Volvo MD 1-20 Temp Gauge

[Rover78]

My new MD1-20 engine came installed with no gauges, no key, a couple of warning bells and an electronic box that appears to have no useful function except to overheat and kill the engine. (I had to get that out first). What I want to do is add a regular oil pressure gauge and an engine temp gauge to the coolant side of the heat exchanger so I can have my eyes on the engine vitals. The heat exchanger gets pretty darn hot with no discernible increase to the exhaust water exiting the motor. The engine is new so I have no feel for what's normal on this motor but I'm starting to suspect a bad thermostat. I have a few months left under warranty but I'm having trouble getting any hands on help from the installer or nearby V-P dealers. So far, the only possible sending unit location I've found for the temp gauge is the hot water take off for a cabin heating system. Any thoughts?

[bil56]

the coolant temperature is about 85°C (like cars)
variable exhaust water temperature, depending on seawater temperature and engine load, often barely lukewarm

./.

[Rover78]

Thanks bil
that gives me a number to shoot for when I get a gauge on it but I still can't help feeling that something is wrong, or will go wrong and I won't know until I toast the electronic module that's located just below the heat exchanger. I also wonder if there is already a temp and / or oil pressure sending unit somewhere on the engine that speaks to the electronics module, if so, I'd like to connect it into my NMEA 2000 backbone.

[bil56]

it all depends on the EVC generation of your engine, I don't know the D1-20 specifically
generation EVC-D, EVC-E (old?), EVC2 (new?)
I believe the NMEA interface is optional...

./.

[Rover78]

OK, so the next step is to get the EVC model and a correct wiring diagram and assume that there is already a temp sending unit somewhere on the freshwater coolant side of the motor that feeds information to the EVC. Thanks for helping me get a little further to the answer. By the way, I've always wanted a twin keel boat that will stand on it's own.

[AllenRbrts]

Not sure about that specific engine but yacht devices makes a nmea engine bridge. We have it on our D2-55. Gives everything but oil pressure. Apparent you can get oil pressure if you change the sender. The bridge plugs into the tach wiring harness https://www.yachtd.com/products/engine_gateway.html

[Rover78]

Excellent! I'll contact their tech support to get the right unit, and the site indicates support for D1 and D2 engines. I'm already using a Garmin multi-function-display and I think you just saved me from having to core another 2" hole in my dash. Thanks again.

[DougR]

Your engine should have been supplied with, at a minimum, a control button panel and a tach with LCD alarm information window. Additional instruments are available, and they daisy chain off of the tachometer. The additional instruments are: volt meter, coolant temp., fuel level, and an alarm indicator. All of the data to drive these instruments is currently flowing on the can bus, but you do have to connect to a fuel tank sender to get the fuel gauge to function.

Volvo Penta makes an NMEA 2000 gateway if you want to put the engine data onto a NMEA 2000 bus for your MFD.

However, if you want oil pressure info on your NMEA bus you will have to add an oil pressure sender to the engine to provide the data, as your engine doesn’t have one. The VP gateway pulls data from the engine can bus (J1939) and it has no way to gather oil pressure info, so perhaps an aftermarket gateway that can accept resistive data from a sender would work better for you. Or, just add a sender and an analog gauge at say the nav station.