EVC-C 4" Display - fitting / cabling?

kennyh

kennyh

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 Jun 2006
Messages
378
Location
Firth of Clyde / West Coast Scotland
Visit site
Hi all

I'm considering fitting an EVC-C Multi function Display to my dash, particularly to cover up nasty dash holes that the previous owner left, as well as providing some more info on the operation of the engine of course.

I see that Coastal Rides has a few displays available but are supplied without cables / harness, such as this one

http://coastalrides.co.uk/new-genuine-volvo-penta-evc-c-4-inch-display-21631438-65533004

So, the question is, what else would I need to add this to my standard EVC-C instrument setup (System Tachometer/display, Oil pressure gauge, temp gauge, voltmeter, leg trim gauge).

Would the new multifunction display daisy chain off of the harness or do I need to connect a splitter / hub?
 
IIRC you will just need a 'Y' cable to connect into the instrument harness which goes from the rev counter to the HCU (Helm Control Unit) which is the flat box with a row of plugs on one side and a green flashing LED when the ignition is on, this will be somewhere behind the dash. You can see the type of connector in the advert pic.
 
Do make sure it is exactly the correct model for your EVC system. I was sold stuff from a Volvo dealer, serial numbers provided. It never worked and after much huffing and puffing the other dealer declared it not compatible.

Mine is only a single experience, but it was not plug and play.
 
I agree with jrudge - you must get a compatible unit and there were several generations

It wires in parallel because the data is j1939. The official part was a Y cable with deutsche plugs that you inserted in the line between the HCUs. you can just splice it in if you get the pins/colours right. you'll need a plug to go into the socket on the back of the actual 4 inch display unit but I've forgotten the shape of that. I fitted two of these, to EVC-A then AVC-C, but it was a while ago and memory is sketchy

Remember also that Volvo block some of the EVC-C data on the j1939 with a paywall. Mainly the fuel data. Needs a £600 unlock from a dealer, if you want fuel data
 
I'm working on the view that if it says EVC-C Display, then it should work with my system.

Am I potentially doomed to failure with that premise; is it more complicated than that; do I need to go down to Software revision/ patch level?

I work in IT and certification matrices are readily available for most combinations of products, but I've not been able to track down any similar documents covering EVC modules / software revisions.

Anyone have access to more detailed info?
 
Ok if it is positively marked as C then I'd expect it's ok. I just clicked on yr link- it is the latest style with the smoothie look. So all ok on that front.

I see it has a Deutsch connector. Do you want to buy the wiring harness from Volvo ( in which case I might have part number in an old email but any dealer like volspec can supply) or will you wire it in yourself buy buying a deutsch plug kit? Iirc the Volvo lead is about £80 and a good deutsch kit will cost much of that if you don't already have one

You asked what else you need to buy- remember the paywall fee to get the data
 
Last edited:
I hope to get the multi link cable from Coastal Rides and I hope that the Display to multi link cable is included (which I'll need to check with the seller).

jfm, you mentioned that it was £600 for the Trip Computer update - was that for twin engines? (I've a single
D4 and hope it is cheaper than that!)?
 
Yep twin engines. 775 he D12s. My memory is sketchy as to exact price but it was multiple hundreds of £. Just for fuel flow data

Come to think of it, you then can't bridge the fuel data onto you nav gear to get LPH and range, which is what you really want. You need to buy another black box for that. A single j2k100 from Maretron may be a better buy, if your nav gear is n2k. That's what I currently use- a pair of j2k100s for twin engines and I can see all engine data on n2k
 
kennyh said:
I hope to get the multi link cable from Coastal Rides and I hope that the Display to multi link cable is included (which I'll need to check with the seller).

jfm, you mentioned that it was £600 for the Trip Computer update - was that for twin engines? (I've a single
D4 and hope it is cheaper than that!)?
Click to expand...

I recently had a quote for unlocking the trip computer data on my twin D6 installation and it was £1400. So jfm's £600 for your single engine sounds directionally correct.
 
~ £600 is a crazy price for fuel flow data!

The value of the software update would be to allow you to drive at an efficient point in the consumption curve and thus make some fuel savings.

But at ~ £600, the savings wouldn't come near the investment and thus is unjustifiable (in my case)!
 
kennyh said:
~ £600 is a crazy price for fuel flow data!

The value of the software update would be to allow you to drive at an efficient point in the consumption curve and thus make some fuel savings.

But at ~ £600, the savings wouldn't come near the investment and thus is unjustifiable (in my case)!
Click to expand...

Here you go. If you add this up, it comes to £1394.80 plus vat.

IMG-20150319-01008_zpsffy2sf5c.jpg
 
jfm said:
Yep twin engines. 775 he D12s.

Come to think of it, you then can't bridge the fuel data onto you nav gear to get LPH and range, which is what you really want. You need to buy another black box for that. A single j2k100 from Maretron may be a better buy, if your nav gear is n2k. That's what I currently use- a pair of j2k100s for twin engines and I can see all engine data on n2k
Click to expand...

Did you do the wiring yourself (Maretron to Multilink cable?)? I would be very happy for any help how to wire it.
Got EVC-C (D4) and a J2K100.
 
Here's what I did with my D4 225, knocked up my own break out lead using Deutch connectors, installed the unit and plugged in. No updates, no VP tech visit, no nothing, it all worked perfectly, not that I needed it as I already had the J1939 to N2K box which gave me all I needed on my Garmin but I was offered a 4" so cheap I couldn't refuse so worth a try before spending any money on updates, the 2 way N2K via the 1939 to N2K box allows the 4" to show MPG too as it gives it GPS data.
 
Great! I will just hook the Maretron to my N2000 network so I will get the info to my Garmin.
But did use a Y-cable and spliced that up (for Can high and low)?
Or do you need to splice the cable between the engine and PCU?
 
No, my VP J1939 to N2K gateway used the break out led which I plugged into the HCU and I took the N2K feed to my backbone from that. I believe from previous post that I was very lucky as I didn't have to have a VP software upgrade, I knew it hadn't been done by a previous owner as we were the first.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

lustyd
NMEA2000 Barometer sensor (with Cerbo and Ruuvi)
Replies
18
Views
374
lustyd
lustyd

Share this page

Top