lowrance gps module "not responding" any ideas?.

[blacksheep]

i just intalled a new 332c in my new rig had it out onthe water today and it worked great.......until i got above 36mph, then i would loose my gps module, it would flash on screen "gps module not responding". i shut the unit of and turned it on still nothing..........so then i disconnected the plug from the back of the unit and plugged it back in.........then it worked.

but as soon as i started going 36mph or faster it would drop again and again.

i have the unit wired to the battery directly.

the nmea is powered.

i was getting 16ft error when i was cruising so i know the module is in a decent spot.

what else could it be?

the only thing i can come up with is that it might be getting too much voltage while my motor (e-tec) is running at high rpms but i have it fused with a 3 amp like suggested. the finder and the nmea share a 3 amp fuse, could that be the problem?

thanks for any info - b.s.

[PerchJerker]

I would guess that your voltage is dropping when you get going that fast, and the gps module can't pull enough power. Do you know if your starting battery is good? You could test it by wiring your gps module to a deep cycle battery and seeing if that cures the problem when you go faster.

[ccarlson]

My 3500 C also worked at first and then I started getting the same gps not responding message you talked about. It started getting worse so I took it back to the place I bought it (reeds). They determined my module cord or possibly my module itself was bad and gave me a new cord and module. It worked great for a while and then started losing its position and would not lock in.

Then I called lowrance and they sent me an mmc card to update the gps module. It fixed the problem and it works great now. Apparently the gps modules had a flaw that put them into a sleep mode and the update fixes the problem.

As far as the problem that you are having and like I had at first, not sure if the MMC card update would help or not but you can call lowrance and see.

ccarlson

[blacksheep]

that is some good info, thanks cc.

[Valv]

I don't think the NMEA has to be on. I am not very good at this but I think NMEA is for different antennas, and not GPS.

I would try switch it off.

[blacksheep]

the nmea has to be on for the new 12 channel modules to work.

[PerchJerker]

I just read your first post again and noticed that you said the nmea and finder share the same 3 amp fuse. I don't know how that would be causing your problem but I would put them on seperate fuses even if they're on the same battery. I got a 332c this year and updated the software from the Lowrance site to make sure I was up to date. Good luck.

[dockehr]

Just a quick note during my lunch break. I have wired both set of wires (GPS antenna module/NMEA 2000 and unit power) utilizing only one fuse on both my 332c and 25c units. I have noted no problems. I know that the antenna/NMEA 2000 will draw a small amount of power even with the unit off. With my setup that's not a problem.

dockehr

Dr. Roland E. Kehr, Jr.

Lindy Tackle

[blacksheep]

thanks again CC, that was exactly what it was. got it updated and it works great.