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Mercury Vessel View Mobile

kaydano

kaydano

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Anyone buy this yet? Curious what you like/dislike about it.
 
I don’t know what this is, but have a 200 Mercury Verado Pro on our Bennington. Care to fill me in on what exactly it is: an app? extra digital gage features, something entirely different? Something that is only an option on 2018 Mercury motors, or something that can be added onto any Mercury outboard?

Anyway, I am going to follow this thread...
 
It's a Bluetooth module that you connect in the engine compartment that sends all sorts of motor operations info to your phone. Fault codes, pressures, temps, fuel burn rate, etc. $275. I think it works on most engines 40hp and up, and those built since 2003(?). So, yes, it's a piece of hardware and a free phone app.
 
Thanks for the info. Very curious now to learn more about it.
 
I wish I had it last year when the engine guardian alarm went off about 50 times while we limped 15 miles back to the dock. No idea what was going on. So, wondering if I had this device at the time whether it would have told me it was my alternator. When they looked at it at the shop, it was full of low voltage faults. I had just replaced my alternator. Turned out the connector was loose. Might have been able to fix it on the lake had I known what was wrong.
 
vvm_web_720x500.jpg__295x0_q85_crop-scale_subsampling-2_upscale.jpg

MERCURY VESSELVIEW MOBILE MODULE, NORMALLY $275, IS AVAILABLE FOR JUST $149.99 NOW THROUGH MARCH 31.
Limited-Time Discount on VesselView Mobile
VesselView Mobile lets you use your mobile device (smartphone)
 
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Went to buy it just now. You have to have the serial number and model number for your Mercury motor. Wouldn’t let me complete the transaction without that information. :eek:

That seems absolutely absurd to me that you MUST have that information to order the darn part. Do they want my money or not? o_O

Perhaps some people have boats in storage, and paperwork tucked away at cottage Mercury Marine - you twits! :mad:
 
I thought the same thing when I was ordering mine. I lucked out, I keep all of the serial numbers for my boat and camper in the notes section on my cell phone because I store both of them 200 miles away at Dale Hollow Lake.

I think Mercury does it to keep people / business from buying them and reselling at a higher price. Maybe your boat dealer or insurance company could look it up for you on Monday.
 
Major K said:
I thought the same thing when I was ordering mine. I lucked out, I keep all of the serial numbers for my boat and camper in the notes section on my cell phone because I store both of them 200 miles away at Dale Hollow Lake.

I think Mercury does it to keep people / business from buying them and reselling at a higher price. Maybe your boat dealer or insurance company could look it up for you on Monday.
Click to expand...

And all of the above are why you are a smarter person than me! :D:confused:

By Tuesday I should be able to call one or the other. I see the sale technically goes until March 1, but I think it is only while supplies last. I almost got one last year, so getting 45% off the price is a no brainer.
 
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Christmas came LATE this year! (I just ordered one.)
 
I bought one at my local Mercury dealer and installed it last weekend. $225.
Short summary: I really like it! I was delighted it would work on my 2007 Bennington (2006 engine)
Installation is simple.
I think newer boats (at least the high-end ones) come with dashboard versions of this, so maybe its just for those of us with older boats - or simpler boats.

Its not totally intuitive, but I'm learning it.
You can set up several screens with data you want to monitor.
I customized two screens to show 1) Boat Performance (speed, fuel GPH, fuel remaining, etc) and 2) Engine Performance (RPM, oil temp & pressure, coolant temp, voltage). There's a base screen (non-customizable I think) but I can't remember exactly what's on it - RPM, Gallons remaining, and something else)

Things I like (after all of two hours using it last weekend):
  • True RPM
  • Easy to see GPS speed
  • Fuel flow rate (this will get your attention up at WOT!)
  • Gallons remaining (based on estimated flow rate)
  • Hours to empty
  • Ability to log maintenance - and it will prompt for next required maintenance
  • Tracking of fuel use over time if you input how many gallons you put in every time you fill up. I think this will then give more data on GPH and GPM as it builds a database - but I haven't had a chance to build a database.
  • Maintenance logs have a space for comments (so I put in price, etc)
  • Verification (or not!) of onboard gauges: oil pressure, coolant temperature, voltage.
  • It also shows oil temperature (at least on mine), which is not on the dashboard.
  • Fault alerts with details.
  • It may show faults for sensor options you don't have (in my case seawater temp and steering angle) but you can block them so they don't show. Its a one-time thing.

Things I don't like:
  • Its not particularly intuitive, and the instructions are minimal at best.
  • When your phone is not bluetooth connected to the module, you can't see much (i.e., what screens had been set up, performance history, etc). This data is supposed to be stored in the cloud, so maybe I just haven't figured it out yet.
  • It allows 4 engines to be monitored. I only have one. It default named it "Starboard Engine". That bugs me (I'm anal...). Let me name my own engine!
  • The maintenance logging is limited. For example, it has one for "inspect spark plugs", but not "replace spark plugs".
  • Doesn't seem that there are any warnings for potential problems like high temperature, oil pressure etc. This would be a nice backup to the audible alarm.
Things I have questions about:
  • Why are the hours showing on my boat's tachometer hour-meter (185 hours) different from what the Vesselview showed as soon as it hooked into the system (205 hours)?
  • It is supposed to be able to capture "Peak Speed" (and possibly other "Peak" data). Not sure how this works, but I was hoping it was automatic. When I'm at WOT and tweaking the trim, I don't want to be focusing on having to push a button on my phone. Again, I'm on a learning curve here...
Things I haven't used yet:
  • Moment captures: you can take photos and tag them with GPS, log in where you caught a fish and it will show on the map - same with obstructions.
  • Log your favorite Mercury dealer... (don't have one yet!) -- and it will send him your fault readings if you have a problem and call him.
Other stuff:
  • It gave me a Fault warning that the fuel level sensor isn't working properly ("input circuit is above valid limit"). I knew that, thank you. But I can get a visual on my tank by opening the back seat, and with the new gallons-remaining and gallons-to-empty on vesselview, I doubt I'll bother fixing it (pending future verification of accuracy)
  • It gave me a Fault warning that the pitot sensor isn't working ("input circuit is below valid limit"). My MPH were pretty close to the GPS, so I'm not worried about this. Anyway, its very easy to know when I'm going too fast - I just look over at my wife! :rolleyes:
  • Also gave a fault warning that the drive trim position sensor is not working properly ("input circuit is above valid limit"). Seems to be fine, so not sure what that's about.
  • Sure would have been interesting to see what fault it generated when my plugs were bad (just fixed by local Mercury dealer)
For those of us with older engines, this is really helpful.
Oh yeah... it told me my engine was out of warranty! Duh!
 
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thw Hour gauge shouldn’t be off that bad unless the hour gauge on your dash is running when the key or master power is on like on lawn mowers. It shouldn’t be wired this way but that is the only thing I could think of.
 
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