Depth finder quit - Garmin GSD 22 w/ 4208 chartplotter

[SmokyMtnGrady]

Hey Yall:
I am hoping for a solution here. My 4208 no longer reads depth. I took the boat to Fla last weekend to fish and depth was blinking, it would lose the bottom at running speed and recover at trolling speed. We were fishing in 3 to 4s Sunday. Took it out on the lake yesterday and no depth at all. I have Garmin's GSD 22 digital sounder modual and their 500 watt through the hull transducer. It is the kind that shoots through the hull and does not have a direct interface with the water.

So my next steps are to take out the live well and see if the ducer has come loose, but is there is a way to test to see if the GSD 22 module is working? Looking for direction here...any ideas of the likely problem?

Thanks

 

[JiminGA]

I'd post this on the Marine Electronics Forum at http://www.thehulltruth.com. There is a LOT of knowledgeable feedback in that section. I'm wagering the guy with the name bluewaterpirate will give you some helpful tips. Good luck - I know how frustrating that kind of thing can be.

 

[1st grady]

Garmin Tech support would be a worthwhile call.

 

[seasick]

Hey Yall:
I am hoping for a solution here. My 4208 no longer reads depth. I took the boat to Fla last weekend to fish and depth was blinking, it would lose the bottom at running speed and recover at trolling speed. We were fishing in 3 to 4s Sunday. Took it out on the lake yesterday and no depth at all. I have Garmin's GSD 22 digital sounder modual and their 500 watt through the hull transducer. It is the kind that shoots through the hull and does not have a direct interface with the water.

So my next steps are to take out the live well and see if the ducer has come loose, but is there is a way to test to see if the GSD 22 module is working? Looking for direction here...any ideas of the likely problem?

Thanks

Of course, the first steps are to check connectors and the unit itself. If the seal broke, it won't read correctly so give it a good wiggle.
It's not all that easy to check the ducer. On my ducer I can hear the clicks when it pings when it is not in the water. Having access to another ducer to make sure the head unit is working is helpful..

Depending on where it is mounted, you may be able to flood that area just enough to make sure the ducer surface is submerged. If the screen starts to show returns, the seal is probably bad.
Of course sometimes those ducers just go bad.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

After my hands a little dirty and inspecting the unit I have found a few interesting things. I bought my boat from Lockwood Marine in Georgia and overall the experience was positive. Turns out they installed a 1 kw Air Mar M206 in hull transducer that has this yellow box which is fluid filled between the transducer and hull. I thought i had a 500 watt unit, so I am please I have a 1,000 watt unit. They filled it with mineral oil which is not a problem in and of itself. They installed the box using 5200 but Air Mar says on its installation guide if you use 5200 DO NOT USE mineral oil rather propylene glycol as mineral oil will weaken the joint and leak. Voila that is my problem enough mineral oil has leaked which left the transducer element high and dry and thus no sonar reading.

So now I have a weekend project to fix the Grady because the Grady dealer did not do it right the first time :bang ... one would expect and perhaps my expectations are wrong, but when you spend $80,000 on a boat and new electronics that they would install said electronics correctly. Part of me wants to glass it in, but honestly I am leary of this because it is not something I am really good at, now caulking and 5200, that is a breeze...so I will be switching the mineral oil to propylene glycol (rv/boat antifreeze). If Air Mar says use it, I am using it.

 

[seasick]

That's unfortunate that is was installed incorrectly but fortunate that it is a relatively easy fix.
Nice work!

 

[BobP]

Mineral oil is to spec, picked up a container at the local CVS.
Too bad 5200 is still around.

I had an inhull with mineral oil for many years, sealed the ducer housing to hull with Boatlife Lifeseal. Have to prep by light sanding both surfacees and surfaces have to be full face contact so if on a curved surface may have to build up with glass then grind into a flat (as I did). Wipe surfaces with denatured alcohol just prior to bonding to clean any contaminants as well as pick up any moisture present.

When I later installed the new tilt ducer on the replacement Furuno setup and in so doing drilled the biggest hole thru the hull below the water line I can imagine doing to a perfectly good boat, it was so big I could stick my hand thru it! - had to pry the inhull ducer housing off with great force !

Just like house painting, everything is in the preparation, including the time on the job.

Your Garmin is warranteed for 2 yrs, don't know how long you have had it.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

BobP,
Thanks for the suggestions. While I have the Garmin 4208, in my discovery doing the work, the transducer is made by Air Mar, Model M 260 and Air Mar says to use the RV/Boat Antifreeze - proplylene glycol and not mineral oil. I found this info on their website.

 

[bill4tuna]

one of my boats is a boston whaler and I tried to install a 1000 watt thru hull with a furuno 850 sounder. had it glassed in for $300. discovered that because of the foam the transducer would not read through and sure enough, it didn't read through the hull. settled for the 600 watt transom mount. problem solved. should have listened to the whaler rep in the first place.

 

[SmokyMtnGrady]

I got her all fixed up and used 5200 and propylene glycol. Works like a charm.