Any Helix 5 DI GPS users here ? have a question about inline fuses.

[woodenboater]

So had a Piranhamax 160 for years and just got a Helix 5. With the 160, the power cable went straight to the 12v 7amp sla battery, no fuses. Helix manual says i need a 3amp inline fuse and their illustration is odd, shows it connected to the +ve terminal and just hanging there, no splice in the cable. Before I go shopping, does anyone here use the Helix 5, and have an inline fuse ? It's going to hooked up to a Dakota 12v 10a LiFePo battery.

tia

 

btw-the cave at Cabelas has really gone downhill. all they had in their was camo clothing. no gear at all.

Edited August 16, 2021 by woodenboater

[misfish]

37 minutes ago, woodenboater said:

btw-the cave at Cabelas has really gone downhill. all they had in their was camo clothing. no gear at all.

They have removed it from the store. That now is just camo . They did move it to the front of the store,but now a meeting room.

[woodenboater]

48 minutes ago, misfish said:

They have removed it from the store. That now is just camo . They did move it to the front of the store,but now a meeting room.

ugh. shopping at Basspro and Cabelas aren't the same experience any more. In other words, I really, really miss LeBarons, and that one place in Oshawa (name escapes me, thought they were going to reopen)

[BillM]

I don't use an inline fuse with my Helix 5 when I ice fish.  Right to the battery. 

[AKRISONER]

Heres my two cents...its always smart to throw an inline fuse on a unit. But im also guilty of when I hook my helix 7 up for ice fishing its unfused. You buy a Marcum ice fishing flasher...the power cables come with a pre-installed in line fuse, because thats the way its supposed to be. You buy Garmin Sonars, the power cables come with an inline fuse from the factory, because thats the way its supposed to be. Johnson Outdoors cut corners and costs on their products that's why the sticker price is always cheaper then the competition. This isnt me bashing them, I have humminbird electronics on my boat, its just my observation having two companies on my boat.

When my helix 7 is in the boat its definitely fused though, I installed the inline fuse myself. 

When wiring electronics in your boat Always keep your electronics on an isolated power source away from all of your other accessories (i.e. dont wire your units into your main BUS) Either buy and create a new one strictly for electronics (if you have multiple units) or just run clean lines with inline fuses directly to your battery. (this is the best way)

Wire everything with 10 gauge marine wire or 12 if the run is short, if its at the front of your boat from a battery in the back, run 10 and solder shrink tube or get waterproof crimp connectors at minimum to ensure everything stays nice and dry. The idea here is to absolutely minimize line loss, eliminate corrosion and avoid any interference from any of your accessories in your boat to ensure the best imaging quality.

I can assure you that in reply to this very post, we are going to have multiple people reply to it saying "I wired my units all into my accessory BUS without any issues!" ya...well ok, but its simply not the right way to do it and their imaging quality is degraded any time an accessory is running in the boat. You can find a pile of stuff about guys and their voltage levels when wiring boats. Its a very real thing, the more clean power your units get the better.

Edited August 17, 2021 by AKRISONER

[woodenboater]

3 hours ago, AKRISONER said:

Heres my two cents...its always smart to throw an inline fuse on a unit. But im also guilty of when I hook my helix 7 up for ice fishing its unfused. You buy a Marcum ice fishing flasher...the power cables come with a pre-installed in line fuse, because thats the way its supposed to be. You buy Garmin Sonars, the power cables come with an inline fuse from the factory, because thats the way its supposed to be. Johnson Outdoors cut corners and costs on their products that's why the sticker price is always cheaper then the competition. This isnt me bashing them, I have humminbird electronics on my boat, its just my observation having two companies on my boat.

When my helix 7 is in the boat its definitely fused though, I installed the inline fuse myself. 

When wiring electronics in your boat Always keep your electronics on an isolated power source away from all of your other accessories (i.e. dont wire your units into your main BUS) Either buy and create a new one strictly for electronics (if you have multiple units) or just run clean lines with inline fuses directly to your battery. (this is the best way)

Wire everything with 10 gauge marine wire or 12 if the run is short, if its at the front of your boat from a battery in the back, run 10 and solder shrink tube or get waterproof crimp connectors at minimum to ensure everything stays nice and dry. The idea here is to absolutely minimize line loss, eliminate corrosion and avoid any interference from any of your accessories in your boat to ensure the best imaging quality.

I can assure you that in reply to this very post, we are going to have multiple people reply to it saying "I wired my units all into my accessory BUS without any issues!" ya...well ok, but its simply not the right way to do it and their imaging quality is degraded any time an accessory is running in the boat. You can find a pile of stuff about guys and their voltage levels when wiring boats. Its a very real thing, the more clean power your units get the better.

thanks man ! it seems everyone can't understand why Humminbird doesn't have inline fuses preinstalled, like you alluded tom are they just being cheap ?. It's a smallish battery so *shld* be ok, but  inline fuses are cheap vs blowing something on the finder lol

also gotta say it's really nice seeing depths for wolseley bay (even the spots where I bent some props are marked as rocks lolol). heard the water is lower this year as well.

[woodenboater]

4 hours ago, BillM said:

I don't use an inline fuse with my Helix 5 when I ice fish.  Right to the battery. 

the flasher view is pretty sweet huh ? just need the one graph for everything

[AKRISONER]

7 minutes ago, woodenboater said:

thanks man ! it seems everyone can't understand why Humminbird doesn't have inline fuses preinstalled, like you alluded tom are they just being cheap ?. It's a smallish battery so *shld* be ok, but  inline fuses are cheap vs blowing something on the finder lol

also gotta say it's really nice seeing depths for wolseley bay (even the spots where I bent some props are marked as rocks lolol). heard the water is lower this year as well.

literally thats what it is. Humminbird products always undercut the competition but you end up needing to buy accessories to get it loaded the way you truly want.