Fishfinder reading incorrect depth

[32eml24]

My front fishfinder is reading the wrong depth all of a sudden telling me its 100-200 feet deep.  Another weird part about it is that every time I push the button on my foot pedal for the TM the depth changes drastically on the fishfinder.  This is a pretty much new finder, the transducer is mounted correctly and does not appear to be damaged whatsoever.  I towed my boat to Greenville to fish a few lakes on Friday night/Sat AM and it was pouring the whole way there. On Friday night, it would read the incorrect depth for about 1 minute then it would begin working properly.  Saturday morning when I got out it would never read correctly, not even once.  My boat cover is not a factory cover and does not fit tight enough to tow at highway speeds, so it was getting rained on the whole way out there.  Could rain have gotten into some of my wiring or something or do I need to buy a new transducer?  I know its hard to diagnose from afar but thank you for any helpful advice.
Ethan

[32eml24]

Just hooked charger up to battery that runs fishfinder and was at 40 percent charge.  Hoping this may explain the sometimes-working on Friday and not working at all on Saturday as the battery depleted.  Charging it right now.  Checked all wiring and it is perfect and dry.  Turbulence from the trolling motor prop may have been interfering with such a weak sonar signal from the low battery, causing the reading to change every time I pushed the pedal button.  I hope it's that simple!

[fiker]

Sometimes the water level in my battery gets low.  When this happens I experience symptoms similar to what you describe.  After topping off the water level, charging for a little while, things work just fine again. 

[32eml24]

Fully charged the battery, water level OK and fishfinder now does not even display anything where the depth should be for the first minute or so, then goes to anywhere between 0-1000 ft. deep.  All I can figure is something got wet in the rain which would be in the head unit but that all ought to be waterproof.  Emailed Humminbird service and hopefully they get back to me soon.  Crazy how much you look down to reference that thing and gather information.  Didn't even realize it until mine wasn't working anymore.

[Firefighter Jeff]

     I had a problem with mine that was a little similar.  Except my transducer was a thru hull in the bilge area.  Similar in that it wouldn't read right and change depths. Boat and graph were brand new.  Contacted HB and they suggested changing out the ducer.  They sent me another one and it worked fine after that.  Not sure if the first installation had some air bubbles in the epoxy or just a bad ducer.  Hope this helps. 

[32eml24]

Well they emailed me back and said change user mode to advanced set surface clutter to 8 or 9 set water type to salt water and set max depth ten ft. Deeper than the body of water youre in.  This must be some recalibration process for the transducer. Will be trying it out tonight and will post back. Ethan

[fiker]

curious to see your results.

[32eml24]

Well unfortunately it didnt work for me so ill be sending it in for service today. After I disconnected everything I ran jumper wires to a known good battery and it still didnt work so that eliminated a connection problem leading up to the head unit power and ground. I am guessing theyre going to sell me a new transducer. Recieved as a gift on xmas this past year. Anyone have an idea on the turnaround time with their service center? I need this thing back!

[Firefighter Jeff]

  I wouldn't think they'd make you buy the new ducer.  If I remember, they sent me a new one and even had packaging and return authorization info for the old one.  If they don't get your old one back then they charge for the new.

[32eml24]

Hopefully this can help someone else if they run into a similar problem.  Humminbird customer service ROCKS! I sent my unit out on a Friday and got it back the following Friday.  Ended up needing a transducer.  They did not bill me a dime for anything.  It was more than a year from the date of manufacture but it was a Christmas gift so they warrantied the service and the transducer since it was less than a year from the date of purchase.  The customer service rep. I had on the phone was very helpful in answering any questions I had.  I got an email when my package arrived, when it left, and a copy of their diagnosis.  They definitely secured another customer from this experience.

[fiker]

They did the same for me when my 788 was new. 

I'd heard the Humminbird had good customer service.  That's a big reason I bought from them. 


Glad it worked out.

[djkimmel]

I keep hearing these kinds of good story endings with Humminbird Customer Service! That's why my last graph/GPS purchase was a Humminbird.

I have had problems in the past similar to yours when I had low voltage due to a dying battery, problem in the wiring, wet connections. If I was able to solve the issue of getting as full power as I could to the graph (any brand) the problem usually went away.

I had some interference problems for a while with an inexpensive Eagle graph that I eventually solved by getting a better unit (the Humminbird).

A few times in the past I apparently spent so much time straight in cold, very wet, no chance to dry conditions that I ended up with damage I couldn't fix (Lowrance old network connections failed, various graphs with moisture inside due to condensation somehow, electronic failure that wouldn't resolve even after drying in warm, dry place for an extended period). A few times I've had the excellent customer service replace parts for me and a few times I've had to buy replacement parts usually depending upon how old the equipment was.

The Great Lakes Region makes for great equipment testing environments!