New Garmin Died

[Larry Harp]

Got the new Garmin 160 installed without a hitch,(thanks to Mofish's excellent grab bag article)everything checked out fine in the driveway, got out to the lake today, fired it up and everything is lookin' good, sit down and tied on a jig and I'm ready for a new dawn of fishing excitment when I look at the screen and it's BLANK! I try everything I can out on the water. I power it off and back on. I unplug it and plug it back in. I unplug the transducer to see if it would go into simulation mode. Nothing is on the screen. The back light is working the unit beeps when various buttons are pushed, so I know it's getting power, but no picture.

What do you guys think? Am I missing something--or should just contact Garmin and arrange a warranty exchange?

Thanks

Harpo

 

[Michael Snow]

It's dead... call Garmin. I've heard nothing but good things about their warranty work. Actually, I'd suggest returning it to the retailer you purchased it from and getting another. If the purchase date is recent, just take the head unit in, ask them to swap it out. No need to remove the power and transducer cables. They'll defect it out and send it back to Garmin... "instant gratification".

 

[James D.]

Harpo,



sounds like it has a bad lcd screen. you didn't run over it in the driveway did ya? ) sorry i missed u on the lake 2day as i didn't get out till late. i got your note "bell cow lake bass are safe 4 another day" - funny, i didn't do well either. Talked to gary and he caught 2 and his brother & wife caught 1 and they fished all day. that dude in the new stratus boat is a pro and probably the dude in the ranger too. no names, but i don't think they did well either so we shouldn't feel too bad. Come to think of it, I had the shortest boat on the lake today. oh heck, that is ok as i use mine for catfishing too. If you have a volt meter go ahead and make sure you are getting the full 12Vdc with the right polarity and be sure you are on a good circuit. I have a 12vdc power supply if you want to hook it up in the house to test. give me a call as i will be up late tonight if you want to borrow it. your better off findin it bad now than when spring comes after you have had it for awhile. i'm tryin to locate a new trolling motor which i can afford. tempted on getting that one up at academy for $300. anyways, it will be a full moon in a couple of weeks and that should get them going again.



jd

 

[Larry Harp]

Mike - That's what I was afraid of too. I was hoping somebody would remind me to perform the wxr847zd procedure. Santa Wife bought it from BPS so I guess I'll have to get UPS involved.

James - Thanks but I do have a tester and that was the first thing I did when I got home. It's getting a solid 12 volts. No, I didn't run over it, but that's a real good idea. I saw those guys at the ramp too. Sure was some high $ glass those guys had. Love those stainless steel trailer fenders. I got my 55# Minnkota at Academy for $369. I love it. It's quite as a breeze and on high will pull my boat fast enough to make a wake. I'm not sure the 55# will be enough thrust for you or not.

Harpo

 

[James D.]

i've got a 48# now and it moves the boat along real well except in 40mph winds. A 55 would be better. they had that motor mis priced the other day at $299 - like i said, i was real tempted. gonna try to get a 65# soon. good luck on the garmin as i'm sure they and bps will make good on it. i hate it when ya buy something new and it doesn't work or come with all the pieces. yeh, the boats at the lake were 20 - 21 footers and brand new except for ours. oh well, maybe someday. i'd be a lot happier if the fish would bite. i'm thinkin of putting a finder up front also, either a garmin 160, lowrance x51, or move my legend 1000 up front and get a legend 3000. the trolling mtr is coming first as i think i'm scareing the fish to the other end of the lake. no good on the humps today either. i've caught a fish the last few times i've tried that. did you get to take andy with you today?

 

[Larry Harp]

Called BPS today.They are sending a new fishfinder along with a nocharge return mailing label. I love Bass Pro.

James-- Andy did come along with me Sunday. He's kind of a fair (and warm) weather fisherman, and looses intrest quickly when the bite is slooooow. He really doesn't but into the "this is better because it is more challenging" theroy either. I cruised the dam and the big hump that is marked without so much as a blip on the finder. ( the working one) Good News!---Spring is just around the corner! Better hurry up and get that new TM, I thought I heard a crazy screeching noise coming from the other side of the lake yesterday.;-)))

Harpo

 

[James D.]

i'm glad bps is taken care of you. hopefully you can try the new one out this weekend. it is hard for anybody to go fishin for 4-6 hours without a bite.

jd

 

[Mark Hofman]

Larry: This may seem like a really dumb question, but...



when you installed the R.A.M. mounting plate to the back side of the unit, did you use the bolts from the Garmin unit or the bolts that came with the R.A.M. mount?



The reason I asked is that I first tried to use the Garmin's bolts. Although they fit, they were too deep and I realized that if I forced them, I might break something internal on the unit. Then I found the R.A.M.-supplied bolts and they went in slick as goose droppings on a South Pacific.... (oh, never mind. It just isn't going to be as funny as I thought it would...)

 

[gone bye bye]

Gee...shoulda got a Lowrance...lol



Just kidding, I couldnt resist!



