Interference on helix 10

[RattleHeadBaits]

I have some Questions on interference, and hope someone can help.
I have added a Helix 10 with Hummingbird 360 to help keep up with what I am seeing on my Garmin 106sv with the 34 transducer when I’m in open water.
Is anyone running these 2 systems together?


I get bad interference on the Helix 10 screen when running 36v 2019 Ultrex trolling motor. The Garmin 106sv and Lowrance HDS 5 is not affected and has good pictures. My boat has 3 50 ah Ionic batteries in series for the Ultrex trolling motor and a 12v Ionic 125 ah for Starting and Electronics. I do have a stealth 1 charger connected between Starting and troller motor batteries.
I have talked to HB tech support several time. All transducers are powered from the same 12v Ionic 125 ah battery.
Things I have had done.
Rewired and moved all transducers cables to trolling motor fame away from the 36v trolling motor power.
Installed sud fuse panel in rod box.
Installed lithium 12v 125 ah battery for starting and Electronics.
Installed HB Ferrite rings on HB power and 360 Transducer.
Removed the onboard battery charging leads.
Change noise filter inside Helix 10 unit. (Helped but still there)
Tested removing 12v 125 ah lithium battery from back of boat and connected only to Hummingbird Helix Gen 4 and HB 360 transducers.


No of the above worked.
Anyone have experience fixing Interference and have any ideas?

[Wayne P.]

Post a picture of what the "interference" looks like.

Did not see any mention of checking the fuse in the trolling motor top cap.

[RattleHeadBaits]

I checked fuse with ohm meter and it checked good. The 360 transducers is about 11 inches above top of a 36 volt Minnkota Ultrex trolling motor which was purchased in spring of 2018. I will post some picturesAEAC7F24-CFD1-4B28-957A-6782AFC91AAE.jpeg

[Montgomery]

I had interference issues with my 360 when i replaced the trolling motor due to a parts failure on the other one. I fixed the original and it was back to normal. I found out my replacement one has a bad spot on the armature never effected the other helix for some reason.

[jasonG]

It’s the ultrex. Did you use the noise filter settings? One of the settings should nearly clear the interference. It will still be there very annoying but, it will be much clearer. May I ask on the ultrex what is your transducer setup? Keep in mind my boat setup is near identical to yours batteries m360 etc. my theory is the noise is coming from the motor through my external 2d transducer. I don’t run the us2 built in. I don’t even have the cable connected. The external 2d transducer is connect with a y-cable with my m360.

shame they can’t remedy this issue. You are far from the only person that has this issue. I know interference varies and is hit and miss but, you’d think bird and min Kota can get this figured out with an additional noise filter setting. Maybe I need to throw some replacement parts to my ultrex

[RattleHeadBaits]

Thanks for the info.
Below are some test and notes on what I found out.
I get bad interference on the Helix 10 screen when running 36v 2019 Ultrex trolling motor. The Garmin 106sv and Lowrance HDS 5 is not affected and has good pictures. My boat has 3 50 ah Ionic batteries in series for the Ultrex trolling motor and a 12v Ionic 125 ah for Starting and Electronics.

I have talked to HB tech support several time. All transducers are powered from the same 12v Ionic 125 ah battery.
Things I have had done.
Rewired and moved all transducers cables to trolling motor fame away from the 36v trolling motor power.
Installed sud fuse panel in rod box.
Installed lithium 12v 125 ah battery for starting and Electronics.
Installed HB Ferrite rings on HB power and 360 Transducer.
Removed the onboard battery charging leads from battery.
Change noise filter inside Helix 10 unit. (Helped but still there)
Tested removing 12v 125 ah lithium battery from back of boat and connected only to Hummingbird Helix Gen 4 and HB 360 transducers.
Checked fuse in head of TM
On 1-16-23 I removed Helix 10 from mount , power wires, cables and 360 cables from trolling motor. I also removed power cables from rod box and used a separate lithium battery to power only the Helix 10 and 360 transducer. I held 360 transducers in hand while tied to dock and ran trolling motor. All wires were Laying on carpet in boat and the 360 was about 2 foot from the trolling motor only thing only in the boat on was the trolling motor and the power from the separate battery to helix and 360. The picture emailed On 1-17- 2023 is a picture of test and interference.
4BB46A61-0EC2-47B5-BC7E-2351912A1A8B.jpeg

None of the above worked.


Things I noticed:
Interference bad when you move peddle to turn
Interference was not as bad if TM was ran on constant on instead of Foot button and turning caused lot of interference.
Ground wire to Trolling Motor increased interference
Interference started clearing up when 360 transducer was more than 4 foot from trolling motor.


