HDS Live sonar stops working when over 10mph

My newly installed HDS 9 Live sonar quits working (page basically stops scrolling) when I exceed approx 10mph. Depth won't register and screen all but blanks. Resumes like normal once I slow down. Brand new unit just installed so it may be a setting adjustment that's needed?? Transducer is in same position as last unit (HDS 9 Gen 3) and that one worked great. (so I doubt it's a transducer location issue)

Unless you are running a separate and shoot thru the hull 2D transducer, you won't keep the depth while running

I have the Active Imaging 3 in 1 transducer mounted on the outside of the hull.

Yes, it IS a transducer location issue. HDS Gen 3 did not have a dual-technology all-in-one transducer. The torpedo shaped transducer you saw outside the hull was for StructureScan only. With Gen 3, you got your numerical depth and traditional sonar from a separate transducer, not the "torpedo". You may have never been aware of the second transducer if you don't understand how it all works. That one is likely inside the boat in the bilge.

WIth your Live unit, you have a 3-in-1 transducer. This means the Torpedo does sidescan, downscan, and traditional sonar. That won't work on plane if your torpedo rises out of the water.
You can still connect the 2D transducer (likely in the bilge) to that unit; hopefully your's is still installed in the boat and the installer didn't cut the cable for it.
You will need a Lowrance 7 to 9 pin sonar connector adapter cable. These are about $30. You have two sonar connectors on your Live unit. The adapter cable plugs into the open one, and the existing 2D transducer cable would connect to that. You would then change a setting for your 2D transducer source; after that, you would again read depth while the boat is on plane. Who installed this that didn't explain all of this?

Thanks for the detail. Unfortunately, the 2D transducer was removed and cables cut (or pulled out). New Live ducer was mounted to the same Gen 3 bracket (so no new holes drilled) and all new cables run to unit. So if I read your reply correctly (and I am FAR from an electronics expert) I will only be able to read water depth while at higher speeds IF and ONLY IF I add the 2D ducer back onto the hull? (and then run the adaptor cable)

Yes, that is correct. Whoever did that to you on your install fits into the "fool" category in my opinion. I would not have hurt a darn thing to leave that transducer in place. it was not hurting anything, and it was $80 in value. I'd seriously want them to put one back in at their expense. There is no reason whatsoever for them to destroy that. They're obviously borderline ignorant or they would have connected it, or at least offered you the option.

I'm about to install a 3-in-1 on my boat, and will be doing exactly as I explained to you for the reason you discovered.

Never mind. Didn’t realize the 3 in 1 ‘ducer isn’t the same as what I was babbling about. Carry on...

there's only one connector on the 3in1 transducer...

you can connect a 2D transducer (to blue Ch1 w/ adapter) and the 3in1 (to black Ch2) to the same unit, but select the 2D as your data source for your sonar screens if you want to see depth on plane for some reason

this all works the same as the TotalScan on Gen 3

MY bad.....at least for right now. I TOTALLY misread Flippin's post regarding the difference between StructureScan ducer and 2D puck ducer. You clearly told me I probably had a second ducer in the bilge area and I missed that point. So to clear things up, the externally mounted "torpedo" ducer from the HDS Gen 3 is what was removed. I do NOT have any idea if I have a 2D puck ducer in the bilge but as soon as I get home I will check. I do know for a fact the ONLY ducer I got back was that torpedo with all the cables that run to it. I will cross my fingers that they left the 2D cables alone.

Sorry for the confusion.

No problem. The transducer we are hoping for is typically installed in the bilge very close to the transom, and they are put there with epoxy. This is why we're used to them being left in the boat, even if there is no apparent immediate need. It doesn't hurt, so why not keep it in case you want to use it later. We refer to them as "puck" transducers, but they are really shaped like a spool of thread (without the lips). If you look under the dash, you may see a cable coiled up that has a blue collar on it. If so, that's almost certainly the 2D transducer we're looking for. If it's there, then you can get the $30 7-to-9 pin adapter cable and that will allow you to connect it to the Live unit. You'll still be using the 3-in-1 for your sidescan and downscan, but the 2D source setting in the unit will be changed to the 2nd sonar channel you reconnect.

