Wiring locator to starting battery

[MrBig]

It's probably been asked before, but my father-in-law and I are having a debate.

Would you wire your locator to the starting battery to avoid interference from the trolling motor? He claims that it won't drain the battery too much and that driving a mile or two to your spots will charge it back up. What do you all say?

[Surface Tension]

There isnt enough drain to worry about.
Besides dont you know whats good for ya.
Father in law know's best but mother in law know better.

[musky hunter]

It will work but there is a trade off. That drain from the electronics can be an issue, especially if you stop and fish a spot for an hour or two. And the motor starter isn't the only thing that takes current off the starting battery. Running lights, live well and aerator (these have a fairly high current drain), bilge pump, night lights, etc. all take current. Do a little night fishing for a couple of hours and then try to start you're motor. Hopefully you won't have drained it down too much and you don't have a fussy motor to start. That's why I'm installing a second deep cycle battery just for the electronics and trolling motor emergency back up.

[MrBig]

Thanks guys. I finally got the boat out last night to try out everything. Seems I have a "noise" problem with the locator. The Lowrance rep told me this morning that I should wire the x15 directly to the starting battery and that might take care of it. Otherwise I have to try some other tricks like resistor plugs. I won't be able to get out for a few more days, so I hope that does it. Otherwise I'll be scrambling before opener. If anyone else has great advice, let me know.

[Guest]

Wiring it to its own battery will solve the problem if you can do that. You will get interference if you have it wired to the same battery as the trolling motor.

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[This message has been edited by D-man (edited 05-01-2002).]

[MrBig]

Thanks. The key thing I forgot to mention was that the problem was occuring when running my big motor over 10 mph. I wasn't running the trolling motor at that time. He claimed that I didn't have a good ground since the trolling motor wasn't in the water. But I'll try to bring a portable battery next time out and hook to that to see if that takes care of it.

[Guest]

Is also sounds like a possible transducer placement problem. Try to take a look at the transducer when you get the speed up and see if there are any obstructions from the boat. You could be seeing bubbles on the screen?

------------------
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651-271-5459 http://fishingminnesota.com/millelacsguide/
click here

[Guest]

I had the same problem and before I messed around witht the battery I adjusted the transducer like D-Man said and that fixed the problem. My guess is the transducer isn't getting an even flow of water over it when you are going over 10 MPH. Remember, in most boats transducers need to have the back angled down.ScottS