Probably voltage drop. Is the 7 connected to a fuse block or direct to battery terminals?

 

It's connected to the console wires which run from the circuit breakers. I'm considering powering it from a gel cell. I connected it and the Elite-4 with quick disconnects so running it to another power source would not be too much trouble.

 

Assuming your battery is good, I would say wiring/connector issue - Simple and inexpensive fix to consider is just run a separate power direct to battery (thru a separate inline fuse). Never had an issue since I did that - used a 14g outdoor ext cord scrap piece.... I put a power cutoff inline too for when boat is landlocked for a while. Go big with wire - use solder and heat shrink connections if possible - it lasts longer/less grief.

 

That sounds like a simple solution too. Using the in-line fuse I got with the Elite-7, should I rig the fuse near the battery or have it closer to the unit?

 

Closer to the battery

 

i have an elite 5 dsi and was having the same problem. i had it connected to the trolling motor battery with an inline fuse and when the battery would get low and i turned up the trolling motor my screen would shut off.Turn the trolling motor off and every thing worked again. its weird that your elite 7 would turn off and not the elite 4. figure both would turn off if one did. like stated above run individual wires for each fish finder with an inline fuse and that should solve it.

 

I just ordered this product http://www.shut-up-and-fish.com/pow....com/power-cable-extension-p-19825.html?osCsid=b4cde059d695928fd4016193b4b68c5c It's a premade 10' power cable extension for Lowrance and Humminbird units to allow direct connection to the battery. I figured a pre-made cable with high quality wire, heat sealed connectors, and battery loops was worth the extra cost.

Thanks for the replies guys.

 

Elite units are known for semi random shutdowns....I have 2 Elite 7's, an HDS-12 and a Garmin GPS running simultaneously from the same power source (starting battery to fuse panel). Both Elite-7's will randomly shut down while everything else stays on....boat running or off.

 

My old LCX-17M and Elite-4 CHIRP do not have this problem. I suspect the Elite-7's and up are just prone to weird behaviour due to voltage drops. The July 28th software updates for Elite's says it gives better system stability. Either way, running direct to the battery should help (I hope).

 

I've never had mine shut of like that. Wonder if I should bother with the update???

 

If you run Navionics I'd definitely do it. The added functionality like community edits etc that you get with the Navionics for smartphones will become available to the Elites with the update. There's a host of other upgrades too.

I'm going to update mine this evening and post a report once I put the units through their paces over the weekend.

 

I updated mine with to the previous update and had not had a shutoff since. I too run everthing including a HDS 8 off the fuse panel. Never had a shut starting the motor.

I wonder your battery is sized too small for your outboard??

 

The battery is sized properly. Looks like it's a known issue with the Elites that Lowrance is trying to rectify with a software update. Rigging directly to the battery is recommended from what I've been reading elsewhere as certain Birds and Lowrances are prone to voltage drops if you rig to the panel.

 

My Elite 7 HDI would power off when connected to my 12v 8 amp/hour battery. Turns out it just drained the battery after about 5 hrs then turned off. Since I wired it to my fuse panel it never turns off on its own.

 

Unless this has been brought up... What is the capacity of your cranking battery? Basically your starter is sucking all the amps and not enough to keep you lowrance up and running while its cranking. Kind of like your headlights dimming when cranking you vehicle.

Is it shutting off and restarting or is it shutting down completely like going into protect mode?

 

The new cable extension I bought that connects directly to the battery fixed the problem. It worked flawlessly today, the screen didn't even flicker when starting the outboard.

 

I forgot to add, thanks for all the replies guys. The cable extension I bought is the cat's anus and is a perfect solution. http://www.shut-up-and-fish.com/powe...016193b4b68c5c

http://www.shut-up-and-fish.com/pow....com/power-cable-extension-p-19825.html?osCsid=b4cde059d695928fd4016193b4b68c5c

 

Run direct with a 3 amp in line fuse. Your issue is voltage drop.

 

Already done and fixed. I wish both Lowrance and Bird made longer power cables with the fuses already connected. It would simplify things. Voltage drop is a common problem it seems.