How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

[Rotorfixer]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

From: ROBERT RUETZ (rcr7171@embarqmail.com)
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Sent: April 10, 2009 4:07:01 PM
To: agentorange30@hotmail.com


Hello,

Ive been following your smartcraft discussions online and wondered if you might be able to answer a few questions. Im really surprised that alot of boat shops that sell alot of mercury stuff are not that knowledgable on smartcraft stuff. I have a 2006 optimax 150. I only want the monitor installed, so from reading what you had to say, i dont need any junction boxes just cables ??? Dealers are telling me i need junctions boxes, wiring kits...... the display is 249, they want another 250 for cables, and a box, and 300 to install it......... Thanks in advance for any info you could share. Bob


Hello Bob,

I have moved your email here so other people can learn from this info. I ask people to post their questions here instead of to my email, I get immediate notification of a post in this thread, so this is the fastest way to get me to answer!

Sounds pretty typical of the way dealers stay current.... sounds all wrong, worst of all I imagine you are talking USD?? Your '06 Optimax will direct connect to the engine via ONE cable. I have just learned somthing new as well, you can buy a different cable now that allows you to connect both your horn (who cares) and system link gauges (this is great! allows you to add as many system link gauges as you wish down the road!) without the need for a junction box! Here are some p/n's for the install:

SC1000 SYSTEM MONITORS: (easy to find online/ ebay @ $120 USD)
a) Sqaure (black/ grey) 879896K10
b) Round (white) 892219A10
c) Round (black) 892219A09

Cables:
a) 879982T20 (the "20" is length, you can have 25 or 30ft as well)
this cable has the connections for the horn and system link (@ $65 USD online)
b) 879982T20 (again 20 is the length, there are others available) this cable has two CAN bus trunk resistors in it, it has NO other connections. I have been scratching my head because it now appears that this cable is not what they recommend for 2006 and newer opti's they have now come out with a 14 pin (DTS style) harness that has a 10 pin connector for the gauge connection...... I have no idea why... but it does say for 2006 and newer, see item c) (@ $ 65USD)
c) 8965337 this is the "new style series" non DTS 14 pin cable. You will have to call mercury marine for more detailed info. I may email them later to try to figure it out. Sorry I do not have more info on this one, I recommend getting the cable listed in a)

EMAILED MERCURY MARINE APRIL11, 2009 REGARDING THESE CABLES I WILL LET YOU KNOW WHAT I FIND OUT

You may also want to get the fuel/ oil/ paddle wheel harness as well, connects to another cable in your engine so a junction box is not necessary. It will allow you to connect your fuel tank, oil tank, and paddle wheel sensor if you decide to have any of those options.

I hope this helps, I would tell you to install it yourself, save a bunch of money! Either from $800 USD installed to $190 USD installed (+ shipping) or from $800 CAD to $230 CAD installed (+ shipping). If you are in the US shipping should be @ $20-30, if you are in Canada it would be around $30-40 from Silvio (see below!). And you can rely on us to help you with the install! Seriously though, 1) Route cable 2) cut hole in dash 3) plug cable in 4) turn power on!

For quotes and help with parts email Silvio Rodriguez (tommyhabana@yahoo.com) I found his store (and ebay store) last year, He will help you get super cheap prices on anything MERC or anything marine (He just got me a new Humminbird Side imaging sonar system right from humminbird for the best price I could find!!) Just email him the p/n's you are looking for and he will look after you! Please tell him that Peter (From Canada (Eh!)) sent you.

Peter.

 

[rcr7171]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

Thanks Peter for the info. I did some cking on ebay, and found the system display and the tach can be bought for 150. I was qouted like 380 for the tach, thats why i was leaning towards the display. Now i just have to decide which one to get. I really just want to be able to monitor the vital engine stuff. If i do the display, will that affect my current speedo and tach ?? If i do the tach way, is that just simply plug and go....... I dont want to have to be doing a bunch of major wiring stuff, ie cutting wires. Electrical is not my bag. I was a crew chief on the U2, so i am use to just calling a electrician out for wiring stuff...........

