What's your sonar repair method? - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Stan K G · 09-11-2010, 06:51 PM

My sonar went from good, to having a 20ft max depth, then 12 ft, and today at LJ it was 0ft everywhere.

trans was glued down with some white crud, I'm going to replace it with a wet mount. If that doesn't fix the problem, what should my next step be?

the connections are good as far as i can tell, though I'm tempted to redo the electrical wiring (and I know I will regret doing so later)

dsafety · 09-11-2010, 07:38 PM

Mine did a similar thing. I think the problem may have something to do with not getting enough voltage. I will be checking my wires and connections.

Bob

yakrider · 09-11-2010, 08:26 PM

pop the puck out and stick it directly in the water to eliminate any doubt...
then you'll know if it's a power issue or just the goop failing...
and the wet mount IS the chit!

StinkyMatt · 09-11-2010, 09:47 PM

I am not very experienced at reading a FF. My 718 was doing the same thing one time, I ended up having a low battery (I think) Well charged batteries, no more problems.

I had mine gooped for a month and now have it in a little plastic cup filled with water. WOW what a difference, I see a lot of STUFF! Now if I could only figure out what all that stuff is ?!

Stan K G · 09-11-2010, 11:36 PM

I tested the battery and at full charge it's running at 12v, and I always go out with a full battery.

deepdvr · 09-12-2010, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stan K G

I tested the battery and at full charge it's running at 12v, and I always go out with a full battery.

My batteries are in the high 13's or 14v when fully charged.

StinkyMatt · 09-12-2010, 08:18 AM

12V is not a full battery. It is OK to run but not full. Like the previous post states when fully charged a 12 V vattery may be somewhere around 13.2 to 13.6 V. I don't think that a 12 V would have given you any "low power" issues. Once you get into 11 or 10 range you may see a performance decrease.

EVS911 · 09-12-2010, 11:16 AM

IMO...i dont trust wet mounts or even "gooping" to the bottom of the kayak...I put a mad frog gear mini lilly pad...that has a transducer arm so I can put it right in the water...and get water temps as well...I get a great reception for my dual freq. sounder.....

Zurc · 09-12-2010, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EVS911

IMO...i dont trust wet mounts or even "gooping" to the bottom of the kayak...I put a mad frog gear mini lilly pad...that has a transducer arm so I can put it right in the water...and get water temps as well...I get a great reception for my dual freq. sounder.....

I am really surprised more people don't do this.

lamb · 09-12-2010, 01:08 PM

You've got to make sure the power / battery is up to snuff. Try to see if you get a same thing with a different battery.

In my experience, transducer going bad is most often the reason for symptoms you described. The easiest thing to do to troubleshoot is to try your fishfinder on someone else's kayak. Sure thing, assumption here is that they have the same or model compatible with that transducer. Alternatively, you can try plugging in their fishfinder to your transducer.

Other than cleaning the connectors on both ends, there's not much you can do to fix a transducer. I've been just replacing them.

dgax65 · 09-12-2010, 01:33 PM

Most, if not all, fish finders have a low input voltage cutoff that will shut off the unit when the voltage is too low for NORMAL operation. My Lowrance 527 shuts off at 10.2 volts. If I recall, all of my Humminbird FF cut off at 10.3. They all work perfectly up until they reach the low voltage cutoff. I doubt it is a problem with power supply voltage. More likely is signal degradation caused by a bad connector or conductor. The first step is to check the transducer in the water. This will tell you several things:
1. If you get a good signal with the transducer in the water you know it was the mounting material/method and that the transducer, interconnecting cable and head unit are good.
2. If you still aren't getting any return on the display you will know that it wasn't the Goop.

If you determine that the fault does not lie with the mounting, then you need to check a few more things. See if you can connect another transducer to the head unit. If the other transducer works, then your transducer is bad and needs to be replaced. If you still don't get a signal then the problem is with the head unit or connectors. The most likely fault is corrosion on the connectors or a frayed/broken conductor. Corrosion on the pins of your transducer plug could cause diminished signal strength from the transducer, thus causing the depth reading to grow worse over time. Check the connectors on both the plug and head unit. The connectors on Humminbird units aren't really very watertight. Even a small amount of corrosion might cause some signal loss.

You can clean the connector pins with a weak acid solution. Use an acid brush to apply and gently clean the connectors. You must take care so as not to bend or break the pins. Use some electrical contact cleaner after to get rid of any residue. It is a very good idea to use a corrosion inhibitor on all electrical connectors on you kayak. In the past, I used a thin coating of dielectric grease on connectors. This will inhibit corrosion and also helps keep water out of the connectors. The downside is that it holds sand and dirt particles and if you use too much of the grease it can degrade the signal. Use sparingly and you'll be OK. I have since switched to Fluid Film for protecting my electrical connectors.

http://www.fluid-film.com/

You can get Fluid Film from Hook1 or the John Deere service center off I8 in El Cajon. Hook1 only has the cans of liquid Fluid Film. The John Deere place has it in aerosol cans.

