Replacement for Yanmar i5601E Engine Display

[CaspersCruiser]

Boats powered by the Yanmar 4BY2 engine have an engine display that is truly awful. The Yanmar i5601E LCD display is hard to read unless light conditions on it are ideal, even after adjusting the backlight. Being a moderately tall person does not help with the view angle. When lighting conditions make it hard to read the display, I use a small LED wand light at the helm to illuminate the display face.

Well, sports fans, I have put that LED light away! I installed a Garmin GMI-20 marine display and it is LIGHT YEARS better than the Yanmar display.

Jeff Howell, who lives in the Seattle area, owns a Yanmar-powered R27. A few months ago, he posted a picture and details of upgrades to the electronics at his helm. What immediately caught my eye was the bright, contrasty engine display on which I could easily read the parameters in the photo.

I messaged Jeff and he gave me the skinny on the Garmin GMI-20. He said installation wiring was a simple connection to the boat’s NMEA 2000 backbone. What’s not simple is the need to enlarge the Yanmar display’s existing 2 3/8” diameter hole in the instrument panel to 3 1/2” to accommodate the Garmin display. I will explain how I did that in another post.

The GMI-20 will display engine parameters in a digital or analog format. It not only displays engine parameters, but it will also display navigation information it gets from other devices connected to the NMEA 2000 backbone.

My only beef with the GMI-20 concerns the analog displays. In some of its analog displays, the value to which the analog indicator is pointing on the dial is also displayed precisely in small digits at the bottom of the analog display. That’s good because the analog dial graduations are not very precise and not well labeled. However, the mini digital values are not on all the analog displays, which is a real head scratcher. The space for them is there. It makes no sense. Hopefully that will be corrected in a future firmware update.

Also, the GMI-20 will not display the engine alarm codes when there is one, as the Yanmar display does. That’s certainly not a deal breaker to me. Two or three times during my seven year ownership of this boat, there has been a problem where an engine code was displayed. In each case, the code and engine manual’s explanation was so nebulous that it was zero help in correcting the issue.

Here’s where I purchased my GMI-20:

https://www.hodgesmarine.com/gar010-011 ... splay.html

The GMI-20 is $500, but to me, worth every penny. If your i5601E goes bad, I’ve seen them for sale at $1,100! That makes the GMI-20 a no-brainer.

Here are a couple photos:

This photo shows two things. 1) The size of the display 2) The analog engine instrument displays, one with a digital readout and three without. Dumb, dumb, dumb.



This photo shows the engine parameters as I have them currently configured— a mixture of digital and analog.

 

[4umfreak]

...even after adjusting the backlight

Wait a sec, yours had a backlight?! :lol:

 

[CaspersCruiser]

I was going to post nuts & bolts details about installation of the GMI-20, but since there does not seem to much interest in it, I won’t do so.

I’ve operated several hours with the GMI-20. It was worth every bit of time and money to install.

 

[Diatom]

Oh, I'm interested...
My Yanmar display has the usual unreadability issues but also refuses to display fuel level.
Nothing wrong with the existing sender/wiring, have a temporary gauge rigged up...
Will definitely install the Garmin when it percolates to the top of the to-do list.

/tmm

 

[billrh42]

I'm also interested in the replacement detail.

Also, if you remove the i5601 will you still get an alarm tone through the GMI-20 or will no alarm sound since the i5601 ins't connected anymore?

-Bill

 

[CaspersCruiser]

……. if you remove the i5601 will you still get an alarm tone through the GMI-20 or will no alarm sound since the i5601 ins't connected anymore?

An alarm can be set for any engine parameter it can display.

