Hey Laurie,
For question 1)
The two WS500s should be connected via the RJ45 cable and one of the \"Terminator\" plugs installed in the secondary WS500. Your existing N2K network can then be connected to the spare CANBus port on the Master WS500. I have attached a sketch of how to connect to that port for you. As you have two engines, you will want to make sure to change the Engine ID’s on each WS500 to match that used by NMEA2000: $CCN:
Engine ID
For question 2)
N2K was never really designed with todays Smart charging and battery systems in mind and most of this has been left at the CANBus level. That being said some limited battery data is available on N2K PGN\'s, but even that can be suspect. For instance the ‘Alternator’ voltage in the engine PGN is really the ECUs locally measured voltage, not truly the ‘alternator’ voltage. If you really want to dig into it here is a document that might be of interest. See below for more detail and how to wire it up.
http://www.nmea.org/Assets/july%202010%20nmea2000_v1-301_app_b_pgn_field_list.pdf
According to Wakespeed you should indeed be able to retrieve and use the RPM value from the engine PGN but it has not yet been exhaustively tested, so if you have any issues with it the support folks at Wakspeed will be happy to help you through it. Just contact them at
support@wakespeed.com.
Wiring:
To connect into an existing NMEA-2000 network you will need to make up a patch cable. The simplest way to do this is to cut one end off a common CAT-5 cable and attach a Micro connector. Take care not to exceed the maximum Drop-cable length of 6 meters, remove the TERM jumper and use the following as a wiring guide:
| Signal |
CAT-5 Cable |
|
NMEA2000 Cable |
| POSITION |
COLOR |
|
POSITION |
COLOR |
| CAN_H |
1 |
White/Green --OR-- White/Orange |
|
4 |
White |
| CAN_L |
2 |
Green --OR-- Orange |
|
5 |
Blue |
Figure 23 - NMEA2000 connector pinout
There is no need to connect the CAN-GND, and in fact doing so may cause reliability issues due to ground-loops.
A limited number of NMEA2000
TM like status output messages are supported. These messages may be useful when the WS500 Alternator Regulator is connected to a NMEA2000 network and will allow the operational status of the alternator and battery to be displayed. Be sure to properly configure the regulator when using these messages, specifically the `Engine ID’ using the $CCN: command.
- NMEA2000-DC Detailed Status - PGN127506
- NMEA2000-Battery Configuration Status -- PGN127513
- NMEA2000-Battery Status - PGN127508
- NMEA2000-Charger Status - PGN127507
- NMEA2000-Engine parameters rapid - 127488L: (Provides Engine RPMs)
The WS500 Alternator Regulator is also able to receive a limited number of CAN messages for special purposes:
- NMEA2000-DC Detailed Status - PGN127506
o If `Enable_NMEA2000-RAT’ is enabled (See $CCN: command), the regulator will look for DC Detailed Status to receive the battery current and temperature.
o Eliminating the need for dedicated probes in systems which have a battery monitor already installed.
o If the WS500 Alternator Regulator receives a DC Detailed Status message, it will cease sending out one of its own.
Good luck with your project and feel free to contact us with other queries.
Cheers,
Rick/OGSS
@al-thomason 