VMSpc - Engine Monitoring Update

MONITORING THE DIESEL PUSHER
Silverleaf Electronics VMSpc

(read my tip on installation at the bottom of this article)

The technology built into modern diesel engines these days can provide a wealth of information for the Class A  Motorhomes that were built since the late 1990's.  I became familiar with diesel engines a few years ago when we owned a 47' Mainship Motor Yacht.  A diesel engine is very reliable if you take good care of them, do the scheduled maintenance and exercise them on a regular basis.

When we traded up to a diesel powered Class A, I was already familiar with what makes diesels tick and when I ran across this software: VMSpc that Silverleaf Electronics, I knew how important it was to monitor it's health, especially as we are going down the road.  I downloaded the free software to see what could be displayed and was amazed at how much information was available and how it could be customized.  My delimma was to show the vital information on a laptop screen so I could read it at a glance while driving down the road and not distract my eyes from the road.

I designed my screen on a 15" Gateway laptop that's been sitting in my closet for years collecting dust.  Since I had moved up to Apple OS a few years ago, this laptop was never updated and is still running on MS Windows XP Media Edition (now extinct).  To my surprise, VMSpc installed and ran without a hitch and my evaluation began.  I worked through varoius screen designs, placing gauges and graphs into groupings that were large enough to see from the driver's seat and the laptop sitting on the dash up near the windshield.  That placement seemd optimal with the screen within my view of the road ahead.  At this point I didn't have the required hardware and cables to actually monitor any live data, but I just wanted to see what it looked like out on the road.  I found out one thing immediately, my selection of screen colors was very hard to read against the contrast of the bright view out through the windshield.

When we returned from our short weekend trip, I knew I had to modify the color scheme with a dark background and bright text to compensate for this contrast.  I ended up with a background that's dark grey with bright green labels and engine values, similar to the old CRT displays from the past.


After finding a good combination of background colors and text, I started tweeking my gauges and lining them up into several categories and spaces on the screen with priorties:  Speed, Cruise Set and Gear Selection is what I wanted to stand out.

I created a grouping of engine readings that are critical like: Coolant Temp, Oil Pressure, Manifold Temp, Transmission Temp and Battery/Alternator Voltage. The gauges show actual data digitally, but I wanted to have a quick visual prompt of the status of each gauge, so I added a large idiot light next to each gauge that displays as Green, Yellow or Red depending on what parameters are set for each color.  This is a really quick visual check about the status of the engine while going down the road.

I also defined several gauges in the upper center part of the screen to show Instant and Average MPG's that I could read underway that allows me to adjust my speed for optimum fuel mileage.  One of the gauges allows me to monitor the engine brake retarder to make sure it's functioning.  I normally always have it on in case I have a panic stop situation.

On the far right, I added several Trip and Fuel Tank Status windows for monitoring daily mileage, Average MPG's and Fuel used. I sized them with smaller text and values knowing this information would not need monitoring continuously, but providing reference information to look at when not driving down the road.

After testing this software and designing the screen to my liking, I ordered the required interface box (the JIB), and had it hooked up to the diagnostics port under the dash and everything worked as advertised.  I took it for a short trip out on the highway to make sure everything was functional and made a few adjustments to the layout.  I was itching to try this system out on a real trip, and the opportunity came when Hurricane Mathew threatened South Florida.  Our hurricane preparedness plan was always to drive our RV out of town if we were threatened with hurricane warnings. We have good friends who live in Central Florida, so we loaded up the RV and headed out of town, with the new VMSpc system up and running for a 100 mile trip out of the warning area.  I had to reset the Odometer and Trip windows to get them to record the data properly and I ran a separate odometer app on my iPhone to check the accuracy of the data being generated by the Caterpillar computer.  After the 100 mile run, the RV's odometer compared to the iPhone app's GPS mileage was off by 0.8 miles.  I made the adjustment in the software's Engine Corrections panel, adding a multiplier to adjust the VMSpc Odometer reading.  We were able to return home and were relieved that everything in our area was spared of any damage or flooding that was predicted, but it was sure nice to have the RV in case our home had been damaged without electricity, we would of had the luxury of staying in our motorhome with all the comforts of home.  Since running the 200 mile round trip with live VMSpc data, I tweaked a few more gauges and added a Histogram window do display a graph of each engine gauge displayed in the lower center of the screen.  I haven't had a chance to try out my final screen layout yet, but here's what it looks like with no input.  I hope to do another short highway trip to make sure I have all gauges setup properly.  I'll update with a live screen display later.

Installation Tip:

Instead of powering the VMSpc JIB (interface box) with the 12v power that's provided through the J1939 recepticle and wiring harness that comes with this product, I highly recommend running a separate 12v power wire from another source that's switched with the ignition key.  Otherwise, in most cases, the J1939 plug will provide continuous power to the JIB and it will discharge your main battery over a period of extended storage, even if your motorhome's battery switch is off.