The Outdoor Line Forum

I have a Lowrance HDS 8 Gen2. I was out on the sound yesterday and everything was running fine. I ran from Shilshole to Shipwreck and the sonar was working great. I got to Shipwreck and the sonar stopped working. It showed a zero depth and the screen just went blank. The GPS was working just fine. After about 45 minutes the sonar started working for the rest of the time. The same issue happened on the return trip to Shilshole.

Any one have any ideas of what could be causing this?

Thanks in advance.

David

Good afternoon E,
It is very difficult to diagnose an electronics issue on a quick description of the problem but I'm game so here goes!

I would check your electrical system, particularly the ground or negative side. When I say "check", I mean visually and with a multi-tester.
You can get a multi-tester from Harbor Freight for free so there's no excuse to NOT have one on your boat.
Check the voltage on your batteries as well as your sounder and with the HDS units, you can even display the voltage!
Finally, look at all the connections on the back of your unit.
After you rule out wiring, you can then turn your attention to other system components such as the transducer.
Hope that helps and good luck!

Thank you Tom!
I will check those things out. The voltage always seems fine (displayed on the screen)

I will check the wiring and go from there.

I would check the mounting height of your trandsucer to make sure it's getting water when you're running. If it's cavitating or dry while your running it could throw your transducer into searching mode and it can take a while to get it back on track. Move it down just a little bit and I bet it clears up for you. Then be sure not to hit anything