Adapt old I-Command Gauges to DeviceNET Wiring

Information about Evinrude I-Command, ICON Pro, and ICON Touch Color Displays
Carlos3000
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Adapt old I-Command Gauges to DeviceNET Wiring

Postby Carlos3000 » Thu May 23, 2019 12:26 am

A long time ago I bought I-command gauges 352679. I did not buy the other components to install them, that is, the Power Hub, Consolidator Hub, network Data, Terminator Harness, Emm to power Hub Harness.



Can this NMEA 2000 system be adapted to the new [DeviceNET Micro C connectors and] wiring with T-Connectors which is much easier to install?
Attachments
i-command.jpg
Fig. 1. Gauges described as "I-Command" gauges.
i-command.jpg (80.95 KiB) Viewed 20115 times

jimh
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Re: I can replace I-command power & consolidator Hub by Network Backbone?

Postby jimh » Thu May 23, 2019 9:14 am

If the gauges are NMEA-2000 devices, you can change the connectors to the more conventional DeviceNET Micro C connector. Note: you can even use a terminal strip and wire the five conductors to a terminal strip on the network backbone.

Carlos3000
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Re: Adapt old I-Command Gauges to DeviceNET Wiring

Postby Carlos3000 » Fri May 31, 2019 12:16 am

The network that I should use for my gauges is: DEUTSCH STYLE NETWORK COMPONENTS but I do not want to use this because it is very expensive

Instead of using this network, can I use the new (Network Backbone) T-Connector system?

If so, how do I convert the Deutsch 6 Pin to DeviceNet™ style connectors?


The gauges are I-Command “Classic” Instruments with NMEA 2000.

jimh
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Re: Adapt old I-Command Gauges to DeviceNET Wiring

Postby jimh » Fri May 31, 2019 12:26 am

Carlos--if you must have individual DeviceNET Micro C connectors, you can buy field-installable connectors. But they are expensive, and, I would expect, may be very tedious to install. I would just cut off the Deutsch 6-pin connectors and wire all the gauges to a terminal strip, aggregating their wires on common terminals by wire insulation color. Then get one DeviceNET Micro C network cable, cut it in two, and wire it to the terminal strip, again with wire insulation color determining the connection.

Carlos3000
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Re: Adapt old I-Command Gauges to DeviceNET Wiring

Postby Carlos3000 » Sun Jun 02, 2019 2:36 pm

Hello Jimh, I have not bought anything, I only have the tachometer, the speed indicator and the cable that connects them with the Deutsch 6 pin connector, as I show you in the photo. I have to buy the NMEA 2000 Network. Which one do you recommend what kind of connector you should have? Beside the Deutsh connector, all the cables are white, how do I connect it?.

gaugeHarness.jpg
Fig. 2. A wiring harness.
gaugeHarness.jpg (138.39 KiB) Viewed 19836 times


I'm handyman,
but I need the knowledge.
thanks for your help.

jimh
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Re: Adapt old I-Command Gauges to DeviceNET Wiring

Postby jimh » Sun Jun 02, 2019 4:24 pm

For advice on how to construct a modern NMEA-2000 network read the article in REFERENCE at

NMEA-2000 Networks and Modern Outboard Engines
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/refere ... A2000.html

jimh
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Re: Adapt old I-Command Gauges to DeviceNET Wiring

Postby jimh » Sun Jun 02, 2019 4:28 pm

As I already mentioned earlier as the preliminary qualification for all my subsequent coments, but will now emphasize:

jimh wrote:If the gauges are NMEA-2000 devices...


The wiring harness you have now revealed in your illustration (Fig. 2) above looks more like a an old, obsolete harness--but probably is for NMEA-2000 components, just with very out-of-date connectors

Read:

I-Command Installation and User Guide
http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/NMEA2000/I-CommandInstallation.pdf

Refer to the diagram "COMPONENT CHART" on Page 10. Refer to item with CALLOUT 12, called the "TACH SPEEDO HARNESS #763358." That is probably the cable you have on hand.

This cable appears to perhaps be a NMEA-2000 cable. You connect the two gauges, TACH and SPEEDO, to the two appropriate connectors on the harness.

There are two other connectors on the harness. One connector will be for connecting to a NMEA-2000 network (as shown by going to a HUB device). The other is for extending the network to more I-COMMAND gauges, if any, that are close to the TACH and SPEED gauges.

