Having trouble with my sonar

[fishdawg]

For nearly all of '07, Ive had a minor problem with my Eagle Fishmark 320 fishfinder. There is something wrong with the power button. Some days I cant get the unit to turn on ( or off for that matter)

 

I called up Lowrance/Eagle office & the unit is well past warranty & they charge a flat rate of $125 to look at it.

 

Its gotta be a small problem with the button & when its pressed down, probably not allways making proper contact underneath? Anyone ever take a sonar apart themselves? What do you suggest I do? ( I do have a spare lower grade Eagle that will get me in the meantime) The unit works very well otherwise.

 

No room in the budget for new unit untill next offseason (bought all my toys for 08 allready )

[Whopper]

Mark I ran into the same problem with a older LCD Hummingbird, they had a set rate plus shipping. I was talking to a local tackle shop owner one day and he gave me a number of a local guy that fixed mine for $25. Maybe someone here can chime in with someone that will work on it for you

 

Good Luck!

[irishfield]

I'm betting a screw driver and a $10 can of contact cleaner.. You have no warrantee to void by popping the cover off.

[sonny]

I gotta go with irishfield on that one..just be gentle!

[mcallister.grant]

In my opinion.... Give it your best shot and be gentle... If it doesn't work, buy a Vexilar and dedicate the purchase to your "2009" Toy collection. :-)

[irishfield]

Sometimes, like TV remotes, all that is in there is a rubber mat and not real metal contacts...in that case a Q tip and rubbing alcohol/hydrogen poroxide will be all you need to give it a light scrub/clean.

[Bernie]

If what Irish suggests is the case I have used an automotive rear defroster repair kit epoxy to repair a worn remote pad.

It contains a conductor in the epoxy to renew the contact.

Edited January 3, 2008 by Bernie

[John Bacon]

Its gotta be a small problem with the button & when its pressed down, probably not allways making proper contact underneath? Anyone ever take a sonar apart themselves? What do you suggest I do?

 

I am not sure if they still build Eagles they way they used to. If they do, then there is no way that you will get it apart without resorting to a sledge hammer... good luck getting back together after that.

 

It may be different now; but in the past they had a fixed fee to replace your unit as the units were not serviceable (they couldn't get them apart either). Once they ran out of inventory for your unit then you were SOL as far as service was concerned. That happened to me with my Eagle Magna II.

 

If they have changed the way they are made, and you can get it apart; then fixing it yourself is probably your best option. If not, then send it back for replacement right away; especially if your model is no longer in production. Once they are out of stock then you are out of luck.

[gone_fishin]

sounds like loose wiring or a bad contact somewhere. i had a similar problem with my humminbird portable fishfinder, one of the batteries left some corrosion on the top panel where the batteries are placed. i just cleaned that off, and now it's working fine.

 

good luck with your unit.

[danbo]

Shortwave Marine Electronics

113 Lakeshore Road East

Mississauga, Ontario

L5G 1E2

Canada

Phone: 905-278-6541

Fax: 905-278-0972

 

http://radioworld.ca/index.php

Edited January 3, 2008 by danbo

[fishdawg]

I am not sure if they still build Eagles they way they used to. If they do, then there is no way that you will get it apart without resorting to a sledge hammer... good luck getting back together after that.

 

It may be different now; but in the past they had a fixed fee to replace your unit as the units were not serviceable (they couldn't get them apart either). Once they ran out of inventory for your unit then you were SOL as far as service was concerned. That happened to me with my Eagle Magna II.

 

If they have changed the way they are made, and you can get it apart; then fixing it yourself is probably your best option. If not, then send it back for replacement right away; especially if your model is no longer in production. Once they are out of stock then you are out of luck.

 

yep had a heckuva time trying open up an older Eagle Ultra portable a few years ago.....

 

thanks for the help guys.... I know a guy at a place... gonna check that out first

[Fisherman]

Going to add the obvious one, not challenging your electrical smarts, but, have you put the voltmeter to the plug to see if you are getting a constant 12V? Sometimes the plug can get a "shakey" contact and we think it's the on/off button.

[Garry2Rs]

You might try cleaning the contacts at the inline fuse.

I often have similar troubles with my Lowrance units and cleaning the contacts usually gets them running again.

[fishdawg]

thanks everyone

 

power to the unit is not the issue - its a faulty power button that is

 

i made a coupla phone calls - Lowrance/Eagle welds there units differently then others do - getting the unit open to check out the problem is expensive & difficult to do...

 

I am just gonna use it this season when it works & I also have a back up unit that fits the same plug connection

a slick new unit will be purchased next year....

[Garry2Rs]

I have a spare unit that I can lend you for the season.

It's one that came out of my wrecked boat.

I don't have cables or a transducer, but it's a black plug Lowrance and should plug into what you have.

I won't be back in Canada until April, but we can hook-up then.

Garry2r's

[Big Cliff]

I could be wrong but aren't most of those units filled with nitrogen or something to prevent moisture from getting in? If you do get it repaired will it be resealed? If not, the repair might not last very long.