 

[jeffhowell1]

Yes GMI 20 is huge improvement over old Yanmar display, NMEA 2000 connection, but you do have to make bigger hole for GMI 20
Replaced GHC 10 with GHC 20, matches the look of GMI 20, bought GHC 20 from Ranger as it is discontinued now
Replaced old chart plotter with new 8612xsv, had to fabricate new wood panel because chart plotter was different size
Installed AIS 800, broadcasts and receives
Installed 24xd GPS receiver antenna, accurate to app 2.5’
Installed new thru-hull transducer Airmar B619 w/Garmin 8 pin connector, huge improvement over in-hull P79

All of above improvements have made cruising the ‘Classic’ 27 so much easier, more enjoyable, and safer

Many other changes/upgrades as well, including fridge, water pump, both faucets

Email me at howellhere@hotmail.com if interested in details on any of above

 

[CaspersCruiser]

What surprised me is that the Yanmar i5601E is totally a NMEA 2000 device. I thought there would be an additional interface to the engine. The Yanmar i5601E cable connects at the NMEA 2000 backbone via a typical round five-pin NMEA 2000 connector, but at the back of the Yanmar i5601E display the cable switches to a multi-pin, two row rectangular connector. The Garmin GMI 20 is a straight 5-pin NMEA 2000 cable. Any NMEA 2000 cable will work.

I wanted to replace the GHC 10 autopilot control head with a GHC 20, but found out that it was discontinued as well.

I replaced my Garmin 17x GPS antenna with a Garmin 24xd. That was a simple plug and play changeout, no cable change necessary, contrary to Garmin tech support that emphatically told me it was not.

 

[johnqq]

Hi all - I added the Garmin GMI 20 to my 2012 Ranger R29 today. The installation was straightforward and very easy. Others have commented about replacing the Yanmar i5601e with the Garmin GMI 20. I opted to ADD it, not REPLACE it. The reason is that the Garmin does not display engine alarms - it will sound an engine alarm, but not display the nature of the alarm. By keeping the i5601e, you have access to that data, plus you can have redundancy in displayed data. The Garmin GMI 20 is SO MUCH EASIER to read than the Yanmar since it's screen is LCD, not LED.

The GMI 20 comes with a NMEA 2000 cable and T connector. There's nothing else you need. To install, I cut a 3.5" hole to right of the Yanmar and autopilot displays. It's best to mount the GMI 20 as shown since you'd be cutting into fiberglass if you try to mount it 90 degrees from the Yanmar, plus it would be difficult to attach the NMEA 2000 T-Connector. The network connection was accomplished by: 1) removing the NMEA 2000 cable from the back of the chartplotter; 2) connecting one end of the supplied GARMIN GMI 20 cable to chartplotter and the other end to the T-Connector, 3) connecting one side of the T-Connector to the Garmin GMI 20, and 4) connecting the chartplotter cable you removed in step 1) to the other end of the T-Connector.

The Garmin GMI 20 can be custom configured with a plethora of information. I choose to display engine RPM, remaining fuel, engine temperature, and engine battery voltage on the main page. You can add more pages with additional info.

Hope this info helps!

Regards, John Queen
Semper Paratus
2012 Ranger Tug R29

 

[CaspersCruiser]

Nice installation if one’s boat has the panel space. My R27 does not.

Connecting the GMI-20 by through a T connector at the chartplotter never occurred to me.

 

[irwinengineering]

Nice installation if one’s boat has the panel space. My R27 does not.

Connecting the GMI-20 by through a T connector at the chartplotter never occurred to me.

A pretty easy improvement to readability of the i506e is to add a wedge behind it to tip the viewing angle up. I 3D printed a black plastic wedge mount which looks good and makes it much easier to read the gauge.

I also found that the factory mounting of the autopilot display caused an interference between the NMEA connector and the fiberglass behind the dash, this forced the connection into a slightly bent condition. Over the years, I have had issues with the autopilot not finding the control unit. This was solved by both using contact cleaner on the NMEA pins and 3D printing a spacer to move the display out of the dash by 3/8". The connector is now clean and not forced into an odd position and things work much better.

By the way, this is on a 2011 R-27 Classic.

Brendan

 

[tkaustin]

A pretty easy improvement to readability of the i506e is to add a wedge behind it to tip the viewing angle up. I 3D printed a black plastic wedge mount which looks good and makes it much easier to read the gauge.

I also found that the factory mounting of the autopilot display caused an interference between the NMEA connector and the fiberglass behind the dash, this forced the connection into a slightly bent condition. Over the years, I have had issues with the autopilot not finding the control unit. This was solved by both using contact cleaner on the NMEA pins and 3D printing a spacer to move the display out of the dash by 3/8". The connector is now clean and not forced into an odd position and things work much better.

