Any problems with Universal Sonar?

[TritonGlenn]

I have a Minn Kota Maxxum Pro 80 US, and I have a Lowrance X102C hooked up to the Universal Sonar on the trolling motor. I love the trolling motor, and also think the X102C is a top-notch unit. However, lately, I am seeing more and more interference on the fishfinder. It used to only do it when I had the trolling motor on high (it would put a dark streak from top to bottom on the unit), but lately, it seems like it it getting worse and worse. Last time I took it out, every time I stepped on the trolling motor on switch, I got lots of "noise" on the screen. The screen looked like it does when you have a lot of trash/ debris in the water. Let off the switch, back to crystal clear. I've checked the trolling motor / fish finder wiring / transducer cables, and none of it is run close together. I'm thinking of throwing a seperate mounted transducer on the trolling motor this weekend and seeing how that works. Any suggestions? I had heard someone speaking about a capacitor or something that they installed inline on the fishfinder I believe. Any help would be very appreciated.

All the best,

Glenn

 

[Jim B]

Glenn

A guy in my club had the same thing happen on his last summer, he ended up having it lookad ad because it was under warranty and the transducer needed to be replaced because there was something wrong with it. He ended up putting on a normal one in an effort to troublesahoot the problem and it fixed his then is dealer took care of it.



what happened to him is one of the main reasons i went with a sonarless unit when i got my max pro 80 last summer. That and the lack of a temp sensor anyway.

 

[TritonGlenn]

Jim,

Thanks for the reply. I have a temp sensor on my Maxxum Pro 80 US. I just called my local repair shop (MotorTech - Tom Foster is about the best there is to be found!), and he said there is a technical bulletin out about the problem. He was in the middle of something at the time, but he was going to look into it and get back with me in about an hour. He said he thinks it's something as simple as a ground wire run all the way down inside the shaft, but he wanted to make sure, and he said he thinks he can get me fixed up before this weekend. I'll be calling him back in about 50 minutes to check up on it, and then probably drive down to his shop tomorrow afternoon to get the work done. It's nice having someone local that knows what they are doing.

All the best,

Glenn

 

[Marty Klein]

I have absolutely no interference between my 55AP/US and my Garmin 240. Finder reading is so good I can smell fish when the Fish ID pings.

 

[Christopher Laurencio]

My buddy has one with his older Lowrance and does not like it for the same reason as you mentioned, actually sent it back for one w/o the U/S.

 

[TritonGlenn]

Got the word on a fix from Tom today. I'm bringing it to him tomorrow to have him conduct the required change. He said it's a little time consuming, but should have me done tomorrow afternoon. It involves running a ground wire through the shaft to the lower unit and connecting it somewhere in there (he knows where, so I didn't get into the specifics), and then connecting the other side to the negative side of the battery. Minn Kota put out a technical bulletin fix for it.

All the best,

Glenn

 

[TritonGlenn]

OK. The repair is complete - covered under factory warranty, and took about an hour to complete. I'm fishing a tournament tomorrow, so I'll let you all know if this fix cured my fishfinder woes. I also threw a new Kipiwa propeller on there today, so I'll be testing that out tomorrow as well.

All the best,

Glenn