You MAY be able to use this with a modern NMEA-2000 network with DeviceNET connectors. The easiest way to do this will be to cut off one of the network connectors on the harness, and wire it to a DeviceNET connector.

If I were trying this, I would look to see if the two network connectors on the harness mate with each other. If they do, then one connector will have pins and the other will have sockets. I would simply cut off the connector with the sockets from the harness but leaving enough wire attached at the connector be be useful for making a splice to another cable, Then insulate the wires on the harness. Then I would get a DeviceNET cable. I would cut it in to, and then wire the DeviceNET cable to the connector I cut off the harness, making an ADAPTOR. Then the connector on the harness will mate to the harness-style connector on the adaptor.

CAUTION: it looks like there is a 12-Volt power connection as part of the obsolete cable you have. I have no idea how the power is wired with this harness. Read the comments in the article I linked to (above) about NMEA-2000 network power.

ASIDE: if providing an image of a wiring harness with multiple connectors, the arrangement of the connectors in the harness would be more clearly seen if the cable were not photographed while in a tangle.

jimh
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Re: Adapt old I-Command Gauges to DeviceNET Wiring

Postby jimh » Mon Jun 03, 2019 9:19 am

The wiring harness seen above in Fig. 2 appears to be wired with all conductors having white insulation. There may be some printed information on each conductor that identifies the signal or voltage being carried on the conductor. If there is such an identification mark, use that information to identify the signal when making a connection to a conventional NMEA-2000 cable with the DeviceNET Micro C connectors. Generally with NMEA-2000 extension cables the conductors will have different insulation colors which will identify the signals. For advice on identification of conductors and their signals, see my article on that topic at

NMEA-2000 Micro Connectors
http://continuouswave.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=714

Also note that, in the Evinrude I-Command Installation and User Guide literature for these gauges on Page 25, a detail in an illustration shows the connector layout and identifies which signals are in which pole position of the six-pole Deutsch connector. This will also give you guidance on how to make the connection between this obsolete cable and a modern NMEA-2000 DeviceNET Micro C Extension cable. However, be careful. The designations used in the illustration are somewhat ambiguous with regard to which pair is a power source and which pair is a data pair. I would hope that the printed designations on the wires are more clear about which signal or voltage is being carried.

jimh
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Re: Adapt old I-Command Gauges to DeviceNET Wiring

Postby jimh » Mon Jun 03, 2019 11:26 am

gaugeHarnessWithCallouts.jpg
Fig. 2. Older I-Command wiring harness with callouts added
gaugeHarnessWithCallouts.jpg (181.73 KiB) Viewed 19733 times


It is not clear to me in the above illustration if the network extension connector has all five circuits provided. If it only has three (the two data circuits and the shield), then it won't be immediately useful as I suggested earlier to make an adaptor cable.

Note that these connectors can be disassembled rather easily and the actual contacts removed. The contacts are loaded into the back of the connector body. The front face of the connector usually can be pried out from the connector body. This should reveal the latches that will release the contacts. By careful disassembly you could salvage the connector, although you may need to get new contacts. An Evinrude dealer or an electronics distributor will have these contacts. I suspect they OEM assembler used crimp contacts, which generally cannot be removed and reused.

Your ability to work with electrical connectors is unknown to me. If you have a few basic tools you can probably accomplish the disassembly of the connector and perhaps salvage most of it for reuse.

jimh
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Re: Adapt old I-Command Gauges to DeviceNET Wiring

Postby jimh » Mon Jun 03, 2019 5:28 pm

connectorPinCallout.png
Fig. 3. Illustration of 6-pole Deutsch connector used in legacy I-Command NMEA-2000 networks. From Evinrude literature.
connectorPinCallout.png (19.47 KiB) Viewed 19719 times


I would take a GUESS at interpretation of the above labels and their equivalents in a pre-made cable using the standard NMEA wire insulation colors as follows:

CAN HI = White
CAN LO= Blue
NMEA + = Red
NMEA - = Black

Carlos3000
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Re: Adapt old I-Command Gauges to DeviceNET Wiring

Postby Carlos3000 » Wed Jun 05, 2019 4:48 pm

Thank you boss, as soon as I do this, I warn you. I think it will be like in 3 weeks.