Let's talk MEFI

[TommyTuna]

Hi Folks - looking into creating a fuel gauge/fuel flow monitor to hookup to a 2022 Monsoon m5di. I have been having a heck of a time finding any details on the MEFI version / diag connectors / cable required to hook into this latest Gen of engine.

can someone share this info please?

My initial thought was replicating the Fuel Scanner project on Wakegarage but unsure if that would work on the new engines.

plan B was to hookup a NMEA engine gateway (I.e fox marine)  to get the data accessible and flowing to the phone over Bluetooth. I suppose once exposed on NMEA network you could integrate with all sorts of things including Navionics App and start to derive real-time MPG which would be really cool.

[justgary]

2 hours ago, TommyTuna said:

Hi Folks - looking into creating a fuel gauge/fuel flow monitor to hookup to a 2022 Monsoon m5di. I have been having a heck of a time finding any details on the MEFI version / diag connectors / cable required to hook into this latest Gen of engine.

can someone share this info please?

My initial thought was replicating the Fuel Scanner project on Wakegarage but unsure if that would work on the new engines.

plan B was to hookup a NMEA engine gateway (I.e fox marine)  to get the data accessible and flowing to the phone over Bluetooth. I suppose once exposed on NMEA network you could integrate with all sorts of things including Navionics App and start to derive real-time MPG which would be really cool.

I have not had a chance to investigate a newer engine, so you may be your own best source of information.  Perhaps a service tech at your local dealer can at least answer the questions about version and where the connector(s) are.  I would not be surprised to learn that the connector is under the dash since the CAN bus also includes the helm.  Once you find that, we could start looking at data to try to find what you seek.

The big question is whether you want to actually get your hands dirty or if you just want to plug an appliance in that gives you what you want.

[TommyTuna]

1 hour ago, justgary said:

I have not had a chance to investigate a newer engine, so you may be your own best source of information.  Perhaps a service tech at your local dealer can at least answer the questions about version and where the connector(s) are.  I would not be surprised to learn that the connector is under the dash since the CAN bus also includes the helm.  Once you find that, we could start looking at data to try to find what you seek.

The big question is whether you want to actually get your hands dirty or if you just want to plug an appliance in that gives you what you want.

TBH was hoping It would simple using a obd-MEFI gateway (like fox marine) or NMEA wifi gateway. I was hoping Garmin might be using NMEA 2000 to pull engine data as all their other marine gear using NMEA.. unless of course they did something proprietary for Malibu. If NMEA is being used, would be pretty easy to hook into and use iPhone app to create custom fuel consumption gauge.

[justgary]

1 hour ago, TommyTuna said:

TBH was hoping It would simple using a obd-MEFI gateway (like fox marine) or NMEA wifi gateway. I was hoping Garmin might be using NMEA 2000 to pull engine data as all their other marine gear using NMEA.. unless of course they did something proprietary for Malibu. If NMEA is being used, would be pretty easy to hook into and use iPhone app to create custom fuel consumption gauge.

I'm not saying it isn't exactly that, but you may find that you have to experiment a bit to find out.  I wouldn't mind helping, but I don't have access to a current boat to play.

[TommyTuna]

2 minutes ago, justgary said:

I'm not saying it isn't exactly that, but you may find that you have to experiment a bit to find out.  I wouldn't mind helping, but I don't have access to a current boat to play.

Likewise - boat won’t be here until spring 2022. I have emails into FoxMarine to see if they have details on gateway compatibility.

[justgary]

1 hour ago, TommyTuna said:

Likewise - boat won’t be here until spring 2022. I have emails into FoxMarine to see if they have details on gateway compatibility.

I see.  You might want to check with copperhilltech.com as well.  They have some interesting parts for what looks like very reasonable prices.

[rakr]

Edit... Diode on the orange cable did the trick. I am kind of embarrassed, I didn't buy the diode first...

 

nyone have a good lead on a windows 10 driver. I tried a few earlier in the season and couldn’t get it to connect. I got the “beeps” on our last day on the water. 
 

kids got to tube and as soon as we started back to the dock to switch people and gear out, 2 short beeps, 2 long beeps. 
 

winky blinky is on its way, but I’d like to get @GaryDoug’s software to work. 

