out of warranty repair on lowrance

[RayB]

I am about to buy my new boat and I have had the local salesman tell me that the Lowrance sounders are unrepairable (pressurised or something like that). This has totally scared me off buying lowrance. Is this true because after the warranty runs out then it sounds like a throw away item.

Is Hummingbird any different? I was looking at the Lowrance X337 combo but now looking at the Matrix97 which has a lower resolution but hopefully repairable.

cheers
Ray

[SundownMarine]

Ray,

The Lowrance information you have is correct,the units will not be repaired.The way Lowrance work is they offer you an upgrade ,this can have it's advantages.
The Matrix 97 is different and can be repaired at any time be it within warranty or after,the humminbird service in Australia is exceptional.

Give us call for further information.


Sundown Marine.

[seabug]

Looks like it is a problem with some GPS's also.,

I have a problem with a Lowrance GPS ,GlobalNav 212 model.

I phoned Lowrance today and was told it was not repairable.
Now I realise that it is about 15 years old , but it did cost about $400 wnen I bought it. > >

Regards
Seabug

[Bowser]

Before making a decision check on the cost of repairs. Most electronic gear costs and arm and a leg to repair, generally much more then the cost of a new item. I think this is why Lowrance have chosen the route they have taken.

Seabug, it is 15 years old. Most techies where still in nappies when you bought it.

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

....., it is 15 years old. Most techies where still in nappies when you bought it.

LOL

luv it

[Cruiser]

I agree with Bowser that the cost of electronic repairs at repair centres are often more than a unit is worth. However, I still don't like this business of sealing up the cases with glue so nobody can service them.

I recently had to fix a friends Eagle (Lowrance) GPS unit. All that was wrong was the back up battery was dead (unit was 10 years old) so it took forever to start up and get a fix, and you couldn't store waypoints. Anyway, we managed to cut it apart which was a huge job taking many hours. The soldered-in battery was then easily replaced with one from Jaycar at about $10. Unit works fine now.

On the other hand I also did a repair on a FUSO fish finder. The back was simply held on with about 8 screws and a rubber gasket. A faulty transistor preventing it from starting up was replaced at $1.65 and a new back-up battery for $3 was slipped into it's holder. Good as new - a delight to work on. If it was just the battery replacement it would have taken about 5 minutes work.

I'd personally stick with units that are servicable. Many devices have memories that require back-up batteries that only last 10 years but are cheap to replace. I don't want to have to buy a new unit just because the battery is gone.

Chris.

[RayB]

I just phoned Lowrance Head Office Australia and they state that their sounders etc ARE repairable. They have their own tech room where they carry out repairs to units on a regular basis. They did mention that the unit would probably need to be repaired by them but it doesn't sound like the units are necessarily a throw away item.

Who is telling the truth????

Has anyone had their unit repaired out of warranty?

cheers
Ray

[seabug]

Had a bit of luck today.

After reading post by cruiser(THANKS)

I had a bit better look at the GPS

Found a bit of white acid/corrosion on the twin springs in battery compartment.

Slid this out(it is glued in) and rubbed it on a brick and the unit now works OK.

Regards
Seabug

[banshee]

Interesting response from Lowrance Aust considering that a couple of posts down in "Electronics" they have advised Wodge to turf his unit.

[SundownMarine]

I just phoned Lowrance Head Office Australia and they state that their sounders etc ARE repairable. They have their own tech room where they carry out repairs to units on a regular basis. They did mention that the unit would probably need to be repaired by them but it doesn't sound like the units are necessarily a throw away item.

Who is telling the truth????

Has anyone had their unit repaired out of warranty?

cheers
Ray

A very interesting response from Lowrance there. Sure, they have diagnostic materials to assess each claim, but as for repairs in house, I have not heard of many occasions of this. I have dealth with lowrance for over 9 years and have never had a unit repaired. Software upgrades have been done, but actual circuit board repairs I have not had any. I have always recieved brand new replacement units for our customers. Some would say this is a great system, others would say not. Its a procedure that obviously works for them.

Sundown

[banshee]

My experience is the same as Sundowns,in the past seven or so years I've had more than ten units replaced under warranty,I know none were repaired because they all came back with different serial numbers,all the units tested positive for moisture under the screen something that appears unavoidable in my area when heading off pre dawn in winter,I take my hat off to Lowrance they are always polite when I report the fault and get me another unit in no time at all,other companies could take a leaf out of their book.

[nigelr]

Hey Banshee.
Have had that problem with my X51 since new. Am on my 3rd replacement, which is now out of warranty. Still fogs up after pre-dawn start. Don't know whether to persevere with the unit or what. Worth a post warranty claim, in your opinion? $350 is a fair bit of money to me, more than I can justify throwing away willy-nilly.
Cheers, N.

[banshee]

G'day Nigelr,sometimes if the unit is only just out of warranty they will come to the party with a new one for nicks if not it's a pro-rata thing where they will replace it for a reduced price depending how long it's been out of warranty,after two years they go back to full price(at least this used to be the case).My mate had one that he kept even though it had moisture under the screen it went for a fair while,probably a few years,but eventualy started droping pixels in lines right down the screen it died soon after this started,when he disembowled it a lot of the spider type things inside had bad corrosion on the "legs" where they met the board.I would say that if you get another unit keep right on top of the warranty thing,you may miss a weekend every once in a while but your sounder or GPS will always be good.

[skippa]

Had a bit of luck today.

After reading post by cruiser(THANKS)

I had a bit better look at the GPS

Found a bit of white acid/corrosion on the twin springs in battery compartment.

Slid this out(it is glued in) and rubbed it on a brick and the unit now works OK.

Regards
Seabug

Seabug,

Mate I've got the exact same unit too, has been a great little unit over the years. Had the same problem with the battery springs but with a quick clean the unit works fine. I used to use a power cable ( connects into cig lighter) but the gps end of cable broke and a replacemnet one was going to cost me around $80 from memerory.

Have since upgraded to a chart plotter and use the hand held as a backup and in the 4by.

I was told by Lowrance a coupla years back that the unit was upgradable at a cost of about $250.


Cheers,
Tony

[rubyf]

new to this room.have a couple of questions about purchasing lowrance gps/sounder combo lms334c from the states from ###### imports.main concern is about warranty ###### said they will handle all of that but has anyone had any experiences.anyone got any imfo on the lowrance units good bad or indifferent.
thanks ruby f