The honeymoon is over. Helix 7 DI g2n troubles

I have always had lowrance units until I bought the Minn Kota I pilot link Trolling motor for my boat. I recently purchased a helix 7 di g2n to go with it. First day I got it in I didn't have a chance to hook it up but that first weekend I did. To say I was excited was an understatement but when I hooked it all up and it didn't work. I came back to earth. I tried everything but nothing worked. Even carried it to the lake and waited on someone with a helix to show up so I could check it. Some guy finally did and I hooked his power cable up and it still wouldn't come on. I called humminbird and their customer service was great. They sent me a new unit promptly and I got it all hooked up and working that night. Unit worked great. I pilot link is awesome for crappie fishing and following the contours and going back to waypoints. I found out there was an update on Humminbird's website so I downloaded it to and sd card and plugged it into my unit. Well so much for using it anytime soon now. The thing just turned off during the update and then came back on then shut off again. It did that for a solid 12 hours until I could call humminbird Friday. They said check the voltage. Well voltage is fine. The lady said updates don't cause these issues. Well it was working great till this update. So I guess I get to send in my unit come Monday and cross my fingers they can fix it in a timely manner. I have to say I expected more out of my helix with all the good reviews. I never had a problem with lowrance.


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Well I got in touch with humminbird this morning and they are sending me a new unit. Their customer service is great. I just hope the third time is a charm


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Sounds like they're taking care of you. How is your unit connected to the battery?

What the manufs are making the money on is the gimmics. Not that much difference in the basics of si, di or 2d now. The only reason I buy Lowrance now is because my boats are wired and networked with Lowrance stuff.

All units at one time or another puke in the water.

I like HB's customer service, too. However I have also had problems with updates. All sorts of weird things happen. I haven't installed an update in a long time. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Although a string of bad luck happens to all of us, it sounds like you may have a power supply issue. Any chance you put a meter on power lead and see if you have any voltage drop from battery to plug? Do all the pins look even and straight in the plug?

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Originally Posted by OrangeAgent

Although a string of bad luck happens to all of us, it sounds like you may have a power supply issue. Any chance you put a meter on power lead and see if you have any voltage drop from battery to plug? Do all the pins look even and straight in the plug?

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Well your about the 100th person to say this but no I don't have a power issue. I checked. Double checked. Tripple checked. Quadruple checked everything from the battery slap to the unit. It's a brand new boat so wires ain't bad. It's gettin 12.4 volts to the front. I hooked my old lowrance unit up to the same plug in and she came on just like she always did. It has a menu on it that will tell you how many volts it's getting and it agreed with my volt meter at 12.4 volts. As far as the pins, they looked straight on. Nothing crooked or bent


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12.4 volts and 12.4 volts under load at the control head are two different things.

Even so, they'll get you fixed up if it's a unit problem...

I will NEVER put another update in one of my units. The one I done on my helix 10 fried a transducer. That's all HB could come up with. They checked everything. Put new transducer on worked like a champ.

Johndeere is right about a transducer can cause voltage issues. Disconnect transducer plug and try. Also agree 12.4 volts doesn't mean anything when not under a load. Always format SD cards before updates, but I agree if it ain't broke don't fix it. A new unit from Humminbird would have the newest update on it.