Topic: 997c Backlight Turning Off During Boot

[RainmanRam]

I have a 997c which is having backlight problems. When I turn on the unit, I get the "Loading" screen followed by the Humminbird logo screen and then the screen goes dark from what I'm assuming the backlight turning off. I don't get to the point where I can see the disclaimer screen. I can see the screen very dimly in the sun (nearly unreadable) but not when I shade the screen from the sun. The backlight also comes on for a brief second when shutting the unit down (and I see one of the sonar image screens). It would seem the backlight works but it just doesn't stay on. The unit is running off the motor battery and behaves this way with the motor running and with it off. 

I've rebooted the unit many times and have tried unplugging the unit and reconnecting it several times with no change in behavior.

When I try to adjust the brightness, I see no change in brightness.

I've had this unit since they came out and I think I have only upgraded the firmware once, probably in the first year. Other than this I have had zero problems with the unit.

One possible variable is that I have the barometer hooked up to this unit and it was complaining about the battery being low when I took photos for the sale of the boat but the sonar still looked fine then (the last time I had it powered up).

To complicate things further, this problem occurred while the buyer of my boat was out on the test drive. He still bought the boat but I need to get this fixed to make good on the deal. That makes trouble shooting a bit more difficult since the boat isn't in my possession. I would like to gather up as many possibilities for troubleshooting it all at once so I don't have to make multiple trips to his house to troubleshoot.

1) Greg: could a power draw be causing the backlight to turn off at startup and then back on again during shutdown? For example the GPS or transducer draw? Are the accessories shut down before the unit is powered down? I haven't redone the battery connections but it is on my list. I've never had connection problems in the past and all terminals are clean and tight with a basic inspection.

2) I remove and stow the sonar when the boat isn't in the water. How do I go about checking the pins for a good connection at the back of the unit?

3) Should I upgrade the firmware? I don't want to complicate things by adding anther variable so a suggested stable version would be appreciated.

4) Any chance of it being the barometer battery? I'll replace.

5) Any else I can try?

Thank you very much in advance.

Desperately,
Rainman

[Humminbird_Greg]

Rainman,
1)  I wouldn’t put it out as a possibility.  I would try connecting the power cable directly to the battery with the motor running to know for sure.  We have had some pretty strange problems corrected by better power connections for the units.

2)  You really can’t.  About the only thing that you can do is assume that they are loose and slightly, very slightly bend the pins in the power cable away from each other so that they make more of a interference fit when installed in the unit’s power connector.  The amount needed for these to be bent is usually less than what most people can see.

3)  No, I would concentrate on the problem at hand which should not have anything to do with software.

4)  No, the battery in the WeatherSense is for the internal memory of that accessory only.  All other power comes from the 997 unit.

5)  That’s it.

[RainmanRam]

Thanks Greg. I'll see if it's a power connection problem and if not send it in to be looked at.

[RainmanRam]

Putting the boat on the charger and cleaning up the connections seems to have changed the behavior in that it now the unit is rolling like a bad vertical hold on a tube TV set. This happens at start up but the unit gets a bit farther in that it gets through the disclaimer screen and about 2 seconds into normal operation the screen goes dark. After cleaning up the connections, I'm not sure there is much else I can try here. Since I don't have another boat to try this on, I'm guessing the next step is to send the unit in for repairs? Any other suggestions welcome.

Thanks,
Rainman

[Humminbird_Greg]

Is this while the battery is on the charger?
If so, I would try it when the charger is off but the battery is charged.
With no one else to cross-test units with your only option would be to send it into Humminbird to be looked at by the Techs.  Call the 1-800-633-1468 number to set this up.