Vexilar not working need help

[Whisker Trout Slayer]

My brother inherited my dads vexilar and said the other day it when out that it doesn't work and doesn't know why. I don't know what model it is, and when my dad was alive I think he got it around 2002 or so. So I asked him what does it do? He says you turn it on and it works fine for about 20 minutes or so and then the lights don't flash on anymore but you can still hear the motor turning. The battery is charged. He says that if you turn it off for a while and turn it back on it will work for a while. He is wondering if it is junk or not and I told him it shouldn't and to call Vexilar to see if they can give him some help over the phone. So I figured this had to have happened to someone on here so I will see if anybody has any suggestions.

I have heard that the "brushes might need replaced or cleaned" as someone suggested on here but I can't remember what the original problem for that one was.

Could it be he needs a new battery?

Any help would be appreciated!! Thanks

[Deep]

I would start out by hooking the vex up to another battery, even a 4 wheeler battery or a vehicle battery. If you can have a volt meter hooked up to the battery when this starts to happen. Good luck; Doug

[Ed Carlson]

Confirm you have 12V to the unit first. The most common issue is low, or no power.

Once you have established if it will power up, then do a ducer sensitivity test to see how the unit is performing.

Set the unit on a table, set the ducer 24" off a hard floor with no obstructions.

Turn on the power and set to the 20' mode, and it should read 9' at a low gain setting.

(Math is off due to sound travels at a different speed in the air as it does in the water)

The higher you need to turn up the gain to see a solid red bottom, the more suspect the unit is of needing a new ducer, or service. (Past 11 o-clock on the dial, the ducer may be weak)

If you get good bottom read at a fairly low gain setting...no worries...go fishing.

My money is on you need a new battery. I recommend a 12V 9 amp as a good replacement. Keep charged between uses.

[Whisker Trout Slayer]

Thanks fo rthe ideas guys. I emailed him and told him to go and get a new battery and try that first. I am sure it is the original battery and he doesn't put the charger on it during the summer to keep it up.

He also got my dad Aqua View and said that doesn't work either as you can't see anything. I told him if it is the same size battery to try using the brand new fully charged battery and see if it works then.

[ice-man/vexilar-king]

Like the others said. Power sounds like the problem. Inspect the wires as well. After that visit Vexilar online and look at how to take it apart and clean out the inside of the unit. It more than likely needs it. you will need a very very small allen wrench to get knobs off. The batteries could have been drained and froze. It only takes one time and they could be gone for ever same for camera.