Connecting a Mercury to Lowrance Elite 9 TI

Electrical and electronic topics for small boats
jheiii
Posts: 38
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 11:39 am
Location: South Florida

Connecting a Mercury to Lowrance Elite 9 TI

Postby jheiii » Wed Apr 18, 2018 9:00 pm

Hi, the goal is to get the engine data from my 2007 Mercury FOURSTROKE serial #1b419565 to the Lowrance Elite 9 TI Chartplotter. The boat does not have a Smartcraft gauge. All the gauges on the boat are analog.

To get NMEA2000 out of that engine, I think we would need the VesselView single engine kit part#: 8M0110639 and then run this harness 84-879982T20 from the engine to the dash. In case anyone who is reading this has done it before, is that right?

Thank you!
2007 Montauk 170

jimh
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Re: Connecting a Mercury 2007 90 4 Stroke EFI to Lowrance Elite 9 TI

Postby jimh » Thu Apr 19, 2018 9:01 am

You are correct that you will need some sort of protocol convertor to get the engine data from a Mercury Smartcraft engine to a NMEA-2000 network.

I assume your particular Mercury FOURSTROKE engine has some indication it uses Smartcraft. Many early versions of the 90 FOURSTROKE were actually Yamaha engines and did not have Smartcraft.

I recommend you consult with Mercury to find the specific parts needed on their Smartcraft network to connect your specific model and year engine to a Smartcraft network, what you need for the Smartcraft network itself if you don't already have one, and what is the best protocol conversion device. Mercury has several options in both hardware and software levels, but with a single engine you probably need only the first-tier software option.

If you don't already have a NMEA-2000 network backbone constructed, you will have to build one. Then connect the protocol convertor to the NMEA-2000 network, and your multi-function NMEA-2000 display device to the network. This is much simpler to manage and install. You will use DeviceNET Micro connectors and LIGHT cable. Get a starter kit as it gives the best value instead of buying individual wiring components.

You should get advice from Mercury on what configuration--if any--will be needed for the protocol convertor device if you get one that does not have its own user interface. If you buy a black box protocol convertor, you might need a Smartcraft gauge of some type to be able to configure the protocol convertor.

I don't really have any specific part numbers for any Mercury components; a good dealer should be able to help you out with that, as you will need to buy all those parts as Mercury parts. As far as I know, there are no aftermarket components available for the Smartcraft wiring accessories.

Pick the Mercury dealer carefully. Make sure the dealer really knows about Smartcraft. You cannot be certain that you nearest dealer is automatically going to be completely familiar with this and have done it a million times before.

jheiii
Posts: 38
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 11:39 am
Location: South Florida

Re: Connecting a Mercury 2007 90 4 Stroke EFI to Lowrance Elite 9 TI

Postby jheiii » Thu Apr 19, 2018 10:26 am

Thanks Jim! Also, I got this reply back from Mercury this morning

To interface your 90-horsepower 4-stroke with your NMEA 2000 compatible device, you will need a NMEA 2000 Gateway kit (part #8m0105243), and a NMEA 2000 starter kit (part #8m0107522).

The NMEA 2000 Gateway Kit can be found for about $350 while the VVLink is closer to $500.
2007 Montauk 170

jimh
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Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
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Re: Connecting a Mercury 2007 90 4 Stroke EFI to Lowrance Elite 9 TI

Postby jimh » Thu Apr 19, 2018 11:47 am

I suggest you follow-up with an inquiry to learn if the "gateway kit" will need any configuration after installation. It might come pre-configured, or it might need to be set-up once installed. I believe that you'd need some sort of Smartcraft gauge on the Smartcraft network to be able to accomplish a configuration if the protocol converter device is just a black-box device without its own user interface. That could affect your purchase decision.

jheiii
Posts: 38
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 11:39 am
Location: South Florida

Re: Connecting a Mercury 2007 90 4 Stroke EFI to Lowrance Elite 9 TI

Postby jheiii » Thu Apr 19, 2018 4:48 pm

Great advice, thanks Jim. Circled back with Mercury, and they added that Boston Whaler uses the Mercury harness. This means, even though my boat does not have a Smartcraft gauge there should be a plug under my dash that has a weather cover, and a purple plug under that weather cover. IF that plug is present, then we do not need to run a cable from the engine. All we need is to connect that purple under dash plug to a Junction Box part # 878492K14. Then connect that junction box the NMEA 2000 Gateway Kit, and get power to it with the NMEA 2000 Starter Kit, then link in the NMEA backbone to the chartplotter. The Lowrance unit will recognize the communication and nothing further will be needed.

I'm hoping when I check out the boat later tonight that there's a purple plug under the dash, with a weather fitting.

IF that purple plug under the dash isn't present, then one would need to run the male-to-male plug from the engine to under the dash. Then proceed with the same procedure as before.
2007 Montauk 170

jimh
Posts: 11672
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
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Re: Connecting a Mercury 2007 90 4 Stroke EFI to Lowrance Elite 9 TI

Postby jimh » Thu Apr 19, 2018 5:17 pm

I would very much like to follow the outcome. Maybe you could take a few digital images as you install the various parts of the system. You could be a pathfinder for a lot of Boston Whaler boat owners.