HAVE YOU SENT YOUR HUMMINBIRD IN FOR REPAIR?

My Humminbird 581i HD DI shuts down when I hit a big wave (big bump). I am able to turn it back on and it works fine until I hit another big bump. When I am just trolling around fishing it has no problems. It makes it tough to follow any way points across the lake if the lake is choppy. I am thinking of sending to Humminbird for repair, they have a flat rate repair fee ($162.45 for my unit). Have any of you sent electronics to Humminbird, if so how was the experience? Thank you.

First check your cables to make sure that you don't have a loose cable that is causing the unit to turn off.

I had a 1197 that did it a few times. Turned out there was a cold soldier inside that was bad. They fixed it for free.

You should be able to send it in under warranty for review and assessment without having to pay for anything upfront.

Remove the display from the mount. Locate the power cord plug.
Very slightly and gently adjust the two power cord pins in any direction. Don't over do it and break the pins or get them so out of line that they don't match up with the holes in the display receptacle. LOOK at them. Use a pencil point.
Replace the display on the mount and your issue should be fixed.

The fit of the plugs to the display is sort of sloppy of easy removal of the display from the mount.

Mine did that and it turned out to be the fuse losing contact in the fuse box. I bent the pins just enough for the fuse to fit tight and not lose contact. Problem solved.

I adjusted the pins as suggested and ensured the fuse is tight. I still have the problem, it shut itself down Saturday when we bounced over the waves at Possum Kingdom. I am deciding what to do next.

Hate to crash this thread, but I've got a 598 that locks when I crank the boat. If I turn it off before I crank it comes back on fine. If I don't cut it off it goes white and I have to remove it and reseat it. I checked the fuse. Could it be the cranking battery voltage drops or something? Any suggestions?

wacorusty, I would put it on a separate battery, like a stout gell cell >= 7to 10amp hours, if I had that problem, that would be the easiest I think.

wagonwheel, if you have to send it in, include the power cable also.

preciatcha

Could be several things and all having to do with getting the proper voltage to the unit.

1. Your battery is too small to handle starting and running the unit at the same time.

2. Your battery is not fully charged and in good condition to do both

3. Your wiring has too much resistance causing a voltage drop to the unit that gets even lower when starting.

It was the battery. It was charged several times, but after trying another battery it fixed it.

Wagonwheel,
I had a similar problem and it turned out that I had a broken keeper in the back of the unit and it wasn't locking tight to the quick release base. Sent it in and they repaired it. Mine was out of warranty so it cost me but got it fixed.

I would try the head unit on a different boat if at all possible before shipping it out.

When my down imaging puck transducer came loose in the hull my HB898c unot would shut down, and it stopped once I replaced it.

You could also save you data, do a factory default, and reload the firmware.

I would set the voltage alarm at 10 volts and see it alarms before shutting down to determine if it is a total lost of power or low voltage.