Smartcraft Vesselview

[steved59]

Hi all

I have a Smartcraft vesselview dispaly fitted to my 2007 Cummins QSB powered Nordic Tug 37, and it's stopped working...

The display powers up OK but does not show any data, the data fields are simply showing --- instead of numbers for rpm, oil pressure etc etc.

This has been a recurring problem over the past couple of years, and the simple solution was to turn both the engine and ignition off and restart and it always seem to 'clear' the problem and the gauges would all work. That simple approach has now stopped working..

Any advice as to what the problem is will be greatly appreciated.

Tks
Steve

 

[twistedtree]

My first guess would be that you have a cabling issue somewhere, but that be very hard to isolate and diagnose. Cummins publishes the cabling/wiring diagrams for their engines and controls, so I'd start there. They are very dense reading, but also very complete.


In the end, whether guided by the diagrams or just by [physically searching for cable connection points, I think the first step will be to disconnect each connector, check to be sure they are clean, smear with dielectric grease, and reconnect. If you are lucky, the problem will go away.


The Cummins engines send all their data over J1939. Since the display powers up, but doesn't show data, there is likely a loss of the J1939 data somewhere between the engine and display. That will narrow down which connectors and wires you need to be checking.


It's also likely that the display can be connected at different points in the harness system. If you can locate one or more points that are closer to the engine, plug in there and see what happens, it might help you narrow down where the fault is.

 

[jimdavi]

Also an alternative to the very high cost of the display units, ( if that’s the case) I have a single QSB and smartcraft gages, e.g. 1 rpm, with 4 other small dials for gear, oil, battery etc. after discussing with Cummins rep, ( very helpful) I called Mercury Marine and they have me set up with a smart craft gateway, ( $300-450 depending on where you buy) and I can connect that to the smart craft junction box under the helm. It converts CAN info to NMEA 2,000. So I’m connecting this right to my Garmin 7612XSV. Might not be your direction, but thought I’d share an alternative. I also think, ( if display is bad) there are aftermarket displays but expensive.

https://www.sbmar.com/product/smartcraft-to-smx-digital-display-upgrade-kit/

 

[Stout]

Had our upper Helm Vesselview stop working. Found this company: https://www.yachtd.com/products/

They make the YDEG-04 that will work for your engine if your chartplotter is new enough to accept engine data over NEMA 2000. Our 2008 RayMarine G Series MFD’s worked great. I just use a split screen on the upper helm for engine info. Eventually we will get a screen again just for the Engine data.

 

[C lectric]

Seaboard Marine, Oxnard, Cal. Contact them :
https://www.sbmar.com/product/smartcraft-to-smx-digital-display-upgrade-kit/

They are true experts.

I also agree about TT's suggestion to clean and dielectric grease all the pins and sockets. Just be a bit carefull as bent pins will be a pain.

Often just unplugging and replugging will scrape enough oxidation to allow the signals through again but use the dielectric. Tony Athens used to recommend some sprays also that he found did a good job.

I strongly suggest you look at the Seaboard website and do some reading. The amount of information he and his co. have presented is huge and will go a long way towards long and troublefree as possible operation of your boat engine.

 

[steved59]

Thanks for the replies.

I'll pop to the boat today as I want to check what the flybridge displays is doing as well, I'll clean up all the connections and report back later.

I'm just wondering why the switch off then on again always seemed to resolve the nil data display issue. Would this not suggest a display issue and not wiring?

Seaboard Marine are excellent, but being based in the UK I will hopefully be able to resolve the problem with a bit of tinkering.

Steve

 

[twistedtree]

I'm just wondering why the switch off then on again always seemed to resolve the nil data display issue. Would this not suggest a display issue and not wiring?

It's certainly possible that it's the display. If you have a second display that is working, an easy test might be to swap them and see if the problem stays in the same location, or follows the display.

 

[C lectric]

********I'm just wondering why the switch off then on again always seemed to resolve the nil data display issue.**********

Hmm. Could the switch itself be part of the problem. Maybe it is developing some internal oxidation causing some Vdrop so the display cannot fully fire up.
Yeah, I'm guessing but it could be tested easily. Simply jumper it or for the cost replace it.

 

[twistedtree]

********I'm just wondering why the switch off then on again always seemed to resolve the nil data display issue.**********

Hmm. Could the switch itself be part of the problem. Maybe it is developing some internal oxidation causing some Vdrop so the display cannot fully fire up.
Yeah, I'm guessing but it could be tested easily. Simply jumper it or for the cost replace it.

I think he's talking about how the display sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, and that ignition off, then back on seems to recover. So I don't think there is any "switch" involved other than the ignition switch, and if the display lights up, which it does, then that switch is working.


At least that's how I'm interpreting what he's saying.

 

[steved59]

Problem resolved... I think

Cleaned all the connectors from the engine end. The main 12 pin connection which was located directly under the heat exchanger was the likely culprit. The pins were a bit green as a result of a slight weep from the hose (another job to do..)
All now working OK, but still puzzles me why the ignition on / off trick previously cleared the problem.

Before and after pics

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