Lowrance 522c ticking me off

[Cicada]

This is the third summer with this unit. The first year everything was fine. It ran like it should have. Late last summer it started acting up. It would lose the bottom and flash .8 to 1.4 feet no matter what depth I am in. This spring I installed the new software for the thing. This weekend it would do the same thing. I found that if I ran up on some rocks or hard bottom and gave it a few minutes, it would figure itself out and I would regain the bottom. This might work for 15 minutes or over an hour. I did find that if I unchecked the auto rangefinder and set it for some depth deeper than I am in I could get a bottom reading, but those stupid .8 to 1.4 would keep flashing. 1. I have the depthfinder mounted near the transom and run my trolling motor from the bow making it guesswork on my depth. B. I shouldn't have to put up with this garbage on a $700.00 unit. Has anyone else had this problem? Solutions? Can a tranducer work some of the time and then confuse the machine other times? I do have the shallow water feature enabled. It doesn't matter whether I'm in shallow water or deep water when this happens.

[minneman]

My money is on the ducer being bad, Mine was bad out of the box. (3 yr old 522)

[zelek]

I have similar issues with my 510C. I updated the software, tried a new transducer and finally had the whole unit replaced...and still got issues. So now I keep a little post-it note with me to remind me which keys to press and hold for a reboot. That's about the only thing that works. Next time I'm getting a bird.

[Rippin_eyes]

send me an email [email protected]

[kaine]

it is most likely the transducer i have had my 522cigps for about 4 years and have gone through 5 transducers so last year i bought a humminbird 798 side imager which i use for my sonar and i use my 522 strictly for gps.

[harvey lee]

Normal for most Lowrance 522 units. Its sad that Lowrance has not resolved their issues with this unit. I got mine fixed for free by a dealer. Lowrance wanted $325.00 for a simply 5 minute download.

I wish you the best with getting your issues resolved with the 522.

Lowrance should have had a recall on these units with all the issues they have had with them. I guess they simply didn't care.

I switched to the Birds and could not be happier.

Many have simply switched to a Humminbird.

[fishshooteat]

I agree what a rip. mine to 1.6 makes me sick new ducer work for me $75

[JeffB]

I have the same unit and the same problems. Mine only works decent on a hard bottom like sand or gravel. If I am trolling and cross an area with a soft bottom it does just as you described. Then you get back on the hard bottom it takes it a while to come back. I think I'll hook it up to the universal transducer built in to the trolling motor and see if that works better. I'll see if that can hold be over till I get a new bird.

[harvey lee]

I tried the universal sonar on mine and it did not help.

The new software download was the only fix for me.

[walleyemaniac]

I was having the same issues with mine, updated the software and that solved my problems. You do know that with the update there are menu changes and you can set it for differant types of water clarity and depth, right.

Will go out to the boat in the morning and scroll thru the menu to let you know how to find it, still getting use to it myself.

[Cicada]

Thanks you everyone for the help. It is just frustrating to spend around $700.00 and then have all the problems. Since I lost my job, coming up with even $70.00 for a new transducer and $40.00 for a card to download the new software is a bit of a challenge.

[Jim Almquist]

Cicada all you need is a 1 gig Sd card to do the update. If you don't have one see if you can borrow one from someone's camera or there phone. It is a 8.6 meg file and will more them likely make your unit work better. NewEgg has a 2 Gig for $7.99 and $2.99 for shipping.

[Ed Carlson]

Cicada....If your in Fargo bud, drop in at Gander Mtn and bring the 522 unit.

I can get the download and put it in for you...free.

Just give me at least a days "heads up" before you come, and I'll have it ready for you. I'll see if we can de-bug it for you.

[harvey lee]

Very nice offer Ed.

[Cicada]

Thank you Ed. I already downloaded the software and installed it before the opener. It is still doing the bad things. Is there more than one download? I picked up a card at Wally-World. Jim, I got my gigs and megs confused in my mellon and that's why I purchased a 16gb card. So, the overpriced purchase was my fault. And thank you Harvey Lee for following this one. Rippin_eyes, I sent you an e-mail. Any new ideas?

[Jim Almquist]

Jim, I got my gigs and megs confused in my mellon and that's why I purchased a 16gb card. So, the overpriced purchase was my fault.

That was a expensive little lesson

If you are at a software version level of 2.5.0 then your problem lies elsewhere. Can you try the unit in another boat just to rule out the transducer ?

[minneman]

Along with the 2.5 you also need to select the correct ducer(printed on the silver tag at the ducers plug in) and the shallow water mode, unfortunetly those didnt help mine. I can use my ice ducer and it works just fine however.

