Brand new FL 18 Vexilar Trouble

[steelchaser]

Hey All..  I just purchased a brand new Ultra Pack FL18 and was extremley disappointed when I went fishing on Saturday to find out that it would not read my jig further than 5 feet on the screen. My girlfriends father was fishing beside me with the new LX3 (Marcum). His machine was working great. I opted to buy the one with the dual transducer and tried both the 9 and 19 degree modes. When set to the 9 degree mode, the screen did not register at all. When set to the 19, it did see the bottom but like I said, no jig past 5 feet.. Has anyone experienced this problem out of the box? I was thinking that maybe they gave me the wrong transducer with the 9/19 switch? Just didn't<a onMouseOver="window.status='' ; return true;"  onMouseOut="window.status='';" oncontextmenu="window.status=''; return true;" onclick="location.href='http://www.enhancemysearch.com/admin/results.php?q=work&id=4';return false;" href="" TITLE="More Info..."> work </a>at all for me. I returned it and now I am getting the LX3. I feel that Vexilar should've tested this machine before it went out to the customer (me). I had to sit through torcher all day as my girls father and cousin were catching big perch and smallmouth one after the other all day long while I sat there trying to figure out what was wrong with my brand new machine.. What a bummer!! 

[LoveIce]

SOOOOO what was wrong with it?

[LoneWolf]

Was the battery charged ? Out of the box it usually only has about 1/4 charge.
Did you try adjusting the gain ? If you don't adjust the gain your jig won't show up.
Did you have the depth mode set so you could see bottom? If you're in 24' of water and you have the mode set on 1 you won't see bottom.
There are alot of variables that could cause these problems. 

[bucketmouth]

Wow, testing a product out for 1 day and even worse on 1 body of water!  I'd a stuck it out than switching to another product.  So many factors.  What comes to mind first is was there any current where you were fishing?  Even the slightest current can send your lure (teardrops and microjigs especially) out of the eye of the transducer cone so you might see it as you drop it but the current carries it just outside of where it can be picked up by your Vex.  Battery power is also possible although I've seen unit led's dim and spin outta control but never fail to read a lure (it's entirely possible, just has never happened to me).  Also, did you have your gain adjusted properly?

Sounds to me like you traded your Rolls Royce for a Cadillac.... both good units but a Vex is definitely the cat's ass.  Especially the 18.  At least you didn't give up on flashers altogether.

my 2 cents.
iceshack05 

[Bean]

I've had this happen if I pull my transducer out of the water and place it in the snow. Then put my transducer back in the water and the snow has turned to a layer of ice on the bottom of the transducer.
With anything electronic, you can turn it on 100 times and it works perfectly 100 times, but the next time it may not. I know vexilar tests every unit they ship out.

This is from the Vexilar site on how to test your transducer:
How can I test to see if my transducer is bad?
Try this test: Hold the transducer about 24" above a hard floor. There must be a flat solid floor below, no carpet. Place a hard cover book on the carpet if you need to. If it's an Ice-Ducer style, hold it by the cable. If it's a Puck or High-Speed, butt the top side up against the underside of a table. This is to insure that the transducer will point straight at the floor. Now, turn the flasher on to the first range. With the Gain set to zero, you should see a mark at the 12:00 position indicating the top, or your transducer, and another mark at the 9 foot line indicating the bottom, or floor.

Notice how the depth is completely inaccurate. The reason is that the speed of the burst of sound coming out of your transducer is traveling much slower in the air than it would be in the water. So the unit thinks it's deeper. Also the strength of your system is much weaker in air than water. The top line should be mostly red in color. The bottom line may be green, orange, or red (depending on the strength of your system, how straight your transducer is, and the type of floor). If you cannot see the floor mark without having to turn your gain up, try a harder or smoother type of floor. If there is no change, the system has a sensitivity problem. You must see at least a green mark, on a hard floor, with the gain at minimum to pass the test.

