Switch stock Tach's to Smartcraft?

[Jimmy Buoy]

I have stock Tach's at present that have a digital display for engine hours only. I'm interested in having more information utilizing the engine's "smartcraft" utility.

Question - If I replace the existing Tach's with Smartcraft Tach's will the digital readouts display fuel consumption figures as well as remaining fuel?:huh:

I see one for sale with part #79-879899 and I assume that a wiring harness would also be needed, but it should just plug into one of the engine harnesses, right???

Also, I don't want to have to purchase additional hour meters - can I assume that the smartcraft Tachs also have a built in hour meter?

Anyone else do this mod?:smt100

 

[dpmulvey]

I don't think the tachs alone will do it. I think you need the vessel View screen or a Northstar GPS.

 

[Henry Boyd]

Jim,

I did the smartcraft conversion on our boat in 2007. Here is what I learned. Assuming your 2001 has the same gauges as my 2002.

1. Your present gauges are NOT Smartcraft,
2. You can not 'mix and match' SC and non SC.
3. You can do it as a DIY project.

Before getting into specific details, let me explain # 2. The present gauges are 12vdc. Smartcraft operates off the engine ECM and is 5 vdc. This includes non engine external sensors such as tank levels, trim (on I/O), speed, rudder angle etc. Mercury is worried that if you mix and match SC and non SC that there might be a cross circuit between 12 and 5 vdc systems via the non engine sensor circuits. That will fry the ECM (@ USD1500 each).

So you have to convert all gauges to SC. This isn't a big deal as they come in two flavors. System Gauges and Link Gauges. The System gauges read the data pumped out by the ECM(s) onto the data network and route it to the specific display. The link gauges are basically dumb meters that display the data the system gauge tells it to display. The link gauges are cheap (especially compared to the SR gauges).

There are three types of System unit, the tach and speedo that you mentioned, The System View box (out of production) and the Vessel View box. (There are also link tachs and speedos if you use a system/vessel view box)

Rigging is pretty straight forward, (and I'll give you the simplified description). SC is a data network system, so a single cable can be run from the ER to the helm. A cable from each of the engine is run to a junction box in the ER and a single trunk cable is run from there to a junction box at the helm (second helm is handled with a trunk cable from this junction box). A harness is run from the junction box to the main system unit. From the system unit, the link gauges are daisy chained. (note: there are alternative ways to do it, including completely independent cabling for each engine if you want redundancy)

You then have to disconnect the wire from your fuel tank sender(s) and wire it(them) to one of the SC engine harnesses.

If you have a GPS unit that supports NMEA output, you have some options with respect to getting speed data to speedo. A) you can take the NMEA output and have the speedo display the GPS' calculated SOG, or B) you can convert the existing sender to a SC compatible unit. On a sterndrive you need to add a pressure transducer to plug the pitot tube into, on an V drive/inboard you need to replace the paddle wheel. Going with GPS out put is in my mind the best because you can just disconnect the old stuff (except you do have to plug the pitot tube).

I've only explained the basics and there is much more to it. SO now to answer your questions:

1. Fuel consumption data is possible with GPS output and a proper installation. But a note on SC fuel consumption. SC does not actually measure the fuel consumed. It goes off an algorithem that calculates based on temp, rpm, and time. It is ok. I find it is off by about 5 to 10% of the actual. In other words if it tells me I have consumed 60 gallons, I may end up putting in 65 gallons. But I have found that it is consistent. Mine always shows lower consumption than actual, on your boat it might be the other way around.

2. Can't answer the part number issue, but yes it is plug and play with the cabeats listed above.

3. The hour data for your engine is stored on the engine ECM. Changing your tach will not erase it. BTW even if I am wrong about your gauge and your gauge does store the hours, the hours are still being stored in the ECM. The 8.1/496 was built from the ground up with SC, so the capability is there.

Hope this gets you started.
Henry

 

[boatmailster]

Just to add my 2 c.
Some engines are equipped with flow meters and those sensors will provide very accurate fuel consumption info : gal/hr and total - this info can be enabled in vessel view when provided from engine

 

[Pseudomind]

Just to add my 2 c.
Some engines are equipped with flow meters and those sensors will provide very accurate fuel consumption info : gal/hr and total - this info can be enabled in vessel view when provided from engine

Could you maybe elaborate a bit more, as I am interested

I have GPH meters [FONT=&quot]which currently are inaccurate, I have beeen told that recalibrating advisable, but how? I have not been able to find a procedure for doing so.

