Suzuki Gauge to Lowrance - NMEA 183 to 2000

brucehawsker · 16 August 2018, 07:18

Hi,

How do I get my old Lowrance kit (which is I think NMEA 183) to talk to my new Suzuki 2018 gauge (which is I think NMEA 2000) on my new engine? Specifically I want to get the GPS data over so I can enable fuel economy monitoring.

i have been recommended Actisense NGW-1 at about £120. Is this essential or is it overkill? And what about any special cable adaptors?

I have a Lowrance 7000 plotter and a Lowrance 332C depth finder/plotter, one of which is already successfully linked to my DSC radio.

As always, many thanks for advice and help.

Bruce

Pikey Dave · 16 August 2018, 18:31

Assuming you have a basic NMEA 2000 network, the easiest way would be to put a N2k GPS receiver onto the network. That should allow your gauge to show fuel economy. Personally I wouldn't bugger about trying to get the NMEA 0183 to talk to the N2k network. It will probably work, but might not. Is yours the new square Suzuki colour gauge that doesn't need an engine interface & plugs directly to the engine? Without knowing what you've actually got, it's difficult to give a definitive answer.

Erin · 16 August 2018, 18:39

I think your 332C is N2K capable but perhaps you are not using that side of it. You should be able to create a simple N2K network between the Suzuki gauge and the 332 and I would expect the 332 to parse GPS speed data from the NMEA0183 side of things onto the N2K network. Just need to check the parse (bridging) bit first.

brucehawsker · 19 August 2018, 09:29

My Suzuki guage is the black and white one which plugs into a box on the way to the engine. Sorry for the non technical terminology