My bad on confusing connectors & transducers. 3-in-1 has one. I'll correct the post.

You were correct in a way. They effectively moved his 2D transducer to the torpedo 3-in-1 that isn't always in the water. They should have connected his 2D transducer to the new Live unit (with an adapter cable).

Here's another possibility. What if they DID connect it (unlikely but possible as you'd need that adapter cable they wouldn't just give you)? Look at the back of you unit. Looking at the rear, there are two transducer ports - the the last two ports to the right. Is the last one open, or is there a cable on it? I ask because attaching the transducer does nothing if the correct setting isn't made in the configuration.

Sorry, I just realized I posted this on the wrong thread about Lowrance repair. Welp, I haven't checked behind the actual unit yet but I did check for the 2D transducer. I can't see anything in the bilge area that resembles a small transducer. Doesn't mean it's not there. There's an area behind and below the battery charger that I need to gain access to. It's the lowest spot in the bilge area which is where I'm guessing is the best spot for a transducer to be mounted.(I am not overly impressed with the bilge layout/access on these newer Skeeters but that's a whole different topic.) That said, I DID find a cable (pic below) that was thrown in the box with my old transducer. It's got a blue connector end. Any chance this is the cable we were hoping would be behind (or plugged into) the unit??

That's a power cable for your removed HDS Gen 3 unit. The red is +12V, the black is Ground, and the Yellow wire is an "accessory wake-up" wire. The yellow wire can be connected to a Sonar Hub (Lowrance audio system) box so that the audio system powers up whenever you turn on the HDS unit that the cable is attached to. Note that the Sonar hub would also have a 12V (red and black) connection, but the yellow wire works as your "automatic switch" to turn on the stereo, for instance.

It's actually good that's not what we were after. Transducers and their cable can never be cut. The transducer will always have it's cable attached, so you don't want that to be "it". When I say you have to look in the bilge, I mean literally the bilge, not just under the back deck. Where we are talking here is the lowest point on the inside of the hull - looking at the hole for the drain plug on the inside of the boat. Think about how little of your boat touches the water when you are on plane. The transducer must be in that small area. It will always be in the center of the boat, in the very bottom at the actual hull with water on the other side, typically rather close to the drain plug. Transducers can't shoot through void areas, so it would never be mounted on any type of void, like a flotation collar built into the equipment compartment of the boat.

There's a lot of stuff to go inside the equipment compartment; therefore, the layout is usually cramped, and there's not a lot that can be done about it. It's a physics thing.

I had asked you to look at the back of the unit and under the dash carefully. Finding a transducer in the rear is good to know about, but solves nothing if it's cable has been cut and removed. If there's a transducer in the boat, you'll need the connector end of the cable that plugs into your MFD or you haven't gotten anywhere. So, forget the bilge for now as you don't really know what you are looking for, and you could mess things up since I'm guessing you aren't highly "boat familiar." First look at the back of the MFD (your new display). If the right-most connector has a cable, that would be your 2D transducer, and there would be no need to look in the bilge, right?

If the right-most connector on the MFD is open, LOOK UNDER THE DASH. You are looking for a black cable with a gray connector that has a blue locking collar. Look closely as they may have folded it up and put a cable tie around it, hiding the connector end. Here is a link for a 2D transducer cable that has an end like you are looking for.
Lowrance 2D Transducer & cable
I picked this one for the connector end. If you have a transducer in the bilge, it is unlikely it will be like the one in the photo. That item is actually for mounting exterior, but the connector is the same.

If you do not find it under the dash, talk to whoever did your install and ask "where is my 2D transducer cable from my old system? Did you leave it, or cut it?

If you do find the cable, you can't just plug it into the MFD. As I said before, that would be when you need to order a 7-pin to 9-in adapter cable.

P.S.: That cable is worth $30 to whoever ends up with your old HDS unit that was removed from the the boat, so don't toss it.