Sent Helix 10 and 360 transducer back to HB Service Department.

[OK_BassBum]

2019 ultrex, has the sensor on the pedal been replaced?
There is a recall, sort of. If you can see the ribbon on the underside of the pedal, it's eligible

[bombercraw]

You might try to connect a ground wire to the skeg of your trolling motor and run to the negative ground wire coming from your trolling motor battery. That helped my interference a little although it did not eliminate the issue. I have tried everything and have not been successful in fixing this issue. Spent countless hours on the phone with HB support, added chokes, ferrite etc. Nothing worked. Even invested in a brand new trolling motor and things got worse instead of better. This is a real issue and a very frustrating one.

[thedukester]

I have pretty much the same exact set up as the OP and have the same issue.
I did all the same things to try and remedy the problem ����*♂️.
I was finally able to get a clean picture while the trolling motor is moving by using the 455kz setting. I could not get the mega 360 to work while any part of the trolling motor is moving no matter what I tried.

[TomP.]

Try running your ground to the starting battery negative any ground under the bow that runs to the starting battery.

[RattleHeadBaits]

I tried the ground wire when I had on separate battery and the ground wire made interference worse.

[RattleHeadBaits]

No sensor in peddle has not been replaced. I will search on it. I have sent Helix and 360 unit back to Hummingbird. Thanks.

[RattleHeadBaits]

It’s the ultrex. Did you use the noise filter settings? One of the settings should nearly clear the interference. It will still be there very annoying but, it will be much clearer. May I ask on the ultrex what is your transducer setup? Keep in mind my boat setup is near identical to yours batteries m360 etc. my theory is the noise is coming from the motor through my external 2d transducer. I don’t run the us2 built in. I don’t even have the cable connected. The external 2d transducer is connect with a y-cable with my m360.
I do not use the internal transducer. The 360 is mounted using HB Ultrex bracket and 360
Transducer is 11 inches above top of trolling motor and 2 inches above the Live Scope transducer.
shame they can’t remedy this issue. You are far from the only person that has this issue. I know interference varies and is hit and miss but, you’d think bird and min Kota can get this figured out with an additional noise filter setting. Maybe I need to throw some replacement parts to my ultrex

I don’t have internal transducer connection connected either. The 360 transducers is 11 inches above trolling motor and my Garmin LS 34 transducer and HybroWave speaker is between mounted below.

[tonybfishing]

Did you wire everything with quality wiring and what gauge?

[RattleHeadBaits]

I used 14 gauge stranded wire to extend power wires to the fuse block and 8 gauge from fuse block to battery. All connections were Thomas and betts ring terminals or butt spliced.

[bobcoy]

Re read post 2. What people call interference can range from RFI to sonar crosstalk to incorrect setup of the network. Take advantage of Waynes offer to help diagnose your problem. There is always someone who has had your exact problem or knows more than you. JMO Bob

[RattleHeadBaits]

I returned the Helix 10 and the 360 to Hummingbird Service Department. I got a call from them that everything checked ok. They are shipping it back to me. They said it was possible that interference was coming from the Ultrex Trolling motor and to take it to an Authorized Service Center (ASC) and have it checked. I am sure the interference is coming from the Ultrex TM. I called HB trolling motor tech support for the Ultrex Trolling motor and it is a different number. ( Sister company) They said to check the fuse in the head which I did and it was good. They recommend I have it checked by ASC. They did inform me that my Ultrex is not under warranty and I would be charged to have it checked. He did say something could be loose in TM and causing the problem.

If I disconnect 36 volts power cables and connect an OHM meter from each power cable and I check OHMs to the foot of trolling motor for shorts. Will this verify that I don't have a wire, brush or other short?
I did read a different post that fixed interference by shielding for RF on the transducer and cable. Before I would do this, I would change to a new Trolling motor.

[RattleHeadBaits]

2019 ultrex, has the sensor on the pedal been replaced?
There is a recall, sort of. If you can see the ribbon on the underside of the pedal, it's eligible

I looked at the bottom of peddle and don't see any ribbon, But under the part that moves, I see a ribbon cable going to the speed knob assembly. Is this what you a referring too?

my last test: removed Helix 10 and 360 transducer and powered from I independent lithium battery that was only connected to Helix and 360.
If I moved Helix and 360 more than 4 foot interference went away while holding in hand
within 3 foot of Ultrex interference got worse the closer I got to the Ultrex.
Interference was not as bad if I use the constant power on trolling motor.
Power and Transducer have ferret rings from HB.
I also have interference when I move Ultrex foot pedal.
My Ultrex is a 2018 model, friends that work is 2021.