lowrance x125 problems

tundra5 · 03-07-2010, 07:54 AM

x125 came new with my boat three years ago,worked fine the first year, then the first time on the water the second year it failed. by failed i mean it would work fine in shallow water, but as soon as i dropped off a shelf into water over 100' the depth would flash a couple seconds then go to 3' and stay there. i called stevens they said the transducer was bad. bought a new one put it on and no problems now for another year untill this weekend. now almost the same thing except the depth dosn't seem to matter. i'll be trolling along in 50' then the depth display starts to flash and all of a sudden the display pops to anywhere between 3.1'to 5.3' and will stay there for quite a while. more than half the time i was fishing this weekend the display was at the 3' area. tried it with the kicker off and running the big motor, tried it vice versa, ang tried it at a drift with no motor and it did it in all three senarios. it seemed to do it more often and for longer pieriods of time with the kicker, but the may be a coincedence. iv'e no problem stepping up and buying a new and better unit. i just don't want the same thing to happen if it is electrical interference.all the wires were ran by the guys at stevens marine so i would think they have done it enough times that interferance wouldn't be a problem. one last question, if i need a new unit, what would you recommend. i would like to stay under $400, and built in gps would be nice. thanks

Hagar · 03-07-2010, 12:01 PM

Rodgers Marine on Marine Drive can bench test the head unit for you. I doubt it is the head unit. I have had similar problems. It was the transducer. Some years ago Lowrance began outsourcing their transducers overseas instead of using Airmar and experienced a very high rate of failure. Once you know the head unit is working fine, I think logically the problem is the transducer again. I added a Airmar P-66 transducer to mine and the problem was pretty much solved. I did have to adjust the mounted location after the Airmar was installed. It needed to be lowered because I would lose bottom while on plane since the transducer was mounted just a little too high. I would also see if your transducer has been bumped and got raised slightly over the winter.

tundra5 · 03-08-2010, 01:45 AM

thanks hagar, i live in south east oregon and don't really want to drive all the way to portland to check out the head unit. i also don't want to have to have to cut all those zip ties again to route a new transducer but i will have to. i think i will just buy a different unit. three transducers in three years is a little much. do you have any brand or model preference?

Hagar · 03-08-2010, 09:32 AM

Personally, the dark side keeps calling to me (Lowrance HD series with down and side scan). Logic tells me I am dumb as a rock if I go back to a company with bad customer service/support and faulty products they don't stand behind. (Many problems have been noted on any fishing board you wish to search on).

If money isn't an object, logically I would be better off going with Furuno since their service location is here in Vancouver. For less money it seems most folks are happy with Garmin. Just depends on the cash you have and the features you are looking for. There is a lot of information on here you can search on.

vudo · 03-08-2010, 03:47 PM

I have the same unit with the same problem. Google Airmar transducer and order their transducer for the Lowrance and that should solve your problem.

tundra5 · 03-09-2010, 07:50 AM

thanks guys.

NR Maverick · 03-16-2010, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tundra5

thanks guys.

I had the same problem with the 515c. Sent it in to Lowrance (under warranty) and got it back 7 weeks later saying there was nothing wrong and it was the transducer which they sent me a new one. Hooked it up and it did exactly the same thing. Returned again and 3 weeks later they sent me a new unit----------Works fine. Took 2 1/2 months to have a Unit that worked. Terrible service, not to mention I was on hold for over 1 hour to get through to them.

Never again a Lowrance !