Power to GPS/Fishfinder

[chrisinslc]

When extending the power and ground from the fish finder to the battery, can I just use speaker wire?

 

[ythao559]

Quick answer is YES since speaker wires are mostly 14 to 16 gauge.

What you really need to consider when extending wires are:
1) The required current rating of your electronic
2) Length of wire that you need to extend
3) Wire gauge
4) Fuse
5) Color code for the wires

Smaller wire diameter (AWG) will limit the amount of current to your electronic. The longer the cable you extend, the more voltage drop occurs. Make sure your inline fuse is rated high enough to allow the amount of current your electronic requires BUT not exceed current limit on the smallest wire. This is a fire hazard thing so take it seriously.

Lastly, it's best to have color coded wires (usually Red for + and Black for ground) so it'll be easier to identify should you ever need to rewire in the future.

 

[AJack]

For a temp power source, I wired my plotter to the cig lighter thingy. I am now putting in a terminal block behind the helm with 8ga from the battery with a switch.

 

[chrisinslc]

For a temp power source, I wired my plotter to the cig lighter thingy. I am now putting in a terminal block behind the helm with 8ga from the battery with a switch.

I ended up using 16 gauge speaker wire to run power and ground from the unit to the fuse block. Wasn't too bad of a project...and it actually works!

 

[Joatmon]

Advice from my experience. I wired in a new Humminbird GPS/Fishfinder unit very similar to your Lowrance. I used 14 gauge wire thinking that would be plenty for a small electronic device. Not like I was powering an amp and driving speakers. I wired to a hot connecting under the helm. No problem with power on but after an hour it would shut off by itself. Power back on and it would turn off again. The on time gradually got shorter until I had to make a change.

Lesson learned was the wire was too small and restrict amp flow resulting in shutting off the GPS. I had to wire positive and negative wires directly to the a battery connection using 12 gauge wire because of the 16' distance fishing through the boat walls. Problem solved.

Just in case you start seeing power off issues.

 

[chrisinslc]

Advice from my experience. I wired in a new Humminbird GPS/Fishfinder unit very similar to your Lowrance. I used 14 gauge wire thinking that would be plenty for a small electronic device. Not like I was powering an amp and driving speakers. I wired to a hot connecting under the helm. No problem with power on but after an hour it would shut off by itself. Power back on and it would turn off again. The on time gradually got shorter until I had to make a change.

Lesson learned was the wire was too small and restrict amp flow resulting in shutting off the GPS. I had to wire positive and negative wires directly to the a battery connection using 12 gauge wire because of the 16' distance fishing through the boat walls. Problem solved.

Just in case you start seeing power off issues.

I hope I don't but will no what to do if it starts.

 

[ythao559]

The smaller the wire diameter, the quicker the voltage drop occurs as you begin to extend the wires. If you connect the GPS/FishFinder to the same battery that powers heavy load electronics such as trolling motor, sound systems or even the crank battery, you will eventually experience power off issues as the battery drains and/or your hungry electronics draws too much power. The heavy load on the battery will cause too much voltage drop and when dropped below the minimum amount that your GPS/Fishfinder requires (usually somewhere around 11.0V +/-), it will shut-off.

A solution to this is to connect a DC-DC 12V Regulator to a battery and then your GPS/Fishfinder to the power from the Regulator. Only down side to this is that you will lose accurate battery voltage status on your GPS/Fishfinder.

 

[Rascalrider]

Advice from my experience. I wired in a new Humminbird GPS/Fishfinder unit very similar to your Lowrance. I used 14 gauge wire thinking that would be plenty for a small electronic device. Not like I was powering an amp and driving speakers. I wired to a hot connecting under the helm. No problem with power on but after an hour it would shut off by itself. Power back on and it would turn off again. The on time gradually got shorter until I had to make a change.

Lesson learned was the wire was too small and restrict amp flow resulting in shutting off the GPS. I had to wire positive and negative wires directly to the a battery connection using 12 gauge wire because of the 16' distance fishing through the boat walls. Problem solved.

Just in case you start seeing power off issues.

Which Hummingbird unit did you go with? I contacted them and they gave me some options that did not require a transponder outside the boat but a through hull setup.

 

[Joatmon]

I installed the Helix 5. I initially tried to mount the transducer inside the hull. I used the one provided and a rubber adhesive so not to have any bubbles but it did not work. Let me know if you mounted the transducer inside and how it worked.

 

[Rascalrider]

I installed the Helix 5. I initially tried to mount the transducer inside the hull. I used the one provided and a rubber adhesive so not to have any bubbles but it did not work. Let me know if you mounted the transducer inside and how it worked.

Helix 5 is the one I was looking at also.

 

[Joatmon]

I primarily the GPS to follow previous paths or find my way home in the dark. The depth charting lets me know the depth all around and not just under the boat.

 

[jwhite28]

@chrisinslc When I was 16 I wired LED lights in a car with speaker wire because it was cheap... smoke in the cab going down the road because the insulation melted and it was grounding out... Lol lesson learned. I have a 2019 AR190 and am currently installing a fish finder. I tapped into the cigarette lighter (12V plug) for power. It was easy to access and didn't have to run new wires. 12V plug still has power too. Good luck!