# Hummingbird. Something crazy going on?



## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

I went out of Bula with Rick Tuesday,,, in his newer acquisition boat.
His Hummingbird (686?) will not show fish, or arches, or Fish ID at an idle,,, say 2.5mph, right where we need it,,, but when he picks up the rpm's, say to 3.5-4 mph+, the screen comes alive!? Fish arches or Id's down where they should be,,, 45'-50'.

What do you think,,,, Charging system? Voltage? Something crazy with the transducer,,, or fishfinder unit?
We were using his Honda 75hp 4 stroker for trolling The Starting, cranking & voltage seemed fine.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

Could be where the transducer is mounted. At the speed your trolling the water could be very disturbed and then smooths out as you pick up a bit of speed. Be sure the transducer is not mounted inline of a line of rivets or a bottom strake


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## fastwater (Apr 1, 2014)

Your list of possibles are all a possibility including what DHower08 just posted as well.
Think I'm leaning more towards a voltage issue.

If it were me...I would first check and insure battery is full(if not sealed) and in good working order.
Next...check all electrical connections (including fuse block if unit goes through there) from the head unit all the way to where the ducer cable plugs in, cleaning them with electrical contact cleaner and making sure they are tight.
Next would be checking alternator output at the rpm your having issues at versus the draw amount of everything operating off of battery. Could be either combined accessory voltage draw has limited alternator output at that rpm or alternator may be getting a bit weak.
As far as checking eng. turbulence interference...if there's a bow mount trolling mtr on boat that you can get you 2-2.5 mph out of...see what happens with the ff using the trolling mtr.


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

I think if it was a voltage issue the graph would shut off while staring the gas engine as that is a huge draw at one time and a graph will always be the first thing to shut off


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## ironman172 (Apr 12, 2009)

I picked up a newer depth finder and the location of the transducer was doing screwy things (lucky just temporarily clamped on ) moved it a little away from the prop and moved up or down slightly, it started working right..... now the other issues was operator learning issue


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## Shad Rap (Nov 10, 2010)

Sounds like prop wash to me.


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## joekacz (Sep 11, 2013)

I would bet the angle of the transducer is pointing forward or back to much and your missing the ping at slow speed. But I've been known to lose bet's.Also the boat's angle of plane at different speeds come into play.There should be a ping speed adjustment on the unit,some have it and some don't,if it does try increasing it while you're going slow and see what happen's. Just my opinion from experience.Good luck.


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

Theirs very specific instructions on mounting transducers for each model of graph. They need to be certain distance from the motor as well as level with the boat. If you want to get the best images at planing speeds it needs to be level where the boat is while it's planing. I have fixed alot of graph issues for guys by just setting up the transducer correctly


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## Doboy (Oct 13, 2008)

THANKS GUYS,,, all good advise!

#1,,, We'll try the front trolling motor thing first,,,,, that should eliminate 2-3 items.
I also suggested hooking the finder to an external battery,,,, another 2-3 items. 
& lastly,,, double check the transducer placement,, if the top two don't pan out..
Anyway,,, One of the above should aim us in the correct direction.

Again I say,
THANKS.


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## Crack77 (Mar 19, 2021)

Thanks Jerry for the post,
The unit is an 898c.
I checked the transducer mount this morning before hitting Mosquito. Seemed right where the Hummingbird instructions show. I did move it lower, slightly. I am going to work with the voltage next. When drifting the unit only shows 8-9V, when running it is up to 11V.
The driver side dash unit, 597ci HD, is the unit that shuts down every time I start the motor. I'll start looking into the dash connections & to the units. The boat voltmeter is always reading above 12v.
Thanks all for help and ideas.
Fishing today wasn't so good, got 30 or so average size gills & a few crappie afternoon when the wind picked up.


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

If your only showing an average of 9 volts you need to wire direct to the battery. Had to do that with both my birds. Use 10 gauge wire 3 amp fuse


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## “J” (Aug 7, 2021)

DHower08 said:


> If your only showing an average of 9 volts you need to wire direct to the battery. Had to do that with both my birds. Use 10 gauge wire 3 amp fuse


Exactly what I had too do with both my Hummingbirds. For the same reason. Also, keep the depth finder power wires on the opposite side of the trolling motor wiring. If you have one.


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## Crack77 (Mar 19, 2021)

Short update
Pulled both head units from mounting base & measured voltage at the plug in end of their power cords. Both showed 12.5v
Messing & trying to learn about the 898 found the scroll speed on 10(highest), any chance of that being part of issue?


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## DHower08 (Nov 20, 2015)

No. All the speed adjustment does is dictate how fast the newest image rolls across the screen.


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## bustedrod (May 13, 2015)

you sure the motor is charging the batt, i mean you should have 12v even at rest. i know running the electronics and all the boat needs from one batt including starting puts some stress on the stator / rectifier but when rrunnin you should see 12 v fastwater has a good point .. i have a starting batt for 90hp and a deep cycle for the boats needs, i know my garmins shut down at 9v since its new to you guys seems like the kinks are showing up? not knowing a thing about the boat i would stsrt at batt, fully charged , check with hydrometer.......the fish finder should display volt, you can read 12 v but when there is a power draw it may not hold 12 without the motor runnin? if ya have a small 12 batt next time out hook it up to fish finder and see how it acts, that will tell alot. one step at a time or you will be pullin hair out hahahah


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## Crack77 (Mar 19, 2021)

The 12.5v to both units was in the garage with motor not running. Wouldn't that mean that the single battery & the power supplied to the units would be good?


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