You can judge the overall sensitivity of the system by doing this "air demo" test, but you can't tell if a weakness is due to the unit or transducer (which is much more common) without replacing one or the other with a known good component. Borrow a friend's transducer or bring your setup into your local Vexilar dealer and ask if you can use one they have in stock for your test.

If your system passes the test, but you are still experiencing trouble seeing your bait out on the ice, clean the transducer face with hot water and a common dish washing detergent. Also, be sure you wet the transducer by rubbing water into the face of it before you start to fish. This insures good acoustical contact with the water.

If your transducer doesn't pass the test, it will have to be replaced. Weak transducers cannot be repaired. The dealer should be happy to help you out. If the flasher itself proves to be the culprit, our service department should be able to solve your problem.

[C.C.]

I also had a thing happen to me this weekend but figured it out. Where I was at there must have been a little current so I had to drill a hole down current from where I was jigging to pick up my jig without having the gain set to high.
      Jim

P.S. I love my new fl-8 right out of the box

[Icenutter]

I had the same problem as Jim this past weekend.  I was set-up in the strong current and my line was up against the hole.  I couldn't see my jig on the screen once it hit bottom and drilled a hole a little further away.  Make sure your gain is turned up.  In 28 feet of water I usually have mine set to 3 or 4 and make sure you are on the correct setting based on your depth. 

[iceman480]

I'm almost possitive what was wrong is that you didn't charge the battery when you got it they dont come charged. So in my book that is operator error.

[Fishmon]

I'll vote for the battery, and perhaps you had it set for 20 feet and water was deeper.  As far as missing the jig, maybe you were not reading it correctly on screen or had gain turned way down. Once in a while, the transducer will ice up causing some weird thing to happen.  The earlier post on the indoor test would be the best way to test unit after it was charged properly.

Hope things work out for you with new unit.

[steelchaser]

Thanks guys.. Unfortunately I won't have the unit to test anymore.. but looking forward to getting the LX3. I know that Vex is supposed to be the cats ass and I also know that I tried everything you all are talking about.. I've been using flashers all year and uderstand them.. The only thing I did not do was charge the battery out of the box.. The indicator read 100% charged and after a full day of playing with it on the ice the battery only indicated that it lost miminal charge.. I thought it was fully charged out of the box but may be wrong.. The thing I couldn't understand is that with the dual transducer I have the option of choosing between 9 deg and 19 deg.. Nothing registered on the screen while in the 9 deg mode and everything but my jig registered on the screen in 19 deg.. which led me to think that I possibly have the wrong transducer on it.. It defiantely read the bottom in 19 deg mode.. But like I said .. I saw my jig for the first five feet and then the LED woudl just disappear..  I was fishing 28 to 35 ft water and had my gain varied multiple times between the entire range.... Oh well .. I kind of like the colors better on the LX3 and the nice soft case that comes with it.. It seems to that it works exactly the same.. so either I will be happy with one that works...

[Gator-Bait]

It was love at first sight with my fl 18 and a crowd started to form around the bright glow of green, yellows, and red's till I moved and had her all to myself 8)  She is a sweet machine and bright too not like a blonde.
      Good fishing   GaToRrrr

[Trophy Hunter]

The vex fl-18 has built in interference regection I think 8 different settings just press in the gain button till it goes away. My vex saved my butt yesterday!!

[John_Boy]

Sounds to me like you need to turn up your gain .
                                                John

[Fat Boy]

I also had a thing happen to me this weekend but figured it out. Where I was at there must have been a little current so I had to drill a hole down current from where I was jigging to pick up my jig without having the gain set to high.

Same thing happened to me.  I put on a dropper spoon above my jig and all was well.

