Suzuki NMEA 2000 : Complete Install For Outboards

In this video it will show the complete process from beginning to end from finding the SDS main connector, making a wire extension, to connecting the NMEA 2000 network on my boat. This process should be very similar no matter which boat you have.
Special thanks to Monnlighter 475 for his knowledge and instructions to make this network possible.
Before attempting this install, refer to his instruction for special requirements; here's the link :
www.dropbox.com/s/qo6nfc7obya...
You can save some money by making your own SDS wire harness, which is very easy to do, but you will need to read Moonlighter's instructions to find the parts required to do so.
***In my video I mention "I am not making the SDS wire harness". What I meant to say is I am not making the SDS plugs.
MOTOR : 2018 Suzuki DF60AV
BOAT: Arima Sea Chaser 16
UNIT : Garmin echoMap Plus 74cv
PARTS :
* Suzuki SDS Adapter : 990c0-88136
* Suzuki OEM SMIS Engine Interface Cable (V3.5) : 990C0-88149-354
* Garmin MEA200 Starter Kit: 010-11442-00
** I give no warranties that this will work for you or will not destroy your electronics. Install at your own risk.
Music provided by:
OZSOUND.
Channel: goo.gl/qnhQtD
DJ Freedem
Title: Cutting It Close
0:00 Opening
0:48 Parts
1:26 Locate SDS plug
DON'T NEED COMMENTS ABOUT HOW LOUD THE MUSIC IS OR STYLE OF MUSIC, THEY WILL BE DELTED. HERE'S A TIP...USE YOUR VOLUME CONTROL TO TURN IT DOWN IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT !!

[@beaulster]

Isn’t Moonlighter amazing! Thanks for putting this together. Love it. Subbed!

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Yep Moonlighter is awesome, that's why I had to make sure I gave him all the credit for this! Thanks for the sub!

[@jonnywow2585]

Thank you buddy , this is the only and the best video to do nmea to suzuki.

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Thank you for comment, I appreciate it!🤙🏼

[@reggie74]

You are a life saver bro... Thank you for the video...Merry Christmas.....

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

I'm glad to could help and thank you for the comment. Merry Christmas.

[@Hubjeep]

Awesome video! I have an old Garmin 541S. Looking into a newer one, I wonder if I can keep the old one just for engine data? Perhaps there is a way to configure it that way.

[@rusty_ferrari]

Does anyone know if this can be done to the 9.9b engines? It's looking like that part is only good for the 40hp and up.

[@geraldbarq6460]

I have analog gauges already hooked up to a new 2021 200suzuki....will adding the backbone/harnesses etc to a lowrance make all of my analog gauges useless or will they still operate independently?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

If you follow the way I have mine hooked up, you won’t touch any of your analog gauges. Those gauges will continue to work independently to your Lowrance MFD. I still have my analog tach and it still works the same as it did prior to the N2K hook up.

[@StructureFishing]

My setup will be identical to yours (60hp Suzuki and Echomap unit). Question on the 12v power. Does it draw power all the time, or only when the outboard or Garmin unit is on? Trying to see if I need to add a switch on the 12v power supply. Thanks!

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

In short, yes. But everything you have onboard will draw power even if you turn it off at the device since things like a chart plotter is in a ready state. I would highly suggest installing a battery ON/OFF switch from Blue Seas for your boat. It’s simple to hook up and will cut all power when your boat is not in use and you turn the battery switch to OFF. Thanks for watching!

[@chadthibodeaux3947]

Do you have a list of parts and part #’s you used? I also have a Suzuki that I’d like to connect with my Garmin plotter

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

The parts used are listed in the description and I believe I used 16AWG wire, thank you for watching !

[@jw228w]

just found your excellent video on engine data setup. i have lowrance hds display and yamaha 250,also gateway box. i didnt notice a gateway box in your video, perhaps i missed it or can you elaborate. also in your fuel used, do you after a trip refill your tank, then put in that amount of fuel used to reset data, or is there something else. thanks john

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Thank you for the comment. With Yamaha you do need the gateway, with the Suzuki I don’t need one. As for fuel, when I fill up, I add how many gallons were in my tank to what I added, basically resetting on my MFD fuel.

[@ericmalvarez]

Excellent video! Do you know if oil pressure can be viewed as well?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Thank you, unfortunately it doesn’t show oil pressure.