You can get dielectric grease at West Marine or at many electronics and battery shops.

GregAndrew · 09-12-2010, 02:50 PM

Great info there Doug. I had not heard about too much dielectric grease causing signal degradation. I have been using it very liberally, but have been having some problems with deeper water returns. I am gonna have to try a little less and see if it helps.

Stan K G · 09-20-2010, 08:13 PM

Got my wet mount setup, working great now.

Now I just need to figure out how the hell to read the FF without fish ID on

jbm · 09-20-2010, 08:44 PM

Just a bit more information on dielectric grease. It is not a conductor, it is an insulator. That's why you don't want to overdo it. You're still relying on the mechanical mating of the connector to create the conductive path. Dielectric grease is used because it will keep out water and oxygen but not short neighboring pins together in the connector.

WahooUSMA · 09-21-2010, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EVS911

IMO...i dont trust wet mounts or even "gooping" to the bottom of the kayak...I put a mad frog gear mini lilly pad...that has a transducer arm so I can put it right in the water...and get water temps as well...I get a great reception for my dual freq. sounder.....

I have the exact same mad frog set-up on my PA and it works unbelievably well! ffice

ffice" />>>
>>
However, I went out on Sunday in my Revo and ran into the same problem as some of the members are describing above - my FF read 0-ft from the time I launched to the time I got in. When I got home, I noticed the negative wire had worked itself loose from the male side of the perko deck connector. It was making a connection with a few strands of copper, but I am not sure if that was the problem? My revo transducer is gooped in and seems to in very well secure and I don’t want to yank it out and start over …that’s a big pain in the ass. I am curious if reduced voltage would cause the 0 ft reading? The GPS worked but not the FF!>>
>>

Siebler · 09-21-2010, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dgax65

You can get Fluid Film from Hook1 or the John Deere service center off I8 in El Cajon. Hook1 only has the cans of liquid Fluid Film. The John Deere place has it in aerosol cans.

You can get dielectric grease at West Marine or at many electronics and battery shops.

Or OEX, Thanks Doug......

Mission Bay is now a Fluid Film dealer and we will have it ins tock very soon (it already shipped from the warehouse in Norcal). We also carry the Dielectric Grease.

cjthomas · 09-21-2010, 12:58 PM

I was told to put a thin layer of dielectric grease on the female side and then plug in the connectors so that just the right amount of grease is applied to the pins.

Is this a good method to follow?

Stan K G · 09-21-2010, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WahooUSMA

I have the exact same mad frog set-up on my PA and it works unbelievably well! ffice

ffice" />>>
>>
However, I went out on Sunday in my Revo and ran into the same problem as some of the members are describing above - my FF read 0-ft from the time I launched to the time I got in. When I got home, I noticed the negative wire had worked itself loose from the male side of the perko deck connector. It was making a connection with a few strands of copper, but I am not sure if that was the problem? My revo transducer is gooped in and seems to in very well secure and I don’t want to yank it out and start over …that’s a big pain in the ass. I am curious if reduced voltage would cause the 0 ft reading? The GPS worked but not the FF!>>
>>

Get the wiring right and test it in a bay, only way to really know unfortunatly.

Jzo · 09-22-2010, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjthomas

I was told to put a thin layer of dielectric grease on the female side and then plug in the connectors so that just the right amount of grease is applied to the pins. Is this a good method to follow?

sounds like a good idea.

09-11-2010, 06:51 PM	#1
Stan K G Banned Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 36	What's your sonar repair method? My sonar went from good, to having a 20ft max depth, then 12 ft, and today at LJ it was 0ft everywhere. trans was glued down with some white crud, I'm going to replace it with a wet mount. If that doesn't fix the problem, what should my next step be? the connections are good as far as i can tell, though I'm tempted to redo the electrical wiring (and I know I will regret doing so later)

09-12-2010, 01:08 PM	#10
lamb Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,568	You've got to make sure the power / battery is up to snuff. Try to see if you get a same thing with a different battery. In my experience, transducer going bad is most often the reason for symptoms you described. The easiest thing to do to troubleshoot is to try your fishfinder on someone else's kayak. Sure thing, assumption here is that they have the same or model compatible with that transducer. Alternatively, you can try plugging in their fishfinder to your transducer. Other than cleaning the connectors on both ends, there's not much you can do to fix a transducer. I've been just replacing them. __________________ [------------------------ <)))< ....b-a-a-a-a

09-12-2010, 01:33 PM	#11
dgax65 Guerro Grande Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 629	Most, if not all, fish finders have a low input voltage cutoff that will shut off the unit when the voltage is too low for NORMAL operation. My Lowrance 527 shuts off at 10.2 volts. If I recall, all of my Humminbird FF cut off at 10.3. They all work perfectly up until they reach the low voltage cutoff. I doubt it is a problem with power supply voltage. More likely is signal degradation caused by a bad connector or conductor. The first step is to check the transducer in the water. This will tell you several things: 1. If you get a good signal with the transducer in the water you know it was the mounting material/method and that the transducer, interconnecting cable and head unit are good. 2. If you still aren't getting any return on the display you will know that it wasn't the Goop. If you determine that the fault does not lie with the mounting, then you need to check a few more things. See if you can connect another transducer to the head unit. If the other transducer works, then your transducer is bad and needs to be replaced. If you still don't get a signal then the problem is with the head unit or connectors. The most likely fault is corrosion on the connectors or a frayed/broken conductor. Corrosion on the pins of your transducer plug could cause diminished signal strength from the transducer, thus causing the depth reading to grow worse over time. Check the connectors on both the plug and head unit. The connectors on Humminbird units aren't really very watertight. Even a small amount of corrosion might cause some signal loss. You can clean the connector pins with a weak acid solution. Use an acid brush to apply and gently clean the connectors. You must take care so as not to bend or break the pins. Use some electrical contact cleaner after to get rid of any residue. It is a very good idea to use a corrosion inhibitor on all electrical connectors on you kayak. In the past, I used a thin coating of dielectric grease on connectors. This will inhibit corrosion and also helps keep water out of the connectors. The downside is that it holds sand and dirt particles and if you use too much of the grease it can degrade the signal. Use sparingly and you'll be OK. I have since switched to Fluid Film for protecting my electrical connectors. http://www.fluid-film.com/ You can get Fluid Film from Hook1 or the John Deere service center off I8 in El Cajon. Hook1 only has the cans of liquid Fluid Film. The John Deere place has it in aerosol cans. You can get dielectric grease at West Marine or at many electronics and battery shops. __________________ Douglas Gaxiola Team No Fish- Amateur Staff

09-21-2010, 12:58 PM	#17
cjthomas Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 108	dielectric grease I was told to put a thin layer of dielectric grease on the female side and then plug in the connectors so that just the right amount of grease is applied to the pins. Is this a good method to follow?

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09-11-2010, 07:38 PM	#2
dsafety Olivenhain Bob Join Date: May 2008 Location: Olivenhain, CA Posts: 1,121	Mine did a similar thing. I think the problem may have something to do with not getting enough voltage. I will be checking my wires and connections. Bob

09-11-2010, 08:26 PM	#3
yakrider Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 611	pop the puck out and stick it directly in the water to eliminate any doubt... then you'll know if it's a power issue or just the goop failing... and the wet mount IS the chit!

09-11-2010, 09:47 PM	#4
StinkyMatt Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Under a bridge Posts: 2,169	I am not very experienced at reading a FF. My 718 was doing the same thing one time, I ended up having a low battery (I think) Well charged batteries, no more problems. I had mine gooped for a month and now have it in a little plastic cup filled with water. WOW what a difference, I see a lot of STUFF! Now if I could only figure out what all that stuff is ?!

09-11-2010, 11:36 PM	#5
Stan K G Banned Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 36	I tested the battery and at full charge it's running at 12v, and I always go out with a full battery.

09-12-2010, 08:18 AM	#7
StinkyMatt Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Under a bridge Posts: 2,169	12V is not a full battery. It is OK to run but not full. Like the previous post states when fully charged a 12 V vattery may be somewhere around 13.2 to 13.6 V. I don't think that a 12 V would have given you any "low power" issues. Once you get into 11 or 10 range you may see a performance decrease.

09-12-2010, 11:16 AM	#8
EVS911 Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Orange, Ca. Posts: 81	IMO...i dont trust wet mounts or even "gooping" to the bottom of the kayak...I put a mad frog gear mini lilly pad...that has a transducer arm so I can put it right in the water...and get water temps as well...I get a great reception for my dual freq. sounder.....

09-12-2010, 02:50 PM	#12
GregAndrew Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 2,384	Great info there Doug. I had not heard about too much dielectric grease causing signal degradation. I have been using it very liberally, but have been having some problems with deeper water returns. I am gonna have to try a little less and see if it helps.

09-20-2010, 08:13 PM	#13
Stan K G Banned Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 36	Got my wet mount setup, working great now. Now I just need to figure out how the hell to read the FF without fish ID on

09-20-2010, 08:44 PM	#14
jbm Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Escondido<->Carlsbad Posts: 81	Just a bit more information on dielectric grease. It is not a conductor, it is an insulator. That's why you don't want to overdo it. You're still relying on the mechanical mating of the connector to create the conductive path. Dielectric grease is used because it will keep out water and oxygen but not short neighboring pins together in the connector.