 

[Rotorfixer]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

Thanks Peter for the info. I did some cking on ebay, and found the system display and the tach can be bought for 150. I was qouted like 380 for the tach, thats why i was leaning towards the display. Now i just have to decide which one to get. I really just want to be able to monitor the vital engine stuff. If i do the display, will that affect my current speedo and tach ?? If i do the tach way, is that just simply plug and go....... I dont want to have to be doing a bunch of major wiring stuff, ie cutting wires. Electrical is not my bag. I was a crew chief on the U2, so i am use to just calling a electrician out for wiring stuff...........

Hello again,

I would have to tell you to go the farthest your budget would comfortably allow, you will just regret it if you don't. I started just like you, looking for the system monitor, then I saw the tach and speedo and went with them and I love them, much more info than the system monitor. I just recently won a system view (SC5000) on ebay for $247 USD. If you are curious about getting the tach I would say go for it, it would then allow you to add the speedo or anything else afterwards. the wiring is very simple, it is all plug and play, all of the smartcraft systems have absolutely nothing to do with the existing wiring for your gauges (until you tie the fuel level sending unit to it if you wish, just one wire). Let me know if I can answer any other questions.

Crew chief on the U2, that's pretty cool, I am a Canadian aircraft engineer, specializing in turbine powered rotary wing (helicopters).

 

[rcr7171]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

Peter,
Thanks for all the info. I think im gonna get his dipslay here--- http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Merc...8475761QQptZBoatQ5fPartsQ5fAccessoriesQ5fGear

If you look at that auction , it comes with a pigtail, the pigtail looks like it has a 3 plugs and a few seperate wires wires..... If you look at post number #9 above bottom picture, i have 2 plugs like he is pointing to. My question is where is all this stuff gonna plug in at ?? And what about those loose wires ??

Thanks Bob

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

You may want to consider getting the SC1000 Tach. Don't know what room you have or what size gauge you want to use, but it's an option and the price is the same as the monitor. I have the Tach. and prefer it over the monitor. You would need to get the 2 resistor harness too.

http://www.greatlakesskipper.com/productdetail.cfm?CatID=7&SubCatID=759&ProductID=15063

By the way Peter, thanks for an excellent thread on Smartcraft setups. Info is so scarce out there and it's good to have a reference..

 

[Rotorfixer]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

Even if you are going with just the tach I would still go with a junction box up front, so you can expand later (one resistor harness and junction box) I am sure you would want to get the speedo later. I will look at your link tonight and answer your other questions!

Peter.

 

[Rotorfixer]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

Peter,
Thanks for all the info. I think im gonna get his dipslay here--- http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Merc...8475761QQptZBoatQ5fPartsQ5fAccessoriesQ5fGear

If you look at that auction , it comes with a pigtail, the pigtail looks like it has a 3 plugs and a few seperate wires wires..... If you look at post number #9 above bottom picture, i have 2 plugs like he is pointing to. My question is where is all this stuff gonna plug in at ?? And what about those loose wires ??

Thanks Bob

Hi Bob,

I looked at that auction, it appears as though the harness is only a few feet long, so it must be designed to mate with a junction box, then have another cable go from there to the engine. Don't panic about the wires and plugs, if you look at that bottom picture of post #9, the connector on the left is the smartcraft CAN BUS connector, the one on the right is only for the fuel oil and paddle wheel harness. You could take that gauge in the auction and plug one end of the harness into the engine (after removing that yellow plug you see in post #9) and then plug the other end into the gauge and start the engine and POOF it would turn on! The only problem is how short that harness is, so you could either buy another cable like the one in the picture but @20 feet long or so, or buy a cable and junction box to make it work, or it may be possible to buy an extension harness, but I would lean towards a junction box for future upgrades.

