Connect Lowrance to Yamaha engine

[Capt. Lenny]

I have 3 Lowrance HDS Live units on my boat and all are networked and connected through a NMEA 2000 backbone. My Yamaha engine and the gauges on the dash are also connected to that backbone as well as a Point 1 antenna. When everything is on and the engine is running I can't get engine data on any of the Lowrance screens. I don't even get the little engine icon on the left sidebar of the screen. I have read in other forums that you don't need the expensive gateway. What am I doing wrong or what do I have to do to correct this?

 

[sam am I]

Are terminators installed at each of the extremity ends of the "backbone"? If so, you should measure it at around 60 ohms (NOT 120 or 40) across data pair signal lines(Blue & White)

 

[dingbat]

What motor are we talking about?
Need a gateway of some sort to convert CAN to NMEA 2000

Make sure your backbone is installed correctly.
Stacking connects is not allowed.
Power must be connected in a location where voltage drop does not exceed 3 VDC

Good tutorial on back bone design

https://static.garmin.com/pumac/Tech_Ref_for_Garmin_NMEA2k_EN.pdf

 

[QBhoy]

As far as I know, you will need the gateway to suit the brand of plotter you have. They aren’t too expensive really. I presume you have a modern enough engine that is compatible with such things ?

 

[dingbat]

As far as I know, you will need the gateway to suit the brand of plotter you have.

A gateway “translates” CAN (automotive) to the Marine Industry standard NMEA 2000 communications protocol.

NMEA 2000 was developed as a standard communication protocol to allow “plug and play” compatibility between all “certified” marine devices regardless of manufacturer.

Some electronics and marines manufacturers play games and utilize proprietary protocols (example: sea talk) between devices, but most have been forced to support NMEA 2000 in one form or another do to its gain in popularity.

 

[Capt. Lenny]

The engine is a 2015 Yamaha175 VMAX SHO and it's connected to 3 Lowrance HDS Live. Everything is connected to the Garmin/Lowrance backbone as shown in the diagram. The 2 Yamaha gauges are also on the backbone as well as a point 1 antenna and all are powered. I eliminated the original Yamaha NMEA 2000 wiring in favor of the Garmin/Lowrance to keep everything the same. There are terminators on the ends of the backbone and I think they might be 120 OHM but I'll have to get in there and check. I did not use a gateway because I read posts on The Hull Truth that it was not necessarily needed. I thought that might be the problem. Thanks for everyones response!

 

[Capt. Lenny]

Update, just went out to check the terminators and the easiest one to get to is unmarked as to what OHM it is.

 

[sam am I]

Sounds like the backbone is terminated correctly..........A 120 ohm on each side equates to 60 (120//120 = 60)

Perhaps something from https://continuouswave.com/ might help, see link below for more depth on the specific hookup type you're dealing with........

https://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/Yamaha/Yamaha_Engine_NMEA_2000_Connection.pdf

 

[QBhoy]

A gateway “translates” CAN (automotive) to the Marine Industry standard NMEA 2000 communications protocol.

NMEA 2000 was developed as a standard communication protocol to allow “plug and play” compatibility between all “certified” marine devices regardless of manufacturer.

Some electronics and marines manufacturers play games and utilize proprietary protocols (example: sea talk) between devices, but most have been forced to support NMEA 2000 in one form or another do to its gain in popularity.

Yeah. Agree. But it’s definitely a thing that merc and Yamaha require, to made to work on a generic plotter screen. Mercury one is ridiculously expensive. Yamaha usually much cheaper at about £100ish

 

[Capt. Lenny]

Well, This gives me some good information to work on when I get time. Thanks for all replies.

 

[dingbat]

Yeah. Agree. But it’s definitely a thing that merc and Yamaha require, to made to work on a generic plotter screen.

CAN protocol is used by all motor manufacturers (not just Merc and Yamaha) to communicate between the various sensors and the ECM.

Mercury one is ridiculously expensive. Yamaha usually much cheaper at about £100ish

That’s a marketing decision by Merc to push their proprietary “Smart craft” gauges and Displays.

Other than the connector, you could plug a Yamaha gateway into the Merc motor and it should work…assuming Merc didn’t reverse the wires in the connector to make things hard on you

 

[QBhoy]

CAN protocol is used by all motor manufacturers (not just Merc and Yamaha) to communicate between the various sensors and the ECM.

That’s a marketing decision by Merc to push their proprietary “Smart craft” gauges and Displays.

Other than the connector, you could plug a Yamaha gateway into the Merc motor and it should work…assuming Merc didn’t reverse the wires in the connector to make things hard on you

Different network they use, I’d say. Isn’t nmea. It’s can bus and specific Merc connections.

 

[jtaggart]

I have 3 Lowrance HDS Live units on my boat and all are networked and connected through a NMEA 2000 backbone. My Yamaha engine and the gauges on the dash are also connected to that backbone as well as a Point 1 antenna. When everything is on and the engine is running I can't get engine data on any of the Lowrance screens. I don't even get the little engine icon on the left sidebar of the screen. I have read in other forums that you don't need the expensive gateway. What am I doing wrong or what do I have to do to correct this?

Are you using a cable like this?