Lowrance HDS 5 help needed

sheepslam · #1 06-16-2012, 10:43 AM

I just bought a new boat and it came with a Lowrance HDS 5 fish finder-GPS combo, i took it out yesterday and when it was on sonar there was a bunch of background colors and the depth would cut in and out, anyone know what the problem would be, i spent 2 hrs adjusting settings and cant seem to figure it out

Tofinofish · #2 06-16-2012, 11:05 AM

Sheepslam,

I have one of these units on one of my smaller boats and it has been flawless.

You have likely checked your connections to ensure they are on tight. The pins in the connections need to be straight with no corrosion.

Your sonar Cable may have a short from breakage?

Are you testing in the water or out of the water? Out of water can give you false/messed up readings.

I would suggest going to Lowrance site to search process for "Soft Reboot" which can reset all systems and has been helpful for me to get my Lowrance units back to normal working condition.

Hope this helps a bit.

J.

SNAPFisher · #3 06-16-2012, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheepslam

I just bought a new boat and it came with a Lowrance HDS 5 fish finder-GPS combo, i took it out yesterday and when it was on sonar there was a bunch of background colors and the depth would cut in and out, anyone know what the problem would be, i spent 2 hrs adjusting settings and cant seem to figure it out

All good suggestions from Tofino. From my experience, factory installed ones they typically put it too close to the prop. Prop wash causes the conditions you are describing. Mine came less than a foot from the prop area. I moved mine myself over so it was about 2 feet away from the prop. Works perfectly all the time including full out at 55 km/hr.

sheepslam · #4 06-16-2012, 04:10 PM

Thanks for the reply guys, im going to take it out tonight and check it out, it is only about a foot away from the prop and that seems to make sense, im going to try and reboot it here and see if that helps as well, should the GPS work right away or do you need extra accesorys for this as well, right now it is saying im on some lake in the states

bubba 96 · #5 06-16-2012, 04:58 PM

The gps should work, although I'm having a problem with mine as well, except mine said not acknowledging gps, anyone have any pointers

huntsfurfish · #6 06-16-2012, 08:58 PM

Take a picture of the screen and post it. Easier to tell what the problem is if we can see a screen shot.

huntsfurfish · #7 06-16-2012, 09:00 PM

GPS needs to get a lock on satelites but should find your position after a short time.

fishforsport · #8 06-17-2012, 06:38 AM

I would suggest that if you don't have a manual, either download one from the Lowrance website, or take the head of the unit to an approved Lowrance retailer and have them check it out. They will be able to see if it is functioning properly and provide you with some assistance with the many features. More than likely it also needs a software update, which you can do yourself if you are somewhat computer savvy, or any retailer that knows what they are doing can provide that service for you. You may also need a new transducer, but mostly, you need to learn more about these fantastic sonar/gps chartplotters.

Brian

TROLLER · #9 06-17-2012, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sheepslam

Thanks for the reply guys, im going to take it out tonight and check it out, it is only about a foot away from the prop and that seems to make sense, im going to try and reboot it here and see if that helps as well, should the GPS work right away or do you need extra accesorys for this as well, right now it is saying im on some lake in the states

If you move that, don't forget to plug the holes and then silicon where you took the old one out.