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898 si - External GPS Antenna Issues

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9dollar:
Hi all,

Long time reader, first time poster :)

I have a US model 898 si running 5.7 software. Great unit so far however after owning the unit for a few months I lost my GPS signal one day, in fact the status screen showed GPS as not connected.

I tried some troubleshooting, checked pins etc for connection but no joy. I tracked down a friends spare GPS antenna (GR50 Puck style) and this worked fine on my unit. I put it down to a faulty GPS antenna and just ordered a replacment.

6 months down the track I'm having a similar issue with the new antenna, all of a sudden the unit loses GPS reading. At times the anetenna says it's connected but every now and then it will flash up as disconnected (No GPS Signal). In some cases if this flashes on and off enough times the whole unit will shut down (IE: Screen reads "Shutting down" and restarts)

I did some testing and noticed that the issue was more evident when I wiggled the GPS cable so I'm thinking I may have a broken wire or something, normally the cable is coiled up and cabled tied out of harms way but on this trip is came loose and was wacking around a little inside the bulkhead of my dash.

Firstly, is the cable delicate enough to be damaged in this manner, this is my second GR50 puck so I'm thinking am I doing something wrong ? Or is this a known issue?

Secondly if it is the cable could I just cut and splice / heatshrink out the bad section ? Any idea how the cable is put together before I make the cut ?

Final option is to buy another puck and hope for the best but any information would be appreciated !

Cheers
Marty.

RGecy:
I would try and push the pins out a little to increase the connection.  The HB connectors are notorious for bad connections over time and hope they change them in the future.  The power connector is the worst!

I really doubt its the wiring unless you have snagged it somewhere. Sounds like the bouncing around may be the culprit and is causing the connectors to jiggle a little!  I had this problem on my unit.  It would shut off when I hit a big wave or wake.

Good Luck.

Robert

9dollar:
I'll double check that but it seems that if I grab a particular length of wire and wiggle it the GPS problem raises it's head. The connector is secured fairly well to the head unit, I've even taped it down before adding the locking cover to ensure it doesn't move.

Seems like the cable itself is damaged although there are no visible signs of damage to the exterior of it.

RGecy:
Its worth a shot.  You COULD have a bad wire if what you say is true.  Its definitely not hard to splice!

Robert

deerhuntenfool:
I'm not usually a forum participant, but your post on the GPS issue struck home.  For 2 years I have been having the same issues as you are with the random loss of the GPS and shutdowns.  I have spent many hours with my boat dealer trying to figure this one out.  Had to send my 898si back to HB and they kept it for over a month. They sent it back and said nothing was wrong.  My dealer said they checked it out on my boat and the problem was still occurring.

It wasn't until I finally became tired of this, took out my wire cutters and removed all of the tie wraps to free up all of the cables below the dash.  After I did this I started the unit and had GPS signal.  I ran the boat and never lost the GPS or had a shutdown.  With all of the cables hanging loose under the dash, I went back under the dash, isolated each cable and secured each individually. I tried to secure each line under the dash so they would not loosely swing around while under way.  Ran the boat again and the problem came back.  I went back under the dash to released the GPS cable and the signal came back.  Have operated this way since April without a GPS issue.

I believe this cable is the problem, but can't say exactly what.  I don't like cabling loosely hanging below the dash, but securing it causes the problem.  I wish HB will realize there is an issue here and do something about it.  I can't believe that we are the only two that have experienced this. 

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