[@fishhuntbiker127]

I was wondering what engine data do you get on the garmin? When I wired mine up all I get is rpm, fuel burn, volts, engine temp. I was expecting to get more data. Plus I see a forward and reverse indicator. When I shift into forward it shows forward. When I shift into reverse it still shows forward. Does yours do that? Thanks

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Yes on the main display that’s what you will see. BUT if you have a Garmin unit, you can go into the menu like this, select: GAUGES, NUMBERS, MENU, CHANGE NUMBERS. Then you can select a panel to change and select ENGINE, then scroll to find ENGINE HOURS, etc. and select it. I’m sure other units have something similar to see other data. As for the gear selection, that’s all it will do. Thank you watching!

[@fishhuntbiker127]

Thanks

[@koalajs]

Hi, I am curious about the shift indicator, mine does the same in forward it shows forward in neutral it shows neutral and in revers it shows forward. Is there anyway to correct this ?

[@fishhuntbiker127]

@@koalajs I never did figure that one out. Sorry

[@CobiaCasey]

What size wire to make the sds adapter longer? Can you use butt connectors instead of solder?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Casey Guynes : I used 14 AWG wire to make my extensions. I could have went with a smaller gauge wire to match the SDS wire harness wires, but decided with the 14 AWG because of the length. You can use butt connectors, but I would make sure they are heat shrink connectors with heat activated adhesive to make a solid seal. Thanks watching !

[@CobiaCasey]

@@SoCalSeaChaser Thank you so much!

[@jasinc19]

Anyone else notice the pdf says to order 2 male ends for sds adapter and looks like we actually need 2 female

[@kcmartin7091]

I have a question, on the back of your suzuki tachometer there is a 4 prong plug did that tie into one of the plugs on the interface?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

No you don’t connect anything to the Suzuki tach. The extra wire from the wire harness just gets tape up, you can see this at 13:45 of the video. Hope this helps. Thanks for watching!

[@kcmartin7091]

Ah ok I gotcha, yes sir no problem! Sorry to keep bothering you but is anything plugged into your 4 prong plug in the back of your tachometer or did you leave it unplugged when you installed it? I have the exact tachometer but my wiring harness doesn't have a plug for me to plug it into. Just trying to figure this out if I buy the nmea 2000, because right now my red lights on the gauge won't work because I don't have a plug for it, but everything else works on the tachometer

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Not 100% sure if this helps, but you should have a plug that is apart of your motors wiring harness when you bought the motor that goes into the wires coming off of the tach. I believe the Suzuki part code is: 36620 93J52. This is a separate harness that plugs into the back of your tach to supply engine information such as, oil changes, warning lights (the red lights) and to make your tach functional. If you don’t have this separate harness, your tach is useless.

[@country5318]

Will the analog gauges still work with this setup? Is there a splitter to use?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Yes the analog gauge will continue to work connecting it in the way as seen in the video.

[@figatelliSTI]

Hello and thank you for your video. I have a 2019 Suzuki DF140 with analog gauges. My local suzuki dealer tells me that it is impossible to connect my engine to my Garmin sounder in order to have the data via the NMEA network because I do not have a suzuki multifunction display. Is that true or does he just want me to spend money on him?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

You can follow my video and hook it up. My motor is a 2018 DF60

[@chrisantoniou8867]

Great work!! I have done the same upgrade recently.Any ideas how to see litres or gallons/nautical mile on Garmin Plotters? I only see litres/hour

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

I can’t remember exactly how and I can’t get to my unit at this time because I just started to do a rewire in my boat. BUT try this, go into the menu, select: GAUGES, NUMBERS, MENU, and then I think there’s a sub menu where you can make adjustments, but like I said I not 100% sure if this is correct. Thank you watching!

[@chrisantoniou8867]

@@SoCalSeaChaser Thank you, will try it. Have a great day

[@georgeantonopoulos3424]

Χρήστο καλησπέρα! σε τι μοντέλο συνδεσες το καλώδιο?

[@chrisantoniou8867]

@@georgeantonopoulos3424 Καλησπέρα Γιώργο, σε μια DF90 του 2008 (την παλια την διλιτρη (1950cc).

[@chrisantoniou8867]

@@SoCalSeaChaser It was something really simple, litres per NM was not showing because it was set to water speed and not GPS speed. I changed it and it works fine. Thought to write it here also in case someone else stumble upon it.

[@salmanbinabdullah2683]

Hi, will it works with my Suzuki 250Hp year 2010? Thanks

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

I believe it would, but I can’t guarantee it. Please refer to the link in the description.

[@nitefin8570]

Thanks for the video, do you know what size wire you used for the extension to the SDS harness?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

I used either 14 or 16awg, but I believe it was 14.

