Lowrance losing power

This topic has 9 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 5 months ago by clw2613.basscatowners.

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)

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January 16, 2008 at 11:43 am #456249

ncbass
Participant

Guys, I posted this before and thought I had fixed the problem, but it has reared its ugly head yet again. My bow mounted Lowrance 334 will simply cut off by itself. I pulled the panel and removed the in-line fuse thinking this would help. There is another set of wires running to the Acc switch that also has an in-line fuse which I left in place. Also, using the up/down trim buttons on the panel will kick off the unit. Another weird thing is when this happens it will continually cut off while fishing (trolling motor down, covering water), but if you crank the big motor for several minutes the unit will stay on for a while. Checked the power output on the wires at the switch and at the unit, all good. Took the unit to work and used the power from a 522 display we have and it powered right up and stayed on. I was thinking of just ordering a new trim panel and rewiring the whole thing. Any other suggestions? Thanks, Brad

January 16, 2008 at 12:00 pm #456250

PhilAddison
Participant

Sounds to me like youre having a drop in voltage and that is what is causing the shut down. Have you checked the voltage at the plug when youre using the tilt / trim button? All connections good at the source of power?

January 16, 2008 at 12:23 pm #456251

catman2
Participant

Is the unit powered directly from the battery or is it tapped into another accessory? You have a voltage drop issue. A similar occurance happenend to me. I direct wired the unit and problem solved.

January 16, 2008 at 2:01 pm #456252

ncbass
Participant

I have not checked the voltage when using the trim button, regular check at the power cord going into the unit was fine. The power cables are wired into the acc switch. I guess I should also check my battery terminal connections (duh). Brad

January 16, 2008 at 2:36 pm #456253

topwater
Participant

If there is a inline spring style fuse holder replace it with the new style blade fuse, the spring gets weak (I think for amp heat) and the newer units draw enough amps that it will lose connection, it drove me crazy with my LMS 240. I would even have power using a mulit meter but not enough to power up the unit when replugged in and this was only sometimes then the stupid thing would work again for long periods. I thought it was my unit and switched to a LCX 18C and it happend again about a month later. streched the spring and it was good for about 2 months so finally replaced the thing and no trouble all last season.

January 16, 2008 at 4:24 pm #456254

topwater
Participant

Opps sorry I didnt read your post all the way through but I would check the other fuse holder also when checking for voltage to the unit do not use a electronic multi meter they draw basicly no amps you see voltage hook up the unit and no power because of heavier amperage draw, and if it is connection issue it will read voltage but when you hook up the unit which will draw heavier amps it wont work. I used a test light to trouble shoot mine and notice with the test light it wasnt a bright as it should be then took the multi meter and tested for voltage with touching the test light shaft with the pos. and the voltage showed only a few volts. If it is a connection issue with voltage and no amps, in a dark area the when you go to start the unit and press the button you will see it blink, can not see this on the lake very well but that is clue that it tried to come on and lost connection do to a bad connection (mine was the fuse holder).

January 16, 2008 at 6:38 pm #456255

ncbass
Participant

Any idea what the second set of wires w/in-line fuse holder is for? Could that have an effect on the Lowrance unit? Brad

January 16, 2008 at 7:07 pm #456256

clw2613.basscatowners
Participant

As others have said, you have a voltage issue! The cause of that may be as simple as your battery getting weak. Id take a digital voltmeter along next time and when it turns off, check the battery terminal voltage. The Lowrance unit turns itself off when the voltage gets too low (look at your sonar manual). Low battery voltage can be caused by: 1. Battery going bad. 2. Excessive current drain from other devices 3. Bad charging system You mentioned that it goes off after you have been running the TM for a while — surely you DONT have you sonar power being provided by a TM battery! If so, bad idea! C.

January 16, 2008 at 9:29 pm #456257

ncbass
Participant

I am by no means a genius, but I know better than to hook it up to the trolling motor batteries. Could be the battery, what is the recommended starting battery size (225 Pro XS) so I can get one while Im still at work? Nothing else is turned on, just the Lowrance….

January 16, 2008 at 9:57 pm #456258

clw2613.basscatowners
Participant

Do you still have your manual? It will tell you the required cranking battery size. The Optimax engines require a pretty hefty battery for cranking. My 250 Pro XS manual specifies a minimum of 1000MCA/800CCA/105AH. C.
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