The extra wires you see are for the horn connection (which you have wired in already analog, so you won't use them) and the little two pin plug is for daisy-chain "link gauges" you can add little 2" gauges, as many as you want!! (up to the theoretical limit of 21 or 24 or something daisy chained!)

This is all assuming that short cable doesn't work for your application, but I don't think you ride on top of the motor right?!?!!?

EDIT I just noticed that auction is Tommy Habana, that is who I was telling you about (Silvio Rodregez). purchase with confidence!!! and you can just ask him to quote you the p/n's I give you for the extra harnesses or whatever you will need (when you tell me what direction you want to go!) He will get you anything MERC SUPER CHEAP! He is an authorized dealer, so the shipping cost will be the same (he will wait to get the other parts and ship it with that monitor) and when it shows up, it will be everything you need! Please Tell him I say hello!

Peter

 

[Rotorfixer]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

Here is an email I received when I asked about the 2006 and later opti engine harnesses. I makes a lot of sense, however this would have been up to the boat manufacturer to install, my boat was factory rigged with a 115 four stroke, and I changed it to a 150 opti, so although my boat and engine is an '08, I do not have this new style harness. This harness replaces the one that has a large round plug that attaches to the engine (I thought it was only an analog connection, but it is where your analog gauges are connected to already!!. Check to make sure you don't have this new harness already !!!!!!! look for the connectors they refer to in the pictures up near the helm!!

Mr. Betz,

2006 and later engines use a 14 pin harness that connects to the remote control and other various components. There is a Smartcraft connector included in the harness so there is no need for a seperate CAN data harness to run back to the engine. Reference the following picture below:

The connections to Smartcraft would be made as follows:

We are working on adding more Smartcraft tools and information to the website. We hope this information will help you, and should you have more questions, please feel free to contact us at (920) 929-5040. Our business hours are Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Central Time.

Sincerely,

Mercury Outboard Customer Assistance

I hope this helps you guys!
Peter.

 

[rcr7171]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

I was gonna do the tach, but i really dont have a place to put it unless i take out the old tach, and i dont want to have to take out all those old wires. I have a spot where i can put the square face display and then i can keep everything else as it was.

 

[rcr7171]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

Peter,
Sorry to be a PITA,but whats your thoughts on this...... i was talking to Mercury today about smartcraft cables
I asked the guy, if i buy the cable that has 2 resistors, i plug in at the motor and at the gauge, what readings will i get on my diplay monitor ( water temp,pressure.......???) If i buy a cable that plugs into both plugs back there, the yellow tipped one, and the fuel oil,paddle wheel harness plug and then into the gauge, WITHOUT any extra wires ran, what readings will i get ?????????? Im more confused now, than before i called.
Thanks Bob

 

[Rotorfixer]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

Peter,
Sorry to be a PITA,but whats your thoughts on this...... i was talking to Mercury today about smartcraft cables
I asked the guy, if i buy the cable that has 2 resistors, i plug in at the motor and at the gauge, what readings will i get on my diplay monitor ( water temp,pressure.......???) If i buy a cable that plugs into both plugs back there, the yellow tipped one, and the fuel oil,paddle wheel harness plug and then into the gauge, WITHOUT any extra wires ran, what readings will i get ?????????? Im more confused now, than before i called.
Thanks Bob

Hi Bob,

Don't sweat it! That is the purpose of these forums, keep asking until you are confident! Here is a list of what sensors will show on a 135- 225 Optimax marine plant. View it here!

http://northamerica.mercurymarine.com/otherproducts/smartcraft/smartcraftataglance/engines/outboards.php

Engine Trim
Boat Speed (pitot pressure)
Water Pressure (two strokes)
Engine Alarm Values
(sensor readings)
Water in Fuel
Engine Temperature
Engine Diagnostics
Battery Voltage
Troll Control?
Engine Alarm Source (switch)
Fuel Flow/Level/Range
Engine Hour Meter
Engine Guardian?
RPM

