Lowrance Hook-5 Won't Clamp to RAM Adapter

I've had the Hook-5 for a year.  The last time I went to remove it, it just fell off, leaving the RAM ball/adapter (http://www.rammount.com/part/RAM-202U-LO11) on the arm.

I have a 1" adapter/ball and a 2" adapter/ball and the Hook-5 won't clamp down on any of them anymore.  I've tested the adapters on my Elite-4 and it clamps all of them, so I'm thinking the adapters are okay.

It's Saturday and I can't reach Lowrance technical support for a couple of days, so I thought I'd ask if anyone else has ever had this problem and if so, how'd you fix it?

I just looked at mine, and what secures it is the large plastic piece with the Lowrance logo on it. That piece can slide up and down and there is a spring that is supposed to hold it in the down position, but sand and grit can make it jam. Try inserting the adapter and then sliding the large plastic piece down.

Here is a picture showing the sliding piece I am talking about with the Lowrance logo.

As KPD said. Mine gets a lot of corrosion/grit on it that can make it hard to insert. Try giving the parts a scrubbing.

Cheers,
Brad

I just looked at mine, and what secures it is the large plastic piece with the Lowrance logo on it. That piece can slide up and down and there is a spring that is supposed to hold it in the down position, but sand and grit can make it jam. Try inserting the adapter and then sliding the large plastic piece down.

Thank you.  I've used this unit probably 20 times without any issues.  This just popped-up recently.

If you see the two tab-like moldings, just below and beneath the slide that locks the ball in place, in the depression where the tabs of the RAM adapter fit, on mine, those appear distorted and bent in an upward arc.  They're molded from hard plastic and I have no idea how or why they're bent out of shape since I do take care of it.

As KPD said. Mine gets a lot of corrosion/grit on it that can make it hard to insert. Try giving the parts a scrubbing.

Cheers,
Brad

Thank you, Brad.  I may have identified the problem from the photo KPD posted for me.  I appreciate your help and the suggestion, but I guess Lowrance gets another one in for warranty repair...

Rats!

I had the exact issue.  The plastic lock that slides on the back of my hook 4 warped and would no longer lock down on the lip of the RAM mount.  I just used a dremel to cut down a small part of the ram mount where it was hitting on the warped plastic lock. Works perfectly now.

I assume it warped from heat exposure when I left the head unit face down in the back seat of my truck for a day.


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Haven't left mine in the heat, but it's definitely warped.  I mount mine on the long ram arm angled forward towards me, and maybe that might be more than the unit's case can take(?).

If Lowrance won't cover it under warranty, I'll take the Dremel to mine, too.  Thanks!

How's this unit,is it a good 1?

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Yes, Tim, it's a good unit.  I don't hear many comments about problems with the case, and Lowrance support is very good.  Make sure you read the posts or ask about good initial menu settings and you should be happy.

Haven't left mine in the heat, but it's definitely warped.  I mount mine on the long ram arm angled forward towards me, and maybe that might be more than the unit's case can take(?).

If Lowrance won't cover it under warranty, I'll take the Dremel to mine, too.  Thanks!

Can you PM a couple picts of the warped plastic hinge? thanks. Mike

Can you PM a couple picts of the warped plastic hinge? thanks. Mike

sorry, Mike, I can't.  Lowrance didn't consider it a product defect and wouldn't fix it for free, so I took a hair dryer and a pair of pliers to it and bent it back very close to it's original shape, got the case to clamp the adapter tightly, then took the adapter out and put a bead of GOOP around the lip it rests on.

And deleted the pictures I sent to Lowrance...

The bend was arched upwards, like a shallow upside-down "U", maybe 2 or 3mm above horizontal at the top of the arch.  Wasn't hard to straighten out.  The GOOP is a backup to help prevent it from happening again.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

- Kevin

Can you PM a couple picts of the warped plastic hinge? thanks. Mike

sorry, Mike, I can't.  Lowrance didn't consider it a product defect and wouldn't fix it for free, so I took a hair dryer and a pair of pliers to it and bent it back very close to it's original shape, got the case to clamp the adapter tightly, then took the adapter out and put a bead of GOOP around the lip it rests on.

And deleted the pictures I sent to Lowrance...

The bend was arched upwards, like a shallow upside-down "U", maybe 2 or 3mm above horizontal at the top of the arch.  Wasn't hard to straighten out.  The GOOP is a backup to help prevent it from happening again.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

- Kevin

Ok. I've never seen or heard anything like this before. Wondering if there was a change in materials used. Glad it all worked out though. Take care

Mike

Neither have I heard of anything like this, and that's why I didn't look at those tabs until KPD posted the picture of the back of the head unit.  I have an Elite-4 that mounts in the left pocket of my Revo and I've bumped that head unit hundreds of times without anything happening to the mounting bits and pieces, so I can't even guess if the Hook-5 case was a bad molding that sneaked past Q&A or something I did.

There's a bit more to the story.  I originally had an Elite-4 HDI that died the second time I used it.  Sent it in under warranty after Lowrance stopped repairing the Elite units, and the Hook-5 is the replacement I received.  The Hook-5 is still under warranty - so that's good, even if they didn't want to fix it under warranty - but I don't know if it was a new or a refurbished unit when I received it.  I do know that mounting point looked as new when I got it.

Thanks for your interest.