Water in HDS-7

[Chaz Hickcox]

So I went fishing in the rain last Sunday and today had a tournament.  Early in the tournament my HDS-7 crapped out.  I thought it was a bad fuse but when I got home and took the unit off the boat to get to the fuse behind it I heard some sloshing from within the unit.  With that being said, what can I do?  I did not buy the unit, it was on my boat when I bought it last fall.  Can they run the serial # to see if it's still under warrantee?  Thanks in advance.

[Fishing Rhino]

That is a bummer. The only advice I can give you is to call customer service at Lowrance. Did the warranty expire, and if not, does the remainder transfer from the original owner to the new owner?

The thing that kept me from buying a Lowrance was the reviews that others had the same problem you experienced. Supposedly they got the problem resolved, but when I saw the units in person the reason water gets into them is patently obvious. It runs down the face of the unit, behind the door with that feeble magnetic closure. and into the machine via the chip slot. In fact a couple of the units on display would not stay closed because so many folks had apparently played with them.

The slightest bit of debris will ruin any watertight integrity the unit may have had.

While the Humminbird has the chip slots on the front too, at least they have a positive Zeus type of fastener which makes sure the door has plenty of pressure against the seal.

Those chip receivers should be on the bottom of the unit with a ridge around them to shed water that runs down the face. They should also be sealed with a rubber plug similar to what is used on cell phones at the recharging port.

Both are poorly designed. But at least the Humminbird closure is solid.

[Chaz Hickcox]

Thanks Tom.  If push comes to shove and the unit is bad w/o warantee I will be switching to Humminbird all the way around.  I wanted to get SI anyways and was planning the cheaper route of another HDS-7 for my console and an LSS-1.  It will only be about $400 more than the HDS-7/LSS-1 Combo to get two Humminbirds.

[Fishing Rhino]

Before you junk the unit, it may not be ruined.

Water and cell phones do not mix.  Not necessarily true.  While launching the canoe two years ago, my cell phone fell out of its holder into a little over a foot of water.

I didn't notice it had happened, but went to use it and it wasn't in the holder.  Looked around the canoe, couldn't find it.

Six hours later, when we were done fishing, I looked for it at the ramp, and there it was sitting on the bottom where I had stepped into the canoe.

Pulled the battery out.  The unit was full of water.  When I got home I unfolded the phone, set it on the floor and set my wifes hair dryer on the floor next to it, blowing hot air against it.

After a couple of days, I installed the battery, and it took a charge, but the keyboard was doing strange things.

Out with the battery, on with the hair dryer.  In another couple of days some of the keys worked ok others entered all kinds of strange numbers.

So I bought a new phone, but still did not toss the old one.  Interesting, the Verizon store was able to retrieve and install the info from the baptized phone to the new one.

I still didn't throw the phone out.  Left it on top of the dresser.  A couple of months later, I put the battery back in, charged it up and it worked perfectly.  Still does today.

I can't use it because they had switched the service to the new phone, but if I call out I get the message from Verizon that the phone is not activated for use. 

Even the water streaks on the display are gone.

But should my new phone take a bath, I'll get the old one activated.  Camera, flash and all that stuff works fine.

Try it with your Lowrance before you chuck it.  Who knows?

[Chaz Hickcox]

I already started something like that. I have a dehumidifier kit for my hearing aid. I took the kit and sealed both of them in a plastic bag. I am going to see how well it works by tomorrow. If so I plan on duct taping the area around the card reader. Fingers crossed. I still need to sell one of my guns for the other unit though, or win a few tournaments.

[K_Mac]

The early HDS-7s were the units that had a problem with leakage. A friend had trouble with his  and it was replaced under warranty. He has a 7 and an 8 that he has been using for over a year now, with no trouble. I have a 5 and 5X that have been water tight. My bet is Lowrance will correct the problem or replace the unit. I would call and talk to someone in service. Getting someone on the phone can be a pain, but anytime I have called with questions they have been good to deal with.