Lowrance Fishfinder Repairs

[rannoch raider]

My finder developed a fault last time out. I foolishly connected the battery before attaching the multi prong power lead. It didn't go in cleanly and I was aware of a tiny puff of smoke as the plug came into contact with the finder connection. When I did attach it there was no sign of life! Its well out of warranty  :roll:.
Does anyone know where I might get a repair carried out without sending back to Lowrance ?

[caorach]

If you know anyone who does TV or other repairs of that nature, or who has an interest in such things or messes about with electronics as a hobby, they might take a look at it for you.

I'm not completely clear on the actual process you went through but it sounds to me like you've done something bad to the power supply. Most electronic gear has a power supply that works in the same way as any other bit of gear. So, if you can find someone who works on nearly anything electronic then they are probably up to taking a look at the power supply, assuming they can get the actual case open, as your supply will have a lot in common with the one they normally work on. Some gear like that is simply not designed for repair and so getting the case open without destroying it can be the main problem. The other issue is that, depending on how well protected it was, then there could be damage to the main electronics beyond the power supply and at that stage you need someone who knows that particular fishfinder well and it may be beyond economic repair plus a lot of the components could be big surface mount chips on multilayer boards and so
successful replacement can be a a matter of pure luck and most wise people would not take the chance on such luck when dealing with gear belonging to someone else.

Even if they can't fix the power supply then providing they know what volts it is supposed to put out and the sort of current the unit needs (probably not much) then it may be possible to get something off the shelf that could be bodged to drive the fishfinder, it might not be a neat solution but you might be happy and it might save you a new fishfinder.  Something like this (I'm not recommending this one, it just came up first in my search) might do your job even if the PSU is fried:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/sourcingmap-Converter-Regulator-Waterproof-Transformer/dp/B01ENT1PPM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1492289631&sr=8-2&keywords=12v+to+5v+dc

[corsican dave]

almost exactly the same happened to my garmin. i would love to replace it with one of the newer down-imaging models but after that experience i just can't justify the expense & the risk!