By the way, this is on a 2011 R-27 Classic.

Brendan

I too am going to build a wedge for the i506e and GHC10, but cannot find out how to free the i506e. How is it held to the panel?

 

[irwinengineering]

As I remember, there were two plastic threaded studs sticking out the back of the unit. There were nuts on the backside of the dash holding it in place.

 

[CaspersCruiser]

I too am going to build a wedge for the i506e and GHC10, but cannot find out how to free the i506e. How is it held to the panel?

The i5601E has four plastic threaded studs on the back. Knurled thumb nuts secure it in place. See the photo. I have one knurled nut removed for illustration.

Are you aware that a horizontal hinged door provides access to the back of the R27 Classic helm from the cuddy? It is approximately 6”x12” and located on the upper part of the aft starboard wall in the cuddy. The back side of the i5601E is plainly visible from that access door.

 

[irwinengineering]

Ok, I was half right with the two studs, it's been a few years.

When I designed my wedge, the limiting factor on the angle was the length of the bottom studs, there had to be enough left to go through the wedge, dash and nut. 13 degrees is what I settled on, see photos below. The wedge made the display totally readable while standing, as you can see in the second photo. You can also see the spacer behind the GHC10 as mentioned above.

 

[tkaustin]

The i5601E has four plastic threaded studs on the back. Knurled thumb nuts secure it in place. See the photo. I have one knurled nut removed for illustration.

Are you aware that a horizontal hinged door provides access to the back of the R27 Classic helm from the cuddy? It is approximately 6”x12” and located on the upper part of the aft starboard wall in the cuddy. The back side of the i5601E is plainly visible from that access door.

View attachment 24052

 

[tkaustin]

Beautiful explanation, Casperscruiser, and photo of the hold-down nylon bolts. This is exactly the info I am looking for. Unfortunately, on my 25SC (2011) while I have a clear view from the top and from the cubby door, there is nothing like that holding the display. I only see the round portion where the wires connect.
(I've removed the top to change its leading edge profile so I can more easily see the chart plotter. Will post photos of that modification once completed.)
Could mind be glued on? I could continue prying to loosen it from the front panel, but that's scary. I don't want to get stuck breaking it and dropping another $500 for the Garmin replacement. Good grief. Boat building seems to be a cottage industry.

 

[CaspersCruiser]

Man, you have a real head scratcher there. I have no clue how your i5601E is secured to the panel. I have examined mine and I see no way to attach it to the panel beside the studs on the back. The only thing I can suggest is to try to slide the thin metal blade of a putty knife between the back of the display and the panel to probe and see if there is some type of sealant holding it to the panel. Or the blade might run into attaching hardware while probing.

I noticed the sticker on the back of your engine display is different than on my i5601E. Maybe your engine display is an altogether different model than mine. You might consider starting a new thread asking other R25SC owners if they have removed their Yanmar engine display and, if so, how it was attached to the panel.

 

[tkaustin]

Man, you have a real head scratcher there. I have no clue how your i5601E is secured to the panel. I have examined mine and I see no way to attach it to the panel beside the studs on the back. The only thing I can suggest is to try to slide the thin metal blade of a putty knife between the back of the display and the panel to probe and see if there is some type of sealant holding it to the panel. Or the blade might run into attaching hardware while probing.

I noticed the sticker on the back of your engine display is different than on my i5601E. Maybe your engine display is an altogether different model than mine. You might consider starting a new thread asking other R25SC owners if they have removed their Yanmar engine display and, if so, how it was attached to the panel.

It turns out, the Yanmar panel was glued on w/ Silicone. We have one extremely flexible knife and I used that to free it. Now I've finished two significant changes to the helm. I'll have those fixes posted in an hour or so (by 11/14/2024, 9PM Central).

 

[CaspersCruiser]

It turns out, the Yanmar panel was glued on w/ Silicone. We have one extremely flexible knife and I used that to free it. Now I've finished two significant changes to the helm. I'll have those fixes posted in an hour or so (by 11/14/2024, 9PM Central).

Mystery solved! Thanks for coming back to the thread with the solution. It may help others in the future facing the same issue.