[@josephbankuti1652]

Hi great vid I am purchasing a df80 tiller. Been told I need to go though gauge Suzuki Australia. Connecting to Lowrance HDS9 Gen3. What’s needed for this please. And if I can do without gauge what will be missing? Fault codes ect Thanks Joe + and -

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Without the gauge you will be missing the fault codes, oil warning, etc. I’m not sure if Australia has different connection compared to here in the US, but check out the link in the description from Moonlighter, there is some information in there regarding Australia parts I believe. Also look in your Lowrance manual to make sure it’s capable of NMEA2000 network, some are not.

[@josephbankuti1652]

@@SoCalSeaChaser Found out the tiller has a digital gauge that will do codes.

[@paullipschitz]

Awesome video. Very helpful. Is it possible to have analog tacos working as well as the digital feed to Garmin?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Thank you and yes your analog tach will still work.

[@georgeantonopoulos3424]

Hello i have a suzuki df 80 2022 model year and a furuno tztl3.i do everything right the nmea regonize the network but the instruments on my screen dont work.any idea what i m doing wrong?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Hi George, I not familiar with the Furuno mfd unit you have, but if it’s seeing the nk2, you might not have a correct setting in your mfd enabled. I would look through your manual and see if there is a specific setting that needs to be enabled for it to read the data. Wish I could help more, good luck.

[@koalajs]

Did you set your unit and selected the engine ? Although nmea recognises the interface you may still need to select the engine...

[@mavilerinarasinda]

Is it possible to see engine guages and nav. Charts at the same time for this device?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

You can not see the gauges that I know of, but you can set up in the menu to have those types of displays, displayed in the corners.

[@gpmike02]

You should be able to edit a favorite and do a split screen. Nav on one side and gauges on the other

[@craigclifford197]

Hi SoCal Sea Chaser, Yes I do mean the female connector on the engine, cheers

[@eagleaquatics3342]

Great video! Are you able to see the engine hours as well?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Yes, on Garmin go to GAUGES, NUMBERS, MENU, CHANGE NUMBERS. Then select a panel to change and select ENGINE, then scroll to find ENGINE HOURS and select it. You’re all done. Thanks for watching!!

[@StructureFishing]

I have another question. I just installed everything (coincidently I have the same as you, 60hp and connecting to a Garmin unit). My Garmin unit is not picking up my outboard. I turned the outboard on, but not running. Does the outboard need to run?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Make sure you follow the steps setting it up, in the video it starts at 16:20. You won’t see much till you turn on your motor, like the RPM’s.

[@StructureFishing]

@@SoCalSeaChaser THANKS! I thought the Garmin unit would automatically recognize it. Hope that is the issue. Will try later this evening. Thanks again!

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

@@StructureFishing I don't have the boat anymore, but from memory I believe you do need to go in and set it up. Good luck and tell me how it goes !

[@StructureFishing]

@@SoCalSeaChaser I'm stumped. From what I read online, if I turn the outboard on not running it should be recognized. But it's not showing on my Garmin. Double checked all connections and have 12 volt power. When I went to NMEA settings, then device list it shows my Garmin in only option is to change the name. I guess I'll try this weekend with the engine running on the water and see if it works

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

@@StructureFishing Try this: With your key turned ON, power up your Garmin unit and go to - Gauge Set Up- Auto Configure Gauages first. Go back and select Engine Selection and it shoud auto detect your motor. If not you can choose Reset Auto Configuration. Then go back to Engine Selection and set Number of Engines to AUTO or select "1". Then go back to Gauge Set Up and select Set Gauge Limits. After that you should be able to go to your HOME screen and select Engine data or something similar, and see your gauges. You can turn on your motor for a couple seconds to see if the RPM gauge works on your Garmin.

[@leww1982]

Is this working on df20A?

[@cesarcortes3118]

Great video bro. Wondering if my 1999 honda is compatible with my garmin echomap... ima have to check it out. This video will be so helpful. Thanks!

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Thanks for the comment! I'm not sure if your motor is capable, but here's a link to help you out regarding your motor. support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=xvlyBSzSSf5gczlECxlF89 You will also need to make sure your Garmin unit has NMEA 2000 capabilities. If everything checks out good, you will have an easier time connecting the NMEA 2000 network. Tight lines !

[@terrykrok3011]

MY ENGINE DATA IS NOT REGISTERING ON THE GPS SCREEN. MUST BE A BAD SUZUKI INTERFACE CONNECTION?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

First make sure all of your NMEA setting on your MFD are set to receive NMEA data and make sure it is set to receive the correct data speed. If that doesn't work, I would disconnect everything and then reconnect everything on the deck of your boat to see if you get the NMEA data from your motor to your MFD. If you get data, then you know everything works, if not, then you might have a bad connection. Another suggest is, if you are making a long wire run, longer wires will loose data, especially NMEA data that is over 20 feet in total length. So you could try moving your backbone further towards the back of your boat in a protected area where you can connect everything using the extension drop cable. Hope this will help some.

