Lost Sonar on Garmin 5215

D

davenpom

Active member
Joined
May 19, 2012
Messages
29
Fluid Motion Model
C-288 C
Vessel Name
Sultana
We have a 2009 R29 - The Sultana. She's new to us. We just put her in the water on June 28th and have been out on two over nighter's so far. I have a ton of questions to ask but one became more important than any others this morning.

Today while going from our slip to the fuel dock, sonar was working fine. After starting back up at the fuel dock to leave I had no depth reading. Going back to the main menu the option for selecting sonar was gone. I checked every fuse I could find and did not see anything blown. Also the fuel reading (gal per hr) and water speed were not displaying anything either. GPS speed worked.

Anyone have any ideas where I should look.

Thanks
Mark
 
Buy an R-31! 🙂
 
Not sure if this helps but it works with the Ray Marine. If I lose the depth sounder input and I shut down the chart plotter and then restart I will regain the depth sounder. Kinda like a reboot...

Feank
 
The power off / power on idea is useful. You can remove the power on the back of the chartplotter, wait 30 seconds then reconnect the power. This has a different result than using the power on / power off switch. You may need to isolate the power to the GSD22 (assuming that is your sonar model). Remove the power, wait 30 seconds, reconnect the power. Also check the NEMA2000 connections. They are located on the starboard side to the outboard side of the stateroom closet. Ensure that all NEMA 2000 t's are properly tightened.
 
Same has happened to me. With power off to the chartplotter, you need to remove the power from the sounder unit, which should be behind the Garmin 5212 in the access panel. Also remove the nema wires from the sounder unit. Wait a minute or so and reconnect everything. This is how you reset it. Ask why this happens and the answer is, "sometimes it happens."

Mike Rizzo
 
I had a similar problem with the Garmin 5212 installed on my 2009 R-25. I contacted Garmin and they recommended I upgrade the system's software release. I did and it corrected the problems I was having and I picked up a few additional features with the upgrade.

The following link will take you to the appropriate page on Garmin's website that explains how to go about upgrading your operating system. You will need to cut and paste the link to your browser. For some reason the last half gets dropped when I post this reply and you will need the full address it to get where you need to go.

https://support.garmin.com/support/sear ... tm?caseId={6e96c5f0-ee0b-11df-ea12-000000000000}

p.s. - For reasons unknown to me the link I provided is not working. Go to Garmin's website and call up your chartplotter model and there will be hot buttons to take you where you need to go.
 
For anyone attending the Essex CT Rendezvous, Garmin will be there and will be updating software to any unit at the tug owners request.
 
I had the sonar problem described in the original post. A software upgrade I downloaded from Garmin solved the malfunction. It is a straight forward process. You might check the blink codes LED (labeled "POWER" ) on the GSD 22 sounder. Green blink - OK, red blink- GSD waiting to connect to the chart plotter, solid red - software failure, fast red blink- system alarm with an error message displayed on the chart plotter. All the above is explained in the "GSD Installation Instructions". My sonar displayed solid red prior to my doing the software upgrade.
 
I looked on Garmin's website and the latest operating system release for the 4000/5000 series GPSMAP Chart Plotter is version 7.30 which was released on May 25, 2012. You can download this release for free from the Garmin website (you will need a computer with an SD card reader) or you can purchase an SD card containing the release from Garmin for $29.99.

The operating system version loaded on your Garmin GPSMAP displays briefly when you boot up your system. You can also find out which version you have by clicking down through the information section of your display.

When I upgraded my operating system last fall, the latest release was version 6.80 so it appears there have been a few releases since then. Also when I upgraded, I ran into a problem with my 5212 reading an SD card with a 4GB capacity so I switched to an older 2GB SD card and my 5212 read it fine.
 
Thanks everyone for the responses. I'm heading back to the harbor on Friday. I'll grab the newest files and do an update as well as try the other suggestions as well. All except for jonniethek's - I'd love to buy a R31 - just not in the cards today - maybe someday.
 
You mentioned a few things here which tell me one thing, you lost the network side of the garmin unit. THe garmin plotter is split between two communication links. Nmea 2000 and Network. GPS, autopilot, ais, gxm51, vhf200 are all examples of a nmea 2000 device. Radar and Sonar are the only networked devices on the system. FIrst thing I would have checked was to see if the GSD22 sonar box was powered up in the compartment. As long as you see a green light, you are in good shape. Any other color means go onto the next thing.

If green light was active, I would be searching for the network connection from the GSD22 sonar box to the plotter to ensure its still plugged in. Not very often will you lose the actual sonar tab on the screen like you have.

If your Sonar tab was still active on the homepage and you only got a flashing number for depth, then you start on the transducer side of things. Hope this is helpful and dont hesitate to call with questions Mark. I know your up there in Alaska without a dealer in site to lean on so we are always happy to assist you.
 
Thanks Andrew. I have been putting my questions in an email to send you like you suggested. I was hoping not to inundate you with a book, but it's looking like one.

Over the July 4th weekend, I saw the R31 you delivered up here a few weeks ago. What an amazing vessel. I was cleaning fish at a cleaning station. There was about 20 to 25 people there when she came gliding into the harbor. Every person stopped what they were doing and watched until she went out of sight. They were all still talking about her as I was walking away. When I got back to our boat, I told my wife about it. She made me walk the entire harbor to see if we could find her. We never did(yet), but my wife's on a mission to find it.
 
They keep that 31 on a trailer in Anchorage and trailer it down to Seward. They are having a great time with it and should be active on this website. I will let them know you were looking for them!
 
Success - the Sonar cable was attached, but not locked in and was pretty loose. I reattached and updated the software and it looks like we are back in business. The grandkids joined us this weekend - now we can take them out for a spin.

Thanks for all the help.
 
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