Lowrance GPS card slot not waterproof

[NEW HORIZONS]

I have had a moisture entry thru the card slot on my Lowrance elite 5 combo ,the first time the head unit failed this time the gold card lost a strip and wont work .has any one had similar issues

[tunaticer]

I put a post up about this 3 years ago.

[scottar]

Common problem with pretty much every "waterproof" gps plotter ever built. No such animal in my book. If you wan't them to last, keep them dry.

[SUPERDAFF]

I have had a moisture entry thru the card slot on my Lowrance elite 5 combo ,the first time the head unit failed this time the gold card lost a strip and wont work .has any one had similar issues

It's a common problem with Lowrance - I've had three units in my boat in eight years - every fail due to water ingress in one of the card readers. Why 3? Well, you can go back and buy the latest model half price under their inspect and replace rule. Still stacks up as a very expensive way to get your plotting and sounding done Doesn't help that the early models had a tiny screw to secure the cover - and the screw and female thread would fail and drop into the unit. Then they went to vertical slot cards which have been much better. Three years out of the current unit so they might finally be getting there - its a HDS10. Mind up, I have put cellotape over the slots as an extra precaution. Bottom line - you're far from being on your own.

[Steven78]

Are they ipx 77 rated. If so it's a design issue as ipx 77 can handle direct jets of water I think even ip55 can too.


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[ranmar850]

Not IP77 rated.That is submersible. People look at these things and think they are "waterproof" and mount them on open consoles. None of the modern electronics will take more than the odd few drops their way (of saltwater) without failing a couple of years down the track, IMO. They at least need an open fronted box to protect from direct spray.