[@ainsleytaylor224]

How do you go about fuel level gauge in this.?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

I no longer have a Garmin unit, but I believe you go to GAUGES, NUMBERS, MENU, CHANGE NUMBERS. If not I know it’s in the menu settings. THX for watching!

[@craigclifford197]

Hi SoCal Sea Chaser, I have been looking at this for some time but until now have not been able to get much info, I have Suzuki 2012 Df 140 and the engine connector has different colour wires than that described in your vid, mine are (looking at connector) top left (black), top right (yellow, orange stripe), bottom left (white /grey), bottom right (yellow), are you able to tell me the wires I would need to utilize, cheers mate

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

To clarify are you talking about the “female” plug on the motor or the “male” plug on the SDS adapter?

[@craigclifford197]

@@SoCalSeaChaser Yes I do mean the female connector on the engine, cheers

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

@@craigclifford197 With that female plug coming off of the motor, you should just be able to plug the new SDS male adapter plug directly into it, since you’re not doing anything with the plug coming off of the motor, that female plug stays unchanged. Only the purchased SDS adapter “wires” need to be extended so they can reach your helm or wherever you will be installing your interface cable and backbone. I would also suggest before moving forward, is to reach out to “Moonlighter 475”, he’s the mastermind behind this and can help to clarify. You’ll be able to find him on The Hull Truth forum or the Suzuki Outboard forum. Hope this helps!

[@craigclifford197]

@@SoCalSeaChaser Howdy, thanks for your reply, one last question, would the parts you listed in your clip be the same that I would need to fit out my Suzuki 2012 Df140 to Garmin 95SV, your clip layed it all out very well, cheers

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

I will say 100% yes the interface cable and Garmin N2K starter kit will work with your Garmin echomap 95SV. I believe the SDS adapter plug should work connecting to your motor, but not 100% sure since I’m not to familiar with that year Suzuki plug. Once you have all the parts, you can quickly connect everything before hand to see if you get all your data on your unit. All but the SDS cable are very long, so you can stretch them out across your deck first.

[@figatelliSTI]

Hello, I followed your video from A to Z and my sounder does not recognize the NMEA network. I connected all the cables as you do and my sounder does not recognize the NMEA network. I tested the different cables, there is indeed 12v everywhere and I have no solution. Is it possible to test the suzuki interface cable? If yes, how ? There is indeed the 12v coming on it but I can't find anything coming out. Is it normal ? The cable was bought on ebay in the USA. My engine is a DF140 from 2019 France. Thanks

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

First off what chart plotter do you have? I would carefully check every connection to make sure none of your connections are disconnected. You will need to check the wires coming off of your motor that you connected the SDS adapter to for continuity. Double check to make sure you connected the correct wires to the correct ends. Also make sure your NMEA2000 backbone is connected with the power cable and you have terminals on both ends of the backbone. Hope that helps.

[@figatelliSTI]

@@SoCalSeaChaser Thank you for your reply and the time you take to help me. Everything is well connected but I may be on the start of the track. I just tried leaving the wires appearing in the boat and used a 6m (19.6ft) long NMEA cable to connect the interface to the T. Apparently there may be issues due to the cable length. Have you heard of it ? Thanks

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

@@figatelliSTI To help troubleshoot, I would disconnect everything and redo the SDS cable wires to how they were originally. Then reconnect everything on the deck of your boat to see if you get the NMEA data from your motor to your MFD. If you get data, then you know everything works and you either have a bad splice or your wire length is to long. To answer your question, yes longer wires will loose data, especially NMEA data. So if your SDS wire harness is over 6m from the motor to the interface cable, you might be loosing data. Mine is 2.5m long. Also if the wires are not properly connected (spliced together) you will loose data. If you bought the starter kit from Garmin (I believe Lowrance has the same cables) you should have a NMEA2000 drop (extension) cable. You could try moving your backbone further towards the back of your boat in a protected area where you can connect everything. This might help.

[@figatelliSTI]

@@SoCalSeaChaser Thanks for your help. I'm going to try this weekend to extend the SDS cable to get it into the cabin instead of using the 6m garmin NMEA cable. We'll see if that solves my problem. Thanks

[@kirdud]

Why you just not extract pins from connector and pass a cable through?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Good question and the reason I did not take the pins out of the plug was to be cautious. If I was to accidently break a pin I'm out a couple dollars, not to big of a deal. BUT if I accidently broke the plug, the plug can only be purchased from Japan as it's a special item not sold here in the US. 3rd if I broke the plug I would be out $40 making my SDS adapter useless and I out another $40.