Edited May 31, 2022 by rakr

[justgary]

20 minutes ago, rakr said:

Anyone have a good lead on a windows 10 driver. I tried a few earlier in the season and couldn’t get it to connect. I got the “beeps” on our last day on the water. 
 

kids got to tube and as soon as we started back to the dock to switch people and gear out, 2 short beeps, 2 long beeps. 
 

winky blinky is on its way, but I’d like to get @GaryDoug’s software to work. 

What device are you using to do the serial port conversion?  Winders has a nasty habit of killing your driver if it is not a genuine FTDI chip.  It is possible to remove the driver, reboot the computer, and install the driver to get it to work again.  It will work that time, but Winders will kill it again after you remove the device from the USB port.  The fix is to make sure you buy a genuine FTDI part rather than a knockoff.

[rakr]

4 hours ago, justgary said:

What device are you using to do the serial port conversion?  Winders has a nasty habit of killing your driver if it is not a genuine FTDI chip.  It is possible to remove the driver, reboot the computer, and install the driver to get it to work again.  It will work that time, but Winders will kill it again after you remove the device from the USB port.  The fix is to make sure you buy a genuine FTDI part rather than a knockoff.

FTDI TTL-232R-5V-WE off Amazon  

I’ll check the last driver I installed here in a bit. 

[rakr]

@justgary

[justgary]

@rakr- A quick check at FTDI shows that 2.12.28 is outdated.  I didn't look at the change log, but 2.12.36.4 is the most current.  It would seem that yours should still work, but maybe an update will help.

https://ftdichip.com/drivers/vcp-drivers/

[rakr]

@justgary I’ll try to give it a whirl tonight. Thanks. 

[rakr]

Updated driver same result. OBD port end stayed plugged in. Turn the ignition on (not started), started the program and hit connect/reset.  I checked the Comms tab and there was a "Data timeout - signal missing (Engine)" in the data errors section. There was earlier mention of changing USB port and trying again, but that didn't work for me.

There is totally a possibility I could have not made the cable properly, or I have a bad connection, but I am not certain that is my issue. I soldered and crimped the connections.

Here is the output:

Response:  cs=98 Bad checksum!

Bad response:  F4 57 01 00 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4

Time=9:01:14 PM

Shutup request----F45608AE----

Shutup request----F45608AE----

Shutup request----F45608AE----

Idle traffic:F4 56 08 AE F4 56 08 AE F4 56 08 AE

Engine request-->--F4570100B4----

[justgary]

21 minutes ago, rakr said:

Updated driver same result. OBD port end stayed plugged in. Turn the ignition on (not started), started the program and hit connect/reset.  I checked the Comms tab and there was a "Data timeout - signal missing (Engine)" in the data errors section. There was earlier mention of changing USB port and trying again, but that didn't work for me.

There is totally a possibility I could have not made the cable properly, or I have a bad connection, but I am not certain that is my issue. I soldered and crimped the connections.

Here is the output:

Response:  cs=98 Bad checksum!

Bad response:  F4 57 01 00 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4 B4

Time=9:01:14 PM

Shutup request----F45608AE----

Shutup request----F45608AE----

Shutup request----F45608AE----

Idle traffic:F4 56 08 AE F4 56 08 AE F4 56 08 AE

Engine request-->--F4570100B4----

It looks to me like it is only seeing what your computer is saying, and it sees nothing at all from the ECM.  Double check your wiring.

[rakr]

14 hours ago, justgary said:

It looks to me like it is only seeing what your computer is saying, and it sees nothing at all from the ECM.  Double check your wiring.

I ran Gary's loop back exe and that had an output. Maybe the ground in the USB cable or the ground on the ECM connector is bad? It looks like there is some testing you can do with a multi meter on the back side of the OBD connector. Ill look into that this evening. The Dealership was able to run diagnostics on it in Feb of this year, so I am not super inclined to think it is a bad ground on the OBD connector.  

[rakr]

I jumped the two wires to put it into "service mode" and the constant beeping now has a "code" with the ignition on, but not started. This leads be to believe my ground on the OBD connector is good, the loop back test is good which means my cable/connections is most likely good. Tried it on two different computers, so either the program isn't working properly (which I doubt), my FTDI cable is bad in some weird way, or there is a keyboard actuator error...