Thanks

[/FONT]

 

[Henry Boyd]

Just to add my 2 c.
Some engines are equipped with flow meters and those sensors will provide very accurate fuel consumption info : gal/hr and total - this info can be enabled in vessel view when provided from engine

I was just trying to explain the basics, but there are more accurate fuel consumption methods that can be added to a SC system, as well as a lot of other stuff; water and waste tank levels, steering angle, generator data, depth, navigation data etc. I guess that is the big advantage to Smartcraft, the easy flexibility to build on to it once the network is installed.

 

[osd9]

.....
I have GPH meters [FONT=&quot]which currently are inaccurate, I have beeen told that recalibrating advisable, .....[/FONT]

Which brand/type do you have....floscan?

Your motors are Smartcraft capable.

I added a SC systems view 500 (?) to my 2002 380DA. I only really wanted the GPH info, but as Henry explained, a lot of other info comes along for the ride. I didn't bother replacing my original non-SC dash mounted gauges. IMHO, it wasn't worth the effort or the expense....again, I only really wanted a low cost, easy install way to get GPH.

I posted my whole 380DA install and procedure back on SRO, and there was a caveat in the cabling specific to dual engine inboards....but I lost most all my 380 records in a house addition...(don't ask)., and I'm getting way to old to remember that level of detail.

Anyway, back to GPH.....when I installed the SV500 on my 380....(you can see it on the pic below)...I moved the systems monitor to the side of the helms area and installed the SV500 in its place...

The GPH was quite accurate, and in my experience, so was the Gallons used accurate. Data that came along for the ride, with no additional sensors, expense or installation, was engine hours, RPMs, sync, engine oil pressure, engine water temp, engine oil temp, water pressure in the impeller housing, alarm information, etc, etc.....

I also connected the NMEA out from my GPS to the SV500 NMEA. I was expecting to get instaneous MPG......bzzzzttt!! The biggest issues with instaneaous MPG is that the SV500 only rounded to the nearest tenth, and I could never get a good answer wether it rounded up or down....so the differential from .7 mpg to .8 mpg is huge when you are trying to maximize efficiency. I found it much more accurate to keep a calculator handy to do my own division on the fly.

 

[Jimmy Buoy]

Wow, sounds complicated which means EXPENSIVE!!

I installed flowscans on each engine on my last boat for about $230 and really found the GPH and remaining fuel in the tank features helpful. It was easy to determine the most effecient cruising speed/attitude and I never had that "pucker" feeling after cruising a bit farther than planned, hoping not to be "that idiot" that runs out of fuel within eyesight of home!

I knew that I should have ripped them out of the old boat before selling it!

The SmartCraft sounds like a neat idea, but for what I need Flowscans look like the wiser choice.

 

[CJ Martin]

Henry's post is right on - I added the Smartcraft SC1000 tachs to our boat a couple of years ago, and it is a fairly straight-forward installation. Just be sure your engines are Smartcraft-enabled, as 2001 was the first year and I'm not sure if all 2001 engines were built that way. A Merc dealer can tell you for sure, all they'll need is your engine serial numbers.

And as Dom has pointed out, you get much more than just fuel flow data. It's a pretty cools system.

-CJ

 

[Pseudomind]

I am replacing my RayNav 300 with with a Raymarine A50D ChartplotterFfishfinder which also allows for engine monitoring .(as well as upgrading to a GPS 125 unit) So I am interested in any links to just what procedures I would have to perform to set up and connect the A50D engine monitor feature.

Thanks

:thumbsup:

I have found this link from Mercury Marine which states this;

I would like to add SmartCraft instrumentation to my boat. Is my MerCruiser engine compatible? Can I install this myself?

All Mercruiser 4.3 MPI, 5.0 MPI, 350 Mag MPI, and MX6.2 MPI Sterndrive, Inboard, and Tow Sports models with serial number 0M300000 and higher and all MerCruiser 496 Mag and 8.1s Sterndrive and Inboard models are compatible with SmartCraft instrumentation systems. Mercury Marine recommends installation of SmartCraft systems be performed by your Mercury Marine dealer.

But not much else regarding interface cables, connection, etc.

 

[Henry Boyd]

You might want to research the A50D plan a little more. When I was investigating doing our Smartcraft upgrade I looked into the possibility of using Raymarine. In 2007 I was told that the Raymarine 'engine monitoring' uses their SeaTalk system and is not compatible with Smartcraft. I don't know if this has changed or not in the meantime.

If you are not committed to the A50D, you might look into the Nortstar/Navman line as that is Smartcraft compatible. In fact Dave S. has done a number of posts here on CSR covering his implementation of a GPS/Chart Smartcraft engine display using Nortstar/Navman hardware.

Henry