Interference from kicker but not i/o?

[zackblain]

well sunday we got out in ruger1nut's 19' islander for the first time that he just bought on here from another member. Everything ran smooth except that we experienced terrible interference while running the 15hp honda 4stroke kicker motor, on the lowrance hds5 gen2. When trolling with the i/o we had a perfect screen with no noise/interference whatsoever. The kicker is mounted on the port?(left side if you were looking from the rear) and the transducer is on the same side as well. As soon as we turned the kicker on the screen went nuts and marking fish/bait was next to impossible. With the i/o, it was crystal clear? Any ideas on how to remedy this situation?

[CaptSpike]

Was the FF added after the purchase? I ask because if you ran the ducer cable next to the kicker power cable you are likely picking up that as interference (or any power cable for that matter). They recommend running those apart.

Not knowing exactly how the boat is set up I would look there first, unless the ducer is on the same side of the boat as the kicker then it could just be turbulance from the kicker and the ducer should be moved to some clean water (that was my problem with my x4 at first). Or it could be the angle of the ducer is too far back. Bring it down so it doesn't pick up the kicker turbulance. Those are starting points anyway.

 

Spike

Edited September 16, 2013 by CaptSpike

[zackblain]

Was the FF added after the purchase? I ask because if you ran the ducer cable next to the kicker power cable you are likely picking up that as interference (or any power cable for that matter). They recommend running those apart.

Not knowing exactly how the boat is set up I would look there first, unless the ducer is on the same side of the boat as the kicker then it could just be turbulance from the kicker and the ducer should be moved to some clean water (that was my problem with my x4 at first). Or it could be the angle of the ducer is too far back. Bring it down so it doesn't pick up the kicker turbulance. Those are starting points anyway.

 

Spike

 

It was included, will check to see about the wires, I think they were pretty bundled up together so that might be part of the problem. I think the angle is okay though because it matched the backup unit on the boat when we ran that one as well.

 

Will get some pictures up so hopefully we can get this figured out, Thanks!

[CaptSpike]

Is it a dual cone ducer? Amybe the cone between the back up and the one that isn't working are different. Try it on the narrowest cone if it is a dual ducer and see if that fixes it.

I'd play with the setting first to make sure it isn't something simple like that. A buddy of mine had a ducer connected to his FF but had the FF set to a different ducer. Needless to say the results were not good. All the settings should be matched so you get a good reading. Easy for someone to get into a menu and mess stuff up fast, lol.

 

Spike

[Sk8man]

If the interference is from the kicker motor I'd try using resistor spark plugs in it and see if it helps. The transducer should be mounted as far away as possible from any turbulence from either engine or that produced by the hull itself. It was unclear to me whether you were referring to electrical interference or interference with the transducer signal creating a "clutter" appearance on the screen.  The power cable and transducer cable should be separated as much as possible too to prevent interference especially if the wire shielding is compromised in some way. I would think that if that were the problem though it would be there regardless of which motor is on. You might also consider getting a transducer board (plastic piece that fastens to the transom and to which you mount your transducer (s)which allows you to reposition the location and angle of the transducer at will without drilling into your transom again.

Edited September 16, 2013 by Sk8man

[zackblain]

Will try seperating wires and look into resistor plugs. Can anyone explain how to ground a motor?

[lineman49]

  What SK8man said X2 plus Lowrance told me to run my power wires inside a peice of garden hose as much of them as far as possibile. Run them right off the battery. You boat ground come right from your battery , also check all your ground connections/jumpers on your motors. I did all this it did clear up but still get interferance. (new lowrance products suck) imho.

[mudflat]

You need to determine where the interference is coming from, is it electrical or is it turbulence around the transducer from the kicker prop?

 

Since you don't see any while running the I/O try just starting the kicker up without putting it in gear and see if you get the interference, if you do it is probably some kind of electrical interference.  Then put the kicker in gear and see what happens, if it shows up then you might have to just relocate the transducer to the starboard side. 

[Jäger-Eye]

Mudflat that is a good idea as a place to start. Wish we had thought of it. I just got off the phone with Lowrance and they were not much help. At least the guy I got wasn't.

Thanx to all for some good ideas. I just want to get everything sorted out before I put it up for the year. That way I know when I start fresh next spring she is all ready to go.

R1N

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