NMEA Fuel Sender Problem

mathias999us · Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 3:47 pm Post subject:

The new EP65R showed up today, and I hooked it up and sure enough - I got an "unconfigured fuel level sensor" to show up in the bus device list in addition to the port fuel sensor. I configured it as fuel, starboard, 50 gallons, and now everything's working! Woohoo! Thanks for all of your help.

Mathias

BrentB · Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 4:15 pm Post subject:

Thanks

I wonder what a gizmo like would cause it to be defective?

thataway · Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 6:24 pm Post subject:

Fantastic to hear the solution…sorry it cost some bucks!

mathias999us · Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 6:25 pm Post subject:

Thanks Bob - yeah, the surveyor missed a few things here and there on this boat. That's okay I guess - it's a boat, so I expect that it will just be ongoing throughout the time that I own it. Another item checked off the list (for now).

Brent - your guess is as good as mine. It looked perfectly fine, but then again these machines live in a harsh environment, and are full of delicate hardware protected by thin layers of plastic.

BrentB · Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 8:44 pm Post subject:

Any warranty ?

mathias999us · Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 8:46 pm Post subject:

Doubt it. I just bought the boat used, and it's a 2009. It would have to be a really excellent warranty... Oh well, it was only $100 in the long run...

Sunbeam · Posted: Thu May 28, 2015 10:17 pm Post subject:

Great to hear the follow-up (I always like to know how it turns out when a "mystery" has been posed) -- especially since you sussed and fixed the problem Thumbs Up

jkidd · Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 9:22 am Post subject:

I have a question. How come they didn't use the engine interface that connect to the engine computer and gives much more accurate information
fuel flow, gas used, Fuel Range. and more.

990C0-88149 - SMIS Engine Interface Cable by Suzuki Outboard

I think I would add the Interfaces to the system.

mathias999us · Posted: Fri May 29, 2015 9:31 am Post subject:

Thanks Sunbeam.

Hi jkidd - I also have the engine interface on mine that tracks fuel flow, fuel used, etc. However, there are downsides to that just like there are downsides to using the fuel tank level senders. Fuel tank level senders aren't precise, and can be inaccurate, but they are a pretty reliable indication of approximately how much fuel you have left.

My boat has two 50 gallon tanks with a fuel selector switch which allows you to draw from one tank at a time. The tanks are aluminum and there is no way to visually confirm fuel level as their might be with a composite tank. With a single main engine monitoring fuel flow, it would be difficult / tedious to track how much fuel was left in each individual tank. Furthermore, I've got a kicker that draws from the main tanks. I think it might have an engine interface I could also hook up. Not sure if it has fuel flow.... I'm not going to bother hooking it up to the network. Using the kicker will make "fuel used" readings inaccurate. There are also plans to hook my generator into the main fuel system, and it certainly won't have an engine interface with fuel flow data.

I still think it's handy to have the fuel flow data from the main engine. I have two independent fuel level figures I can compare to each other for a sanity check, and I will have a pretty high level of confidence about how much fuel I have in each tank with this setup.

Mathia