Transducer cable repair

[takirb]

I have an old Humminbird Wide Eye FF that came with my boat. Somehow i managed to slice my transducer cable (TM mounted) in half yesterday while on the water. No water got inside as the slice is near the switch panel on the bow, not down enough to get in water. There appears to be 3 wires inside. Is the fix for this as simple as just resplicing the connections? Is it necessary that i use foil to shield them all or could i just use standard tube-like crimp connectors, wrap them back up in electrical tape, then use heatshrink tubing over the repair, and silicon RTV the tubing ends to make sure no water gets inside?

I'm not real big on replacing the unit itself, even $100 for a new unit isn't worth the hassle of rerouting wires, replacing the mount, etc just for a secondary FF (i have a better one on the console that i mainly use). The Humminbird is just nice to have if i have a passenger on the boat that wants to keep an eye on the dept/fish as well.

 

[wifisher]

Re: Transducer cable repair

Strip the casing back a little from each cut end. Solder and shrink tube the three wires, use existing shielding, shrink tube the cable, and it is done correctly. If you just use butt connectors on the three wires, it may or may not pick up interferance. If there are no other wires near the repair, it will have a better chance of working.

I am assuming that this will not be submerged when it is in use, as that would cause more problems.

 

[takirb]

Re: Transducer cable repair

No, not submerged at all, and not near any other cables other than maybe the power cable/plug for the foot control for the TM. Once the TM is lowered into the water, the damaged spot would sit near the bow mount itself for the TM (right on top of the bow). Thanks for the info!

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Transducer cable repair

Whether the repair needs to be shielded or not depends on whether there is shield (braid) in the cable now. Yes = yes the repair must be shielded. No = No it doesn't.

 

[John_S]

Re: Transducer cable repair

I am fairly certain the wide eye transducer had a layer of foil shielding, that went around all three wires. It will be tied to the ground wire at the plug, just before it enters the head unit. Wrap the shielding around as best you can and make sure the two overlap and connect. Test it before sealing it all up.

 

[takirb]

Re: Transducer cable repair

It does appear to have some type of thin blue shielding around all the wires as one, does this mean i need to foil the wires again prior to heatshrinking it back together?

 

[John_S]

Re: Transducer cable repair

It does appear to have some type of thin blue shielding around all the wires as one, does this mean i need to foil the wires again prior to heatshrinking it back together?

Yes, anyplace the shielding is not covering, is an opportunity for noise to get in. Noise may not be an issue with your particular set-up. If you have a power drive and/or digital controlled trolling motor, they tend to emit more noise.

 

[knehdn]

Re: Transducer cable repair

I had a similar problem. Some tried to rip off my finder and cut the cable before I scared them off. So I took the above advice... stripped back the cover and tried to carefully peel back the oh-so-thin shielding. It ripped to shreds, so I continued by soldering the wires, heat shrinking them, and then used some of that aluminum foil I used on sealing the heating ducts. Hopefully it'll do the trick. I also taped the joint all nice and tight with that 'magic tape' that stretches and bonds to itself making virtually waterproof.

 

[takirb]

Re: Transducer cable repair

Welp, i tried. Heart was in the right place lol but those dang wires are TINY, and that shielding just rips right to shreds. I've got 5 wires total, yellow and brown are wrapped in 1 foil shield, red and black wrapped in another, then there's an exposed wire that's wrapped around those by itself. Then it's all wrapped in another foil shield, then of course the outer rubber holding it all together. I think if i was successful at piecing those wires back together and making it work, i outta go ahead and become a surgeon

So looking at other options, I can purchase a left/right/down transducer replacement for roughly $60-$70, or a new PiranhaMax 160 or so for around $100, then another $15 for a trolling motor mount for the transducer that'll come with the new finder. That's a $50-$60 difference in price of repairing the old vs purchasing new, rerouting ALL the wiring vs just the transducer cable, and remounting the unit over the existing holes/mounting location.

My question is - what are the actual advantages in the units themselves in using a newer model finder such as the Piranha 160 vs the old Wide Eye other than screen resolution? If the newer 160 has a dual or tri beam transducer, wouldn't I be able to accomplish the same function by purchasing a left/right/down transducer for my current Wide Eye? I understand the differences in side imaging devices, GPS, etc, but i'm not willing to spend the $$ for one of those yet for a bow mount unit. The unit on my dash is used mostly as it shows depth, fish, speed, and water temp. I'm just looking for a simple replacement/solution for the bow for the times i or someone else fishes from that seat. Now I'm just trying to weigh out the pros/cons of purchasing another cable vs replacing the whole thing. Advice? It's starting to bug me now that something on my boat doesn't work (this mentality can get expensive!).

 

[John_S]

Re: Transducer cable repair

It sounds like you might have a Wide Side transducer. If you post a picture, I could tell. If the repair attempt failed, you can try to watch ebay for a reasonable used one. Myself, I'd go without, and save up some $ vs buying an entry level one.

What is your console FF? Maybe just buy a trolling motor transducer and station for bow, and move it back and forth. While it would be a more expensive option, if the console unit is more than a few years old, you should also consider upgrading it, and moving it to the bow.

 

[takirb]

Re: Transducer cable repair

Thank you for the response! I called Humminbird this am inquiring about the replacement transducer, and was told the replacement is an XTM-9-20T, which doesn't match the one i have (new one's a puck style, only shows down).

The one i have is apparently the Wide Side, didn't know that till you told me. It sells for $20 more, here's a link to the one i have as i'm at work and can't take a pic

http://www.basspro.com/Humminbird®-Wide-Side-Trolling-Motor-Transducer/product/7476/-318196

The "down" function never worked though, i only picked up left and right views so i thought i needed a "down" transducer. The console FF is a Zercom Z160, it's very old but it has speed, temp, and works just fine so i didn't want to mess with it. It's currently the only thing i have working on the console that tells me my speed and depth, though i wish the fish finding part was a bit easier to read/understand. It doesn't keep accurate depth and bottom imaging over about 10mph, but i wasn't sure if any fish/depth finders did. I may be mistaken, but the FF's that also have a speed function cost quite a bit more than one suitable for the bow, so i figured i'd leave the Zercom till it crapped out and replace/fix the bow FF with a smaller $100 unit. I dread having to rewire/mount everything if i purchase a new FF for the bow, which has me really only wanting to replace the transducer if the advantages/disadvantages are negligible. If the transducer replacement is new, gives me sides/down viewing, what advantages do i have with going to a new FF such as a Garmin 140 or Humminbird 160? I'm totally new to FF's, and am trying to stay around the $100 range for fix/replacements.

 

[John_S]

Re: Transducer cable repair

The "down" function was probably working, especially if the depth readout was working on the "side" display. The "Wide" units could detect the "WS" transducer and automaticly go to that display screen. You have to force it to show down view. I use the WS on my MG Wireless trolling motor but force the 400TX to down view.

If you are going to trash that WS transducer, please PM me.