Chartplotter flashes the backlight then....nuth'n

[CampionGuy]

Howdy folks.

Nice to see the weather turning, gettin excited!

I recently bought a Bayliner Avanti 3258 which came with a GeoNav 11c colour chartplotter.
As far as I know it's distributed by Navionics out of Italy.

I haven't used it much more than five minutes but it was working when I purchased the vessel.
Yesterday, I was checking the electronics and upon powering up the unit nothing happened.
Well....almost nothing.
In actual fact, the backlight flashed momentarily and then...well...still nothin'.
The backlight does flash every time the power button is pressed.

I have not ventured inside the unit yet nor have I tried the slam it against the deck trick.
I'm wondering if it is just a compact florescent backlight issue (like a laptop) but I am not sure if these units have CFLs due to vibration and rough use.
So, maybe an iboats member or two may have had a similar LCD or electronics issue which was solved with relative ease.
(hopefully, maybe??? )

Thanx in advance for any help.

CG

 

[Boatist]

Re: Chartplotter flashes the backlight then....nuth'n

The first thing I would do is verify your getting 12 volts to the unit. Make sure the battery is charged and all the connection are clean an tight. Most units will just power off if below about 11 volts.

I dout it is a back light issue like a laptop but even if it was you should be able to see the image by shinning light on the screen. A very dim image but still an image. Check the voltage at the power pins and also make sure they are clean not covered with some Green coating.

Try connecting a battery charger to battery terminals. also check the rest of the electronics to see if it might be a common issue like a corroded battery cable.

Good Luck and let us know what you find.

 

[CampionGuy]

Re: Chartplotter flashes the backlight then....nuth'n

Thanx Boatist. I'll start there.

 

[Georooney]

Re: Chartplotter flashes the backlight then....nuth'n

Not to hijack your thread, but I have a similar problem with an Eagle FishElite 642C iGPS chartplotter. Worked fine last year.....when I went to use it this year, the display is very dim and flashes repeatedly. I checked the power cable (removed and cleaned the power and ground connections), and tried a reset of the unit. All that did was to lose the stored waypoints, trails, etc. (note to self: back up data next time, Dummmy!)

Looks like I'm in the market for another chartplotter this fishing season.