Trying to troubleshoot Humminbird problem?

[gpfishingdude]

I posted awhile back about having problems maintaining depth readings with my Humminbird finder. I found out that it does it with the 581 unit or the 561 unit in place on the pontoon boat and it does it at any speed even sitting still at times. It does continue to read the water temperature and that seems to be somewhat accurate. Other than lowering the transducer are the any other things that I might try to see if I can fix this problem?

 

[dingbat]

Re: Trying to troubleshoot Humminbird problem?

Your transducer is on it's way out. Get a new one.

The temp sensor is separate from the transducer. The only thing a working temp reading says is your temp sensor is good.

 

[gpfishingdude]

Re: Trying to troubleshoot Humminbird problem?

I want to try mounting the transducer on the trolling motor where I can have easier access to it while the boat is in the water. I sent a message to Humminbird support asking how to go about mounting a transducer like mine on the trolling motor. Right now I figure that it will take a different transducer to make that happen. I don't expect to hear from them for a few days. I just bought this Humminbird new April 6 2013 so I shouldn't be having any major problems with it yet. I found somewhat of a check list of things to try if the unit starts losing depth readings so I will go through as many steps as I can to try to solve this problem.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Trying to troubleshoot Humminbird problem?

Check the pins on the ducer cable, where it plugs into the sonar unit. Richoman posted up that his new(ish) Humminbird had a broke pin on the ducer cable. If it's a broken pin on the cable, they should replace it under warranty.

Humminbird should have a trolling motor mount for the ducer, adapter bracket

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Trying to troubleshoot Humminbird problem?

You don't need special instructions. A universal transducer mount for a trolling motor are available at most stores that sell boating supplies. Haven't checked IBoats but I suspect they have them as well.

 

[gpfishingdude]

Re: Trying to troubleshoot Humminbird problem?

Thanks! I will try to find a universal mount for attaching to the trolling motor. I have the transducer off the boat right now so it was easy to check the pins on the cable and they all look okay. Good idea though.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Trying to troubleshoot Humminbird problem?

Thanks! I will try to find a universal mount for attaching to the trolling motor. I have the transducer off the boat right now so it was easy to check the pins on the cable and they all look okay. Good idea though.

Transducers don't die of old age.... thus age is irrelevant.

Two units, one thing in common.....diagnosis shouldn't be hard

 

[NYBo]

Re: Trying to troubleshoot Humminbird problem?

When I had a similar problem with my Humminbird, it turned out that the transducer cable was partially cut.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Trying to troubleshoot Humminbird problem?

I found out that it does it with the 581 unit or the 561 unit in place

You have 2 sonar head units, so do you have 2 transducers to test with?

Also, do both of the sonar units use the same transducer? Depending on the exact model of 561 and 581, they could use different transducers,,, or they could use the same transducer, (dual beam, DI, etc).

I have a 571 DI and a 581i HD DI combo, and they both use the $150 down imaging transducer... :faint2:

 

[gpfishingdude]

Re: Trying to troubleshoot Humminbird problem?

I was wondering if the cable was getting pinched under the decking on the pontoon so I want to run the cable above deck to the trolling motor. The two units use different transducers but the layout of the pin holes is the same on both of them. The 561 just doesn't have as many pins in the end of the cable because it doesn't have DI. I will try them on the 561 transducer next week and if they maintain the depth reading I will know that the 581 transducer is bad for sure.

 

[gpfishingdude]

Re: Trying to troubleshoot Humminbird problem?

I got the boat in the water and had a chance to try out the humminbird with the transducer mounted on the trolling motor. It was very cold and windy so I didn't spend a lot of time trying it out but it did seem to be reading the depth in this very shallow lake. I got an answer from humminbird about doing a lot of changing the settings on the unit if need be. They suggested restoring the defaults and putting the unit in advanced mode. Changing the beam select to another setting and decreasing the surface clutter. Then set the water type to "salt water" and adjust the maximum depth to increase performance. I saved these instructions in case I need them in the future but right now I think the problem was with the transducer location or the routing of the cable.

 

[gpfishingdude]

I have been using the Humminbird a lot since I mounted the transducer on the trolling motor. The only problem that I have had lately is with condensation inside of the screen. I intend to find out what to do about this problem soon.