Depth sounder not working

[Cincy Aquaholic]

Not sure where to start on diagnosing this. Smartcraft gauge just reads -- -- or something like that. Checked the wiring and it seems to be in tack for as far as I could follow it.

 

[dirvan]

Mine does that as well. Every once in a while, it will show an erroneous reading, but still constantly flashes.

 

[Cincy Aquaholic]

Oddly enough after posting this it started working and and has worked fine since.

 

[Lazy Daze]

Bottom conditions (very soft) can sometimes cause that to happen as the signal isn't bouncing back like it should. Shallow water can do it, as well, with the props stirring things up. If the boat stays in the water, and it's been some time since it was used, there may have some slime on the puck and then when the boat got used it washed away the slime. Or, it could be an electrical gremlin!

 

[fatcatone549]

Does the depth gauge work when the boat is not in the water?

 

[Lazy Daze]

Does the depth gauge work when the boat is not in the water?

No. You'll get some kind of weird reading on the gauge. Dashes... eights... something weird. Think about it... water is much denser than air. A depthfinder works by sending a sonar signal down and it calculates the amount of time it takes for it bounce back. However, you will hear the transducer clicking if you listen closely enough.