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HDS 12 Gen 3 blacking out

Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2016 10:29 pm
by DanIsaac
Screen will blackout during the day leaving a 3/8 of an inch of screen around the edges.....anyone else seen this? Support desk had no idea.

Brand new units just replaced for second time, about ready to give up..Thanks. Dan

Re: HDS 12 Gen 3 blacking out

Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2017 9:39 am
by Mark 1
Dan, we've discussed this as I have the same issue. Kind of interesting that I've seen no other such complaints on this posted anywhere. Funny that Lowrance said they have no idea. I contacted them and they said I'd need to send my unit in to them. So I guess the questions I asked about this and how to resolve it can only be answered after they look at it. Then, the same questions will remain if they tell me the unit is operating correctly.
Mark

Re: HDS 12 Gen 3 blacking out

Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 6:34 am
by mark poulson
Mark 1 wrote:Dan, we've discussed this as I have the same issue. Kind of interesting that I've seen no other such complaints on this posted anywhere. Funny that Lowrance said they have no idea. I contacted them and they said I'd need to send my unit in to them. So I guess the questions I asked about this and how to resolve it can only be answered after they look at it. Then, the same questions will remain if they tell me the unit is operating correctly.
Mark
Make sure your cranking battery is strong. These new units use a lot of power.
You can try swapping that battery out with a TM battery to see if that's the problem.

Re: HDS 12 Gen 3 blacking out

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 5:40 pm
by Ken Sauret
This is something I have not seen or experienced before either. If this is an issue that is beginning to pop up, there may be something in the software that can be updated to fix it. If Lowrance has not seen it yet, you will be helping them and your fellow fishermen by sending the units back to Lowrance so they can diagnose the problem and then they may be able to write a software fix that will show up as a software update in the near future.

Remember when issues first come up, someone has to experience them and then the company can find out what is happening and then fix the issue. That is how electronics keep getting better all the time.

Re: HDS 12 Gen 3 blacking out

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 6:36 pm
by Fish Trap
Ken Sauret wrote:This is something I have not seen or experienced before either. If this is an issue that is beginning to pop up, there may be something in the software that can be updated to fix it. If Lowrance has not seen it yet, you will be helping them and your fellow fishermen by sending the units back to Lowrance so they can diagnose the problem and then they may be able to write a software fix that will show up as a software update in the near future.

Remember when issues first come up, someone has to experience them and then the company can find out what is happening and then fix the issue. That is how electronics keep getting better all the time.
Ken,
I am experiencing this on HDS 12 Gen 2. My front unit has been flickering on and off for a while but the back one was fine. I have had this unit for about 6 months, BNIB, and it worked fine up to a couple of weeks ago. I went in to Fishermans in Sac to get the unit re-booted and updated as sometimes that has solved problems in the past but it was already updated. While I was there Alan Fong added a window that shows volts from the battery. I can now see if it is battery issue. Maybe the longer wires to the front draw less voltage as being closer to the back? The units do not flicker or turn off when starting the motor which is usually the case. I was told that they do not run well under 11.8 Volts. I run a group 37 Sears Platinum Die Hard battery that is 2 years old and just tested a week ago and showed to be fine so I am not sure if it is the battery. I won't be going out for a while so I will have to see what it is in a month or so. Have you heard of anything like this on the Gen 2's?

Re: HDS 12 Gen 3 blacking out

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 7:52 pm
by kmah
My buddy had similar issue with his front graph fading or flickering. I agree with the power issue.

He changed his fuse out even though it didn't "look" bad and it has since solved the issue.

Sometimes there's some condensation or dampness especially in the front graph area which could cause corrosion.

Worth a try for a fuse.

K. mah

Re: HDS 12 Gen 3 blacking out

Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 1:06 pm
by Fish Trap
kmah wrote:My buddy had similar issue with his front graph fading or flickering. I agree with the power issue.

He changed his fuse out even though it didn't "look" bad and it has since solved the issue.

Sometimes there's some condensation or dampness especially in the front graph area which could cause corrosion.

Worth a try for a fuse.

