humminbird ice 55 problem

[klee]

I bought this unit at the end of last year and finally got to use it for the second time this year. I was fishing in 20 ft of water snd noticed that the digital depth reader would bounce from 18 ft to 16 ft to 20ft. It didnt stay still on the depth. Does anyone have a problem with this too? I like my humminbird. I had the ice 35 first and upgraded last year. What could be wrong? I think its still under warranty. If this is an issue I will just have to switch to a different brand. It stinks that I didn't notice this when I bought it. I bought it at the "C" store from the bargain cave. This could explain why it was returned. Any help or ideas?

[otterman91105]

I had a 45 and had the same problems. I could be sitting in the ice house and the depth reader would jump up ten ft and then right back down to the depth i was in. Talked to humminbird they didn't know. Wasn't able to get much help out of them.

[Vitreus]

If you have a long amount of cable going down to your transducer it can swing a bit, making the depth appear to change. Fishing in current and weeds or debris can also cause a false depth reading. Have you ruled these things out?

[harvey lee]

The only issue I have had with my 55 and I had it once in 3 years.

I think my issue was I was fishing water that had alot of current, only thing I could figure out as it has never happened again.

I guess to figure out why it happened, it would have to happen to me some more.

[klee]

I did have the cable longer than usual because the ice was thicker. I'm guessing 12 inches lower. I'll try to set it up just under the ice and see if it'll switch the depth. I'm going out again tonight so I will test this theory. We also had another ice 55 that would power on and off by itself while in use. What cause that to happen? All wires were secured.

[harvey lee]

Maybe try a different battery that is fully charged and you know it is in good shape.

I would also unhook the wires and then reconnest just to make sure they are making good contact.

[dairyman]

try setting your depth some where close to what the actual water depth is..........say your water depth is 25 feet set it around 30 feet or so and see if that helps. I had a similar problem on my bird and contacted the Co and they said it may be a transducer problem. But after changing my depth settings I haven't really experienced any further problems

[CJH]

Try switching to the scaled depth vs the autodepth. The autodepth is really designed just for a quick snapshot for scouting. When you sit in one spot, the depth will be more stable if you switch to the standard depth scale.

Also, as mentioned above, make sure the transducer is not moving/swinging and is level (current can significantly affect this). I always put mine at the bottom of the ice and no deeper. Good Luck!

[DTro]

I've seen the depth reading get "confused" a few times when there are a bunch of fish in the cone and it bounces around trying to figure out where the bottom is. But the actual colored display never changes.

I guess I would ask if this affects how it fishes (if it is just the digital readout).

Now if the bottom red is moving around up and down, that would concern me for sure.

[Nilsfisher]

I have/had the same problem with my Ice 45.

http://www.hotspotoutdoors.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2763662/1

watch the video and see if you are having the same problem.

I contacted Humminbird CS and they send me a new transducer. I haven't had a chance to test it out yet, but I'm hoping it will solve my problem.

[DTro]

I think your problem is different Nilsfisher. I think klee is speaking only to the digital readout. I could be wrong though.

[klee]

I was using the wider beam. It does that number switching thing every now and than. But i dont have that green everywhere problem. The bottem doesn't move up or down so we can cut that out. I just turned on the unit know on wide beam and there is a blue,yellow,red lines on top at the 0-4 like theres a fish. When i switch to the narrow beam that thing on top disappears. I'll try to post pictures later of this problem.

[throwback]

I have had the same problem. Check if you are leaving it on the automatic depth setting. If you are and you are in 20 feet of water it will hunt from 18 to 22 feet and keep doing it to try and find the proper depth setting. On mine I only use the auto to find the depth first and then set it for that depth ( x1,x2 etc.). If fishing in 20 feet I would set it for the 40 foot scale, 40 feet on the 60 feet scale etc.

[Down2Earth]

Mine and my friends does the same thing. We bought them right after Christams this year.

[klee]

Now the bird doesn't power on. Charged the battery fully last night and went to turn it on but nothing. Checked all the cords and connections, tried the battery on the marcum with no problem. I didn't drop it at all. I've only had it for a year. Looks like the head unit is broken. Or what else could be wrong? The last time I took it out was last weekend to the jaycee brainerds contest and it worked fine. Anybody know what's wrong? I'll have to contact humminbird monday.

[CJH]

I have had the same problem. Check if you are leaving it on the automatic depth setting. If you are and you are in 20 feet of water it will hunt from 18 to 22 feet and keep doing it to try and find the proper depth setting. On mine I only use the auto to find the depth first and then set it for that depth ( x1,x2 etc.). If fishing in 20 feet I would set it for the 40 foot scale, 40 feet on the 60 feet scale etc.

This ^

[klee]

I even put the other transducer on it but still it didn't turn on. I called humminbird today and i was on hold for 20 mins.

[fishwater]

klee, maybe check for an electrical short in the power cable. Pull the power cable off the unit and do a resistance test between the pins and the spade connections. If either the positive or negative lead doesn't show any resistance, you've found your problem.

[EMAGDNIM]

My 45 does the same sometimes. I think its a glitch on the digital reader. the depth on the radar stays the same. so i just go by that in the shack. Hole hopping ill look at the digital reader.

[klee]

I guess since it was a holiday yesterday they were closed. I finally got a hold of them. It is under a 2 yr warranty and it hasn't been a year since I bought it. I will be shipping it in to have them look at it. I took it into a local shop and the guy tried everything he knew and still couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. I will report back what is wrong with it when I get the unit back.