Data Logging in Boats

[jmb23802]

I am looking at boats with fuel injected VP power plants from the middle 2000's model years. Thinking about what I might want to ask specifically for a marine mechanic to check when I find one I am interested in and I am wondering what data might be available from the boat systems.

What data points are available, if any, in the onboard systems for mid-2000's VP engines? For example, I have heard that engine hours can be pulled from the onboard computer. Just curious what other data might be available that would be helpful such as stored trouble codes and the like.

Also wondering since engine hours might be available if data such as lifetime max temp or lifetime max RPM and similar such info might be available, assuming the right tools to get to the data. This could be a huge benefit in evaluating a purchase decision to see if the engine ever overheated or had an over-rev scenario occur.

 

[garbageguy]

That's newer than what I have experience with, so I cannot answer your question about what data you can get. But to possibly help you get some answers from others - what year(s) are you referring to? Not sure what mid-2000's means

 

[Scott Danforth]

hours, hours at X rpm, max rpm, number of crankshaft rotations, etc. in addition to all the codes.

 

[jmb23802]

what year(s) are you referring to? Not sure what mid-2000's means

garbageguy - I am not referring to a specific year, per se, but a range of years probably somewhere between 2003 and 2009 as I am looking at boats of about that age.



Scott Danforth - You have raised more questions than you answered! haha

Are you stating that those data points you listed are/could be available? The hours @ X rpm is an interesting statistic - would hours be tracked for a range of RPMs or every RPM?

The # of crankshaft rotations divided by 2 and then divided into the number of hours could give me the average RPM over the life of the engine. Wouldn't be exact science but might give me a rough idea whether the engine spent a lot of time at idle vs. a lot of time at WOT - don't have a benchmark but would expect an average somewhere in the 2500-2800 RPM range considering a mix of idling and mostly cruising at 3000-3500 RPM.

Are engine hours tracked based upon engine run time or ignition switch "on" time. I know external hour meters are ignition switch time but not sure how it works with onboard computers.

Will the computer keep a history of all the codes thrown or only the most recent codes (assuming someone didn't "wipe" the memory)?

Is the max RPM data the programmed max RPM the computer will allow or is it the actual max RPM the motor experienced? Obviously "governed" RPM is not as valuable as actual max RPM (should be the same, in theory, however).

Can I pull data myself with a standard OBDii reader or is more specialized equipment required to get to the data?

 

[Scott Danforth]

generally you get something along the lines of:
0-1000 rpm, 35.2 hours
1001-2000rpm 256.4 hours
2001-3000rpm 76.8 hours
3001-4000 rpm 95.2 hours
4001-5000 rpm, 5.6 hours

total ecm time 946 hours

codes since last...

blah blah blah

no, not a standard OBDii reader that is automotive. marine is similar, however unlike the automotive world which is standardized, each marine manufacture has their own coding. also, unlike the automotive world where you can get a code reader cable and software for $15 the diagnostic equipment is about 50 times as expensive (about $600 for Rhinda)

http://www.rinda.com/

 

[89retta]

Its a great thing. When I bought my boat I had it inspected first. They pulled the data from the computer. And I was surprised. The boat had 276 hours on the meter but there was only 170 on the motor and half of those was below 3000 rpms. The owner always had the key on when listening to the radio and the boat wasn't driven hard. Made my decision on buying it easier.

 

[bruceb58]

I have a Rinda that I use for my Mercury outboard. When I pulled it last year the scanner told me I had an over cooling fault which explained the water in the crankcase and led me to finding my stuck open thermostat.

It also let's me track my engine hours by RPM as well.

 

[jmb23802]

Appreciate the responses. Thanks for elaborating, Scott. 89retta and bruce58 that is exactly the experience I am hoping to duplicate when I find "the one". Knowing what data is available and the tools to get to it will also help me weed through the mechanics a bit. If anyone has mined other data that has been helpful please keep the responses coming!