K. mah
Ken,
I am assuming you are talking about the 3 amp inline fuse? I will give that a shot. My boat is a 2007 with the keypad and I am not aware of any external fuses for those keypads (or maybe there is) other than the 3 amp that is supplied with the unit.
Thanks

Re: HDS 12 Gen 3 blacking out

Posted: Fri Aug 11, 2017 8:16 pm
by DanIsaac
mark poulson wrote:
Mark 1 wrote:Dan, we've discussed this as I have the same issue. Kind of interesting that I've seen no other such complaints on this posted anywhere. Funny that Lowrance said they have no idea. I contacted them and they said I'd need to send my unit in to them. So I guess the questions I asked about this and how to resolve it can only be answered after they look at it. Then, the same questions will remain if they tell me the unit is operating correctly.
Mark
Make sure your cranking battery is strong. These new units use a lot of power.
You can try swapping that battery out with a TM battery to see if that's the problem.
Mark, yours and mine have nothing to do with "batteries" as we discussed, and my units have been sent in and I am on my 6th go around.

I was told to upgrade from Gen2 to Gen3 and problem would be solved $600 later I did and
It was $600 waisted, problem remains. I'm convinced these units cannot take the intense
heat in NorCal, but I have a sure fix, mine are coming off and I am changing to Garmin.

Problem SOLVED

Re: HDS 12 Gen 3 blacking out

Posted: Thu Aug 17, 2017 8:00 am
by Morgan
I was having problems with the front unit flickering and shutting off and so was a friend. We both upgraded the wiring and ran it directly from the battery to the unit -problem solved!

Re: HDS 12 Gen 3 blacking out

Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 8:41 am
by Fish Trap
Just an update on what I have found so far with my HDS-12 Gen2 unit flickering. I went through the wiring up front and it may have been a bad fuse. Just after pulling the front cover off and moving the wires the unit would not power up. Volt meter showed power going to the fuse but nothing coming out. I installed a new fuse and fuse holder and the unit powered right up and worked good on test but I have not had it out with the sun beating on it, radio playing, pumps going etc. As it sits right now with both units on and the voltage set to show on the screen, the front unit is running .5v lower than the back. Not sure if it is the length of wire and drop in volts due to that. I am not an electrical expert but I think a direct connect from the back battery like mentioned may be the way to go. I think it is a power (possible bad fuse) issue when these units go dark or flicker. But only time will tell. Need to get back out there and see what happens. I would recommend going into the settings and adding the voltage overlay screen on the units to see what they are getting. This may answer some of the questions.

Re: HDS 12 Gen 3 blacking out

Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2017 9:54 am
by Edd
Let me go through this once again.
Everyone has a different situation because all boats vary a bit in manufacturer wiring from the factory, but, if you want to run electronics hard and free of electrical problems, this is what you need to do.

1. Run clean power from the house battery to a Blue Sea fuse block (6 AWG). Run this DIRECT if you can, pos and neg.
2. Wire ALL your graphs to this fuse block ONLY! Positive and Negative wires, 14 AWG, front and console units.
3. If you have anything other than a Blue Sea 2-circuit battery switch, change it. You should use the Blue Sea 'Add-a-Battery' package with ACR. Easy connection and keeps two batteries completely isolated unless charging.
This will corral 99% of all the electrical gremlins attacking your electronics. As stated above, it's a great idea to add the Supply Voltage overlay to your pages.

Edd

Re: HDS 12 Gen 3 blacking out

Posted: Sat Aug 19, 2017 5:37 pm
by Morgan
Right Edd. I do see, even though I ran #10 AWG to each graph, there is still a voltage difference, felt afterwards, I should have ran #8 to the front, but no more trouble. BTW I have a 20' Skeeter.

Re: HDS 12 Gen 3 blacking out

Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2017 11:40 am
by DEEPWATER
HAVE HDS 12 GEN. 3 WITH SIMILAR PROBLEM AND USE UNIT APPROX. 200 DAYS ANNUALLY ......SCREEN GOES BLANK UNDER HOT CONDITIONS, NO WIND & 95+-DEGREES......I WILL DE-ACTIVATE UNIT, PLACE COVER OVER SCREEN FOR COOLING DOWN PERIOD, WHEN SCREEN COOLS DOWN I RE-BOOT UNIT & BACK TO NORMAL OPERATIONS

Re: HDS 12 Gen 3 blacking out

Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2017 1:23 pm
by Edd
Your unit needs to be repaired. Seems like a faulty screen.

Re: HDS 12 Gen 3 blacking out

Posted: Sun Sep 10, 2017 1:33 pm
by mark poulson
Didn't the early big screen units have overheating problems? I remember they had cooling fins on their backsides.

Re: HDS 12 Gen 3 blacking out

Posted: Mon Sep 11, 2017 5:42 am
by Edd
Yes some of the early touch units as well as some 1st gen hds had heating problems.