Purchasing Rinda kit for troubleshooting

boatrboy

boatrboy

Well-Known Member
Oct 3, 2006
1,857
Orange, CT
Boat Info
2006 340 Sundancer
Engines
Twin 8.1 Horizons with V-Drives
Looking for input from those who have the software.

My buddy and I both own 2006 boats. Mine is a 340 Sundancer with the 8.1 and v-drives and his is a Formula 34 PC with 496 and bravo three’s. Basically the same motors.

We decided to split the cost of the Rinda software and cable. My IT guy donated a laptop for us to use (I wanted something more than just the scanner).

Since I’m not really “in the business”, will I be able to gain a lot of useful information on my own or do I need special access to “code look up’s” and such?

We are both computer savvy and there seems to be a lot of videos on the Rinda system online I plan on watching.

Thanks for any light you can shed.
 
I did the scan tool. Pretty good. There are lists of codes on the interweb so you can decipher what’s going on.
 
Golfman25 said:
I did the scan tool. Pretty good. There are lists of codes on the interweb so you can decipher what’s going on.
Click to expand...
Thanks Gman.

Anyone using the pc version?

I remember when my boat was surveyed he did a cylinder drop test on his laptop and recorded the drop in rpm’s on each cylinder. I do not know what program he had on his laptop. I am wondering if that feature is on the Rinda software I’m ordering. The instruction videos on YouTube (from my search) appear to be 10 years old so I’m wondering if they need updating or if not much has changed.

p.s. After reading the book of hoplite, I swear some of the members here wrote the software :D.
 
I've owned a Rinda scanner for years. It's worth every penny and will pay for itself. Every issue I've had across 2 boats and 3 different engines I was able to diagnose and ultimately resolve with the scanner.
Given the cost of a boat and maintaining it, 700 bucks for a scanner is an absolute no brainer in my opinion.
 
boatrboy said:
Thanks Gman.

Anyone using the pc version?

I remember when my boat was surveyed he did a cylinder drop test on his laptop and recorded the drop in rpm’s on each cylinder. I do not know what program he had on his laptop. I am wondering if that feature is on the Rinda software I’m ordering. The instruction videos on YouTube (from my search) appear to be 10 years old so I’m wondering if they need updating or if not much has changed.

p.s. After reading the book of hoplite, I swear some of the members here wrote the software :D.
Click to expand...
No. I opted for the tec mate scanner to save a few bucks.
 
Friend of mine has a 2000 380 and 7.4 Merc's. He uses it all the time and loves it. You can run the entire EFI from the software which is invaluable for t-shooting. He found multiple injector issues from what seemed to be a good running engine.

You will be buying a 2nd copy of the software at some point. It's not worth sharing it.
 
SKybolt said:
Friend of mine has a 2000 380 and 7.4 Merc's. He uses it all the time and loves it. You can run the entire EFI from the software which is invaluable for t-shooting. He found multiple injector issues from what seemed to be a good running engine.

You will be buying a 2nd copy of the software at some point. It's not worth sharing it.
Click to expand...

Software is free download - the USB to ECM dongle and adapters... well that can be a different story depending on your engines.

-Kevin
 
SKybolt said:
You will be buying a 2nd copy of the software at some point. It's not worth sharing it.
Click to expand...
Good info. When you say this ^, do you mean they won’t allow me to connect to anther motor? When I called them last week and told them I needed it for the two boats, they said the same kit will work on both motors with the same cable no problem.

I figured I’d put it on a dedicated laptop for this and we can both have it handy at any time we need it. I also have the Mercruiser service manuals on cd so I thought I would load that also on this laptop to it was handy.

I don’t expect to use it that much, but splitting the cost at ~$300 each seemed like a good idea for both of us.

This is the kit they recommend.
IMG_0050.png
 
boatrboy said:
Good info. When you say this ^, do you mean they won’t allow me to connect to anther motor? When I called them last week and told them I needed it for the two boats, they said the same kit will work on both motors with the same cable no problem.

I figured I’d put it on a dedicated laptop for this and we can both have it handy at any time we need it. I also have the Mercruiser service manuals on cd so I thought I would load that also on this laptop to it was handy.

I don’t expect to use it that much, but splitting the cost at ~$300 each seemed like a good idea for both of us.

This is the kit they recommend.
Click to expand...

No, I meant the two of you will want your own copy and dongle(s).

My friend uses his regularly to check things out and hopefully ward off any unknows. He is also adding in a Fox N2K conversion for each engine. You already have SC so not needed.
 
SKybolt said:
No, I meant the two of you will want your own copy and dongle(s).

My friend uses his regularly to check things out and hopefully ward off any unknows. He is also adding in a Fox N2K conversion for each engine. You already have SC so not needed.
Click to expand...
Got it.
 
Personally really like the software, there is a learning curve but very useful for troubleshooting problems once figured out.
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8/21/2022 913.73hous PRT EMCT OVERHT Battery Volts 13.06 Sea Pump Pressure 13.07 Manifold Air Temp 120.20 Coolant Temp 177.80 3608 RPM

Port intake 3/4 blocked at transom with corroded hose and broken insert.

Would find this without Software, not even sure a tec mate scanner would pick this up. Haven't gotten all the way into it but should be able to drop spark to engines one at a time (this will check for spark/coil/ecm trigger problems) and the same with injectors. You can run real time and see pretty much everything check out pics.

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KevinC said:
Software is free download (https://www.rinda.com/update.htm). It will not work without the dongle and ECM adapters. Basically that is what they are selling. You can have the software on two PCs and just share the connectors.

-Kevin
Click to expand...

That's the free update and not the full install.

From their site:
"The download available on this page updates an existing installation of the Diacom Marine program. This download is not intended as a first-time installation and does not contain all of the resources available on a Diacom Marine program CD."
 
So with so many values being acquired, is there a single source online for what is considered normal on my motor? Or do I need to look at the sections in my Mercruiser manual for what I’m diagnosing?
Does Rinda have anything like this in the software?
 
boatrboy said:
So with so many values being acquired, is there a single source online for what is considered normal on my motor? Or do I need to look at the sections in my Mercruiser manual for what I’m diagnosing?
Does Rinda have anything like this in the software?
Click to expand...

Most of my normals are in my pics, It will take some time to play with it.
Connect it when boat is running good and screen shot at different rpms to get a baseline.
In the first pic I circles in red you can see the water pressure is much lower than normal and the engine temp has risen to 178 degrees (normal is 165) after about 15 min cruise then I got a guardian beep alarm which went away as soon as I came off plan and was fine for another 10 min. Pulled the error and it had this info
8/21/2022 913.73hous PRT EMCT OVERHT Battery Volts 13.06 Sea Pump Pressure 13.07 Manifold Air Temp 120.20 Coolant Temp 177.80 3608 RPM
 
For the older engines with the MEFI ECM, the other great diagnostic option is from www.mefiburn.com. Was invaluable on my last boat with the original 7.4 mpi. You also have the added value of having the owner of mefiburn.com ready, willing and able to review the data out of the engine and assist you in diagnosing issues.
 
I pulled the trigger on the software yesterday and it should be here Monday.
I had foot surgery this week and can’t walk on it for 3 weeks or more (ruining my boating season), so next week I’ll download it and start the tutorials in my downtime.
 
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