Lowrance X-4
 

HELP! I am so frustrated with this device! The fine young men at OEX have been absolute dolls, but we can't figure out what is happening with this thing. They even went so far as to give me another unit.

CJ moved the transducer to the hull at the bow of my kayak. He has removed it once and refastened it because he thought there may be air bubbles. CJ, chime in when you see this as I try to explain what it's doing.

So the depth numbers flash at some inaccurate depth. It shows no bottom at all. It also has either a solid black screen, or it has vertical thick black lines across the screen. The water temp is not accurate either. I am told the depth setting should be set to manual with a preset depth reading. I have done that. There are times when it works part of the day, and times like yesterday, where it did not work at all.

What do you guys think? Is this a transducer problem? Does anyone have one of these? What is your experience? I didn't think about it at the time, but I should have taken pics of the screen and what it is doing.

Janine

I had a somewhat similar problem with my humminbird.... innacurate depths, sometimes blank screen, water temp not accurate. And this was after I had used it previously with no issues.

Turned out the transducer connection wasn't quite tight enough.
Originally I had it rigged with just the transducer cable coming through the hull and out of the FF mount, without using the cable connector holder.
I reinstalled the mount with the connector holder and it works fine now. Just had to fix the loose connection.

No idea if that is any help, but figured I'd chime in.

Ok
 

Thanks for the suggestion. Anything helps. I will look into it.

Janine

You can also try to "reset to factory defaults" on if it is a screen settings issue.

Any chance you to get other transducer and make a comparison?

I had similar screen problems a few times. First thing I'd do is reset the unit to factory defaults. Get it working that way first, then you can tweak the manual settings to your liking.

First time I had the problems was due to air gaps in my goop, confirmed by pouring some water on the transducer which cleared up the signal. Re-gooped it and it's working good.

I'd say it's most likely transducer mounting or wiring problems. Having the same problems with a second head unit pretty much confirms this. Did you try a new transducer with the new unit?

I hade the same unit and never had a problem. I mean it got rolled in the surf and completely soaked and the only time it had a problem was when the battery got low.
I would guess its a wiring issue since you say it works fine sometimes. def get a pic of it when it happens. and reset to default as mentioned above.
Also the lines up and down could be interference from another ff on the same freq.


Eli

I agree with ALANW try adding a little water to the inside of the kayak (like just enough to 1/2 way cover the transducer) if works than it means it should be remounted because of air bubbles or larger gap. If it still not right than it's the connections at the back of the unit. Check for corrosion on the connector or the pins. If there is some clean it off and apply di-electric grease to both. Good luck.

Don't forget the battery too, make sure it's holding at around 12v

Ok my turn...lol

My elite 4 dsi is giving me false depth readings. I blinks 60 feet at all times. Other than the bogus depths the ff seems to work fine.

I have tried all the same trouble shooting stuff you guys are recommending above. Reset factory settings, manual modes, clean terminals and pins , all the obvious stuff..

I have noticed my battery always reads 13 volts when I meter it. 13 volts before fishing , after fishing, after charging, 13 volts all the time.

Maybe a funky battery ? Any ideas anyone ? Any help would sure be appreciated. Getting tired of buggin my fishing buddy asking what our depth is all day...lol

what kind/size is the battery? the ff can handle from 18-10 volts. The fact that the voltage don't drop throughout the day makes me suspicious of the wiring. You say you cleaned terminals and pins, was there any signs of electrolysis/corrosion? what are your exact settings on the ff? on mine the depth blinks when the depth alarm is set or am at a greater depth then is set on the ff.

test the battery with a volt meter.

The depth could be the setting is manually set to limit at 60. I find it's best to set it to auto. The battery voltage when fully charged is over 13v and if the only thing connected to the battery is the fish finder and you don't have the back light turned on it could just be that in one day of use the unit has hardly used up any voltage. It should drop a portion of a volt but might be as little as .5 of a volt.

The battery is made by Gruber Power and is rated at 12 volt-10.5 amphour.
I have tested the battery with a digital multi-meter which is how I know it always reads 13 volts...Yes there were signs of electrolysis on the 2 male prongs going into battery box. Sanded them clean and no difference on the depth readings. 13 volts on battery, and 13 volts coming out of the battery box connector.

Also checked to make sure I don't have the depth alarm set...

As always...
 

Thank you all for the advice. I will pass it on to CJ at OEX. He does all my work for me.

:you_rock:

Janine

The 10.5ah should be plenty and would not expect a large voltage drop from that unit. that said I would expect some sort of volt drop after even an hour of use, at least a tenth of a volt.
Are you getting exactly 13 volt every time you test?
I have not seen the elite 4 dsi. does it have two plugs one power, one transducer?
if you can replace the power supply, or at least strip back some of the wire and see how deep the electrolysis went. ill bet the whole wire is f'ed up.

Battery
 

Hook that battery up to something 12 volt and let it drain overnight to see if you get a voltage drop Holding at 13 volts seems unusual. Even after I charge both of my brand new battery it doesn't read 13 volts. It usually reads around 12.6 volts.

Yea, something wrong with your meter if it always reads 13.0v

Yes, it is reading 13v always.

Meter
 

Check the battery in your meter it may be low and that is why it only reads one number. Whenever the battery on my meter is low it reads numbers that do not match the numbers I should be reading

Sorry Janine, didn't mean to jack your thread....thanks everyone ...