Vexilar fl-8 slt issue

[GottaGo]

I've been using my same vexilar for the last 10-12 yrs without any issues. Recently it seems to have stopped working correctly. At first it wouldn't read anything so i got a new battery. With the new battery it does seem to be able to tell when the transducer is in the water but it won't read depth unless I turn the gain almost all the way up and even when I do that I don't trust it is showing me the right depth because everywhere I go it says 15 ft even if I'm pretty certain it's wrong and even with the gain up it won't see even the largest jig in my tackle box. Is my flasher just at the end of its life? Or can I just replace the transducer or some other component?

[BartmanMN]

Sounds like a bad ducer. Borrow a friends or someone's on the lake to confirm before ordering a new one.

[Rick G]

+1 on the bad transducer.

[Jim Uran]

Would be nice to.be able to try a new transducer on there, any one of your buddies have one you can plug into yours and try out?

[Brad B]

like the others have said it sounds like a bad transducer. I just had my Transducer go bad on my Marcum LX7 and it did the exact thing you said your Vexilar is doing. it would show 0ft and then it would jump to 15ft and then final to the correct depth but then is would just randomly jump around. you could always take it down to Vexilar and they will go through it and refurbish it for you.

[GottaGo]

I did get a chance to try a different transducer and found that is the problem, now I need to decide if I should spend $90 for a new transducer or just get an upgraded flasher. Any input? I only get out every few weeks right now so it probably won't get a whole lot of use for a few yrs until my kids are old enough to go out.

[BryeGuy]

I too had an FL-8 SLT that went nuts. The motor fried out. I had to decide whether to get it fixed or just upgrade. I got it fixed for the $85 then I put it on the bAy. Youd be amazed what stuff goes for. I took that money and upgraded. Just an idea.

[ski_otter]

I had the same flasher a few years ago, when my ducer went bad I upgraded to a used fl-18 and sold the fl8 for $100 with no ducer if I remember right the difference was about $200.

I really like the zoom feature, that was the biggest reason for me to upgrade

[bae501]

Make sure the bottom of the transducer is clean. Junk on the bottom of it can cause issues also.