Copperhead300
Recruit
- Joined
- Sep 30, 2020
- Messages
- 1
Hi Everyone,
We have a 1987 Bayliner Trophy 2450 with the 5.0L OMC Cobra in it. Our primary purpose is salmon, steelhead, and lake trout fishing, trolling in Lake Michigan. We have been experiencing problems, of which both may be related:
Electronic interference in our Fish Hawk unit. For those of you not familiar with trolling, a Fish Hawk is a device that tells you your speed and temperature at the downrigger ball. There is a probe that attaches to the downrigger cable/ball that sends a wireless signal to a transducer and relays the information to a head unit on the dash that displays the information. This head unit has been experiencing erratic data (ex: 31 degree water, 60 mph, 900 ft deep). I contacted Fish Hawk customer service. They walked me through a half hours worth of on the water trouble shooting and determined that the interference may be caused by a "rogue electric pulse" coming from the outdrive which is then riding up the transducer cable into the head unit.
To test this we have been attaching our multimeter positive lead to the downrigger cable and the multimeter negative lead to the negative battery terminal (or the engine block). Research shows that downrigger cable (when in the water) + zinc anodes + water creates a charge on its own. A "natural voltage" should range .7 to .8 volts regardless of whether the engine is on or off. Our natural voltage with the engine off tends to be around .6, but when we turn on the engine, the voltage drops to .2 to .4 volts. I cannot not find conclusive information, some sources say this indicates a voltage leak. DOES ANYONE KNOW? DOES THIS INDICATE A VOLTAGE LEAK GOING OUT OUR BOAT INTO THE WATER?
To this point we have done the following to remedy this problem:
- Replaced spark plugs with "resistor" plugs
- Cleaned the zinc anodes with stainless steel wool
- Systematically tested all other electronics for causing the interference to the Fish Hawk unit (found nothing)
- Systematically pulled fuses and tested for voltage change (found nothing)
I don't want to bias anyone's thoughts on this, but we think this could be caused by a loose, disconnected, or damaged grounding strap between the engine block, outdrive stern plate, and the outdrive unit.
I know that a voltage leak can cause corrosion, but what is more of a problem is that this voltage is resulting in a "hot boat" and could be repelling fish (in theory) and affecting our results.
ANY THOUGHTS OR SUGGESTIONS?? THANK YOU!
Copperhead 300
We have a 1987 Bayliner Trophy 2450 with the 5.0L OMC Cobra in it. Our primary purpose is salmon, steelhead, and lake trout fishing, trolling in Lake Michigan. We have been experiencing problems, of which both may be related:
Electronic interference in our Fish Hawk unit. For those of you not familiar with trolling, a Fish Hawk is a device that tells you your speed and temperature at the downrigger ball. There is a probe that attaches to the downrigger cable/ball that sends a wireless signal to a transducer and relays the information to a head unit on the dash that displays the information. This head unit has been experiencing erratic data (ex: 31 degree water, 60 mph, 900 ft deep). I contacted Fish Hawk customer service. They walked me through a half hours worth of on the water trouble shooting and determined that the interference may be caused by a "rogue electric pulse" coming from the outdrive which is then riding up the transducer cable into the head unit.
To test this we have been attaching our multimeter positive lead to the downrigger cable and the multimeter negative lead to the negative battery terminal (or the engine block). Research shows that downrigger cable (when in the water) + zinc anodes + water creates a charge on its own. A "natural voltage" should range .7 to .8 volts regardless of whether the engine is on or off. Our natural voltage with the engine off tends to be around .6, but when we turn on the engine, the voltage drops to .2 to .4 volts. I cannot not find conclusive information, some sources say this indicates a voltage leak. DOES ANYONE KNOW? DOES THIS INDICATE A VOLTAGE LEAK GOING OUT OUR BOAT INTO THE WATER?
To this point we have done the following to remedy this problem:
- Replaced spark plugs with "resistor" plugs
- Cleaned the zinc anodes with stainless steel wool
- Systematically tested all other electronics for causing the interference to the Fish Hawk unit (found nothing)
- Systematically pulled fuses and tested for voltage change (found nothing)
I don't want to bias anyone's thoughts on this, but we think this could be caused by a loose, disconnected, or damaged grounding strap between the engine block, outdrive stern plate, and the outdrive unit.
I know that a voltage leak can cause corrosion, but what is more of a problem is that this voltage is resulting in a "hot boat" and could be repelling fish (in theory) and affecting our results.
ANY THOUGHTS OR SUGGESTIONS?? THANK YOU!
Copperhead 300