Lowrance HDS 5

[dinky]

Hi Guys,

Bought a secondhand boat recently with the Lowrance HDS 5 in it. Im guessing the unit may be up to 5 years old.
It was working fine before I got it, the guy showed how it works etc. Now that I own it, it doesn't work,the screen seems to jump all over the place.You can't make anything out on the screen, then it turns itself off.
I have noticed there is no card in it. Don't know if it was in when the guy showed me how it worked or not.
I don't know much about them at all.
So does it need a card to run?

Any advise is greatly appreciated.
Cheers

[ranmar850]

It will need a map card to get the detail you get from those, but the basic unit should work without it. There are basic maps pre-loaded. The actual map source will need to be selected from the menu, perhaps try the menu to see what the map source is? You will probably need to select "Lowrance", at a guess?

[mace01]

If it's an HDS 5x then it's sounder only as well, even though there is a card slot. Mat.

[Moonlighter]

If it's an HDS 5x then it's sounder only as well, even though there is a card slot. Mat.

There is no card slot in a HDS5x. There is in the HDS5m which is the GPS version and also in the combo unit. So if he has a HDS5 with a card slot, its either a combo or a GPS.

OP - there are several,possibilities:

1. There might be a button stuck, sometimes salt gets behind them - you could try washing it with a soft slightly soapy cloth and warm water. Allow to dry thoroughly and test again.

2. You could also try doing a reset. Here is a link to Lowrance website list of resets. Scroll down and you will find the HDS5. Try a "soft reset" first, if that doesnt work, do the "hard reset."

A reset is like rebooting your computer. Reboots the unit software and can sometimes fix this kind of weird behaviour.

http://support.lowrance.com/system/s...RTICLE_ID=2874

3. One other thing - these units play funny games in a major way if they are not getting good voltage!! They will do weird things and shut themselves down if voltage is too low. Maybe the boat has been sitting for a time before you got it, the battery could be low or on its way out.

So charge your batteries up full. Test again.

And also check the wiring connections for the unit, make sure they are clean and tight, in fact if you can, undo them, clean, and do them up again. If there is an inline fuse in the + wire to the unit, undo it, take fuse out, clean and put back in. If no inline fuse but it is wired to a fuse panel, remove, check and replace that fuse. - you get the idea, you need to be 100% sure that every - and + wire and connection is good.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[dinky]

Thanks guys for info.
I will have a closer look and see what I can find.

Cheers

[mace01]

There is no card slot in a HDS5x. There is in the HDS5m which is the GPS version and also in the combo unit. So if he has a HDS5 with a card slot, its either a combo or a GPS.

sorry, you're right. Could've sworn mine has a slot. Too many HDS iterations ago!! Mat