Fuel flow and other readings.

[Jarrah Jack]

Hi all ..My good mate has just got himself a 585R with a 150 Honda. It has just the basic instruments: tacho, speedo and fuel gauge. He has a Lowrance HDS 10 GPS. I want to steer him towards some better gauges as we'll be doing some long haul work soon chasing blue beer barrels.

We need to know the fuel flow data, overall fuel used that day and ground covered via the GPS. Battery levels would be good too. What is the best way to go about the setup?

Cheers

[honda900]

I dont believe lowrance has released an interface for the honda, so you cant network that engine.

Fuel flow; an EP60 is an inline fuel flow meter that can be installed in any boat, you can then use an nmea2000 network to display the data on your HDS10. I have an ep10 and after a little mucking around with the calibration it was very accurate.

you can display;
Economy,
usage (current)
total usage (seasonal)
fuel used
fuel remaining;
economy (how many liters per km you are currently using).

As for your battery, you can do that now, go into the overlay settings and add the voltage to your display.

Regards
HOnda.

[Jarrah Jack]

Thanks for that Mr Honda. What is a nmea 2000? As you can guess I'm not up to speed on these things yet.

[honda900]

basically it is a network that allows devices to talk to each other in a marine environment. thats the simple explanation.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NMEA_2000

Regards
HOnda.

[Bowser]

If your motor is NMEA2000 compatable I would be looking to connect thru that as against the EP60. You need only one connector then that gives you all the info you will ever want, and more accurately then the fuel flow guage. Your dealer should be able to assist you but don't be surprised if they don't know. It seems that NMEA is a forign language in dealer land.

[Redrocks]

Would the BF150 have fuel consumption usage available as a parameter?

[predator]

I would say in the newer models it looks like it....

http://marine.honda.com/pdf/accessories/OTR54146_NMEA_2000_PGN.pdf

[honda900]

I cant find any reference or part that would allow you to connect the honda engine to the nmea network, Gary (spaniard King) may be able to shed some info on whether it is possible or not.

It does appear that the late model honda engines are able to support the protocol, but I cant find any description on how to physically connect the engine to the network.

As for the EP60 V the engine interface, I have both installed in my boat and the ep60 is just as accurate as the data that I get from the Suzuki, when calibrated properly both are very good.


Bowser;

Yes you should be able to get a range of information from the engine if you can wire connect it;The Suzuki Engine interface can provide the following information over the NMEA 2000 network:

• Engine RPM
• Alternator Voltage
• Engine Hours
• Fuel Flow
• Engine Trim
• Fuel Used
• Trip Fuel Used
• Seasonal Fuel Used
• Speed over water (DF300 Only)
• Water Pressure (DF300 Only)
• Current Gear (DF300 Only)
• Standard Diagnostics
o Overheat
o Low Oil Pressure
o Over Rev
o Low Battery Voltage

Regards
Honda.

[Bowser]

Honda,

I have my Yammie 60 with the new digital guages conected to my NMEA network. More info then I know what to do with. The cross connection gives me true SOG agianst the engine speed reading and if I need SOW then the paddle wheel on the Airmar trannie will give me that. The best reading I thing is not the l/hr but the kms per litre. Really able to work out the best revs to get greatest economy from the motor.

[Grand_Marlin]

Honda have only recently made their motors NMEA 2000 compatible.
This was mid / late 2009. Anything before this can't be connected.

You buy the Honda interface cable form Honda, not Lowrance to connect to the HDS units.

I good client of ours has hooked his Honda to his HDS 10.

If your Honda motor is not compatible, then go with Chris' suggestion of the EP60R fuel flow sensor & NMEA 2000 Starter kit ($229 total)
It is simple to do ... connect the EP60R into your fuel line, connect the cables to the HDS 10 and adjust a few settings through the menu.

Cheers

Pete

[Whale Bone]

Anyone know where I can get an ep 60 ftom the sunny coast or brisbane area? Also is it possible to self install?
Cheers