FCV-295

Lunderic

Member
I have an FCV-295 sounder that's not working correctly on High Frequency. At spring Launch unit would not power up at all. I removed and found a broken internal fuse which I replaced. The unit would power up fine, but High Frequency just shows layers of red and no depth. I lived with it for the season, but boat is now on the hard. I presume the transducer is bad. I'm not sure what transducers are installed (high and low are through hull with fairing block). I have to do some disassembly to get down to the transducers. I attached a picture. Is there something else I should be checking?

Thanks,
Eric
 

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It almost looks like someone painted the transducer by the way it looks.

Too bad some troubleshooting wasn't done in the water. I would have moved the HF to LF and vice versa and swapped the TAPs and settings and then see if it was really the transducer or the HF channel of the sounder (all while it was in the water).

Now that you are on the hard, I would inspect the transducer for marine growth and/or paint and maybe have your dealer checkout the sounder before replacing anything.
 
Lunderic":3mtdw9z7 said:
I'm not sure what transducers are installed (high and low are through hull with fairing block). I have to do some disassembly to get down to the transducers. I attached a picture. Is there something else I should be checking?

Thanks,
Eric

The image shows echo returns at 6' feet which isn't very deep and the HF side reports bottom at 6' which is accurate so it's probably working fine but just in too shallow depth of water. You mention a fairing block which you really only see on big transducers 600W-1kW+, and big transducers often are too high powered for real shallow <10' waters. You might first switch into auto range mode, adjust your gain to auto fishing, and head out into deeper waters (60'+) with your HF on during a sea trial and re-evaluate since it appears to be fine. Any more pics in deeper waters?

Hope this helps, :sail

- Maggy
 
The same issue happens no matter the depth. I've been offshore fishing with same result. I did try reversing HF/LF sides and same happened. Both Transducers have the same TAP settings. It didn't seem to matter. Boat was media blasted and painted prior to launch. Since boat was hauled, I can check to see if transducer is painted. Assuming its not painted what would the next step be?
 
If you swapped HF and LF along with your freq settings, and the problem didn't move to the other side, then it sounds like the sounder needs to be checked out. Had it been bad HF on the transducer, the problem would have moved to LF side when you moved the wiring and settings. Hopefully that means the transducer isn't painted or damaged.
 
I can't figure out how to post a new question so I did this.
I have a FCV-295 that was working fine, while out then no return or dept showing on any freq. The screen is still plotting but no bottom or depth posted. Tried Hi F and Low F, with no difference. Does the screen tell the transducer to ping? I have 2K transducer that normally you can hear the tic tic, but now there is nothing. How should I trouble shoot? Any help would be appreciated . Mahalo, Tim Stokesbary. Live on a smaller island in Hawaii witout too much resources to get help.
 
It's been a while. but I finally got to the boat and Pulled the Head unit for testing. Any suggestions on Furuno Service Center so I can send in for testing?

Thanks,
Ericc
 
Find someone airmar certified and they might have the airmar transducer tester kit to verify transducer function.

Otherwise you could borrow a transducer, suspend it in the water NOT BY IT's CABLE, such as with a fishing bait/landing net and wire it up to your 295.
 
Thanks, but before I approach transducers, I want to send the unit in for testing. I had some electrical issues that broke the internal fuses prior to this issue. I'm just trying to find a Furuno service center to ship it to for testing.
 
If sending it to Furuno is something you would like to do please ship to the following address:

Furuno USA
Attn: Service Department
4400 NW Pacific Rim BLVD
Camas, WA 98607.

Make sure to include a note with your name, phone number, return address, and a statement of what you would like us to do.
 
I sent the unit to Furuno, and it tests perfectly so it looks like I'll have to replace the transducer (wire and connector appear to be in good shape). The boat is a 53' Viking and is used to fish both inshore and Northeast Canyons out of Long Island. Looking for a recommendation on replacement transducer. I'm not exactly positive which transducer came with the boat. There are two through hull transducers with fairing blocks. I haven't had time to trace wires and I can't find any markings or tags. Would anybody recognize from these pictures (long shot) which is the HF transducer? They are both Tap A
 

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They look like Furuno commercial transducers. Without any markings, maybe open the FCV295 at the back and note what the TAP settings are setup for. That would help narrow down the possibilities. Being that Viking keeps pretty good records, you should be able to contact them about the original build items and find out that way. Vikings are very nice rides.
 
Reading the prior posts, it seems your tap settings are A and A (default), so isn't helpful. The best thought at this point and talk to Viking about the build list of the hull number.
 
Thank you for all the support on this site. It may not even matter what the old transducers are...I was thinking about replacing with better anyway. What are some recommendations for a replacement? I was thinking about replacing both with a R109LH or R109 LHW. I would use as I stated previously for a mix of inshore and NE canyons. I need a clear picture of bottom down to about 4,000 feet and hopefully be able to mark fish in the top 600 feet or more. I also fish inshore reefs and rock piles. Are there other through hull alternatives which may be better?
 
Lunderic,

For the depths that you are currently fishing in the canyons (4000 ft), I'd seriously consider using the R509LH with the FCV295. The picture below shows the best frequencies that you can select for the best returns. :)

R509 Freqs.jpg

- Deep Blue
 
Like Deep Blue said, the R509LH is a good choice. The LF on it goes between 28kHz and 60kHz and from the freq sweeps Deep posted you can tell it rings solid at 28kHz and 38kHz which either should give you that bottom return from Davy Jone's locker.

- Maggy
 
Thanks, exactly the feedback I was looking for. I have done research since starting this post. I was also wondering if anybody had an experience with the R509LHW? It seems as though the Wide would be an advantage for trolling. Are there any disadvantages?
 
Lunderic,

While the R509LHW on High Frequency has a 25 degree constant beam, keep in mind the maximum depth is limited to only 500 ft. However, the Low Frequency of 28-60 kHz should be able to get down into those canyons you are intending to fish in. ;)

Deep Blue.
 
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