Any electronics gurus out there?

[Jig Man]

I have a Humminbird Gen 2 Solix 10 in the console of my boat.  It has been there 4 or 5 years.  My motor is a 250 Mercury Verado.  The cranking battery is an 1150 cca X2.  Hooked to the battery is the Solix, running lights, pumps, Ethernet hub and a 12 outlet.  About a month ago my Solix would shoe 11 volts after a stop to fish for even 15 minutes.  Once it shut down when I started the motor so I figured it was cranking battery time.  
 

I bought a new X2 and nothing changed.  I had the Solix wired directly to the battery hoping that would solve the problem but it didn’t.  I was advised that it could be the alternative or voltage regulator so I had them checked.  They are good.  I have one last idea which is to put a new power cord on the Solix.  If that doesn’t work then I’m out of ideas.

 

Anyone have suggestions?

[Tennessee Boy]

I have a Gen 1 Solix 10 and a Gen 3 Solix 15.  I had lots of problems with the voltage drop when cranking the motor until I added another battery just for my electronics.  Mine would beep and show a low voltage warning which was a little annoying but no big deal.  Sometimes the Gen 1 unit would drop off the network onto its own network which was very annoying and a bigger deal.  
 

Are you having any problems as a result of the low voltage?  What size wire did you use to wire it directly to the battery?

[WRB]

You should have a 50 amp Battery switch to isolate the OB from the cranking battery when charging. This allows the cranking battery to be fully charged independently from the OB and house electronics.

DC power drop is related to wire size over distance, 6 gauge is recommended.

The house battery is very popular today to run the boats sonar units because of the voltage drop issues.

Tom

 

 

[Jig Man]

TB that is the only issue thus far.  It was flawless until about a month ago.  Like I said I thought it was the battery and bought a new one.

 

 

[Tennessee Boy]

Let me make sure I understand what’s happening.

 

You turn off the outboard to fish and the Solix voltage drops to 11 volts within about 15 minutes.  
 

What is the voltage when you first turn off the OB?

 

Does it happen if you fully charge the battery at home then run the Solix for an hour or so?

[NavyToad]

Disconnect your running lights, pumps, Ethernet hub and 12 outlet. Then try it.

That’s all I have to offer. Sounds too simple, but sometimes electronics do stuff that doesn’t make sense.

[Woody B]

Check the voltage at the Sonar unit with a quality digital multi meter.   I don't know about the 'bird stuff but Lowrance has a history of incorrect voltage readings.   

 

I'm assuming the motor starts fine, even when the voltage reads low.  

[Jig Man]

The voltage shows 13+ when the outboard is on.

 

The battery is always fully charged.  I plug it in even before I fully unhook the boat.

1 hour ago, NavyToad said:

Disconnect your running lights, pumps, Ethernet hub and 12 outlet. Then try it.

That’s all I have to offer. Sounds too simple, but sometimes electronics do stuff that doesn’t make sense.

I don’t know how to do any of that.

[Tennessee Boy]

Here’s my 2 cents.   I think it’s very unlikely that a new power cord will change anything.   My best guess is the low voltage is the result of some voltage drop in the wiring and/or inaccurate readings by the Solix.  If something was draining your battery then I would think you would have trouble starting the  OB at some point and the voltage would drop to the point that you would get warnings on the Solix.   Since everything is working and starting, my guess is you don’t have a problem.  You can prove me wrong by writing down the voltage right after you turn the motor off and again every five minutes for 30 minutes or more.   If you see a constant and significant voltage drop over time then you have a problem that needs to be addressed.  You could also run this test in your garage after you disconnect your charger.

[Jig Man]

It just came back from a full diagnosis at the shop where I have all of my work done.  They couldn’t find anything.  The power cord change is Humminbird’s idea.  

[Tennessee Boy]

I’m not sure I understand exactly what’s happening.   Are you concerned that your fish finder is sometimes showing 11 volts but other than that everything is working fine?

[Jig Man]

I am concerned that there is some kind of a problem.  In the past it was indicative of a cranking battery problem that is why I bought a new X2 after the first time it happened.  It didn’t fix it so I had the wiring replaced. 
 

I want to get it run down and fixed.

[Tennessee Boy]

Hope you get it figured out.  

[TnRiver46]

I would guess the graph is showing 11v but you’ve probably got 12 or it would sound very weak turning over or not start at all. Probably already suggested above, but I would test it with a voltimeter and compare the reading to the graph voltage reading