Throttle and Shift by Wire

Throttle and Shift by Wire Full Electronic Engine Control is now available at your fingers tips Imagine you re planning your new ideal boat. It will have two, no, three large modern lowemission outboard engines and be big enough for two control stations. One in the main cabin, plus another upstairs on the flying bridge, for those great sunny days when you want to get up high and see more of the ocean. There ll be plenty of room onboard for all your friends. You start putting together a mental parts list, but then a little reality creeps in and you suddenly remember all those wires and cables that will be needed. Two control cables for each engine, plus extras for the flybridge controls, and all those instrument cables, at least two harnesses per engine plus extras for the flybridge. Then there s the problem of getting two sets of gauges to work properly when connected to the same senders and how do we get the friction out of all those very long control cable runs. Now with today s electronic controls everywhere in our cars and homes, wouldn t be nice to have them on a boat? Actually, electronic controls for multiple control stations on large boats have been available for many years, but they were usually a stand alone bulky accessory that still needed mechanical control cables, albeit shorter ones. And they usually did nothing for improving the engine s instruments. What would be really nice would be a set of multiple station controls that used a CAN-Bus network, like those now used for dash instruments on modern outboards (and most of the cars we drive), so you only needed one network onboard for everything. Well if your new engines are Evinrude E-TEC V6 outboards, your wish is granted. Evinrude recently released a new CAN-bus electronic control-by-wire system, called ICON TM, that will provide all control functions and all instrument functions through a single network. ICON features one or two control stations and up to 5 V6 Outboard engines, all on Throttle and shift by wire-sml.doc Page 1 of 8

the same network just one harness connects all of the controls and instrument to the engines. And none of those pesky push-pull mechanical cables. ICON uses CAN-bus technology to greatly reduce the number of wires required. All functions, including gearshift, throttle, trim and data for engine instruments are transmitted by CAN messages. All devices connected to the network get to see and read all messages, but only those intended for a particular module are acted upon by that module. Some modules can both talk and listen and some only listen. For example, a message that shows the rpm of the starboard engine will be seen by all modules, but only the instruments displaying RPM will act upon it. Several thousand messages per second are possible, so in this way a lot of data can transmitted around the network continuously. One of the best parts is that several gauges can show the output of the same sender (like trim position or fuel level) without any of the problems that analogue instruments show where adding multiple gauges changes the circuit resistance and the upsets gauge readings. So how do you control up to 5 engines with just one twin lever control unit? Simple, the two levers control the outside engines. The inner engines will electronically follow their neighbors, if both control levers are together. That is, if both levers are in forward or both in reverse. If one lever is in reverse and one in forward, such as when docking, the outer engines respond to the levers, the centre engine (with 3 or 5 engines) will then just idle in neutral. Without all those long control cables and their friction you can now operate the levers with your finger tips. And the ICON control unit is also approximately 30% smaller, see size comparison sketch. Without all those long cables and their friction, controlling multiple engines is now possible with just your finger tips 254 mm 185 mm Size comparison using single lever controls. ICON controls are about 30% smaller than conventional controls Throttle and shift by wire-sml.doc Page 2 of 8

Synchronizing multiple engines while cruising can be a pain on old fashioned cable-operated mechanical controls. ICON controls have a SYNC button to do it automatically. Just line up the control handles, press the SYNC button, the red SYNC light will illuminate, and now the gearshift, throttles and RPM of all engines are now synchronised. What s more, now that all engines are sync d you don t even need to use both control handles. Move the starboard lever out of the way and you can now fully control all engines with just one lever. What could be easier? Turning off SYNC is simple too, just line up both levers and press the SYNC button. RPM tune is another feature of Evinrude ICON. You can now move the RPM in small steps of 50 to 100 RPM, just by pressing the RPM Tune button + or -. This allows you to fine tune your trolling speed, or when cruising to fine tune your fuel economy. 5 steps up or down is possible without moving the control handle. Need a little more or less RPM? Just move the control handle to a new position and then press RPM Tune button again to start over. Adjusting the engine trim position of multiple engines used to be tricky as you often needed to use two or more buttons at the same time. ICON has all engine trims operated by just one button under your left thumb. Need to fine tune the engine trim to give one engine a little more or less? Fine tune buttons are on the control head for twin engines. Three or more engines have the trim fine tune buttons in a small neat panel on the dash. Using both the trim and RPM tune features, plus the fuel economy display on the I-Command instruments, you can now find the sweet spot for best economy at the press of a button. Fuel economy on large boats can vary a lot when you are just a few hundred RPM or a few knots either side of that of sometimes elusive sweet spot that all power boats have. Now you can fine tune at the press of a button, get instant feedback and easily When the SYNC light is on, the shift, throttle and RPM of all engines are now synchronized and only one lever is required for full control. All engine trim units are controlled from one master trim button under your left thumb. Fine tune buttons for each engine are on the control head or dash, if required. Throttle and shift by wire-sml.doc Page 3 of 8

