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John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts
Initially Posted - 05/24/2014 :  07:04:33  Show Profile
I went out for the first sail of the season yesterday. There was no wind but that's not the question.

My Instrument panel came on as usual however, the depth gauge showed 0 (zero) the entire trip. Given our sailing location, I was not worried about grounding. How can I troubleshoot the instrument to determine the problem. It is original to the boat.
John Russell
1999 C250 SR/WK #410
Bay Village, Ohio
Sailing Lake Erie
Don't Postpone Joy!
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Chief RA
Chief Technical Advisor

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USA
191 Posts
Response Posted - 05/24/2014 :  07:44:02  Show Profile
I had to replace the bulkhead display unit a few days ago. It seems to be working but won't know for sure until launch since I am up here on the hard. My wife says if you throw enough money at it you can fix anything! (Amazon $200)

I would suspect that your first check should be to see if the transducer is clean. Next would be to put your display unit on someone elses transducer, if possible. It can be the instrument panel unit not sending sonar pulses to the transducer or bad transducer.

Good luck and let us know what results. Chief,Electronic Eng.
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islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4024 Posts
Response Posted - 05/24/2014 :  15:43:48  Show Profile
I've read various places that the transducer on some boats or models have to be "wetted out" meaning that they have to be in the water for a day or two before they will give you a reading. Don't know if this pertains to your set up or not. My Standard Horizon can be re-booted with a procedure involving disconnecting the power then re connecting the power while holding some buttons. I don't know if yours is capable of doing a re boot.
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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5377 Posts
Response Posted - 05/24/2014 :  19:10:50  Show Profile
Did you check the connector for corrosion or a loose or broken wire? If the connector looks ok, trace the cable and look for chafe or worn thru insulation. Is there a self-diagnostic mode for the device - maybe check the manual. Some older gear manuals are out of print but the manufacturer may have a PDF version if they're still around.
I've googled manuals in the past and have found some "archive" services that make you pay a fee to download an out of print document. AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE! They won't have what you want, will take your money and sometime will infect your device with malware.
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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts
Response Posted - 05/24/2014 :  19:41:07  Show Profile  Visit delliottg's Homepage
My transducer failed, I talked to the manufacturer, and they advised that I should be able to hear it "click" if it's working properly. He said to use a piece of hose up to your ear and down to the hull right next to the transducer. What mine will do is choose some random depth and continually display that for the entire time the display is powered up. The next time, it'll choose another equally useless depth. It certainly doesn't click. I have a Humminbird fish finder that does make the clicking sound, so the advice seems sound.
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Chief RA
Chief Technical Advisor

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USA
191 Posts
Response Posted - 05/24/2014 :  21:46:52  Show Profile
Thats great that you have a way to detect the transmission of the transducer. I surmised that the frequency now used was well above the audio spectrum and probably is The click is likely the electro/mechanical pulsing of the transducer rather than the transmitted frequency. When I was trained by the Navy as an Electronic Tech. sonar specialist we could hear the signal ping in the sonar tank. Chief
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Dave5041
Former Mainsheet Editor

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USA
3758 Posts
Response Posted - 05/25/2014 :  21:44:50  Show Profile
Isn't there a demo kind of mode? That would check the display unit. I can check mine later this week. Is yours an ST-40 or 60?
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John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts
Response Posted - 05/26/2014 :  15:03:57  Show Profile
Thanks guys. I posted this a few days ago and then promptly left town.

I launched 2 weeks ago and the depth gauge appeared to work properly then. The marina is pretty funky since all of the winter's detritus hasn't really cleared out yet. So, my first suspicion was that it was simply dirty. But, I got up to around 6 knots (motoring) and it didn't clear up. I'll probably go out to the boat tomorrow and pull the through hull out and see how funky it is.

I'll try the hose stethoscope trick as well.

Dave, I don't remember which it is.

If these units are still available, would you buy a second one (since it would fit in all the holes) or is there a better choice if I find it needs replacing?
Edited by - John Russell on 05/26/2014 15:04:45
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Chief RA
Chief Technical Advisor

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USA
191 Posts
Response Posted - 05/26/2014 :  16:41:38  Show Profile
Mine is a Raymarine i40 and the new display is designed to perfectly replace the old one. Its my understanding that this is true for the transducers as well. Chief
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Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.