Brand new helix 9 blowing fuses

["hamma"]

I installed my new helix 9 in the boat and tried it in the driveway powered up fine, got to the lake nothing. Checked the fuse its blown, installed a new one, lasted 5 minutes. Now I had a older wide eye wired up there before and they both use a 3 amp fuse, had no issued with the wide eye. Its the weekend and humminbird wont be available til monday, anyone got any ideas as to what it may be?

 P.S. I used to work for a wiring harness company and know how to wire stuff, so i doubt its my crimps on the newer power cord.

[Wayne P.]

Are you using a spade type fuse/holder?

[Bass Turd]

Wayne, is that a good thing or a bad thing?

["hamma"]

No,.. its a older glass type fuse, but,.. I did get a spade fuse holder yesterday thinking it may be that. Should i swap them?

[iabass8]

I had a similar issue /w old wiring. Wayne instructed me to make sure my wiring was solid and all my electronics were ran directly to the battery and not to the dash. Ran new 12 or 14g marine grade wire (maybe Wayne can tell you what gauge exactly), from bow and helm back to the cranking battery. Soldered, heat shrink, and electrical tapped over the heat shrink connections. Installed a 3a blade fuse at the battery for each unit. Worked like a charm. If that doesn't work I would assume it's your unit. Wayne is the expect though. It wouldn't hurt to just pick up some new marine wire and make up some test cables to run the new unit to the battery to rule out bad wiring. 

[Ratherbfishing]

You need a larger amp fuse. Or you need heavier gauge wire.  Or you have a poor connection.  Or there are gremlins in your boat.  Was I right?

[Wayne P.]

36 minutes ago, Ratherbfishing said:

You need a larger amp fuse. Or you need heavier gauge wire.  Or you have a poor connection.  Or there are gremlins in your boat.  Was I right?

NO you do not need a larger amp fuse and should not use a larger amp fuse. The proper fuse is 3A for that model.

[Ratherbfishing]

20 hours ago, Wayne P. said:

NO you do not need a larger amp fuse and should not use a larger amp fuse. The proper fuse is 3A for that model.

So....it MIGHT still be gremlins?

["hamma"]

  I swapped out the fuse holder and now have the blade type, tried it out yesterday and again failed, perplexed I researched further and found that the wiring they installed for the old wide eye is a 12 gauge, since the fuse I was using was a 3 amp, (like the helix calls for) I figured it should surffice, it doesn't. In the instructions the 3 amp fuse stood out like a sore thumb so I checked mine and figured it would work instead of thoroughly reading on,... Humminbird requires a 18 gauge wire for the power cable to be extended to the battery. Which is much thinner.

  I'm now headed out to find some marine grade 18 gauge multi-strand wire to re-wire the power cable in with the proper blade fuseholder.

 I thank you for your responses, and will update when I get the new wiring installed.

 

[Wayne P.]

False assumption. A larger wire will have less resistance and is better.

You must have a short inside the unit. Contact Humminbird Customer Service.

The fuse size is to protect the very small conductors in the power cord. Has nothing to do with any larger size wire.

 

 

["hamma"]

As I was re-wiring the power cable I found that they ran the wiring thru a tight spot near the rod box (I had to pull most of my deckings up) the wires were pinched between a support and the hull and it was so pinched the insulation was smeared all over the area and the bare wires were almost cut thru. ,...It was sickly obvious that this wiring was doomed to begin with

NICE JOB!   marine usa,... Dontcha think they'd wire something better

No wonder I was poppin fuses,... I re-ran the new wiring thru a better area and even protected it with that split corrugated harder plastic wiring insuation just in case.  No problems now,.... thanks for the responses