[Ed Carlson]

Thank you Ed. I already downloaded the software and installed it before the opener. It is still doing the bad things. Is there more than one download? I picked up a card at Wally-World. Jim, I got my gigs and megs confused in my mellon and that's why I purchased a 16gb card. So, the overpriced purchase was my fault. And thank you Harvey Lee for following this one. Rippin_eyes, I sent you an e-mail. Any new ideas?

Hummmmm..software is in already.....than I suspect you need to test a new ducer and confirm it is that or something more complicated internally? That's a Bummer!

[Scott K]

I am having the same issue with mine as well, it will loose bottom and start flashing, quite often.

[harvey lee]

Try the shallow mode Scott.

[BRULEDRIFTER]

Same issues here.

How long is the download supposed to take? What does the unit do while it's updating?

I ask because I tried the download this spring and it went for about 2 hours and then appeared to be complete. Unit now says version 2.5.

I still had trouble, possibly worse, so I put the update card in again and it showed updating then went blank for about 3 hours before I had to head home from the lake. It would say "updating" if I pushed a button and then go blank again.

[Ed Carlson]

I was advised that by adjusting the Ping Rate you may be able to clear it up, give that a shot once and see.

Lowrance 522c manual PDF

Ping Speed & HyperScroll™

Ping Speed controls the rate at which the transmitter and transducer

broadcast sonar sound waves — pings — into the water. The unit has a default ping speed of 50 percent. At normal boating speeds, this automatically provides enough return echoes to refresh the screen and scroll the chart at maximum chart speed.

However, when you are running at high speeds, or just want the fastest

possible screen update, you may want to use the HyperScroll™ feature.

When you change the Ping Speed to any setting greater than 50 per-

cent, the unit automatically enters HyperScroll mode.

These faster ping rates allow you to maintain a high-detail picture on

the screen, and the screen refresh rate and chart scroll speed can keep

pace with the boat as it moves quickly over the bottom terrain.

When using HyperScroll, you may also need to manually decrease the

sensitivity for optimum performance. Depending on water depth and

other conditions, HyperScroll may cause a second bottom echo to return

to the transducer during the next ping cycle, or sounding. This can result

in a large amount of clutter appearing on the screen. If this occurs, just

decrease the sensitivity to a level that eliminates the clutter. When you

turn HyperScroll off, you can return to your original sensitivity level.

Sonar Menu with Ping Speed selected (left).

Ping Speed Control Bar set to its default setting (right).

To change Ping Speed:

1. From the Sonar Page, press MENU| ↓ to PING SPEED|ENT.

2. The Ping Speed Control Bar appears. Press ↑ to increase ping speed;

press ↓ to decrease speed. When it's set at the desired level, press EXIT.

To adjust Sensitivity:

1. From the Sonar Page, press MENU|ENT.

2. The Sensitivity Control Bar appears. Press ↓ to decrease sensitivity;

press ↑ to increase sensitivity. When it's set at the desired level, press EXIT. (When you reach the maximum or minimum limit, a tone sounds.)

To turn off HyperScroll:

1. From the Sonar Page, press MENU| ↓ to PING SPEED|ENT.

2. The Ping Speed Control Bar appears. Press ↓ to decrease ping speed

to 50 percent. When it's set at the desired level, press EXIT.

When you boost ping speed and switch into HyperScroll, the width of

the FasTrack bar graph display doubles in width at the right side of the

screen. This allows you to better see the virtually instantaneous sonar

returns, just as you would on a flasher sonar unit.

[delcecchi]

That doesn't sound right to me. I upgraded another unit and it only took a short time.

[fisher_king2004]

I have the 522c and the first two years were fine. Now in the third year it started having the exact same problem in this string. It would stop and start working sporadically and it didn't matter if I was moving or stopped, deep or shallow. It did seem to matter if I was over rock or mud though.

I called Lowrance and talked to their service tech. He recommended both the software upgrade and the new transducer to fix the problem.

I just got my 522c software upgraded by going to Cabelas. They did it for me in about 10 minutes and then the sales person showed me how he changed the ping speed to 50%, which is what he recommended also. He also changed the fishing setting to shallow mode and said you should do both.

I also bought a new transducer and will be testing it out this weekend. Hopefully this fixes the problem.

If you are having trouble downloading and are anywhere close to a Cabelas have them do the upgrade for you. Great customer service!

[Scott K]

Let me know if the new ducer fixes it for you.

[Cicada]

Today I am going out and will try Ed Carlson's solution. I'll post results tonight.