Official (1998-2002) 310 Sundancer Thread

[Grec]

Bobeast, were those gauges as easy to program as the manufacturer claims?

 

[bobeast]

Bobeast, were those gauges as easy to program as the manufacturer claims?

If you have tapped your credit card at a checkout line, you can do this. Just tap the phone against the gage you want to program, and it will read the current state. Then dial in what you want the gage to display, along with alarm thresholds, and tap the gage again to update its programming.

The manf does state that this will work without the gage powered up, but I found I needed to power it up in order to get a consistent read of its current state.

 

[Grec]

If you have tapped your credit card at a checkout line, you can do this. Just tap the phone against the gage you want to program, and it will read the current state. Then dial in what you want the gage to display, along with alarm thresholds, and tap the gage again to update its programming.
.

That's amazing

 

[Civility]

I looked, (perhaps not long and hard enough) I need help navigating this site. I'm sure the info is here somewhere, I just cant seem to locate it. Maybe it's not and then if that's the case, I need Help with the cabin door on my 2000 310. Boat outfitters seem to have some parts but without tearing everything apart first,. (I'm scared) Anyone have a parts list that works from this company? I appreciate all help

 

[Grec]

A few weeks back, I removed all the cockpit cushions as well at the mate's seat (I assume that's what you'd call the double seat next to the helm seat) and brought them to a local canvas/upholstery guy to have them re-upholstered. I've used this gentleman for many years for this type of work and he has always done an exemplary job. When I dropped off the cushions he said he expected to have everything done this week.

But today, instead of calling to tell me they were ready, he called to tell me that he can't figure out how to take the mate's seat apart so he can re-upholster it. This gentleman is one of the best known marine upholsterers in the state and has been doing this type of work for almost 50 years, so I assume that he's seen just about every boat seat configuration there is. He told me that he is totally baffled by this seat and suggested that I stop by so I can see the issue for myself.

I'm hoping to get there on Thursday, but if he can't figure it out, I doubt that I'm going to have some great revelation. in the meantime, I thought it might be worth posting here to see if this is a common problem with this seat and if there are any tricks to disassembling it.

Has anyone encountered a similar problem with this seat?

 

[Websight]

The seat is a one-piece shell (blow mold), made of some kind of plastic. The upholstery is of two pieces, seat and back. There are a million staples holding it together. Many of the staples are visible, but some are hidden between the back and the seat cushion. It helps to pull out all the form to see them. Also, to expose the staples on the bottom, there is a carboard type material that needs removal. Sorry, I don't have pictures.

 

[Grec]

Thanks for those details. I'm going to try to get there before he closes today.

Update:

I'm not sure what the issue was, because the owner wasn't there when I arrived today, but apparently he figured it out because the seat was done.

Thanks for the input.

 

[unsalted]

I’m installing fox-marine engine gateways and want to power them via an ignition switched source. I’m planning to power the ER section of N2K, which will only have the pair of engine gateways, with it. I’m using a power isolator to separate the two sections of N2K drops. Any suggestions on the best place to source this power in the ER?

Thanks

 

[bobeast]

Isn't that where your batteries are? Why not source it from...well....the source?

I have extended my backbone into the bilge, over the top of the starboard tank, and terminated it near the batteries.

Edit: sorry just re-read your question. You're looking to power it on only when the engine is powered. There is a fuel solenoid on top of each tank which is only energized when its respective ignition switch is on.

Another spot to look is the 50Amp breaker on top of each engine (look for the red button).

The downside of this arrangement is that the bilge leg will only be energized when whichever engine you've wired it to is energized. You could drive a relay though some diodes to get power when EITHER engine is powered, but that's a bit more involved.

 

[Bob Kish]

I’m installing fox-marine engine gateways and want to power them via an ignition switched source. I’m planning to power the ER section of N2K, which will only have the pair of engine gateways, with it. I’m using a power isolator to separate the two sections of N2K drops. Any suggestions on the best place to source this power in the ER?

Thanks

Just looked at Fox Marine's website and I'm very impressed. Was thinking about getting Flow Scan fuel flow transducers and I'm wondering how accurate the ECM fuel consumption data compares. For the price of two Flow Scan transducers I could have full engine data in addition to fuel consumption. Please let us know how well they work and if you find them to be accurate in terms of fuel consumption. I reached out to Fox Marine today to see if they have any success stories with Simrad chart plotters (website only shows Raymarine and Garmin).

 

[bobeast]

Just looked at Fox Marine's website and I'm very impressed. Was thinking about getting Flow Scan fuel flow transducers and I'm wondering how accurate the ECM fuel consumption data compares. For the price of two Flow Scan transducers I could have full engine data in addition to fuel consumption. Please let us know how well they work and if you find them to be accurate in terms of fuel consumption. I reached out to Fox Marine today to see if they have any success stories with Simrad chart plotters (website only shows Raymarine and Garmin).

