Mega 360 not connecting/working

[sthomasIV]

Finally got this ultrex unit yesterday. Had to work today and started the install about 3 this afternoon. 360 will not work or show connected in accessory tab. I have the pod in a bucket of water and have cleaned the wet switch with dawn umpteen times. I have made sure my power is good all the way to the connector that feeds shaft of 360. I have eliminated the y cable. Both my gen 3 helix 12’s have been updated to 2.18 and still no luck. Guess i will be calling turd i mean bird Monday morning and waiting again for another what seems to be eternity for a new pod/shaft. Was looking forward to trying it tomorrow on the water. Go figure

[Wayne P.]

Do you have the new set of Connected Transducer settings for the MEGA 360?
There are four of them for a G3N SI+ model that replace the 19 choices when the 360 is not subscribed.

Put some salt in the water bucket to increase the conductivity of the water or as cevans did tape a penny to the wet switch probes.

[Sirius Rich]

Did you update the m360 with 1.070?

https://www.humminbird.com/support/s...FXCoxQIdYBAPkA

[sthomasIV]

Do you have the new set of Connected Transducer settings for the MEGA 360?
There are four of them for a G3N SI+ model that replace the 19 choices when the 360 is not subscribed.

Put some salt in the water bucket to increase the conductivity of the water or as cevans did tape a penny to the wet switch probes.

no i dont have those 4 new settings

[sthomasIV]

Did you update the m360 with 1.070?

https://www.humminbird.com/support/s...FXCoxQIdYBAPkA

just tried the update but the head unit wont prompt when i insert the sd card. Does this mean it’s already up to date?

[Sirius Rich]

just tried the update but the head unit wont prompt when i insert the sd card. Does this mean it’s already up to date?

I didn’t see a prompt when I did mine. To make sure it took the update, check your s/w version. If memory serves me correctly, that would be under system status, Mega 360. Your serial number and s/w version will be displayed. Pretty sure you have to be in Custom Mode, not Angler.

Should my suggested route to your s/w version is wrong, Wayne will correct me. He told me how to find it.

[sthomasIV]

I didn’t see a prompt when I did mine. To make sure it took the update, check your s/w version. If memory serves me correctly, that would be under system status, Mega 360. Your serial number and s/w version will be displayed. Pretty sure you have to be in Custom Mode, not Angler.

Always keep mine in custom mode. I beleive i just have a bad transducer/pod. I know its getting power to that last connection before the power wire goes into the 360 shaft. The wet switch has at least 4” water over it in a bucket that has been cleaned literally 50 times and now has a penny taped across it in ocean water (yes i did add salt) and i have eliminated the y cable and any extension cables. I have literally went straight out of the back of the helix and straight into the connector that runs with the power wire down the 360 shaft. Both my helix 12’s are at 2.18; console unit is g3 mega si plus and bow is g3 mega di plus.

[Wayne P.]

I didn’t see a prompt when I did mine. To make sure it took the update, check your s/w version. If memory serves me correctly, that would be under system status, Mega 360. Your serial number and s/w version will be displayed. Pretty sure you have to be in Custom Mode, not Angler.

Should my suggested route to your s/w version is wrong, Wayne will correct me. He told me how to find it.

[cevans]

If you do tape a penny and get connection to where it works,,,only way to shut off,,,is remove the copper connection across the wet switches and it will quit spinning.

[sthomasIV]

Mine just shows unconnected on that page. I even tried putting the units software update on the sd card with the 360 update thinking it would trigger it to load. No luck. All it tells me is the unit is already up to date

[cevans]

Not sure about a!SI unit....do you have your transducer set to MEGA 360 transducer? Just a question. Or have you tired to do a default re set with everything on?

[sthomasIV]

Not sure about a!SI unit....do you have your transducer set to MEGA 360 transducer? Just a question. Or have you tired to do a default re set with everything on?

Mega 360 is not an option. I guess because the mega 360 wont power/turn on. Yes i reset defaults before and after i did the helix updates

[lauzon4]

Did you update the m360 with 1.070?

https://www.humminbird.com/support/s...FXCoxQIdYBAPkA

Does the m360 need to be deployed (actually running) or just have the power to it to do the update?

[cevans]

I deployed mine, but did not turn the ping on and it recognized the update and took it. Did it while inside garage. Didn’t need it in a bucket of water either.

[sthomasIV]

Gave up last night and went to bed. Started again this morning with a recheck of everything mentioned in this thread. No luck. Mega 360 pod/transducer must be broken internally. When i try to update the mega 360 head unit wont recognize the update on a freshly formatted sd card that i have used previously to update all/both helix’s. I have tried removing and reinserting the sd card to try and trigger a response. I have even tried to load the helix update on the card as well and it will recognize that one but says of course no update needed 2.18 already installed. I have restored defaults 3 or more times with no luck. Whats strange is i dont even have an option for mega 360 in my transducer settings under sonar. And why does it pick hw mega di as default when i am running a built in hw mega di on my ultrex. Very frustrating to say the least.

[Wayne P.]

Gave up last night and went to bed. Started again this morning with a recheck of everything mentioned in this thread. No luck. Mega 360 pod/transducer must be broken internally. When i try to update the mega 360 head unit wont recognize the update on a freshly formatted sd card that i have used previously to update all/both helix’s. I have tried removing and reinserting the sd card to try and trigger a response. I have even tried to load the helix update on the card as well and it will recognize that one but says of course no update needed 2.18 already installed. I have restored defaults 3 or more times with no luck. Whats strange is i dont even have an option for mega 360 in my transducer settings under sonar. And why does it pick hw mega di as default when i am running a built in hw mega di on my ultrex. Very frustrating to say the least.

The unit does not "recognize" what transducer is connected, you have to choose which one if you don't use the standard one for that model.
Each time you do a Restore Defaults, the unit should go back to HW- MEGA DI, then you have to change it back to Built-in HW-MDI if using the Minnkota MDI.

[Wayne P.]

When you finally get it to working, all your Connected Transducer settings will change and Default will be MEGA 360. If you attach another transducer with a Y cable, you have to change that to what combination of transducers you have.

[sthomasIV]

Thanks Wayne

[sthomasIV]

Hallelujah! Just figured out what was wrong. Instead of using the included helix to solix adapter cable that came with the mega 360 i used the one that was already on my boat that coverted the helix to a solix plug for the built in mdi on my ultrex. That was the problem. When comparing the cables they have the same ends but the one included with the mega 360 has more wires (bigger diameter cable) that allows it to work. All is well now. Just gotta reroute and put everything back together. Dont make the same mistake i did. Hope this helps someone else.

[cevans]

WTG!