Marcum LX7 Not Reading

[Icefisher40]

Yesterday while out fishing, my Marcum LX7 randomly stopped reading everything. It would show bottom, the water column, or my jig regardless of whatever setting it was on.

I unplugged the battery and let is sit for a while, checked all cables and wires, and made sure that the transducer was still making an audible sound while turned on.  Nothing helped.

I bought this unit back during the 2012-13 ice season, and really haven't had any issues with it.  I know the battery is reaching the end of its lifespan, as it'll randomly show that it's fully charged after a long day of ice fishing and only being plugged in for 45 minutes or so.

Early off I was having troubles with the wires coming off of the battery terminals and "hard" shutting off my unit.

Could the battery be the cause that my flasher isn't picking up a reading from my transducer even though the voltage meter on the flasher itself is showing that the battery isn't COMPLETELY dead?

The transducer does make sounds when it's turned on; but it's not a constant clicking sound. It's a pattern of a few steady clicks followed by a much faster succession of clicks.

I was wondering if anyone has had similar issues with their unit, and if so what was the cause? Or if anyone had any ideas or educated guessss as to what could possibly be wrong. With the unit being out of warranty, I'd hate to have to spend the $150 bucks for shipping and service if it's something as simple as just having to buy another $30 battery.

[3300]

 listen to the clicks while it's on the charger.
it shouldn't change tempo as you describe.

also, the battery should be around 20$
you can get a free dvm from harbor freight for testing your battery.

maybe use pliers and smash the terminals onto the battery some so you know they are tight.

[buz23]

Check to make sure that the face of the transducer is clean, especially no grease.  Check for something obvious like you don't have the gain turned up high enough. 

I've had mine make some rapid clicks when it has trouble locking in on the depth.  Much less of a problem since I started using "Manual dynamic" range.

[Icefisher40]

Check to make sure that the face of the transducer is clean, especially no grease.  Check for something obvious like you don't have the gain turned up high enough. 

I've had mine make some rapid clicks when it has trouble locking in on the depth.  Much less of a problem since I started using "Manual dynamic" range.

Transducer appears to be clean. I usually just select the depth range manually, and no readings on any of the settings so far.

[Alex Delarge]

A marcum that old has been through its' life cycle, lucky you got that many years out of it.

[IceholeFisherman]

A marcum that old has been through its' life cycle, lucky you got that many years out of it.

Here we go. Starting already. That is very helpful. Thank you.

[Icefisher40]

A marcum that old has been through its' life cycle, lucky you got that many years out of it.

Dude, leave it at the door.

There's no reason to start an inferiority complex conflict.  I'm just looking for genuine ideas as to what the issue could be.

[hardwater diehard]

Some good videos to view on this thread...also batteries at a major cause of a lot of woes ...

https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=350239.msg3733873#msg3733873

[IceholeFisherman]

Yep. I would try hooking to another battery. Eliminate the easy one first. Try a car battery.

[Lukaszu]

 sounds like the unit is shot. Marcums shutdown on low voltage not partial shut down. If you wanna check the battery then get your self a 5$ voltmeter. Charge it up then check voltage run it for some time and recheck battery under load.... But to me sounds like LX7 needs repair.

[hardwater diehard]

Doesn't the LX7 have a voltmeter on the display screen...not sure how accurate that is .

BATTERY METER—This gauge indicates the voltage currently being produced by your battery. The LX-7 needs between 11 and 13 volts to prop- erly operate. If the voltage drops below 11 volts, you may see a decrease in performance. Recharging your battery after each use will maximize the life of your battery, and will ensure that your LX-7 will run strong all day

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/633332/Marcum-Technologies-Lx7.html?page=7#manual

search?query=digital

[Icefisher40]

Some good videos to view...also batteries at a major cause of a lot of woes ...

https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=350239.msg3733873#msg3733873

I guess I hadn't ever realized that the battery could be the issue if it turned on.  Admittedly, I don't know a lot about batteries and their overall purpose in the system.

I've always assumed that if they turn on, it's good to go!

[hardwater diehard]

I guess I hadn't ever realized that the battery could be the issue if it turned on.  Admittedly, I don't know a lot about batteries and their overall purpose in the system.

I've always assumed that if they turn on, it's good to go!

Like a car battery ...run them down and all sorts of things happen to electronics ...you lose some of your presets on your radio etc.

[Icefisher40]

Like a car battery ...run them down and all sorts of things happen to electronics ...you lose some of your presets on your radio etc.

This has been my favorite flasher I've ever owned.  I still use the Fl-22 as a backup, but the chart mode on the LX7 Has been invaluable for trout fishing.

I'll pick up a new battery and hope it remedies the issue.  At least I'll have a spare if not.

[Chris338378]

Last year my Showdown would get a little goofy, the depth would bounce around and it'd just shut off on it's own then when I'd turn it on it'd run for a while fine or shut off in a little while.  I ended up getting a new battery and that solved all my problems.  I'm no expert by any means and can't say that the battery is or isn't your problem but I'd get a new battery and see how or if that solves the problem.  Oh and I bought my Showdown back in January of 2013 and it still works as well as it did the first time I used it so that life cycle crap is just that crap.  The trick to having stuff last is don't be a meathead and beat the snot out of stuff and it'll last.

