Is there a problem with my transducer

[Hydrasport80]

This has started the last 2 trips to the lake. When I put the trolling motor in the water at the 1st stop everything is great. When I move I always cut the power to the transducer. When I stop to fish and put the trolling motor down, I turn the power back on to the transducer I get this screen. If I lift the trolling up enough to get the transducer out of the water and then put it back down this goes away. Happens every time I move during the day. The screen is clear each time I have to raise the transducer out of the water and put it back down. Never happens at the start of the day, only when I move to a new spot.

[moe19]

I have the exact same issue. I am thinking the crystals are loose as moving the trolling motor fixes it temporarily. Working on upgrading the software so I can open a case with Garmin. Hopefully, one of the experts from the forum can tell us what it is.

[MonteSS]

No reason to turn transducer off when moving.

[Hydrasport80]

No reason to turn transducer off when moving.

Yea, but that doesn't fix anything. Yesterday I left it on and still had the problem when I put the trolling motor down after moving to another spot.

[Hydrasport80]

No one? It appears that 2 of us on this site are having the same exact issue.

[LWINCHESTER2]

If the areas the arrows point to are what you are talking about, this is the Ghost Tree.

[Fish Loco]

I was crappie fishing with a friend of mine his started showing the same thing, tried everything to get rid of it. They sent him a new transducer and it fixed it.

[Hydrasport80]

If the areas the arrows point to are what you are talking about, this is the Ghost Tree.

Definitely not the ghost tree, I can raise the transducer out of the water and drop it back down and it will disappear.

[LWINCHESTER2]

Email the pic to Garmin support at product.support@garmin.com and get their response. Raising the transducer out of the water and dropping it back it is akin to resetting the system. The software loses all calculations as to depth and range and has to start over. Any time you see 2-3 stray returns in a line like this at a range that is approximately close to the current depth the most likely explanation is the ghost trees. There are many variations in their appearance. Some are like your pic while others look like a group of hockey sticks. With the 34 and current software the issue has largely been eliminated but not completely, especially if the location has a hard bottom. Certainly, I could be wrong but it is something I have seen lots of times and I still have a few specific locations that can I go to and guarantee it's occurrence.

[Hydrasport80]

Email the pic to Garmin support at product.support@garmin.com and get their response. Raising the transducer out of the water and dropping it back it is akin to resetting the system. The software loses all calculations as to depth and range and has to start over. Any time you see 2-3 stray returns in a line like this at a range that is approximately close to the current depth the most likely explanation is the ghost trees. There are many variations in their appearance. Some are like your pic while others look like a group of hockey sticks. With the 34 and current software the issue has largely been eliminated but not completely, especially if the location has a hard bottom. Certainly, I could be wrong but it is something I have seen lots of times and I still have a few specific locations that can I go to and guarantee it's occurrence.

Thanks for the response and explanation, I'll contact them.

[Hydrasport80]

Garmin is replacing my transducer at no cost. I sent them a screen shot of what was happening and they replied back to send proof of purchase, did that a new one is on the way. Great customer service. They even gave me an explanation as to what was probably going bad with it. The last 2 or 3 times out it was getting a lot worse. Will always buy Garmin after this. They have a customer for life!

[LWINCHESTER2]

...... They even gave me an explanation as to what was probably going bad with it.....

Please share those details. It might help someone else.

[Hydrasport80]

This is what Garmin sent me as an explanation as to what was probably going on with my transducer: "This occurs when we see resistance in the cable. Its likely that this transducer cable has damage somewhere within the cable."

My cable had no visible damage to it. All points where it was attached to the trolling were done with electrical tape, I left plenty of slack between connection points so there would be no binding or straining on the cable. All excess cable was coiled loosely in front of the black box. I can't think of a thing I'm going to differently when I mount the new transducer. All I can say is thank you to Garmin, they have the best customer service you could ever want.