Now to see which of those will show up on a system monitor, click here (Also a list of all alarm values):

http://northamerica.mercurymarine.com/_media/pdfs/otherproducts/smartcraft_manuals/System_Monitor_Manual.pdf

you can compare the info to what would show up on the tach :

http://northamerica.mercurymarine.com/_media/pdfs/otherproducts/smartcraft_manuals/System_Tach_and%20Speed_Manual.pdf

Now... to try to answer your questions to Merc....

the two cables you are referring to are two different cables. that plug into completely different connectors and have nothing to do with eachother. The two ressistor harness is REQUIRED to have the gauge operate. The fuel oil and paddlewheel harness is optional to have extra information.

One of them (the two ressistor one, plugs into the motor and into the gauge) is what supplies all of the info to the gauge.

The other one (Fuel, oil and paddle wheel harness) is the one that plugs into a SEPARATE connector on the engine. It connects your fuel tank, oil tank (if you have a sender on it!) and paddle wheel sensor (if you have one!). The info from this cable goes into the engine computer, then out the other cable!

You will need to have the fuel oil and paddlewheel harness to see fuel related information, like fuel level, range etc.

Look closley at the diferences between the system monitor and system tach (and speedo) manuals to see what the two systems offer in terms of data. The Tach and speedo can also connect to GPS to give you extra fuel managemnt tools. Once you decide which exact route to go I can help you with part numbers!

Hope this helps!
Peter.

 

[G.Mech]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

Peter,

I can't begin to tell you how much help this forum has been. I wanted to install Smartcraft Guages on my 115 Opti. The Merc dealers (at least the two I talked to) don't seem to have a grasp on how these systems work much less what parts you need. It took two weeks for my dealer to give me his best "Guestimate" as to what I needed & how much it would cost & in hindsight, he was missing a bunch of stuff & still figured over $2000 for the speedo & tack installed. I went on line and purchased the Smartcraft guage kit from Tommy Habana (for less than half what the dealer quoted me) but soon found I was lost when it came to the remaining parts needed. That's when I found the forum. Between your info and the I-Shop on-line catalogue, I now have everything sorted out. The I-Shop site has complete parts breakdowns & prices which are handy for finding all your parts. Even with shipping and duty to Canada, the parts were far less than at my dealer.

This installation is a little scary at first but it really is simple once you get the info & parts figured out. Don't be scared if you're thinking of it; these things are awesome!

Thanks for your great input,
Greg.

 

[Rotorfixer]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

Thank you for the comments,

I don't usualy get that, the person asking questions just goes away and I assume that they had got the info they required.

Peter.

 

[jawzilla]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

Yes Peter Thanks much!!! I ran into a lot of mis-information from dealers both mercury and non-mercury about SmartCraft and not many have a handle on it. I went the System Monitor route via ebay that came with A blue cable. Now I know it had no terminating resistors on it and would never work. Luckily the seller took it back and refunded my money. Both the seller and I learned a little more about Smartcraft after emailing back and forth for a bit. We thought the system monitor gauge was defective when in fact it was the wrong harness for a single gauge install. Oh well. It turned out to be better for me anyway because I like the info that the speedo and tach give even better. I have a 2002 200HP EFI and after my prior engine gave up, I want to have as much info as possible about the engine.

Now that I'm slightly more knowledgable about SmartCraft, I want to go ahead and install my Speedo and tie it in to the GPS and get the fuel/paddle wheel harness for that information too. I have 84-879982-A30 Harness with the termating resistors on each end. I think I need to get the following parts to connect up my speedo and eventually some system link gauges maybe.

84-879981T20 Single Terminater Harness to replace the cable I have above
878492-4 4 port junction box
84-879979T-1 Tach Harness
84-879978T-1 Speedo Harness
859743T03 Oil, fuel and paddle wheel harness
859223B1 Paddle wheel sensor (Do I really need this with GPS?)