[3300]

some thing more to know. these digital units pull a lot more energy from the same sized batteries that flashers use. flashers will get longer run times.
this means shorter battery life (in years) than flasher batteries will get.
your unit is a 730$ sonar, so 20$ to 30$ is nothing.
you can get a battery from amazon cheap if a few dollars is a make or break situation.

also , there is no end of the units life (alex). marcum will continue to give it tune-ups. those are also inexpensive at 125$ and includes a new transducer. their transducer costs 130$.

if you want to know more about what is going on, i gave you a suggestion that will let you know if it's the battery w/o buying a meter. the meter would also confirm if the battery is done. either way it sounds like the battery. if you want a free meter just get the flyers from harbor freight and they give free tools out every month. at times, it is the meter.

another suggestion would be to do the floor test with out the charger on and do it again with the charger on after the first test. diehard gave you the link for the marcum digital series floor test.

here is where another person had issues, but was not battery related, but we got it figured out. so after reading this it may give you some options as to what else you can do for it.
https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=350239.msg3733333#msg3733333

[Chris338378]

You can trust the info 3300 is giving you, he knows his stuff and was a huge help to me when I was having issues with my flasher.

[JohnJ1981]

So just joined this site today. I bought an lx7 through rapala’s website and received it Thursday. Took it out on Saturday and everything seemed fine until I switched from a 20 degree cone angle to 8 degree. It wouldn’t read anything. Tried switching back and forth several times, unhooked power and no joy. Still would only work on 20 degree. The ducer makes clicking noise when on 20 degree angle but nothing on 8 degree, interestingly enough I do hear a VERY faint clicking noise from the head unit when on the 8 degree angle setting. So I’m thinking it’s most likely the transducer that is faulty. Came home and researched a bit. Found on marcums site it says that on rare occasions that one cone angle may malfunction. And they exhort you to send it in both head unit and transducer. Needless the say but I’m very disappointed. I understand that some brand new products may be broken from the get go. But, it’s unfair to have spent a lot of money on a product, then have to spend more money to ship it back and be with out said product for quite some time. Given the lx7 was bought new and only 2 days out of the box it’s a shame. However I’ve contacted rapala customer service via email today and asked what they can do for me. My suggestion was to either mail me a shipping label to send it back or send me a new one and I’ll send the broken one back. So, we shall see what happens. I’m hoping they do the right thing and from reading different comments on the net regarding customer service they seem to be pretty good. Other than this issue I was able to see my jig and catch fish. I’ll post an update as soon as I have heard back from rapala.

[VTMatt]

CS has been good to me, but my LX7 has died 3 times on me. Head unit and ducer problems....they need to me much more rugged, thats for sure.

[fullThrottle]

Lol I like how they forgot to edit that vex video

[JohnJ1981]

So I had a very nice group of email exchanges this morning with marcum. As of now they are sending me another transducer and if it resolves the issue then YAY! If not then I will send everything back to them and they will fix it. (they said they will cover the shipping both directions) <—-very fair and AWESOME customer service. Also very VERY fast responses from email. I feel confident this company is top notch. Might have some buggy products but they seem to go out of their way to get it resolved. Will update again when I try the ducer they’re sending me. 

[JohnJ1981]

Got the new ducer yesterday. Took the lx7 out today and it works flawlessly now. Caught 4 Brown Trout jigging  fairly easily thanks to the lx7. Big thank you to Marcum tech support. Very quick and easy resolution.

[3300]

thanks for joining us and for the updates. glad your all set. they are amazing machines.

[Game Hog]

I’ll chime in ice Fisher. Battery is your issue. Mine did the exact same thing early ice season this year. New battery and it was back in business.
My unit was also bought in the 2012 season. Unusual early thaw shortened my season so I decided to send it in for the first time ever. Only thing wrong with it was a cracked lens on my camera (lx9). A week to the day I got it back. New camera, new transducer, new snow shield, newest firmware, and a couple of small fixes all for the flat rate. Quite astonishing if you ask me. Thanks again Marcum. Customer for life.

[JohnJ1981]

thanks for joining us and for the updates. glad your all set. they are amazing machines.

Thanks for having me. I’m glad to be here. I’ve learned some valuable things here.
     Yes they are amazing machines. I was floored when I dialed it all in and was able to see my 3/16 ounce Hali jig AND here’s the kicker, I was able to see whether or not my red spike was on the hook or not. WOW. incredible sonar. As long as this machine holds up I’ll be a happy camper. And yes I think it will I am very meticulous about taking good care of all things mechanical and electronic

[3300]

I’ll chime in ice Fisher. Battery is your issue. Mine did the exact same thing early ice season this year. New battery and it was back in business.
My unit was also bought in the 2012 season. Unusual early thaw shortened my season so I decided to send it in for the first time ever. Only thing wrong with it was a cracked lens on my camera (lx9). A week to the day I got it back. New camera, new transducer, new snow shield, newest firmware, and a couple of small fixes all for the flat rate. Quite astonishing if you ask me. Thanks again Marcum. Customer for life.

that's over 420$ in costs for the parts you got for the tune-up price of 125$. that's a great deal.
the camera alone is 250$.

i've been recommending anyone who needs a transducer to send in their unit and get it cheaper than buying it out right. the retail cost of it went up to 160$ last off season. they can check out any thing else that may be gong on while it's in for the tune-up.