Mini

 

[Mark Hofman]

Yeah! Then we'd also have to spend hours reading an operating manual too! Men just HATE to have to read the instructions. LOL!

 

[Larry Harp]

James- 4 to 6 hours is no big deal think about 3 to 4 months. Now that's hanging in there.

Mo- No not a dumb question because I thought about using them too-- because they were black and would look better, but didn't cause they were too long so I did use the ones that came with the RAM.

Harpo

 

[Mark Hofman]

GREAT! At least ONE of us has brains!

 

[gone bye bye]

BTW I dont read the instruction manuals either....I just keep pushing buttons so fast that it looks like I know everything...lol



Mini

 

[Bill McElroy]

Man if that isn't the truth!!!!....lol.....

 

[Steven Atwell]

I'm with James. Check it with a volt meter. I had a top dollar Lowrance unit do that to me a while back. It would beep at turn on, and get it's backlight, but nothing else would work, just an occasional flicker at best. Finally after playing with it, I measured the voltage and it wasn't enough. I hooked it up directly to a battery and all was fine, so I had to install wire directly from the battery up to the bow mount. They suggest you do that anyway for interference purposes.................sa

 

[Mark Hofman]

Good idea, Steve! Plug the charger in, turn the unit on and see if you can power the unit up. The Garmin will have a display option to show volts. Get a reading, then unplug the charger and see what happens.

 

[Steven Atwell]

If you try to run the charger while using a finder that is connected directly to the battery, you might just be testing how well your fuse works. Remember that those chargers can put out over 10 amps. Most finders are fused for 3.



;?)

 

[Mark Hofman]

Oh. Well, he's getting a NEW one anyway!

 

[James D.]

unless i'm missing something, don't hook it up to a battery charger as the voltage is not a constant 12vdc signal but a square wave pulse or half wave rectified type of signal. use a battery or a 12v "regulated" power supply when hooking up to electronics. Hopefully it is hooked up to the starting battery. steven, you need to give me a ride in your boat. I start drooling everytime i see one.

jd

 

[Mark Hofman]

Soonerfan - ignore me. I know virtually NOTHING about electricity. A volt is a measurement of electrical pressure. That's about the sum of my knowledge.



That and you shouldn't hook the black lead up to the red battery post. Ha!

 

[Larry Harp]

I must confess I did go against good advice and run fresh wire from the battery. I hooked up to the extra power lead at the bow. I did test it and it was showing 12v. What do you guys think---big mistake? The scars on my arms are almost healed from running 6ga to my trolling motor but I'm not sure I'm emotionally stable enough to face fishing wire through a foot of foam and 18' of razor sharp aluminum again. I might have to take up bowling.

Harpo

 

[Mark Hofman]

Soonerfan:



I understand your hesitancy to pull more wire from the battery compartment all the way to the front of the boat. I made a little tool to help get my electrical cable through the toughest parts.



You asked the question: big mistake? No, not big. But by linking to or through some other accessory, you will experience a drop in voltage. Everything I read said that the ideal connection is directly to the battery. It reduces the chance for electrical interference and gives you the most juice.



The tool I made was simple: a really stiff wire coat hanger. I could bend it, work it through wire bundles and past shifter and throttle cables, and through all but the smallest hole in my boat. I got the idea from my father-in-law, who is an electrician. By wrapping the loop connection with electrical tape, you secure everything tight and remove sharp edges where the tool can hang up. The longer and stiffer piece of metal wire you can get, the better. Then, I used a 4-wire fire alarm cable so that I only had to do the routing ONCE. You can even use the coat hanger tool to reach up through the rod locker and fish wire back from the bow.



Is it worth it? My volt meter on the unit will read 12.6 volts on a full charge.

 

[James D.]

steven,

i was hoping to get one (used of course) this year but with the economy and my job it will probably have to wait till next yr. i'm going to be real brave and go to the boat show at the end of the month though. good luck on the house and get one right on the lake if you can.

jd

 

[James D.]

soonerfan - call me if you need some help getting those wires in. MoFish is right on with that homemade "fish tape". I believe i still have some shielded cable that would make it an easy pull. let me know.

jd

 

[Larry Harp]

So let me make sure I understand. Isn't the purple wire with the empty crimp connector to be used for add on accesories such as fishfinders, horns, lights ect.? Doesn't that connect to the terminal block back by the console? It is not switched or attached to any other device. I operated the tilt/trim with the voltage meter hooked up and saw no fluctation at all.

Harpo

 

[James D.]

your volt meter will not pick up "noise" from other motors and devices as there is still 12vdc present (what your meter is reading). if you have an oscilliscope sittin around you could hook it up and see. what steven was sayin (i think ) is that the noise MAY cause blips or false fish readings or dots or whatever on your lcd screen. you could find another circuit elsewhere that would work, but it is best to run a new wire and fuse to the battery or if your fuse block has an extra circuit, you could add it in there. hope this helps out some. offer is still good if you want me to help. it will be worth it when it all works.

jd