What does your front graph voltage say?

[Dan]

My Lowrance LMS520C shows about 8.7 volts at the unit up front. When I start the boat the unit shuts off. I've had one person who installs these units at his retail business look at it to no avail. I'm technologically impaired, but am considering trying to pull a new wire and go direct to the starting battery with it. I have an old Bass Cat Jag. How risky is pulling the new wire? I'd hate to loose it if it got hung up as I'm trying to pull it.  Thanks

[Skulley]

It is really not that hard to pull new wire.  With a little patience and perseverance you should be able to do it with no problem.  Go slow and take your time. Figure that you are not going to be able to use the boat until you fix it.  Sometimes that will make you rush through the job, however remind yourself that you should take your time and do a good job.  When pulling new wire there is always that chance of getting hung up.  My voltage is 13 volts when the battery is fully charged when the motor is not running and almost 15 volts when the motor is running.  The voltage when the motor is not running will drop as the day wears on and you have the graph on as well as the live well running.  Through and 8 hour day on the water my voltage has dropped to 10.5 volts.  That is with the live running as well as two graphs and a GPS.  Good luck and let me know how you do.  

BD                  

[fiker]

The other day I was on Whitmore for most of the day.  I had 2 sonars, and my side imaging going the whole time, with very few runs on the big motor.

After lunch time, every time I turned on the big motor, the front unit would go off into the land of computers.  You know, the place where they are neither off nor on.  I would have to unplug the unit, and start it back up. 

I came home, and put a charger on my cranking battery over night. 

Today on an almost as long fishing excursion, it never did it again. 

My Humminbirds say that they will operate between 12 and 20 volts. 

I've heard of this starting problem before on other boards.  The guys that fixed em say that they pulled wire all the way back to the batteries.

[Dan]

Thanks guys. Any special trick to connecting the two wires before I try to pull em? Twist and tape or...

[Durand Dan]

First off, it sounds like you have a grounded wire. Probably pinched somewhere along the line. If you want to verify, run a length of wire from the unit to the batery on the outside. When you do pull, diffinetly hook, twist and tape. If you can get some type of cable pulling lube it makes it a lot easier

[tjrock]

Had same problem with my front graph when I installed it. It turned on and shut right down because of low voltage. It was a grounding problem. I tried to take a short cut and only fish one wire to the front for power and use the same ground as the front lights. Well it didn't work. I fished a ground wire up front and then everything worked great. If you do decide to pull a new wire get some poly pull string and half hitch and tape it to the old wire and pull it in then half hitch and tape the new wire to the string and pull it in. It may seem like your doing it twice but the string lays on the wire better and makes a smaller head to pull through the wireway, which avoids hang ups. You can also pull another string in with the new wire in case you ever need to pull another wire in the future.

[Dan]

What gauge wire should I buy? Gary I'm planning on fishing Thursday with you if that's still okay. I'll give you a call today.

[smbassman]

either 10 or 12 gage should work.  It is not totally necessary with fresh water, but you may want to use marine wiring (w/ tin) and also either solder/tape the connections, or use the butt connectors with heat shrink tubing on them.

You should also check the plug and pins on the unit for corrosion or dirt.

[tjrock]

They don't draw that many amps so 18 or 16 gauge will work fine. Make sure you also get a in-line fuse. My hummingbird called for a 3 amp, but don't know if Lowrance is different. It should say what size to use in the instructions.

[VinceR]

Another thing that you may want to check, If you haven't already. Look up in the gunnels. You should be able to see up there from under the console, or by sticking your head in the rod locker. You should have tubes running the length of the boat for your wiring.   

Many builders will run lengths of cord through the tubes that you can attach to new wiring to pull through the tubes. Check for the loose cords at either end of the tubes.

[Puma]

Hey Dan;  I ran new wires in my Puma for the exact same issue.  My newer Humminbirds needed much more juice and the stock wires usually are going through junction blocks and switches, which rob efficiency.

I ran #8 wire and can help you if you wish.  We can talk more on Thursday.

[Dan]

Wahoo!! A trip to White with an angler fresh from a win on White, plus a mentor for the wire pull. My lucky day!! I've be procrastinating for some time with this job. I'm, like I said before, mechanically challenge, so it really makes me gun shy, and I just put it off. Thanks Gary, and as you know I didn't call you tonight. It got too late in a hurry and I didn't want to call after 10:00 pm. I'll call you first thing tomorrow at around 10:00 am.

[djkimmel]

My Ranger has big wire tubes. I bought a cheap (About $5) small diameter manual plumbing snake I use to run my own wiring through the hoses. Works great. Really makes things easier.

Tape the wire(s) to the end. Slowly and steadily feed out the snake working it through the hose to where you need to go. Unhook the wire at the end and then wind the snake back out.

For graphs and other accessories, I run my own wire pair, installing the correct size inline fuse into the positive wire. Reduces interference and provides better power. The user manuals using state what size wire to use. You can go online often and find out if, say you're retired and older maybe, and can't remember what you did with your user manual...

[Dan]

I know I have it somewhere... By the way I was at White yesterday. They have signs up saying they are draining the lake at the end of the month. Better have the Great Lakes Bass fall extraordinaire on Hamlin.

[djkimmel]

Not a problem. We can back our boats to the channel. The bass will really be concentrated then!!!!

[Frank]

Mine says Low voltage.  It also says 843 feet deep, though I have been able to find some spots as shallow as 750 feet.  It does not, however, show fish.  The last time it had a fish on the screen was around 500 feet deep in my driveway.  I have not been able to catch that fish no matter what I do.

Frank

[t-bone]

Frank - I don't know how you find those secret deep holes in St. Clair. I think you need to fish close to shore!

[Bender]

Dan, the 520C I have up front used to shut off every time I started the motor as well. For me it was a sign that the battery was going downhill. After a full charge this didn't happen but after the first day or so it began to do this. I changed to the biggest battery I could fit in there this year and haven't had a problem even though it does read 11.5 at full charge and down to 10.5 after a couple weeks.
I think that running new wires is the best first step but if you still have the problem after that then it may be time to look at the battery. My old battery was "rated" at 1000 MCA and I don't remember what my new one is but it's enough.

[LAPORTE]

My graph says it want's to be replaced with a new one..... lol  you all know you were thinking of that one...

[Dan]

Hey Bender and Gary,
I just replaced the ends of the wires that attach to the battery and checked my graph again, and it said that I had about 11 volts. Might have solved the problem by working at the simplest thing first. I still may take Gary up on showing me how to run a new wire anyway. My boat is an old 97 Bass Cat Jag. It's been a great boat for me, but over the years it has accumulated a ton of wiring, and I'm wondering what is still really needed. I'd like to have someone who knew what they were doing strip it down to just what is necessary now. It would probably make the boat 50 pounds lighter.
I'll be anxious to see if my feeble attempt at an easy fix really works when I'm on the water. I may drag the boat over to White Lake and dump it in on Sunday and take some pictures of the Tear Drop tourney there.
I'm still a little nervous Kimmel about your West Side outing. Those signs at the landing on White detailing their draw down of White to the old river channel may cause some problems for your tourney. Hamlin is sounding better and better. Just bring extra insulin, and I'll buy at the House of Flavors. I can put a bunch of East Siders up at the cabin. I have room for at least seven in beds and extra space if they bring their own air beds. Lots of room to park boats with plug ins available. If my neighbor is gone, we'll just run a long cord to his place. It's cheaper that way.
Lastly,  I really appreciate all the input into my graph problem. I'm always impressed by the expertise that is volunteered on this site. Thanks guys!