Never said I was special Chris.....just stated what is working for me. I am interested in finding out more about this however.
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Speck-Tackler,
What brand and model depth finder do you have?
These are good starting points: check and see whether it is powered off of the cranking battery or not and ensure that all of the electrical connections are tight and not corroded.
Does the problem go away when running at the highest speed?
There are two things that I love about this site...
1. there are a LOT of folks here that are a LOT smarter than me :D, and
2. Everyone I have encountered on this site goes out of their way to be helpful!!!
That said, I am going to move the depth finder connection to the cranking battery and see if that solves the problem. If not, I will be back, seeking other ideas.
I do have one question about running the finder off the cranking battery... the finder circuit is fuse protected, but is there any concern (surge) related to cranking the motor when the finder is connected and powered on? Would I need to power the finder off and/or disconnect it before cranking the outboard?
Thanks again.
This should not be a problem as long as you have a large enough amperage battery. This becomes a problem when the battery capacity is too small, the battery has lost some of its capacity (due to age or neglect) or connections become dirty, loose or corroded.
I have a tricked out Jon boat and run everything off one battery, haven't had a problem similar to this, everything is TM, DF, aerator, and lights. ONly problems I've had with the DF have been due to corrosion in the line connections and the fuse holder.
Akshually G-3, I've always considered you speshul, not special. :)
If the move to the cranking batt doesn't solve your problem, you've got some other gremlin. The easiest full solution is to strip all electrical wire and replace it taking extra precaution about connections and what is next to and adjacent the wire run. However, G-3's tip of running a ground wire from the TM foot to the negative side of your batt will most likely solve the problem as well.
While you're at this, it'd be a good time to check the age and water level in your batts, clean all connections and apply dielectric grease to the terminals.
Wannabe...