This would be my step 1, personally. Well, after looking to see if it was in fact plugged into the graph already.

Alternatively, if its hard to get to the back of the unit you could power it on and look at your data sources and see if it recognizes that theres something connected to both sonar channels

Good news-bad news. Ya'll were right-WAY easier to just look at the back of the unit. See pic below. There was ONE blue connector that was not attached-so that's the good news. Bad news is it's a 3 pin so I'm going to assume it's not the 2D cable I need? I didn't see any other cables back there or under the dash.

You count the holes in it, not the gold pins. There will likely be 9 pins in that connector on the MFD. The blue collar cable you have there will fit one end of the 9 to 7 pin adapter cable so that you can connect an "old school" 2D transducer. Those 3 pins will line up with 3 of the 7 on one end of the adapter cable.

The HDS Gen 3 only has 2 cables that have a blue collar. You showed us the power cable already, so this one has to be the transducer cable that you need. There aren't any others. Now you just need that adapter cable, and to change a setting on the MFD to get your depth from the 2D transducer you are reconnecting.

It wasn't going to be plugged into the graph, almost assuredly. That would have required the 7-to-9 pin adapter cable. He paid to have it installed, and he had not bought the adapter, nor heard of it before. When was the last time you heard of an installer who would throw in a $30 optional adapter cable you didn't ask for? They don't tend to donate. Therefore, my bet was not connected. I HAD told him to look under the dash before - right off the bat, in an earlier post. He couldn't seem to find anything, which is when the question went to whether the transducer was even in the boat. He couldn't even tell us if he had one. I believe he was looking for it on the floor in the rear compartment - not even on the hull laminate itself. I described the cable he was supposed to look for, even sending a link with a photo. I did not realize I would have to actually TELL him to look behind the unit to see if it was there. I was trying to give credit as a functioning adult.

As always, thanks! Yes, I was counting the gold pins. Like you said in earlier post, I'm not highly boat familiar.....mainly with electronics. So one more not highly boat familiar question...you said "right most" connector should be open. Looking at the back of the MFD (you can see it in the pic) the very last connector already has a cable attached and the other one is open. Do I unplug the last connector and replace with the 2D?

I was going from memory, and may have confused it with connectors on a different unit it seems (probably with Carbon units). Of course, you have a Live model. The connector on the right is for your 3-in-1 transducer you will still get your StructureScan (down & side) from. It will stay where it is. That is the only connector it will fit. Lowrance is very good about making connectors unique. You couldn't plug the black cable into the wrong place if you wanted to as it only fits there.

The adapter cable plugs onto the unused connector 2nd from the right, and the other end plugs onto your blue collar transducer cable.

If you read the documentation, this would have been a lot easier to do, and you would understand a little about your unit. The info on what plugs where is actually in the Install manual that also came in the box, along with an owners manual. Reading them will help. You're going to have to learn how to set the 2D transducer selection, and that's in the manual..

You are almost there. You might look into whether you can get the cable locally, or order online. It's a fairly common cable accessory right now, and there's only 1 like that.

As a functioning adult why read manuals when you have Youtube and TFF to get answers for everything!?!? Just kidding. Everyone's help much appreciated. I'll get the adapter cable and actually read how to set up the 2D transducer.

I will be honest that the manual won't have a written step by step for exactly what you need. But, it will have a section on selecting transducers for sonar and for StructureScan. Read over what they have on those topics and that will help familiarize you with what you'll need to accomplish. You can press some buttons, but try to back out of it with "cancel" while you are looking around at menu choices. I do this a lot to learn a unit. One thing you will want to do is to be sure to set the "scope" to "local" or "this unit" (I forget which one the LIVE units have). You don't want "global". What that means is that when you select a transducer, you want that setting only for that unit. Doing this will make sure you don't make a bow unit get data from the transducer in the stern when you change the setting.

Overall, it will help if you read those sections before you come ask questions, or ask someone to confirm what steps you think would do it. To see some things in a menu, remember you have to put your finger on the screen and drag it up to see the things that fall off at the bottom. That bites some people.