Troubleshooting question

J

Jon - CLou

New member
It's been 5 days now and Ray Marine tech support hasn't got back to me yet, so it's time for the ace in the hole, The C-BRAT site. Geez, what the heck do I need the Factory Tech support for when all you smart guys and gals are right here.

Problem: I have a new Ray Marine DS500 sounder (thanks for the tip Dusty, I love it) and the unit shuts off when starting the engine. The unit shuts off approximately 4 seconds after starting the engine, then re-starts itself right after that and works fine. What would cause this?

This unit replaced my Garmin 250C and is wired the same way the Garmin was. The Garmin sounder didn't have this problem. All my other electronics work fine, GPS, Radar, VHF, CB, AM/FM, etc. All these units, including the new Ray Marine sounder is wired to the same ground bus and hot terminal strip.

The one thing thing I'm not sure of is the RT ground (shield wire) the owner manuel talks about. I only used the red and black off the harness, and did not use any other wire.

Jon
 
As a rule I generally wire my electronics to the house batteries, this is because when you crank the motor there is a pretty good voltage drop. Most electronics have a setting in then which it considers to be to low and will shutdown the unit. Different brand probally different settings. That is more than likely why the Garmin didn't shutdown. I have had Garmins that would shutdown at times as well.
 
I forgot to mention, if you have access to a fluke digital meter with a min max function you can hook in in the circuit and record the low voltage when you crank the motor. Might give you a better idea as to what is going on. The shield wire should connect to the ground buss. It is used to control ignition noise or other RF in the boat. If you are not having interference problems you don't have to hook it up. I do hook mine up. The shield only needs to be connected at one end. If you connect both ends it will create a ground loop and then it loses its affect.
 
The low voltage on engine cranking shutdown is common. The electronics shut down to protect the unit from low voltage and from spikes in voltage as the engine starts.
As noted best to wire the electronics to a house or separate battery.
 
question about ds raymarine sounders while we are at it. What is the differenace between my ds250 that I bought 3 years a go an the current ds500 that is out now???
 
starcrafttom":1t4yzdlo said:
question about ds raymarine sounders while we are at it. What is the differenace between my ds250 that I bought 3 years a go an the current ds500 that is out now???
Click to expand...
About 250ds's?
 
starcrafttom":1eem3o3j said:
question about ds raymarine sounders while we are at it. What is the differenace between my ds250 that I bought 3 years a go an the current ds500 that is out now???
Click to expand...
That is an easy one. DS500 – DS250 = 250
________
Dave dlt.gif
 
On Two Lucky Fish, all my electronics (Raymarine C-80 chart plotter, DSM 250..) restart when I start the engine. I assumed it was the voltage drop. You mean it not not supposed to that?

Mac
 
come on guys. did they add any features or did they just change the number every few years to look like they are staying current?? features or sales ploy???
 
I'm not sure about the 250, Tom. The DS400 has a 3.5" screen, DS500 has a 5" screen and the DS600 has a 6" screen. That's about all I know for the newer models. I think they all work about the same.
 
sorry for the confusion. I was talking about thedsm250 and 300. thats the black box that feeds fish finder info to the c-80 display unit. You are talking about the stand alone fish finders. different units.
 
I have a Raymarine C-80 with radar but no sounder. I have all electronics on the separate house battery. I have forgotten and left the C-80 on with the radar on hot standby for up to 4 hours while at a dock, and the unit never blinks when I start the engine.
 
starcrafttom":3tiu0gak said:
sorry for the confusion. I was talking about thedsm250 and 300. thats the black box that feeds fish finder info to the c-80 display unit. You are talking about the stand alone fish finders. different units.
Click to expand...

I installed my DSM300 just after they were released and the buzz back then was about the change correcting problems, not adding features. I do know the DSM250 was far more sensitive to low voltage than the 300 is, Tom.

I had run a 6 gauge positive/negative line in parallel with the C-22's factory supply line to the helm before installing the C-80 system and never once have I had a low voltage shutdown. In general, Raymarine's "protective shutdown" feature has caused more complaints than it deserves. Be glad it does, because failures due to spikes and/or low voltage usually occur in accordance with Murphy's law....

Don
 
I have same experience as Dennis. Full set of Ray 80 with Radar, sounder , Radio and yet another back-up plotter which is all wired to a 3rd battery (House). Doesn't bat an eyelid when starting twins.

Merv
 
Back
Top