Question on Electronics

[Pops Soul]

Last year I had trouble with my Lowrance GPS, after sending it back for service they told be the problem was due to storing the unit in a hot place, which made some sense since I kept in the Cabin of the boat, where I'm sure it would get over heated. This year I started  bringing it home with me after each use, now with the house having central air when I hook up the GPS unit on the boat the colors are out all whacked out until the LCD warms up to the surronding temps. Does anyone else have this problem and where do you store your electronics when not in use? Thanks for any in put. 

[Luna Sea 5]

hmm,. my is dash mounted and all the wires sit in my consoul with no problems.

[catfish hunter]

I have mine flush mounted and no problems yet ,I always had them out in the elements before this one and never had any issues unless I left it out all winter then I had one go bad

[Treebeard]

Our Scout has flush mounted electronics, and as this was my first time setting up in such a manner, I have been concerned with the effects of heat, but so far, no issues. On my other boat, I have an older Lowrance (LMS350), that I have always taken off at the end of each day, and stored in the house, so no troubles with that yet either. If your problem is continuing even after taking the unit into the house to store it, I would think the issue is not heat Hopefully Lowrance will step up for you, my experience with their service dept. has always been good.

[PeggyLee]

The more I talk with other fisherman the more I'm hearing about problems with GPS and Finder units.Some crap out, some fade out and come back, some the color is way off ,some the signal is depleted after hours of use.These are name brand units with good Customer Service. Whats going on ?  Can they ALL  be attributed to poor connections?
Maybe Ped 579 our electronic guy can shed some lite.

[IrishAyes]

With the salt air, most of the problems will be with connections. My stereo stopped working. A check of the unit showed a connection that looked perfectly good was not making contact. Visual inspection could not detect anything wrong. A test light showed power on the one side and no power coming out the other side. A quick cut and splice corrected the problem.

A poor ground will also reek havoc on electronics.

[ped579]

Hi Guys,

The first thing I would look at would be the ground as that definitely is the easiest to find.  I would not do just a visual here as the connections for the most part are hidden.  Take off all grounds and physically clean them with a small wire brush made from brass.  You can find these at any good auto store.  Or make a solution of baking soda and water and clean the terminal and cable connectors.

Once the connections are cleaned and secured, spray them with a good waterproofing battery terminal spray, this will help prevent corrosion as well.

For the crimp n lugs my suggestion would be to solder all wires to the lugs and fasten them well and spray them as well.

Salt will eventually get in again but you should get a one or two seasons without a corrosion problem.

If you are worried about heat build up there are a few ways to go here.  If you have the electronics mounted into the console you could simply install vents close to the top and a coupler at the bottom so convection will vent out the hot air are even if you are at the dock.

Make sure all your connections at the back of your electronics are as watertight as possible.  If not there's one thing that might help.  You can buy a putty like stuff that can be molded around your plugs they have a commercial brand but go to a good hardware store and ask for Moretite caulking.  It comes in a package about inch and a half wide and it is separated into a series of ropes.  Mold it to fit your connections and squish it tight to the housing.   The best thing about this stuff it never dries out.  I use it on all my antenna connections and I have had this stuff on for over 10 years up on my tower and it still just peels off like the day I put it on.

I hope this helps.  If you have any other questions don't hesitate to ask.

Happy Catching

Paul

 

[IrishAyes]

Paul, I used plumbing putty (what you use to seal the sink drain) where the wire goes into an outlet box that I installed on my boat. Very same reason, moldable, watertight and can be removed when/if necessary. Only costs a few bucks too. 

[PeggyLee]

Paul, Are you sure you didn't help get the Appollo 13 back home safely.
I'm sure we will use some of your suggestions. Thanks, AJ

[NJAquaman]

I have 2 LMS units that remain on the Dash and have been exposed to extreme heat with no problem.

The one time I had a Problem with water in my screen Lowrance Service was very prompt a making a repair under warranty.

[ped579]

Welcome aboard NJAquaman,

Nice to have you on the site.  Thanks for posting as well.  If you have any questions no matter how trivial they may seem I am sure that others have the same questions please post away.  If you can help out any of our members again jump right in and give us your information.

Again Welcome Aboard.

Happy Catching

Paul