Dealer Installation Issue

[shoelessben]

Don't know if this belongs here or in another area of this board... but here I am anyway! I bought my boat last spring. It didn't have GPS, so I had the dealer install it for me before I took delivery (Garmin 192C Chartplotter). It worked well most of last year. One night when we were anchored in a remote cove I turned it on the play with it... it just stuck on the "acquiring satellites" screen. When I turned it back on in the a.m. it worked fine. No issues till my final cruise of the year to drop the boat off to be winterized. Same issue. Of course it didn't fix itself over winter. So a couple weeks ago I call Garmin and they had me try a couple different things. Nothing worked, so they dedcued that it must be the antenna. Being it is out of the 1 year warranty period, I just order a factory reconditioned antenna for $35. I received it last week and took it over Saturday morning to install. The cable is directly wired into the antenna with a plug on the loose end. I take the wire cover off of my dash to expose the opening that they pulled the wires through for my GPS and I realize that the plug is at least twice as big as the hole. :smt101 So I look more closely at the plug and it is then that I realize it is not the factory connection. It appears that they drilled the 1/4" hole in the dash, then realized that the plug was 3/8" so they cut the plug off, fished the antenna cable through the hole then reconnected it. Since I didn't have my drill bits with me, I thought I would just try to tinker with the existing. I disassembled the cable connector and take a closer look. Antenna cable breaks down like this... outer protective wrap, braided shield, interior wrap and then an inner 16 - 20 strand wire. I make a clean cut on the cable, strip it down to the main wire and twist that up nice and tight. As i insert it into the connector, the wire is bigger than the hole inside the connector that it should fit into. I tried several times, but it just won't fit. So I trimmed it a little shorter and just jammed it up in there and tightened the connector. Hook up the new connection to the GPS and voila - my GPS works for the first time in six months. Convenient since we were about to embark on a 35 mile trip into new waters.
I think the install was pretty shoddy, actually I think it is BS for the kinda $$ they charged to install it. Why not drill the right size hole to fit the plug through. Why cut the original factory connection instead of drilling the hole? Do have a gripe here or am I just being a cry baby? Should I talk to my salesman and have him work it out for me, or should I just drill the right size hole, spend my time fishing the cable through the arch and repairing it myself?
By the way with the jarring ride on the bay this weekend, the connection worked itself loose. :smt013

 

[jg300da]

No way I would stand for that type of type of workmanship. NEVER cut the factory connection off. ALWAYS size the hole to accomodate the connector.
Shakespeare makes a line of solderless connectors that look first class. go here
http://www.shakespeare-marine.com/connectors.asp?menupick=&pagenum=2
You'll need the cable type; RG59, etc..., that should solve your splice problem.

 

[Robski97]

Shoeless,
To make u feel better I had the same issue with my dealer. Raymarine had recalls on there Gps antenna's After the new antenna was installed by the dealer and not the raymarine authorized guy that works for the dealership i still had on and off problems ... When i found out the dealer was doing it themselves I voiced my objection and they sent the raymarine guy... HE found 3 splices in the cable. wire nuts and tape... one at top of the arch. 2nd and the access panel where arch meets the deck. 3rd was under the dash....

NOTHING surprises me ..


Id sure as heck call the dealer. If the splice wasnt there I bet it would still be working ...


Rob

 

[SearayPaul]

When you cut these cables you change the impedence and other electrical properties of the wire. The antenna will not match the load and there will be massive signal loss. If they must be cut they sould always be reconnected using the correct electrical connector that is properly attached. Wire nuts and electrical tape are not the correct connector. To determine the correct connector look at your antenna and that is usually the connector you need to splice your wires together. Amphanol usually has what you need and are very helpful in providing the correct connector.

In addtion three splices is excessive and the cable should be trashed.

 

[Dancin Dave]

Ben, you had a gripe and an issue before you fixed the problem yourself. Next time call the dealer out and let them fix your discoveries. Your repair may only be temporary and something you will have to chase overtime.

anyway, glad to hear you fixed it. sometimes it feels better to do so, even after you pay so much money the first time.

 

[estebanj]

Ideally, there are no splices in antenna cables. If you must, it's OK to splice a VHF antenna and use the proper joiner sold by Shakespeare or others. GPS antenna cables should never be spliced.

Work with the spliced cable for now, and see if you can find a cheap one on eBay and then re-route the cable and drill the proper holes.

Esteban

 

[Sea Ray 300]

Ben,
There is really no excuse for their shoddy workmanship, unless they absolutely had to use a smaller hole.

I had an occasion to do the same, and needed a smaller hole so that it could be waterproofed correctly.
I did have to cut the end off, and re-solder a new connector on, but only after talking to Garmin. They said it was OK, but not to change the length of the cable more than 6", as it would alter the impedance, as Paul said.
Unfortunately, with the prices that dealers charge for installations, you'd think that they have an electronics wizard on hand for just those installations. That is usually not the case, and many times, installing it yourself is much better...

 

[shoelessben]

I noticed that a few of you mentioned soldering when reconnecting - nothing was soldered on this connection. It was a scew together connection. :smt017 I also noticed in the Garmin Installation Instructions that the say to put a rubber grommet around the cable or to use sealant where it passes through the hole... definitely not done either.
I talked to a guy in their service department yesterday. He said that I could bring my boat in to have it looked at... do I have a trailer for it? No... well we could send someone over to look at it. But you'll charge me for travel time right? $98 / hour. Of course he can't say that the connection is the problem, it could be corrosion or some other issue. I voiced my displeasure at the installation and that I thought it was subpar. He really couldn't do anything for me, but gave me the name of the service manager. I want to get my ducks in a row before I call back. I will talk to Garmin first about the installation, then call my salesman and let him know how I feel about it, and take it from there. I will probably just put the new antenna on myself as I already have it and working with the dealer can be more hassle than it is worth :smt021
Thanks for all the thoughts and advice!