TM interference frustration!!!!

[BDPIL]

Well had to get a new trolling motor because my Edge took a dump and was going to cost more to fix than it was worth. So was wanting Spot Lock to picked up a Terrova because it was in my price range.

Mounted the GT52 on it and sure enough my fear interference showed up. Spikes when I start and stop it although not continuous. Tried several things found on this site and others as well as you tube without correction. The only way to not get interference was to take off the transducer and have it on a pole I rigged up at least a 12-18" away from the TM. Called Minn Kota and they say probably the Garmin. So call Garmin and walked through some things to try again and see if it helps.

Ive tried disconnecting the charger, the TM has a ground already being built after 2017 per Minn Kota, grounding TM batteries to cranking battery, etc, etc. The wires for both TM and front unit are run on the starbord side of my Tracker so I havent tried running seperate wires on the other side but the Minn Kota rep thought that since I didnt have interference with the transducer off the TM that it would be any wiring. Im not up to speed on electrical stuff.

I am going to try a couple of things and 1 I seen on youtube is to get a thick piece of rubber 1/2" I think and wrap it with aluminum tape and see if that works like it did for the you tuber. I did throw my Hook 7 on there and had now interference what so ever.

If none of that works wondering how many of you put the transducer on a separate pole instead of mounting it on the TM? Feeling that is going to be my last option and hate to switch because I like the details of my 73sv. I know it would be a pain but I think it would be worth it.

[ifishinxs]

You can dial most of the interference out with gain and contrast. Make sure your power is coming straight from the starting battery not the messed up console wiring.

[BDPIL]

You can dial most of the interference out with gain and contrast. Make sure your power is coming straight from the starting battery not the messed up console wiring.

This was one thing I am planning on doing tonight after work. Going to use a spare battery and set it on the deck and repower my 73sv with that and see what happens. Not 100% sure if the power supply is from the battery or from the fuse panel. I know my console unit is through the fuse box with no issues.

[DR. DROP]

Do not tape or Ty-rap your transducer cable to your trolling motor cable.
Route transducer cable down trolling motor bracket.

[BigBry]

If you haven’t tried this yet, pop the cover off the head and check the fuse on the ground wire coming up the shaft. I beat my head for months with noise after putting on my Garmins (waaay more sensitive to interference than my Lowrance) and tried everything I could gleen from the internet and that was all it was. I had looked at it and it looked good but later I decided to use one of my fancy gadgets to check the fuse and it was bad. Put a new fuse in and noise gone. Good luck on that.

[BDPIL]

If you haven’t tried this yet, pop the cover off the head and check the fuse on the ground wire coming up the shaft. I beat my head for months with noise after putting on my Garmins (waaay more sensitive to interference than my Lowrance) and tried everything I could gleen from the internet and that was all it was. I had looked at it and it looked good but later I decided to use one of my fancy gadgets to check the fuse and it was bad. Put a new fuse in and noise gone. Good luck on that.

I will double check that.

[BDPIL]

Well I think I have it figured out. I bought a sheet of 3/8” rubber and cut 3 pieces in shape of the transducer and then wrapped them in foil tape. I then wrapped foil tape where the clamps are them mounted the transducer. I noticed the interference was way less and then adjusted a couple of settings and it really cleared it up. I had to do this in my drive tonight but will get on the water tomorrow and see what happens. Fingers crossed.

[BDPIL]

Update: Was able to get on the water yesterday and my new Terrova worked great and my Interference with my transducer was pretty much gone with the changes I made. Actually was able to bump the gain up a little more then anticipated to get a better picture.

[fishin couillon]

Pretty good thinking.....glad you got it figured out.....

If you can, post pics for others to see if they run into same issues....

[BDPIL]

Pretty good thinking.....glad you got it figured out.....

If you can, post pics for others to see if they run into same issues....

Dont have pics but what I did was took a piece of 1/2" thick rubber that I had laying around and cut 3 pieces the shape of my GT22 transducer and then wrapped aluminum tape around them. Then I also wrapped the aluminum tape around the TM where the hose clamps go to help cut down the interference even more. After all that I didnt like the look of it so I just wrapped all the aluminum tape with gorilla black duct tape to make it look good.

After all that I still had interference outside the water until lowering the gain setting to 68 then you could barely see it. After putting it in the water like I said I was able to raise the gain setting to 74 with no signs of interference. Found this idea on youtube and it worked for him as it did for me. I would say also having the transducer in the water cut down on some of the interference also.

I tried everything from grounding the TM, checking battery charger, grounding TM batteries to cranking battery, and more but this fix really helped. I will try to post some pics of what I did.

[Gamblinman]

Well I think I have it figured out. I bought a sheet of 3/8” rubber and cut 3 pieces in shape of the transducer and then wrapped them in foil tape. I then wrapped foil tape where the clamps are them mounted the transducer. I noticed the interference was way less and then adjusted a couple of settings and it really cleared it up. I had to do this in my drive tonight but will get on the water tomorrow and see what happens. Fingers crossed.

You have a bad ground somewhere. All grounds need to be on the same source

[BDPIL]

You have a bad ground somewhere. All grounds need to be on the same source

Tried all the grounding scenarios and that didnt help. Even checked the ground fuse in the TM head and it was good.

[techman]

I'm going through the same thing. I have a mk maxxum 80 lb thrust. Bought the boat used so I have no idea how old it is. I tried every trick so far to no avail. I can take the transducer off and move it about a foot away from the trolling motor and I get no interference then..