1199 screen got dark

[Chrisfishes]

I have a couple hummingbird 1199’s on my boat. I was in rough water the other day and got up to the bow after a long run and the screen was really dark on my front unit. Checked the display settings and everything is still correct. It just went dark for some reason. Are there bulbs in these that can break or something?

[Wayne P.]

The 1199 has LED backlighting.

[Chrisfishes]

Hi Wayne. Does that mean it’s toast?

[Wayne P.]

Hi Wayne. Does that mean it’s toast?

Maybe, but that unit is still on the Flat Rate Repair list.
Have you verified that the voltage is enough to support the unit by putting the console unit at the bow?
Have you checked the fit of the cable collector on the back of the unit?

[Chrisfishes]

Yes, I swapped them out and the other unit worked fine.

[kylemoodie]

I had the same thing happen on mine. I had a tech savy buddy crack it open and the connection for the backlight had come loose. I believe he had to do some soldering on it and now it is good as new. He even added something to it so it would not happen again.

Note: he is very techy, doing stuff like that is his full time job, he also has precision soldering gear. I figured it was worth a shot and I had already gotten a new helix to replace it anyways. I ended up buying a 360 scan and using my fixed 1199 to view that.

[Chrisfishes]

I was thinking of that. My father in law is a retired nuclear engineer and could probably build one of these from scratch. It just seems strange that the screen didn't go completely dark. Mine is still somewhat visible but only about 50% at best. Did yours go completely dark?

[kylemoodie]

Mine was very dark. I could barely see that it was on.I definetly couldnt read it standing up on the bow and looking down on it.

[Chrisfishes]

Thanks for the tip. I called HB and it's a flat $400+ for any repair. I'm not going that route. I'm planning to have my father in law crack it open to see what's going on. I know he will be able to fix it.