It seems almost impossible to try to interpret the beeping out of the helm to come up with a code. I have had a few barley pops tonight so that probably isn't helping. Called around to nerd friends looking for a 12V LED, but no dice. Winky Blinky is coming Friday. Should have bought all this crap in the spring when I was messing around with it the first time around. There's always tomorrow, but its going to be 80 and sunny this weekend in MI. sigh...

[rakr]

Got impatient. Grabbed a 12v bulb from the auto parts store and a paper clip. Code 12 over and over… fake a lake tomorrow. 

[ShuManChu]

On 5/22/2018 at 7:41 AM, GaryDoug said:

I can't duplicate the unhandled exception error here. Can you copy and paste the complete error message?

Edit: Never mind, I think I found it.

Try this one: http://www.mediafire.com/file/awrqmqy9pgdrgza/MEFI4.exe/file

 

Is there a working link to download the MEFI-4 version? I would love to try this out. I found the MEFI-3 version link posted earlier and that one still works, but I need the MEFI-4. Any help is greatly appreciated. 

[GaryDoug]

1 hour ago, ShuManChu said:

Is there a working link to download the MEFI-4 version? I would love to try this out. I found the MEFI-3 version link posted earlier and that one still works, but I need the MEFI-4. Any help is greatly appreciated. 

https://www.mediafire.com/file/w7tha9892wz83ev/MEFI4_beta20.zip/file

[ShuManChu]

3 minutes ago, GaryDoug said:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/w7tha9892wz83ev/MEFI4_beta20.zip/file

Wow, thank you so much!!! I'll give it a shot as soon as I get the parts to make the cable. 

[justgary]

I just wanted to tidy up the information in this thread so a person could know how to build a cable without chasing a bunch of posts.

Purchase list:

• TTL-232R-5V-WE - USB RS232/5V TTL Cable (do not get the 3.3 volt cable!)
• 12045808 - Delphi Connector Housing (MetriPack 150 series)
• 12124264 - Connector Lock (cover)
• 12045773 - Pins (You can figure out how to crimp them with pliers; buy spares)
• 15324973 - Cable Seal (Not required, but the wires fit better with them; one needed per pin)
• 1N4148 - Silicon Diode (any silicon diode should do)

The wiring diagram is simple:

Except that you also add the diode inline with the orange wire.  Put the cathode (with the stripe) toward the USB connector.

Also think about whether you want to add a switch to jumper pins A and B for Service Mode.  Generally you won't need it, but the choice is yours.  Consider doing a decent job of making this cable up.  It will be around for a while.

[MalibuResponseLXi]

First of all, thanks to your all for sharing all of this information.

I tried to read a Malibu response LX 2008 equiped with a indmar Monsoon 340 engine.

When connecting the cable one thing occurd to me, the plug on the engine side did not respond to the drawing. There was no wire on the engine site on PIN A. And probably because of that there was no reading of the engine data.

Must I have/use a different plug/wire?

regard, Mathijs

 

[justgary]

6 hours ago, MalibuResponseLXi said:

First of all, thanks to your all for sharing all of this information.

I tried to read a Malibu response LX 2008 equiped with a indmar Monsoon 340 engine.

When connecting the cable one thing occurd to me, the plug on the engine side did not respond to the drawing. There was no wire on the engine site on PIN A. And probably because of that there was no reading of the engine data.

Must I have/use a different plug/wire?

regard, Mathijs

 

I don't know the year model that Indmar changed systems.  Does your engine have an HVS distributor (with the plug wire towers arranged horizontally in two rows of four, or are the towers vertical and spaced evenly?  If it is HVS you most likely have a MEFI 5 system, which uses a CAN bus.  This cable is used for older MEFI systems that have an OBD-1 8192 Baud datalink.

MEFI 5 should have a 1x6 (six position) connector.  Previous versions (applicable to this thread) used a 2x5 (ten position) connector.

[rakr]

is there any way to "capture" the trouble codes as they flash by on the "Trouble Codes" tab. I have some "General Warnings", and it looked like there were a couple of different ones popping up. Below is a screen shot of the Status and Engine Data tab from this morning while not hooked up. While it was hooked up, there was an additional General Warning 1 - input that was "On". I do see that Oxy 1 = 1, so I can start looking into that as well.

I can do a screen record to catch them as well, but checking to see if something is built into the app to log those. Thanks!!!

 

[justgary]

@GaryDoug