www.iFourWinns.com

my 2006 vista 378 with raymarine c80 has gone haywire... the c80 has started to either flicker or turn itself off and then back on... i'm guessing this is causing the ips warning light and readout that the autopilot is out of order... if i turn off the autopilot, i don't get an ips warning light...however the c80 still flickers...

i live far from a tech...so...all they can suggest, by phone, is pull the c80 out and send it back to the factory for a new board...

has anyone else had this problem...or have a suggestion...

i don't want to pull the radar myself...i have visions of blowing the boat up from incompetence...lol...

thx...ben

I'd bet you've got a corroded or loose ground wire.

It's pretty foolproof to pull the chartplotter. The hardest part is getting the fascia off the front. I like to use an upholsterer's tack puller to pop mine loose (it looks like a forked, bent screwdriver). Once the panel is off there are only four screws around the outside. Remove them and the whole unit will tilt out toward you. All the connectors on the back are different, so you can't mis-connect anything.

I'd start by pulling the plotter and checking various connections on it. Measure the voltage at several points back there. It's only 12vdc so it's not like you're going to hurt yourself. You should see at least 13v when the battery charger is active. If you see less than 12vdc then you've got some sort of wiring problem.

My E-80 would flicker is the power dropped below 11.6vdc. I added batteries to eliminate the problem of running too low.

Also, how old are your batteries? Mine were all replaced last year. Picked up Optima AGM's from Amazon (free shipping too).

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista