My Lowrance went Kaput

Hi Guys,

3 weeks ago my Lowrance Elite 5 color FF / GPS started acting funky.  Its 11 months old and is under warranty for another month.
I have contacted Lowrance Customer Support and opened a ticket.  I sent the pictures below and waiting to hear back.
First I was told to do fresh re-boot to restore its factory settings.
That didn't work and seem to make things worst.
I've set up the screen color setting for months as "White w/ Bottom Tracking"  and has never given me any problems till about 3 weeks ago.  The transducer is gooped inside with piece of foam.
The goop technique has worked for 4 kayaks that I've owned.
The screen is either all green or black and changes erratically.  The depth readings in bold on the top left do not match the bottom contour.
Picture 1 it is when was working
Other pictures are current kaput condition.
If anybody has experienced this, please share your findings.

It would appear" that the transducer has failed.  One way is to power up the unit & feel or listen for the "clicking" of the transducer crystal.  Might even try to borrow one to toss overboard and try the head unit with a known, working transducer or vice versa with someone elses head unit.  This might point to the problem.

If you continue to run into "fit it help" issues with Lowrance, let me know via PM and I might be able to provide some Lowrance inside assistance.

Check the goop, bet you find bubbles :0)

That green screen thing happened to me but I re-gooped my ducer and the issue went away. There were bubbles in my goop.

Looks like ducer issues to me. Unglued or air, or dead.

I have a shoot thru hole transducer and the goop came loose so the when i was fishing the other day I just had it resting flat on the bottom of thge kayak and it seemed to work alright.

Not sure about the color on the screen but when my transducer came loose inside the yak I got readings of about 2 ft no matter where I was.  Reglued and all was good,

It would appear" that the transducer has failed.  One way is to power up the unit & feel or listen for the "clicking" of the transducer crystal.  Might even try to borrow one to toss overboard and try the head unit with a known, working transducer or vice versa with someone elses head unit.  This might point to the problem.

If you continue to run into "fit it help" issues with Lowrance, let me know via PM and I might be able to provide some Lowrance inside assistance.

Bill - I will try your suggestion.  I gooped the transducer back in September right after I got my AI . It hasn't moved at all.  I am thinking of lowering it in the water outside the kayak to see if it works OK.  Another science project.

The easiest thing to check when trying to diagnose this problem is; does the unit have power?  does the transducer make a clicking sound?  Those two checks require no "on the water" time to check.  I think Yakhopper has something nailed as an alternative option ... possible goop failure.  I've always used epoxy but I've heard of the goop option.  The key to my epoxy jop was to REALLY roughen the inside of the hull.  I think I used a 40 grit sandpaper and had at it!  Leaning towards a water bath or rudder mount for my AI.  Maybe both....

 
  One of the things I would like to work every time I'm on the water is my FF.   I've done the "Gooped" in method using both silicon and Lexel (Lexel was by far the worst choice to use) but both failed miserably.  Sure, both adhesives worked for a short time, but when it came time to change hulls (due to the drivewell cracking issue) I found that there were in fact air bubbles or pocket divits left in the mould when I popped the transducers out of the silicon.  The pockets weren't there when I innitionally set the transducer.  Waited till the silicon was fully cured before turning on the ff and using it.
  Point is this method, while being quick & easy, will eventually fail.  I'm sure some will say "Mine's been in use for years"  Well, then your lucky!
  To alleviated the whole air under the transducer, take the extra time and make a wet bath  for it and add water!  Guaranteed to not have any air bubbles between the hull and transducer then! or install the transducer in scupper mount or over the side.
  I hope the problem with your FF is simply that it came up or it was bubbles.

Just got this email from Lowrance:

Thank you for your inquiry.
We will send you a new transducer, but before you install it hold it over the side of the kayak to see if it works. If it does then go ahead and install it. If it doesn't work then you will have to send your unit in for service.

Thank you for choosing Navico products!

Navico Technical Support

Glad to hear they were ablle to offer a new transducer & some "testing" assistance.  If you run into any further problems, please feel free to PM me.

Mel
I've had problems with my Humminbird units. Problems seem to be power related. Corrosion in the line.  Causes added resistance and drops voltage which makes the elctronics do wierd things. Happens pretty fast in a salt environment. Did you strip back the wires  (3-4") and redo the battery connectors?  Discolored wire when stripped back would be an indication. Battery end is the most likely end. Higher humidity inside the boat. The other end is problemmatic as that requires specialty connectors

Mel
I've had problems with my Humminbird units. Problems seem to be power related. Corrosion in the line.  Causes added resistance and drops voltage which makes the elctronics do wierd things. Happens pretty fast in a salt environment. Did you strip back the wires  (3-4") and redo the battery connectors?  Discolored wire when stripped back would be an indication. Battery end is the most likely end. Higher humidity inside the boat. The other end is problemmatic as that requires specialty connectors

Kirk - All the wiring and connectors are in great shape.  I store the battery inside a water tight box (walmart).