ES128 and ES127 Not Displaying Engine Data on IPS Boat

[JohnBRI]

I purchased a 2 year old 42' Regal Sport Coupe that only had a basic third party MFD as it was a lake boat. Now in the Northeast I had all the third party electronics removed and replaced with Raymarine ES128, ES127, RD424HD Radar, T70164 Autopilot and an AIS650. My installer was told that due to this boat having Volvo Penta IPS system he needed to add a Raymarine E12194 IPS Gateway for the Autopilot in addition to the Volvo IPS Gateway that came with the boat for the MFD's.

The MFD's are installed and networked into the IPS Gateway that the third party MFD had been connected to. With the third party MFD I had complete display of all engine parameters but when I go to the Data Screen on either the 127 or 128 I can only see depth and location. No engine data is displayed. My question is whether I need to do anything else to enable the engine data to be displayed on the MFD's beyond connecting them to the IPS Gateway as with the third party MFD?

Hoping someone has had some experience connecting Raymarine equipment to an IPS system. Note the Autopilot has not been installed to the second gateway yet.

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

Welcome to the Raymarine Forum John,

Through partnership with Volvo, Garmin products may be interfaced with Volvo IPS engine systems in a manner which may be different than that required by other marine electronics manufacturers. When interfacing a Raymarine Evolution Autopilot and Raymarine MFD(s) to a Volvo IPS engine system, it is indeed necessary to install an E12194 Volvo IPS Autopilot Interface as well as a Volvo Penta EVC System NMEA 2000 Interface. The latter Volvo product is responsible for sharing engine system data with marine electronics systems via a NMEA 2000 backbone. When interfacing non-IPS Volvo engine systems to Raymarine products, a Raymarine ECI-100 Engine Gateway would typically be recommended.

[JohnBRI]

Hi Chuck,

I appreciate the reply. I looked at your ECI-100 and it has check marks for compatibility for the IPS and also my D4 engines. I'm confused, will the ECI-100 not work?

Also will I need TWO of these type units as there are 2 Volvo Gateways now; the original from Volvo and the Raymarine E12194 for the Autopilot?

Thanks, John

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

John,

An ECI-100 engine gateway would not be recommended for use within a system which already features an E12194 Volvo IPS Autopilot Interface. Should the no Volvo gateways have been previously installed with, then the ECI-100 may have served as both the systems autopilot gateway and engine gateway. As I believe that you have indicated that a Volvo IPS autopilot gateway is already installed onboard, then it would be recommended that a Volvo Penta EVC System NMEA 2000 Interface be installed to support supplying the marine electronics system with engine data.

[JohnBRI]

Chuck, again I appreciate your input and it is getting much clearer to understand. Wish I had contacted you several months back to get advice before purchasing the Volvo IPS Gateway.

I was under the assumption that there must have been a Volvo IPS Gateway already installed in the boat as the engine data was being output to the original Garmin MFD but sounds like that might not be if Garmin and Volvo are working together. Next is the autopilot. Will the Volvo IPS Gateway with the Volvo Penta NMEA 2000 interface together support BOTH the engine data and the Autopilot or do I need a separate set for each? Also, are there any special Raymarine Cables needed with that set up? I don't see a diagram where that hooks into like the great diagram for the ECI-100 which shows connection into the Volvo Multilink Hub.

If I need two sets of the above then I think I am better off to remove the Volvo Gateway that I purchased for the autopilot and just use ECI-100's.

Thank you again for your help. John

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

John,

Q1. Will the Volvo IPS Gateway with the Volvo Penta NMEA 2000 interface together support BOTH the engine data and the Autopilot or do I need a separate set for each?
A1. If I understand the intent of your question, then both of these devices will be required if you are seeking to interface the engine system to an autopilot and that your are additionally seeking to display engine data on the Raymarine MFDs. With respect to the Volvo IPS Autopilot Gateway, only one Volvo IPS Autopilot Gateway would be installed for a pair of IPS engines. I would recommend checking with Volvo regarding whether a NMEA 2000 interfaces will be required for each engine.

Q2: Also, are there any special Raymarine Cables needed with that set up?
A2: The Volvo IPS Gateway with the Volvo Penta NMEA 2000 interface feature DeviceNet male or female sockets. A pair of SeaTalkng to DeviceNet Adapter Cables of the proper gender would be needed to interface the Volvo IPS Gateway with the Volvo Penta NMEA 2000 interface as spurs to the SeaTalkng backbone.

Q3. I don't see a diagram where that hooks into like the great diagram for the ECI-100 which shows connection into the Volvo Multilink Hub.
A3. Unfortunately, the requested diagram has not been produced. You may want to check with Volvo to determine whether they have a diagram showing how their engine systems would be interfaced to a NMEA 2000 backbone.