my previous boat and my Garmin plotter. Until I replaced the stbd batteries. They were on their last leg apparently.

Tested all 3 batteries, all check out in the green. Granted, I used a $40 tester from auto zone, but still. Starting starboard works with no voltage spike to the MFD.
 
You mean there's no significant voltage drop when cranking? Just be sure to test the voltage while you are cranking the engine or beeping the horn - and watch for a drop at that moment. My batteries were on their 4th season when this started happening, which is about all I could expect from lead-acids. And I would take them home during the winter and store them indoors. I would get the reset even when the engines were warm and would start with a quick touch of the ignition.
 
You mean there's no significant voltage drop when cranking? Just be sure to test the voltage while you are cranking the engine or beeping the horn - and watch for a drop at that moment. My batteries were on their 4th season when this started happening, which is about all I could expect from lead-acids. And I would take them home during the winter and store them indoors. I would get the reset even when the engines were warm and would start with a quick touch of the ignition.

No, I didn't test them when cranking. The manual specified not to do so, so I didn't. I assume you mean check the voltage from the helm/dash gauges? I guess I'll be upgrading my batteries.
 
The batteries need to be properly load tested and a $40.00 tester ain't gonna cut it.

It's going to be the biggest pain in the ass to get my batteries out and test and/or replace. Their to the right of the starboard engine tucked under an unremovable piece of flooring. I can only reach them by removing the entire seat and reaching far into the corner. Has anyone found an easier way to get to the '99 310DA's battery location? I would assume that many others have had this issue. Also, I only have 3. Could have sworn that 4 came with most Sea Ray's.. however I could be wrong.
 
You can set up a voltmeter on the terminals and get a reading. Then, holding the voltmeter in place, have someone crank the engine and compare to the "unloaded" reading. You should have a voltmeter on your breaker panel too. You can look at that when they're cranking. Do you know how old the batts are? They might still have the month/year stickers in place. ie: E8 would mean May of 2008 (5th month of 2008).

This was the panel on my previous boat. The two lowest meters are DC VOLTS (to the left) and DC AMPS (to the right). The switch just to the left of the VOLT meter lets you select port or starboard. Yours probably looks different (this boat was a 1989) but pretty much all SRs have this setup in the panel.

I only had 3 on my 340DB. If you do find the stbd bank to be week, replace both (they are likely connected in parallel) at the same time, even if one is ok and the other is bad. Sounds like your batts are in a difficult place to access. Typical of boats!

100_2557.jpg
 
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