Death Trap II Posted June 6, 2022 Report Share Posted June 6, 2022 i drove down thursday to try and fix what i though was a problem with my gps/fishfinder power connector, but it seems i have a bigger problem. My garmin is wired in to the loom (from the factory) and has 12.6v at the power connector, but i cant get it to power up. if i take the garmin and hotwire it straight to the battery, it works, so it is not a problem with the head unit. i am stumped. anyone seen anything like this before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky Posted June 6, 2022 Report Share Posted June 6, 2022 Although you have 12.6 volt at connector without load , it could drop out once unit is connected. Worth checking / replacing fuse in fusebox for corrosion as this could cause problem you describe. Good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Trap II Posted June 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2022 12 minutes ago, sparky said: Although you have 12.6 volt at connector without load , it could drop out once unit is connected. Worth checking / replacing fuse in fusebox for corrosion as this could cause problem you describe. Good luck!! thanks Sparky. will give it a try. hopefully your name is more than just a coincidence! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky Posted June 6, 2022 Report Share Posted June 6, 2022 Electrician for over 50 years. 😁 Brian 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Trap II Posted June 6, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 6, 2022 ha, thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted June 6, 2022 Report Share Posted June 6, 2022 Had the same on Small Fry when I bought her (Warrior 165) Had a bank of switches. The one for the GPS had 12 volts in the circuit but GPS wouldn't work. Same reason as Mick described. Got a great discount (Thanks to my Brother) (The gobby one of the family) 😃 Replaced one little switch and it worked. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Trap II Posted June 13, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2022 thanks also Tiddler. I have called in the engineer as i dont have time to diagnose where the fault is. If it was an old crappy boat with a bodged wiring loom, i am sure i woudl be able to find it. But i dont know how to deal with these boats that have been wired up properly! I dont have the experience to deal with that. Jim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gummage Posted June 13, 2022 Report Share Posted June 13, 2022 My opinions are dangerous but my old garmin 178c was doing the same and i found the positive terminal pin and sleeve in the rear plug was black and corroded. I got busy with the soldering iron and swapped it for a clean unused pin. The wiring schedules are online. sometimes it works now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Trap II Posted June 14, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2022 18 hours ago, Gummage said: My opinions are dangerous but my old garmin 178c was doing the same and i found the positive terminal pin and sleeve in the rear plug was black and corroded. I got busy with the soldering iron and swapped it for a clean unused pin. The wiring schedules are online. sometimes it works now. thanks Gummage. At first i thought that was the problem, as it would play up, but if you fiddled with the power plug, it would resolve the problem. So i went and bought a new power cable. Tested it at home on a car battery, all worked, so i thought i had found the problem. Seems it was a waste of money as as soon as i wired it in to the loom, it didnt work. i have an engineer going tomorrow to trace the fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve S Posted June 19, 2022 Report Share Posted June 19, 2022 A tip, when testing the voltage load up the circuit while doing so. I use an 18w bulb with some wires attached. You don't even need a volt meter just touch the wires from the bulb across the circuit, if it doesn't light up brightly you have problem with the circuit somewhere. If you feel you need to know the voltage only do so with the bulb attached.Next after checking for obvious possible corrosion points is to go back along connection points to breakdown which part of the wiring has the problem.The problem with using a voltmeter is they require such low current to operate (very high impedance) even if the wiring is only connected by totally corroded through copper the full battery voltage will still be shown! only a completely open circuit will indicate 0 volts. This results in much wasted time as you think the problem lies elsewhere. Stuie, Gummage, Maverick Martin and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky Posted June 20, 2022 Report Share Posted June 20, 2022 What was the problem in the end ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Trap II Posted June 21, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2022 i dont know yet. the engineer let me down, but promised me he would be coming this week. I just havent had time to come down. I do cricket coaching, and that takes up my early summer weekends, so I have only had one of the jubilee bank holidays to look a it. But i have been doing my research on how to diagnose, and i am taking an old bilge pump with me to load the circuit, as in @Steve S suggested above. but i am hoping it is fixed, as we are coming down camping with the family for the weekend to get out! Jim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Trap II Posted June 22, 2022 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2022 thanks for all your comments guys, was really useful for me to explain to the engineer what he should be doing! Stuie 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Trap II Posted July 1, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2022 solved, wire between the fuse box and the battery had gone bad. annoyingly simple Steve S, plaicemat, sparky and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plaicemat Posted July 1, 2022 Report Share Posted July 1, 2022 22 hours ago, Death Trap II said: annoyingly simple How often it is with electrics, annoyingly difficult to find for the amateur, especially if one doesn't live near one's boat. Terry. Gummage, Jim and Death Trap II 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death Trap II Posted July 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2022 On 7/1/2022 at 2:23 PM, plaicemat said: How often it is with electrics, annoyingly difficult to find for the amateur, especially if one doesn't live near one's boat. Terry. indeed. but i live and learn! Jim and plaicemat 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Martin Posted July 4, 2022 Report Share Posted July 4, 2022 6 hours ago, Death Trap II said: indeed. but i live and learn! So do I but then almost immediately forget lol Good result I would say as easy for a sparky to find so hopefully not overly expensive (well in boat terms anyways) Jim 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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