improve your economy and range. What about transferring control between stations on dual station rigs? In that past that often required shutting off the engines or operating another separate control handle at one station. With ICON you can transfer control easily with the press of a button. With one operator, both controls need to be in neutral, then you just move to the inactive control station, press the RPM Tune + button once and control is now transferred. You can also transfer control on the fly if you have two operators. The I-Command Fuel economy display on a triple engine rig. Allows you to easily adjust trim and RPM tune for best economy. operator at the inactive station presses the RPM Tune + button once, then advances the throttle handle slowly until it lines up with the handle at the active station control. Control is then automatically transferred. The Shift position indicator lights are always on at the active station so you can see at a glance which station has control. What about if you have inquisitive children on board? Can you ensure control stays at the station you want? ICON has a feature called Station Protect that can be turned on by the dealer or installer and requires a particular button press sequence before control is transferred. This prevents unintentional or accidental transfer of control. Transferring control between control stations is easy with ICON, with either one or two operators. At the engine end, ICON is also a relatively simple setup. Three additional items are added to the Evinrude E-Tec V6 engine. The Throttle and Shift actuators are DC electric motors with reduction gearboxes and position sensors for feedback. An ESM (Engine Servo Module) operates the actuators and also interfaces between the CAN-bus network and the Engine s EMM (Electronic Management Module). Throttle and shift by wire-sml.doc Page 4 of 8

The ESM accepts all engine data from the EMM, such as RPM, fuel flow, temperature, battery voltage, throttle position and so on, and passes it onto the CAN network, along with shift and throttle position signals. Up at the control end a Gateway Module separates the data for the instruments and passes it out onto the NMEA2000 CAN-bus. NMEA2000 is a common CAN-Bus standard for marine electronics. NMEA2000 devices from various manufacturers are therefore talking the same language and can communicate across the same network. GPS, Depth Sounders and other NMEA2000 devices can then share information and displays with the Evinrude I-Command dash instruments. For example you can have all of your engine gauges displayed on the colour screen of your NMEA2000 depth sounder or fish finder, or you can have your GPS position displayed on the I-Command gauges. While there is just one cable from the engine hub up to the helm, for security and reliability there are actually two CAN-Bus networks sharing the same data. A private proprietary network operates the shift and throttle while a public network (NMEA2000) carries the data for the dash instruments. In this way the integrity of engine control can be maintained. If a gauge or GPS device were to malfunction, or if someone connects a non-compatible device into the gauge network, the public network might be affected, but not the private network operating the engine controls. The Gateway module protects the private network from any bad signals on the public network. How about a dash display that shows both engine instruments and GPS map (or fishfinder)? Just one of many possible combinations with a NMEA2000 compatible display, like on this Lowrance High Definition HDS7. Throttle and shift by wire-sml.doc Page 5 of 8

The Gateway module also incorporates analogue to digital converters for up to 4 fuel tank level senders, so you can display up to 4 different fuel tank levels on your I-Command instruments, using conventional 33 to 240 ohm marine fuel tank level senders. TM Control System for up to 5 engines (3 shown), twin control stations and full instrumentation ICON controls also incorporate redundancy, as you would expect in today s electronics. Dual lever position sensors are used for both Shift and Throttle, on each lever, so in the event of a problem control is maintained while the operator is signaled, via the gauges on the public network, of the problem and can act to get it corrected immediately. ICON can display up to 9 different fault codes on the dash gauges, plus flash indicator lights on the control head, to help the technician correct the fault, should a problem occur. Selected 2010 Model Evinrude E-TEC s of 250 and 300 HP will be factory fitted with ICON. All V6 Evinrude E-TEC engines, 2008 and later (150 to 300 HP) can have ICON fitted by the dealer. 2008 and later V6 models have additional circuitry in the EMM that is required for ICON. Throttle and shift by wire-sml.doc Page 6 of 8

Will it be a big job to fit? No, it s no more than bolting on the actuators and ESM modules, connecting the wires and then using a laptop PC to adjust the actuator strokes to match the engine. Once done there s no periodic adjustments required, unless you replace a component. The control heads require no setup at all. Just select the correct control head to match the number of engines installed, connect the cables and it s ready to go. Can you backfit ICON to an existing boat? Well, the ICON controls are smaller than the previous cable types so the dash holes are different, however trim plates are available to cover up the old holes and are pre-drilled for the ICON control heads, so if your V6 Evinrude E-TECs outboards are 2008 model or later, than yes you can. Today s electronics often come with little extras providing Trim Plates will allow the smaller ICON controls to be used in place of older larger control heads when updating boats. features that would have been extremely difficult to do with mechanical controls. ICON is no exception, here are two examples The throttle response is non-linear, so that at mid-range cruising speeds a small movement of the lever results in a small change of RPM and easy operator control. As you move the throttle closer to full throttle the response speeds up giving a quicker RPM gain. When shifting gears you should always do so at the lowest possible RPM to avoid high loadings on the gears risking damage. ICON will prevent shifting when the engine is above 1500 RPM. If you shift from forward to reverse above 1500 RPM, ICON will shut the throttle and delay shifting until the RPM drops below 1500. Forward or remote controls and electric start for outboards began way back in the 1930 s. However, while many small advances were made along the way the principles behind the controls stayed virtually the same (with cable operated controls) for more than 60 years. Now in the 21st century with the rapid adoption of electronics in nearly everything we use, Forward or remote controls for Outboard motors started in the 1930s, and remained cable operated and largely unchanged until the 21 st Century. Throttle and shift by wire-sml.doc Page 7 of 8

the operator controls in our boats are also benefiting, first with I-Command CAN-bus instruments and now with ICON, full electronic engine control is now at your finger tips. ICON Engine Wiring Diagram Throttle Actuator To 12V Battery To EMM To CAN-Bus Network Shift Actuator Engine Servo Module Throttle and shift by wire-sml.doc Page 8 of 8