Now, I did have another issue.  I was in the middle of a good crappie bite at night, -4 degree temps outside the shanty.  My Vex was doing fine when all of a sudden the screen went haywire,    yellow all around with rotating red and green thick bars, making me dizzy and ticked off   I was ready to dump the unit down the hole but the price tag kept me from doing it.  I kept saying that I wish I would have had my Zercom, that it never failed me, ever, and still has the original battery.  I would turn it off, reset everything, and it would work for about 15 seconds then whammo, same thing.  So, I lost fishing time during the best time of fishing fiddling with it and when I was finally done with foolin with it, the bite waned and I only got one more fish.  My battery was fully charged.  Flaggggg thought that because I have the Pro Pack, that ice built up on the bottom of the pro pack and weakened the charge on the battery since there is no insulation between the battery and the plastic base.  It makes sense because my Zerc was in the Genz blue box and it was insulated.  So, this week I'm insulating that battery and we'll see what happens. 

The next night was almost as cold, and I kept the unit right next to my Mr. Heater Buddy and kept the base ice free and had no problems at all.

That said, I love my unit again as long as it doesn't do that again, and hope that insulating it solves the problem.

[fishhead4268]

Trophy hunter is rite, it has 10 settings so you can get rid of the screwey crap, Mine did that when I used it next to my buddys but all I had to do was push the gain button till it fixe3d itself, I wouldnt trade it for nothin, Makes life nice when your out crappie huntin!!!! Love my vex as much as my girl,LOL

[fozsey]

Geeez steelchaser,

You gonna dump your GF if she has a bad day too? It sounds to me that it was easier for you to switch to something else than try to figure out what the problem with your hardware was. It is entirely feasable that there wasn't anything wrong with the unit at all and you just talked yourself out of it or had some help from someone close by. I have had minor problems with my unit off and again, but I can assure you that when trouble strikes I will investigate fully and that includes talking to the people "in the know" before I send it to the retirement home. Little things do make a difference. A slight current will change readings dramatically. Ice on the bottom? I don't know personally, but if Kevin had issues with this I will make myself a mental note. Low battery??? You say it was charged. I have no reason to not believe you. Personally, I don't feel the battery was an issue, but it makes no difference now bc you will never know. Sorry if it seems like I'm flaming you. That isn't my intention. We do however have a difference of opinion as to how we each would handle this situation. I hope you like your new unit and it does everything you want it to with no problems. Good Luck.

[hard_water]

Take my money,take my truck, take my wife but you best leave your hands off my vexilar fl-18         nuff said   water

[bucketmouth]

My Vex was doing fine when all of a sudden the screen went haywire,    yellow all around with rotating red and green thick bars, making me dizzy and ticked off  

FB, I had the exact same thing happen 2 weeks ago and damn near went mental trying to figure it out.  But I didn't even consider bringing it back to the store 'cause Vex is where its at.  I asked all kinds of people I knew had them.  Nobody had heard of this happening before.  I suspect the battery dumped somehow 'cause after a full nights charge we were back to the races and I've used it 10 times since at its back to normal.  If you ever find out for sure what it is please post it.

iceshack05

[Gator-Bait]

My Vex was doing fine when all of a sudden the screen went haywire,    yellow all around with rotating red and green thick bars, making me dizzy and ticked off  

Lines rotating in circles is interferance they are senitive good units and battery drain is second you just got to get use to it and get full charge but it you don't get switch to work from 9 to 19 degree thats a different story There make it good or did you buy it used???

[backatit]

Bought a FL-8SE and was fishing with it thinking I had a full charge.  Next thing you know it's flashing yellow all around like Fat Boy.  I called Vexilar and they said it was a low battery.  When I told them that I charge it every night when I get home they said it may be a bad battery and were going to send me a new one.  Well, when I squeezed the battery charger the light would go off and stay off for different amounts of time so I called Vexilar back and they said it sounded like a battery charger and sent me that instead of a new battery. Put it on and PRESTO full charge the next day with no problems since.  IMO call Vexilar customer service.  They are great and always willing to solve the problem.