Humminbird surprise

[dwaw]

I have a HB 998csi and a 798si; bought them with the boat new November 2011. About 3 weeks ago I was out crappie fishing and my 998 kept shutting down. The 798 still worked for a while but it was wanting to be updated; then it too shutdown. We went on to have a great day fishing. Got back from vacation and called HB got my updates with the help of HB select but same problem of shutting down persisted. So they transferred me to their service tech. He told me to fix it I would need to send it in. I said ok and ask him if they were going to call me with a price to fix them before doing the work-he said yes they would. I sent them in. I called this am to see if they got them and was told they did and were only waiting for payment of four ninety five. I said "That's roughly $3,000. worth of equipment and you're waiting for $4.95 before you start?" The lady said that's $495.00. Surprise doesn't begin to cover what I was feeling. Of course their policy is to explain all that up front. That would've been nice. More than nice actually. The only redeeming thing about this deal is that the HB lady said they return them to me on their nickel should I choose that route. So expect a $272.00 flat rate for your 998's and a $205. flat for your 798 if you have to send them in. I'd also be curious to know if this shutting down problem is common to other people's experience.

[genec]

only with a weak battery

[dwaw]

Good point. I have on board charging for all 5 of my batteries but I probably should've put a multimeter on the staring battery to check.

[rdjj71m]

dwaw, the only time I have had problem with my 998csi shutting down is with the newer software if I make some fast key strokes. It might be my key pad, not sure. Maybe someone will jump in and say they are seeing it. I have around 1400hrs. on my unit, purchased it in July 2010 used the key pad a lot.

The last time I updated I did see a screen that popped up ..... said if your unit had a problem after update and had to be sent in that it would not be under warranty.

[dwaw]

Thanks, I thought I was going to get trouble shooting ass't when i called HB. I guess I wasn't thinking. When the power switch is on the live well pumps work so I didn't think to check the battery. The 998 sometimes seems slow when turning on but other than that, no issues.

[BobB]

Yeah, especially if having problems with both units......gotta be a power issue

[Humminbird_Greg]

Yeah, especially if having problems with both units......gotta be a power issue

+1
I’d be checking the power cables and all electrical connections from them to the battery. No loose or corroded connections and don’t forget to check the fuse, fuse holder and battery contacts too.

[dwaw]

I just checked the battery, it shows 12v. It seems to be the consensus that its a power issue. In that case-I need to let HB know whether I want them to send the units back or pony up. Has anyone had problems with the plug-in connectors?

[MonteSS]

If reading 12v then the batterey is dead and the units will shut off. Sounds like that is your problem.

798 probably draws less which is why it stayed on longer.

[BobB]

you need to check the voltage at the unit with the cable plugged in and the unit turned on....There should be pins on the power plug to test the voltage from the outside.