[@lynnwoodbosch9488]

Do you have a parts list?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Yes in the description and at the beginning of the video.

[@joshcraig9423]

What gauge wire did you use for the SDS harness?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

I used 14 AWG wire to make my extensions, although I could have went with a smaller gauge wire to match the SDS wire harness wires. Thanks for watching !

[@gerardoguzman2435]

Thabks bro, this is my next project is there a way to reach you with some questions??

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Thanks for watching and if you go to the “Discussion” tab on my channel, you can ask questions there. This would be the best way since I don’t have anything set up at this time.

[@gerardoguzman2435]

Thanks, correct me if im wrong, but in a nutshell, you go from the motor with the harness to the adapter to nmea system branch. At same.time that nmea need to be energized with 12v thats another cable amd branch. And the other cable is from the nmea branch thru the garmin cable to the garmin unit... Right?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

The SDS adapter, to the interface cable, to the backbone. The NMEA backbone needs 12V power, which is the YELLOW cable you can see me connecting at the 14:20 mark of the video. Also make sure to put the end caps on the backbone.

[@thegreatproductspage1860]

music is killing this video..

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Sorry you didn’t like the music, but muting the volume solves that problem. Thanks for watching!

[@thebrownb01]

Curious why you didn't just use a NMEA extension cable instead of making one?

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

The SDS wire harness is only 4’ long and the connection would terminate in the splashwell. So I didn’t want the interface and SDS connecters in an area that constantly gets wet with saltwater. I also wanted everything under the helm, so I easily extended the SDS wire harness up there.

[@thebrownb01]

I still don’t get it. Run a nmea extension cable. It’s still all under the helm and you don’t have to splice wires.

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

@@thebrownb01 The main problem for me and possibly for others is, the SDS cable is only 4 feet long. Because of this, if I didn’t cut the wires and the SDS harness was in tack, the short wire harness would terminate in my splash/motor well. The plug on the opposite end of the SDS harness would be connected to the engine interface cable outside in my splash well, exposing it to saltwater, causing corrosion. To not have this happen, I chose to cut the SDS wires for 2 reasons. Cutting my SDS adapter wires allowed me to easily feed them in and through the rubber plug via the hole I drilled out. This now allowed me to run my wires, through my rigging plug, along my rigging, into my boat and connect the SDS connector to the engine interface cable in a dry area, near my side controls. This also frees up wire clutter from the engine interface cable in my battery compartment. Having the backbone up under the helm in a dry area too, also allows me to connect any other future NMEA2000 devices easily.

[@jasonrutherfordbassfishing]

In order to properly marine solder wires or just solder in general, use the iron to heat the wiring up and “suck” the solder into the wire splice area. Just touching the iron tip to the solder to melt it into the wires is a very poor practice and it won’t hold long and cause corrosion because the solder didn’t “absorb” into the wire. Anyone who wants to do this I highly suggest you watch a video on proper soldering techniques.

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Thank you for your comment and yes that is true, my soldering technique was not proper at this time. I had to improvise because my iron was not working properly and was intermittent, hence the reason I used a lineman splice over doing a mesh link with no flux. Melting solder on the wire and using the lineman splice was the best option for the connection, at the time, to add strength so soldering the way I did, the wires won’t pull apart. Plus the wires have heat shirk on them and electrical tape, to help with waterproofing and against corrosion. To add I’ve since gone away from soldering on the majority of connections and have move towards the faster and secure way of using the newer heat shrink sealed butt connecters. Also I’ve redid all my connections to my fuse panel with heat shrink terminal connectors for anyone curious. Thank you for watching!

[@chrism6575]

Why music? Seriously voice is more important than rave music.

[@eyeconspiracy]

So it costs $250 in wiring just to get get some info onto a screen? Absurd...

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

The info displayed in the video is just a quarter of all the engine and other data you can get, plus I’m able to connect other NMEA2000 devices to the network.

[@paullipschitz]

@eyeconspiracy $250 is nothing compared to what you can save in fuel once you can see consumption

[@geneseeelectronics5833]

MUSIC TOO LOAD

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

If it's to loud, your volume is to loud.

[@surfsalterpath]

..... take out that annoying music overlay!

[@RVR18001]

Are you located in south florida to do that work for me

[@CaptainRon1913]

Hard to watch, jerking the camera around

[@SoCalSeaChaser]

Literally the only shaking of the video is from 1:30 to 2:20 and about 10 seconds of that is still frames with the majority of that segment is me loosing and tightening screws. 👍 Thank you for “watching”