Diesel View / Vessel View Upgrade

rlynch03

Well-Known Member
May 16, 2019
1,014
Annapolis, MD
Boat Info
07 52 Sedan Bridge, 2019 Brig Falcon 360HT-30HP Honda, 2003 16' Dauntless
Engines
Cummins QSM 11 660 HP w/ ZF 325-1A
Cummins Rep in MD provided this to me as a reference to upgrading my Diesel View to the Vessel View 703. Maybe helpful to some folks interested in this upgrade.
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So...are you saying I can replace my Diesel View (that currently has a bad screen) and replace it with a VV701 with just an adaptor harness? I cannot read you middle pic as it is too small.
 
There are several options in replacing the Diesel View. I can send the above document to anyone that wants it. Just pm me your email address.

I would encourage you to call the below number to confirm compatibility with your set up.

Merc Tech. Svs
Mobile (920) 929-5884
 
When replacing the older Diesel View/ Vessel View Displays I learned the hard way that the Analog 5” Smartcraft Round Gauges (Tach and 4/1) will stop working. They gain their info from the older Vessel View.
So, once you replace the VV to the VV703 or 903 you will need a couple additional cables. See the attached diagram for the replacement Medusa cable needed between the Link Gauge and the JBox. I was also told I need another cable not shown in the drawing (8M0075066) between the Link and the 703. I think that will come with the base kit. I will report back to confirm once I have everything working.

There is a work around to spending another $100 on a new Medusa cable. You can keep the old Diesel View connected up in the overhead to run the 5” Analog Gauges. However my Ambient Temp Gauge wasn’t working when I tried this method.

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In the interest of avoiding another potential surprise, are you aware that, if your old Diesel View is displaying generator data, you will lose this capability with Vessel View? Depending on your configuration, there are a couple of ways to get the data back.
 
In the interest of avoiding another potential surprise, are you aware that, if your old Diesel View is displaying generator data, you will lose this capability with Vessel View? Depending on your configuration, there are a couple of ways to get the data back.

My VV did not show the Generator info.
 
When replacing the older Diesel View/ Vessel View Displays I learned the hard way that the Analog 5” Smartcraft Round Gauges (Tach and 4/1) will stop working. They gain their info from the older Vessel View.
So, once you replace the VV to the VV703 or 903 you will need a couple additional cables. See the attached diagram for the replacement Medusa cable needed between the Link Gauge and the JBox. I was also told I need another cable not shown in the drawing (8M0075066) between the Link and the 703. I think that will come with the base kit. I will report back to confirm once I have everything working.

There is a work around to purchasing another $100 for the replacement Medusa cable. You can keep the old Diesel View connected up in the overhead to run the 5” Analog Gauges. However my Ambient Temp Gauge wasn’t working when I tried this method.

View attachment 80424

The cables (8M0075065 and 8M0075066) worked as Mercury said however I still had to patch in the power cable for the 703. It was easy to follow the OE cable (as a guide) and patch it into the 8M0075065 the same way Mercury did.

By adding this Medusa style cable it provides the needed data for the Smartcraft 5" Tach and 4/1 Gauges to work. The Temperature also is now displayed from the Ambient Air Temperature Sensor.
 
My VV did not show the Generator info.
Are you sure you don't have the capability?
There is an easy way to tell - On your port engine's adapter harness look to see if there is a small cable connected where the terminating resistor is and the small cable routes back to the generator. If so, your generator has a Network Interface Module and is connected to the Smartcraft network's CAN V wiring. First picture shows where that cable will be connected (circled in Red). The second picture is the generator's harness that will be plugged into the adapter harness. Even though Smartcraft has discontinued the use of CAN V, the generator's Network Interface Module and the CAN V network can be converted to J1939; as Garmin has a J1939 port the generator's data can be re-established on the network. Or, you can convert the generator's data to NMEA 2000 as I did using a Maretron J2k100.
Generator Smartcraft Integration 1.jpg
Generator Smartcraft Integration 2.jpg
 
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Anyone know where I can get a sun cover for my original Diesel View unit? Just had it re-furbished and now looking for a protective cover. Checked Ebay already... Any direction appreciated.
 
Are you sure you don't have the capability?
There is an easy way to tell - On your port engine's adapter harness look to see if there is a small cable connected where the terminating resistor is and the small cable routes back to the generator. If so, your generator has a Network Interface Module and is connected to the Smartcraft network's CAN V wiring. First picture shows where that cable will be connected (circled in Red). The second picture is the generator's harness that will be plugged into the adapter harness. Even though Smartcraft has discontinued the use of CAN V, the generator's Network Interface Module and the CAN V network can be converted to J1939; as Garmin has a J1939 port the generator's data can be re-established on the network. Or, you can convert the generator's data to NMEA 2000 as I did using a Maretron J2k100.
View attachment 80595 View attachment 80596


I need to check this...
 
I need to check this...

Tom:
I do have the small wire loom (two conductor) attached to the Port Engine running back to the Generator.
 
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I know this post is a bit old... Did any of you complete one of these conversions? And were you able to get the generator info? And do the tach and 4/1 gauges still work?