I have a terminating resistory already to plug into empty port on the j-box that will be installed near the gauges.

Can you kind of confirm this is what I require?

Also the pamphlet that came in the parts bag for my 30 foot cable with 2 termintaing resistors was very valuable and has pictures and part #'s for practically all the different scenerios. It would would have helped a lot had I had this doc before hand and wondering why I caould not find it anywhere in my searchs. Thinking about scanning it and posting it.

Thanks Again for the information!

Jeff

 

[Rotorfixer]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

Hi Jeff,

Glad you have found this info helpful. First of all, do you have the tach and speedo already? I am suprised that you need to order the tach and speedo harness seperatly. Normaly you get a kit that has the gauges, and harnesses, and junction box. All you need to buy next is the cable to the engine.

The paddlewheel sensor is the only accurate low speed sensor, and it is the only way to unlock the troll control function based on speed, not RPM. Your engine might have the digital pitot sensor in the lower unit, which also drives the speedo gauge until you hit the pitot (or paddle) to GPS threshold (you set where they switch over). The paddle wheel sensor is not manditory. The harness is if you want to connect the fuel gauge to the system.

You may need to drop the "84-" from your p/n's when ordering your parts

The p/n for the 4 way j-box with no caps might be "878492T14"
The p/n for the paddlewheel sensor is "859223" (B1 means you will buy 12)

Peter

 

[jawzilla]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

Peter,

A local mechanic had old matching speedo/tach set that was never installed, no cables came with it. He sold the Tach to me for $50 and I found the 2 resistor cable (10 feet long really) at another local mercury parts dealer ($100 yikes). After installing it I liked it (and it worked finally), I went back and bought the speedo from the mechanic (another $50) and thats where I am now, wanting to expand and add the speedo that I have and above parts that I need to make it complete. I either have to remove that 2 resistor cable I have installed from engine direct to tach and replace with a 1 resistor cable, or remove the terminating resistor on the console end of the current cable (less desirable).

I'm not sure what the pitot sensor looks like, I looked for something on the lower unit and could not find anything. My tach gives a "PITOT SENSOR FAULT" as well as "TPS FAULT" (this one looks like a mercury diag tool is needed to decipher). There something around the mid-unit that looks like a sensor of some sort, could be the trim sensor. As far as the Troll Control goes, have not been able to that to work via RPM. The engine may need to be equiped with something to make that work. Still researching.

Thanks for the info on the part #'s, I'll be searching soon for the parts to be able to install the speedo and other stuff.

Jeff

 

[Rotorfixer]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

Yes I would get the one ressistor cable and the other parts you mentioned. The pitot sensor is IN the lower unit, you just see two (?) little ports for the water to go in. I think you may have the old style if it is saying pitot fault. TPS FAULT is a failure of the throttle position sensor, I would look into that!

Peter.

 

[jawzilla]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

Peter,

I scanned in the wiring doc that came with my 2 resistor cable and converted to jpg and comressed it down to fit here. Here are the 1st 5 pages. My apologies in advance for poor quality. I'll send another post with the last 5 pages.

Hopefully will help others. Looks like it was printed in 2000 and part numbers should be fairly accurate. I wish it was out there when started this. Would have made a little more sense.

This covers many scenerios of smartcraft configurations.

Hopefully will help someone out there.

Thanks Jeff

 

[jawzilla]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

And the last 5 pages. Again sorry for poor quality.

Jeff

 

[rkf67]

Re: How to install a SMARTCRAFT system

Peter -

I picked up a boat that already had the Smartcraft system (mostly) installed on it. The paddle sensor is missing, I can see the mounting bracket, but can't find any wiring etc...

I understand that I need the paddle sensor working to get the troll functions working. In a previous post I see that the paddle sensor shares the same harness as the fuel/ oil (which are both working fine). Does this sensor have something like a quick connect that ties it into the harness- or should I be looking for cut wires? Can any sensor be used (I've seen these for depth finders)?