1610CF "noising out"

[Anonymous]

I have a 1998 model Furuno 1610CF combo FF/Plotter/GPS. It is connected to a 50/200 Airmar through-hull ducer (faired correctly) and the cable reads C47 C1225. This is a 10-pin connector and the 10 pins are arranged in parallel rows.

The unit worked great for more than a decade, but in the last year, I have been having trouble reading bottom on 50khz and now even on 200 khz. I trie manual, cruise, fish settings and reduce the gain (screen is clogging up with “noise”) and I can only get it to read once in a while and usually for not very long.

I called the service center in Washington state and spoke with a technician. When I explained that the screen was “turning all red”, he quickly concluded that it might be the LCD going out...however, the screen resolution is perfect in all the plotter/GPS modes. The problem seems to be the sounder getting overloaded or noised-out. This used to only happen at very high speeds - now it seems to be happening all the time.

I checked the fittings and the transducer surface and it's all tight and there is no damage.

I have not done any type of "reset" to factory default settings yet, because I have about 50 waypoints and I'm afraid I'll lose them. Having said that - I can reenter these waypoints if need be – and if a reset will help that would be great.

Can anyone offer any advice or suggestions?

Rex Caffey
Baton Rouge, LA

 

[Anonymous]

Hello Rex,

The problem you are describing could be caused by a few different things.

Without having your display and transducer in front of me to test myself, I can only give you some general suggestions.

The first thing I would suggest, is that you make sure the display is turned off. Then, disconnect the transducer cable from the back of the display. After that, turn the display back on and see if the same "noise" still appears on the sounder screen. If it does, turn the display back off and repeat the above steps with all other cables connected to the back of the display, except for the power cable.

If the "noise" remains on the screen, with all but the power cable disconnected, you need to then check the power input. Make sure it is the proper voltage and that there is no AC on the DC line. If you are not familiar with how to check this, it may be time to get a technician on the boat to ensure that proper test procedures are followed.

If, after everything in disconnected, and the input power is verified to be "clean", but the "noise" still appears, the problem is most likely in your display. You should then take it to an authorized Furuno dealer or send it to Furuno for service.

If, during the testing described above, you find that the "noise" goes away when a particular cable is disconnected, then that is the likely source of the problem. Again, if you are unsure, have a technician perform the follow-up tests to determine the problem.

Give this a try and let me know what you find.

Good luck!

Hurricane

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Hurricane

I'll try this, but how can I turn the unit on with the power cable disconnected (step 2 in your instructions above)? Is there some sort of internal battery?

 

[Anonymous]

I tried what you suggested and the screen looked different - less red and more blue with transducer disconnected.
I then cleared the memory with the ducer connected (Factory Reset) and it appears to have cleared up - i.e. changed back mostly blue. I hope to get back on the water this weekend and will know more then when I do a real test.

 

[Anonymous]

Rex,

It sounds promising. At least you are seeing some level of change. If your boat is not in the water, can you get your ear down near the transducer and listen for the sounder pulses?

If you hear steady pulsing or clicking, that will at least tell you that the display is transmitting to the transducer.

Good luck this weekend. I hope to hear that it is back to normal operation.

Hurricane