Airmar Tri-ducer issues

[Cubacheski]

Morning all... I have a '08 20V and for the past few weeks the speed, depth and water temp gauges have acted a little strange. Depth will go from actual depth to 1.5' back and forth and the speed maxes out around 15 mph. I did some research and saw that Tige' uses the Airmar Tri-ducer and I did locate it under the motor..... Not easy to get to !! Has anyone had these intermittent type of problems and if so is there a fix or is it a total replacement ? Oh... One more thing.. I did put the boat up on the lift and swam under.. The wheel does spin freely. Thanks for any assistance !

Bryan

[IDBoating]

On 2009 Tiges - and likely your 2008 - the triducer uses two separate mechanisms for transmitting its information. Water temp and depth are transmitted via the CAN network, while speed is transmitted as a pulse train on a separate wire (though the triducer does support transmitting speed over CAN as well). Since you say all three measurements are affected, my first guess is that you have an intermittent connection that causes the instrumentation to get, then lose, then get, then lose, the data from the triducer. The instrumentation's strange readings are probably its reaction to this behavior.

Follow the triducer's cable. After a probable tyrap'd length of excess cable you should find a waterproof connection into the boat's wiring harness. I'd disconnect that and examine the pins for corrosion. Clean as necessary, then reconnect and see if things improve. Report back!

[bnixon]

On 2009 Tiges - and likely your 2008 - the triducer uses two separate mechanisms for transmitting its information. Water temp and depth are transmitted via the CAN network, while speed is transmitted as a pulse train on a separate wire (though the triducer does support transmitting speed over CAN as well). Since you say all three measurements are affected, my first guess is that you have an intermittent connection that causes the instrumentation to get, then lose, then get, then lose, the data from the triducer. The instrumentation's strange readings are probably its reaction to this behavior.

Follow the triducer's cable. After a probable tyrap'd length of excess cable you should find a waterproof connection into the boat's wiring harness. I'd disconnect that and examine the pins for corrosion. Clean as necessary, then reconnect and see if things improve. Report back!

Sorry to jump in here but I am experiencing a depth finder issue on my 2009 RZ2 as well. Only reads 949.8 ft all the time. All the other gauges work fine. I am wondering if the depth sounder portion of the tri-ducer is dead. Can you get a transducer for another brand depth finder and tie it into the Tige wiring or do you have to replace the whole tri-ducer? Wondering if there is anything else I can test or try before taking on that expense?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[IDBoating]

Sorry to jump in here but I am experiencing a depth finder issue on my 2009 RZ2 as well. Only reads 949.8 ft all the time.

That is the CAN network value sent by the depth sounder when it is not in the water. If your lake temperature sensor IS working, then the sensor electronics are communicating and it likely is just the depth sounder portion that is having problems. Unfortunately, the separate sensors can't be individually replaced.

[bnixon]

So I guess I will have to replace the triducer then. Wonder how much that will be?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Cubacheski]

On 2009 Tiges - and likely your 2008 - the triducer uses two separate mechanisms for transmitting its information. Water temp and depth are transmitted via the CAN network, while speed is transmitted as a pulse train on a separate wire (though the triducer does support transmitting speed over CAN as well). Since you say all three measurements are affected, my first guess is that you have an intermittent connection that causes the instrumentation to get, then lose, then get, then lose, the data from the triducer. The instrumentation's strange readings are probably its reaction to this behavior.

Follow the triducer's cable. After a probable tyrap'd length of excess cable you should find a waterproof connection into the boat's wiring harness. I'd disconnect that and examine the pins for corrosion. Clean as necessary, then reconnect and see if things improve. Report back!

Had another day on the water and it seems the water temp and air temp are right on. The depth works 98% of the time now but the speed is not correct. It maxes out around 16-18 mph which is wrong. Any thoughts on what I need to look for in troubleshooting the speed issue because it does register, it's just incorrect by a lot.

[Cubacheski]

Any thoughts ?

[IDBoating]

Air temp is not part of the triducer, so that doesn't factor into the troubleshooting.

Sounds like the mixture of which of the three sensors is working is changing with time. Again, that suggests a connection issue. For example, if the triducer's power were intermittent you could get strange results as it continually resets with power cycling. Check the wiring harness as recommended above, and/or call AirMar and give them the symptoms to see what they say.

[Cubacheski]

Thanks WABoating. I appreciate your help.

[IDBoating]

Please report back with your results, so that others can benefit if they experience the same symptoms.

[Cubacheski]

I have calls into Tige', Airmar and the shop at the marina where my boat is located. The mechanic at the shop said that it sounds like a bad paddle wheel or like was stated by someone earlier that the wiring may be in need of cleaning or relacement. He did mention that usually the speed either works or doesnt so the speed being half of what the actual is seems a little strange. He is going to look it over in the next couple of days. I'll keep everyone posted.

[Cubacheski]

Airmar said it is 100% the wheel. Most of them has 2 magnets in the wheel and one has come loose so when the wheel spins around in a circle the boat is only picking up one of the magnets going past the sensor - hence the reason the speed is half of what it really is. New wheel on order and according to Airmar it is a relatively simple fix. Hope this helps anyone else that has this problem in the future.

[IDBoating]

Not sure how the paddlewheel magnet would affect your depth sensor, which is what you said was having problems in your original message. Did you tell AirMar that the depth was problematic too?

[Cubacheski]

That isn't the depth fix but will fix the speed problem. I am going to tackle depth once I get the speed taken care of.

[IDBoating]

Yes, but did you talk to them about the depth problem? You can't fix that with a quickie parts swap. You may end up going through your paddlewheel fix only to replace the entire triducer anyway. I'd cover the depth question with them too, before spending time on the paddlewheel.