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I have an 1197 on the console and a 798 on the bow, the are connected by an Ethernet cable to share waypoints. Whenever I stow the trolling motor if I do not shut off the 798 it locks up. The only way to restart it is to dismount it and turn it back on. This of course means I can not see waypoints that have been marked on the 798. Has anyone else had this issue? And what did you do to resolve it? Thanks for your help!
Shutting down like that is usually a sign of low voltage or power interruption. Is it possible when stowing the T/M that a wire connection or the connection in the mount breaks momentarily?
Ditto that. Mine sometimes locks up when I start the engine. To save my waypoints, I just switch it off before starting. My workaround was to put it on a switch, so I wouldn't have to pull it off every time it locked up.
captcamper, Shellback may be on to something here. Try very slightly bending the gold pins on the power cable outwards away from each other. This will increase the fit resistance between the power cable and the unit’s power receptacles. Slight is the word here – so much so that you cannot see that you bent them at all.
wasilvers, that is usually a sign that either your battery is getting old, is undersized for the load you now have on it or that the electrical connections to your unit are not good enough. Make sure that all electrical connections are tight and clean. Best setup is to have the unit on its own battery but most do not need this. Just make sure that all connections between the unit and battery are soldered and sealed and that you are using a heavy enough wire gauge. Depending on the unit you have and how far from the battery you should be using a 16 or 14 gauge multi-stranded copper wire with an in-line 3 amp fuse. We recommend running a new set of wires just for your Humminbird unit.
Thanks! I have it running off the cables from the motor. I know to hook it up directly - I have a battery just 4 feet away, but just find it easier to take 5 seconds to shut it off, start the big motor, and turn it on again. Fishing time is precious, I don't want to waste good days working on the boat. :)
I had the same problem with my 798. I bent the little metal plug retainer up a little. It was not holding the plug in the cradle good & tight. Every time I pulled my trolling motor in it would low volt & lock up. I also sprayed a little silicon on the mount to make the unit slide on & off a little easier. Worked fine after that.
Thanks for the replys! It turns out that the unit locks up when I start the big motor. It is only reading 9.6 volts on the unit even after just taking it off the charger. I have new batteries and a MinnKota digital charger. Also my 1197 running on the same battery reads 12.5 volts. I tested the voltage at the mount and it reads 12.5 volts so it has to be from the mount or the unit itself. I will try the slight bending of the prongs and see what happens.
captcamper,
Sounds more like a resistive connection in the electrical connections running up to the 798’s mount. When you checked the voltage at the 798’s mount was it with the unit on and running? Probably not as this is hard to do. So what you measured is the voltage while it was not under a load. Add a load to it, like the 798 unit, and the voltage drops because there is something that is preventing the needed current from flowing through the wiring to the 798 unit. This could be a loose or corroded connection. I would recommend running a new set of 16 gauge (or 14 gauge) multi-stranded copper wires all the way from the starting battery to the power cable for the 798 unit. Solder and seal all connections and get new battery connections, fuse and fuse holder (I like the automotive type blade fuses).