I'm setup with Garmin, but those are standard NMEA sentences, so I'd imagine your Simrad should read it fine. I tried the Garmin fuel sensors for a while, but had an issue with them getting clogged and affecting my engines. Ultimately I put in a SmartCraft gateway from YachtDevices, and just read the fuel flow output by the ECM. Seems as accurate (if not more so) as the old external sensors. Of course how would I know?? They could both be lying.

 

[unsalted]

Isn't that where your batteries are? Why not source it from...well....the source?

I have extended my backbone into the bilge, over the top of the starboard tank, and terminated it near the batteries.

That’s definitely an obvious choice and completely doable. The install guide suggested using an ignition source to avoid communications issues. Apparently if the gateway powers up too much before the ECU then it or the ECU misses a signal.

 

[Motorvader]

I'm setup with Garmin, but those are standard NMEA sentences, so I'd imagine your Simrad should read it fine. I tried the Garmin fuel sensors for a while, but had an issue with them getting clogged and affecting my engines. Ultimately I put in a SmartCraft gateway from YachtDevices, and just read the fuel flow output by the ECM. Seems as accurate (if not more so) as the old external sensors. Of course how would I know?? They could both be lying.

Thanks bobeast. I mistaken logged in with my first Club Sea Ray account. Didn't realize when I signed up my name would become the user name. Changed it to Motorvader for privacy concerns - so much for that! (technical sales of micro electric motors and I'm a big Stars Wars fan). Did you need the VesselView display unit to view the data from the Smartcraft gateway or can you display it on your Garmin as well?

 

[bobeast]

Thanks bobeast. I mistaken logged in with my first Club Sea Ray account. Didn't realize when I signed up my name would become the user name. Changed it to Motorvader for privacy concerns - so much for that! (technical sales of micro electric motors and I'm a big Stars Wars fan). Did you need the VesselView display unit to view the data from the Smartcraft gateway or can you display it on your Garmin as well?

Everything shows up on my Garmin. My boat came "SmartCraft ready", meaning there was no VesselView, SmartCraft gages, or JBox, so I had to add the wiring, terminators and JBox so I could use the gateway,. The gateway just converts the SC data to NMEA 2000 which should be readable by any modern chart plotter with NMEA 2000.

 

[bobeast]

That’s definitely an obvious choice and completely doable. The install guide suggested using an ignition source to avoid communications issues. Apparently if the gateway powers up too much before the ECU then it or the ECU misses a signal.

I had misread your question, and have edited my original response.

 

[Motorvader]

Everything shows up on my Garmin. My boat came "SmartCraft ready", meaning there was no VesselView, SmartCraft gages, or JBox, so I had to add the wiring, terminators and JBox so I could use the gateway,. The gateway just converts the SC data to NMEA 2000 which should be readable by any modern chart plotter with NMEA 2000.

Smartcraft is designed and manufactured by Mercury Marine so this seems like the way to go for any Mercury/Mercruiser powered boat. As an electrical engineer I respect the effort Fox Marine made to develop their solution to fill a need in the market but unless I'm missing something I can't see any advantage it has over Smartcraft - at least for Mercury and Mercruiser engines.
.

 

[Motorvader]

I’m installing fox-marine engine gateways and want to power them via an ignition switched source. I’m planning to power the ER section of N2K, which will only have the pair of engine gateways, with it. I’m using a power isolator to separate the two sections of N2K drops. Any suggestions on the best place to source this power in the ER?

Thanks

Were there specific reasons you chose Fox Marine's solution over Smartcraft? I'm considering which way I want to go as part of a complete electronics update on our boat.

 

[bobeast]

Smartcraft is designed and manufactured by Mercury Marine so this seems like the way to go for any Mercury/Mercruiser powered boat. As an electrical engineer I respect the effort Fox Marine made to develop their solution to fill a need in the market but unless I'm missing something I can't see any advantage it has over Smartcraft - at least for Mercury and Mercruiser engines.
.

I think the advantage is that most (all?) modern chart plotters do not read/display the SmartCraft protocol. So if you want your engine data to show up on Garmin, Simrad, et.al., you need a gateway. Fox marine is one such, and even MerCruiser makes one.

 

[unsalted]

I had misread your question, and have edited my original response.

Thanks bobeast. I ended up running a wire to the ignition switch on the dash as I had just finished running my NMEA 2k backbone and had the path down. Everything fired up perfectly and appears in working order. I purchased the extra oil pressure gauge but haven't installed yet. I may end up moving my ignition source to one you suggested just to minimize length but it's working, so who knows.

 

[bobeast]

Were there specific reasons you chose Fox Marine's solution over Smartcraft? I'm considering which way I want to go as part of a complete electronics update on our boat.

It's not one or the other. The gateway converts SmartCraft to NMEA 2000 so it can be interpreted by the MFD(s). You can still have SmartCraft gages and/or displays in addition to NMEA.