Garmin Chartplotter Issue; look for tips

[j&lgray]

Andiamo has a Garmin Chartplotter 7215 and has work flawlessly for three years, 1,133 engine hours and thousands of cruising miles until today. The icon symbolizing the boat does not move, there is no speed, no location and yet the GPS signal strength indicator is strong. Looking for tips with these symptoms and signs:
A. The chart loads normally
B. the icon symbolizing the tug has a question mark over it and does not move on the chart
C. None of the GPS related functionality works, i.e. position on the VHF radio or auto pilot
D. The AIS module shows a number of amber lights that were not present before. No idea what that means.
D. All the connections were checked, inspected,and appear good
E. As Jim Favors would ask, "What changed?" Answer: Tug has been stored in a yard for 3 months, had severe winds but no outward damage, and the house batteries got low but fully recovered.
F. Did the "Factory Re-set" with no change
G. The owner's manual is totally not helpful on troubleshooting.

If this has happened to you, please send me your ideas and lessons either here on by PM. Thanks!

 

[stwendl]

My experience with charting hardware would indicate the gps sensor is not working and the cart shows old data which is questionable. There should be a screen which allows you to display what satellites are seen and other data related to gps. My guess is that it won't show anything or no valid data.

See if the gps puck is still there. I think it is in the fake chimney and check its wiring. Check power to the gps antenna/receiver which could have an issue. If ais LEDs are they are probably just telling you that no position is available to transmit assuming you have such a device

 

[Brian B]

I experienced some of the same symptoms with the 7212. After hours of troubleshooting it was determined that the GPS antenna wire was defective. You can take the GPS puck off, connect it with a new wire or use the wire going from the head unit to the radio as we did. We had the puck inside the boat sitting on the helm and it worked that way for weeks until we could run a new GPS antenna wire through the boat. I hope I never have to do that job again.
You could also have a defective puck.
Also check the Garmin backbone making sure all connections are tight and the end terminals are in place.
We did not find any visible defect in the old antenna wire when it was removed.
(If it wasn't for the expertise of my Ranger Tug friends here in RI the above would have been a very costly repair.)

 

[knotflying]

Going along with what Brian suggested, there is a menu to determine what is connected to the chartplotter. Go there and see if everything is showing up. If you are missing any components it is an indication that you have a problem with that particular component and it could be the wire from the GPS antenna or the puck itself. Are you getting any warning with a notice such as no GPS signal?

 

[NewMoon]

If you need more help: I've had great service over many years from the tech help folks at Garmin (800) 800-1020. On marine chartplotters, auto Nuvi's, and their PC software.

 

[Bruce Moore]

We experience the same symptoms on a relatively new boat. Plus, when checked, no satellites were seen. After talking it through with Garmin they determined the antenna was bad. They sent a new one and everything returned to normal. They said it was very unusual.

Cheers,

Bruce

 

[Sharron]

We have three Garmins on our 2015 Cutwater 30CB. In the cabin, the one on the left works fine on the Navigation screen. On the right, the nav screen has the boat stuck in a marina prior to shipping and shows no data. It also shows no GPS signals. The unit up in the flybridge shows tracking but will not give depth. How do I sync these so that all will work? Not sure how it can be an antennae problem if one unit is correct.

 

[bill46]

Remove all power and restore - that has fixed issues with mine. If stored years with GPS off may take 30 min or more to find satellites.

 

[Sharron]

Thanks - I will try.