Closing on a 2006 44DA this week that has the black/white Diesel View display with all of the Onan data. A buddy has a Diesel View 5 display that I can get my hands on if it will work...
 
I know this post is a bit old... Did any of you complete one of these conversions? And were you able to get the generator info? And do the tach and 4/1 gauges still work?

Closing on a 2006 44DA this week that has the black/white Diesel View display with all of the Onan data. A buddy has a Diesel View 5 display that I can get my hands on if it will work...
I did. I used the Vessel View 4 for the engines. Gauges were fine but there is a setting in the VV that has to be toggled for them to work. The VV will also display generator data as long as it's coming from the NMEA 2000 network.

To get the generator data, I used a Yacht Devices (YD) YDEG-04 Engine Gateway. There is a Maretron equivalent as described in an earlier post that can be used as well. I was able to use the existing engine data harness to tap in right at the helm, it just took some study of the diagrams (which are posted in this thread) to ID the correct wires. I had to build an adapter to get data from the J-box to the gateway using that info. On the generator, you will need to find the Network Interface Module (NIM) on the generator. Cutting one jumper converts it from Smartcraft to J1939.

I am able to see all the generator data on the VV and NMEA 2000 with the exception of generator engine hours. Ttmott and I tried to get this to work but no joy unless Tom got it to work. I even had the YD programmers working on it. Long story but the parameter only works if the J1939 sender gets a command from the using device. We think both the YD and Maretron were sending but the NIM wouldn't respond.
 
In the interest of avoiding another potential surprise, are you aware that, if your old Diesel View is displaying generator data, you will lose this capability with Vessel View? Depending on your configuration, there are a couple of ways to get the data back.
@alnav,
my PO installed a vv7, and I do not currently have any generator information on it. Can you please share what are the ways to get that data back?
Thanks!
 
@alnav,
my PO installed a vv7, and I do not currently have any generator information on it. Can you please share what are the ways to get that data back?
Thanks!
I blazed the trail on this a couple of years ago. Your Smartcraft wiring harness contains three data networks (CAN - Control Area Networks); CAN H (non-engine), CAN P (engine), and CAN V (other). Sometimes CAN H is called CAN 1, CAN P is called CAN 2, and CAN V is called CAN 3. The three data networks are nothing more than three independent twisted pair of wires. Each end of these networks are terminated with electrical resistors like other data networks (NMEA 2000, SeatalkNG, etc). The Smartcraft termination resistors can be identified by the yellow capped plugs in the wiring harness or J-boxes and if you look at the resistor there are numbers printed on it (1,2,3 or a combination of the numbers) which denote the network it is for. . For our boats CAN V (3) was used exclusively for generator data.
When Mercury came out with Diesel View it integrated CAN V (the generators data) and displayed the data. After Diesel View was retired support for CAN V also was retired; the Vessel View series of data monitor systems do not support CAN V and consequently the generator's data cannot be displayed but if you had it with Diesel View the generator's data still is available on the Smartcraft network wiring.
Now, inside of the Onan generator that supported data to the Diesel View is a card called a Network Interface Module or NIM. That module converts the generator's data stream to Smartcraft data and provides that data onto CAN V. The easiest way to tell if your boat had generator data is to look closely at the port engine's wire harness and find that yellow capped resistor; it's usually close to the large round wire harness electrical connector towards the back of the engine. If that yellow resistor is connected to a pigtail off of a short "Y" harness then your generator's data is available. If the resistor is connected directly to the engine's harness and the Y harness in not there then the generator's data is not available.
If you desire to see the generator's data on the Vessel View or other MFD then that data first needs to be converted from Smartcraft to SAE J1939 then to NMEA 2000; it sounds difficult but really not that bad.
First the Network Interface Module in the generator needs to be converted from Smartcraft to J1939; that entails simply cutting the W2 Jumper on the board so there is no electrical contact across the jumper.
Then somewhere in the Smartcraft harness or J-boxes connect the CAN V wires (2 of them) to a SAE J1939 to NMEA 2000 converter and then from that converter to your NMEA 2000 network. The generator's data (oil pressure, voltage, frequency, and coolant temperature) is now on your NMEA 2000 network and can be displayed on any MFD, display, or Vessel View. The below provides some diagrams and pictures. Note that the modification shown here as I did it completely disconnects the generator harness from the engine harness consequently the resistor needs to be removed from the generator harness and installed in the engine harness as the schematic shows below then purchase a new resistor and install that in the generator harness along with the converter as shown below. If you decide to integrate the converter off one of the Smartcraft J-Boxes then the generator harness and it's resistor remains connected to the engine's harness. You will need to acquire a Smartcraft 10 pin connector and connect to pins C and D on the J-Box for the J1939 generator data.
I should note as an edit that if there is a CAN H (1) / CAN V (3) jumper harness between the port and starboard J-Boxes under the helm (and there should be) then this mod can be connected to either the Port or Starboard J-boxes. Obviously, if that jumper harness is not there then only the Port side can be used.
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