Hunting Washington Forum

Other Activities => Fishing => Topic started by: pickardjw on July 15, 2024, 08:47:20 PM

Title: Fish Finder Power Issues
Post by: pickardjw on July 15, 2024, 08:47:20 PM: Just upgraded from a Helix 5 to a Helix 7. My 10Ah battery wouldn't power the Helix 7 for a full day so I upgraded to a 50Ah and made sure it's at full charge.

I replaced the terminal connectors because the 10Ah had quick connects. 5/16 connectors but the terminal is probably 1/4, so it's not "perfect" but it's making a solid connection as far as I can tell. Nothing else different with the wiring, but the fish finder won't turn on. Fuse is intact, not sure what's going on.

When I try to power it on, the voltmeter reads the battery way down to 3V and then it rises from there back to full voltage. Took a few photos showing it low and rising. Any ideas on what's going on and how to fix it?

I know enough to wire simple things but can't troubleshoot for crap.
Title: Re: Fish Finder Power Issues
Post by: pickardjw on July 16, 2024, 10:56:15 AM: Sounds like it's a bad battery based on the voltage drop upon powering the unit and a "full charge" voltage of 12.47V instead of 13.6V. Contacted Weize for a replacement. Pushing them to get me one by Friday but we'll see.
Title: Re: Fish Finder Power Issues
Post by: CP on July 16, 2024, 11:20:17 AM: Something doesn’t sound right. The 10Ah battery should be fine for 10+ hours. Your Helix 7 draws what? 800-900mA?

How’s your charger? Is it putting out at least 14.2VDC?