Showdown 5.6 Dual beam Issue

[Patty]

Hey guys, hoping for a little help here!!!

I have had a 5.6 DB for about four years now with no issues whatsoever, in fact I really like the unit!!! A few weeks back I guess a wire or something broke in the transducer cable as it suddenly stopped reading bottom, but if you played with the cable it would kick in a bit... So no big deal, I ordered another transducer, and today was the first time I had it out since I got the new ducer... I fired it up and put the ducer down and instantly had a depth and a small but solid line indicating bottom, were off to a good start!!! Get the rod out and drop it down, no mark for the lure or the swivel, no big deal I just need to turn up the sensitivity... Cranked it to 25, the only thing that happened was the bottom got a bit darker... Oh maybe I'm in the 8 degree cone, nope in 20, tried 8 anyway and still no lure... I had friends fishing close with other marcum units, maybe interference, so I turned up the noise, no help... The only time I seen a flicker of lure was when I really got aggressive with my jigging I'd see a flash or flicker (#7 rippin raps) but not at all like it used to work... Before I would be lucky if I needed to be over 6 or 7 on sensitivity before the screen would start to get cluttered up... Thought maybe the battery was low, so I left the unit run for 10hrs in Ice mode today, no signs of low battery life yet... And here we are...

So hoping someone here has had the issue and knows the fix!!! Is it possible I got a bad ducer from Marcum??? It hasn't done this before to me, and I've used in from 5'-100' deep and never had an issue like this... Any help on this you guys can provide would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks in advance guys!!!

[3300]

being that old, it may still be a battery issue. can you borrow one to see if it helps? they are only 17$ on amazon.
pinch the battery ends some so they are tight on the battery. make sure the connections are tight every where.
change the fuse to a fresh one. try a different charger even if you have to borrow one. battery tender jr is very nice to use and inexpensive on amazon.

ice is really thick and so make sure if your not using the arm it isn't being aimed wrong. try it with the arm to confirm.

hopefully the broken wires didn't harm the head unit.

call marcum and pick their brains.

[Chris338378]

Let ask you a few questions to try to help you.

1) What's the depth of water you're fishing in?
2) Have you fished this lake and spot before?
3) Did you try another unit to see if you could mark your jig?

[Patty]

Depth was 10', I was reading 6' below the ice... I have fished this lake a few times before and never had an issue with the unit... I ended up using a buddies LX-3 and had no issues marking any hook I sent down... I always use the arm to hang the ducer, I seen a buddy get burned when his got froze in the ice and the chipping out didn't go so well!!!

 I will try another battery, and load test this one...

[3300]

almost forgot, welcome!

that battery is old if you use it often for ice fishing. about 5 years and you will see it fail, but maybe your seeing it now.

the charger maybe weak or poor quality too and the connections may have become loose. also, the wires for the battery may be weakened if you you remove it often. fuses can look okay, but can be hindering the amp flow so a new one will let you know. looking won't tell you unless its burned out. toss in a 5 amp to test with and replace it with one amp higher than stock size.
my lx-7 fuse is only for the charger side. so if it were to blow i would hook up direct with the battery tender jr. like i do my other sla's.

i got a cut in mine and it was doing what your new one is doing. it also allows much more interference into it. right now i have to use mine in ice mode, but mines a lx-7. in open water mode, it just barley sees the jigs. on gain all the way up and narrow beam.

rapid fix works very well on rubber hoses and casings, so its repaired now or at least the casing is. it still won't work in open water mode.

too bad you couldn't borrow the ducer and test your head unit. the battery is the cheapest to fix and is nice to have extras. i take two every day. one for shelter lights and the lx-7. but if i drain the lx-7 i can swap them out and still fish. never happened, but 12 hours is max i read on the lx-7.

was it super cold and did you turn on the heater for the display?
is there a difference in connections between the single and dual beam? maybe they sent you the wrong one.