FF Acting Up

Thanks for the discussion and suggestions, all. Another reminder of why this group is so great.

If you have a multimeter, I can walk you through on how to determine which component is bad.

If you have a multimeter, I can walk you through on how to determine which component is bad.

That would be awesome, Chet ! Thank you. I'll borrow a multimeter from my neighbor.

Do you have a SD card in a slot by any chance? If yes - remove it.

Do you have a SD card in a slot by any chance? If yes - remove it.

Thanks for the reminder. I always take it out but I must have left it in when I updated it over the summer. It's out now. I did notice that it was damp behind the door to the SD slot as well. No corrosion on the card.

There are many reports about card reader acting up. I had the same/simar symptoms and after removing navionics card it went back to normal.

Per some of the advice that I've recieved, I updated the software to the newest version, removed the card, and turned on the voltage display.

After turning on the voltage display, I ran the unit on the battery in its exact state of charge that it was when the unit died on the last trip. The VDC fluctuated between 12.1 and 12.2.

I fully charged the battery(according to the tender) after the update and it only ran for about three minutes before turning off on it's own again. The voltage read 12.4 when the unit turned on and had dropped to 12.3 just as it died.

Does this help diagnose the issue ? I'm the first to admit, electrical is not my strongest suit.

A battery can have good voltage but bad amperage.

One more thing to try.  Strip back about 3-4 or more inches of the wire at the battery connection and put on new connectors.  I've had corrosion run up the wires, under the insulation, causing enough of a voltage drop to make the FF act erratically.  You can see the corrosion in the wire, as you incrementally trim it back.  The normally copper wires turn blackish.  When you start seeing copper again, you're good.

-Allen

I have been told that fish finders, cameras, and other battery powered electronic devices can be sensitive to voltage, and that when a battery gets old and its voltage starts to decline, the electronic device can start acting up.  So getting a new battery is one step you can take if your fish finder is malfunctioning.

For some kinds of fishing, particularly when I'm well away from shore or any other landmarks, I'm very dependent on the GPS and sonar features of my fish finder.  If my fish finder stops working or the battery runs out, I have to quit for the day.  It's like trying to hunt while wearing a blindfold.  I've started carrying a backup battery box when I'm fishing so I can switch to a new battery if necessary.  I put the battery boxes side by side inside my kayak so all I need to do is switch the power cable from one box to the other.

A couple of weeks ago the screen on my ice fishing fish finder started jumping up and down every couple of seconds.  The screen looked pixlelated. The fish finder was also showing depths which were way off.  I restored the factory settings while I was out on the ice, which fixed the problem.  I may have accidentally clicked on an inappropriate option when fumbling around with menus and settings.

Thanks for all the help and insight, all.

After checking all of the connections and even redoing some of them, the problem persisted. I went ahead and swapped out the old battery for a new one. Knock on wood, it worked flawlessly last weekend.

I've had corrosion run up the wires, under the insulation, causing enough of a voltage drop to make the FF act erratically.  ...

I've had this problem too, so definitely worth checking. I was sure it was the battery but was much relieved to find that it was just the wiring.

Btw, I have an LiFe battery and it's lasted forever. It's also supposed to output a steady voltage until it shuts down, rather than the slow voltage drop you get as an SLA discharges. Highly recommended...