Low Voltage ECU on Garmin

[wabislander]

We encountered a situation where the Garmin Chart Plotter would not stay powered up after receiving a "Low Voltage ECU" message. Resolved the issue by powering up the generator. My novice first guess is that my house batteries are arriving at the end of their life as we had left the boat for a short time with house battery switch on (although few powered items left on). I have to admit that I am assuming that the Garmin is powered off the house. Going to do some research in my manuals (on Cutwater C28) but appreciate any feedback from those with more experience or knowledge on the typical power sources for the Navigation equipment. Thanks in advance for feedback.

 

[knotflying]

Ranger has tended to wire things differently at times. The Garmin is usually powered by the house bank. The Garmin can be a power hog so I wouldn't leave it running for long periods of time without engine power or shore power . How old are your batteries? Charge them up, let them rest and then do a load test. This will indicate if you need new batteries. If batteries check out okay you could have a parasitic draw, which takes a bit of investigation.

 

[BB marine]

If the EVC screen is indicating low voltage and the Garmin is shutting down that is unusual. First question EVC was on and engine not running? If the engine was running and you had this issue there is a charging problem with the engines charging system. If the engine was not running and the EVC panel was on. I would recommend turning the system down when not running the engine. This is using engine battery. The Garmin is powered with the house battery. The EVC is powered with the engine battery. There are two ways they can be connected. The parallel battery switch left on. ( this should not be on unless you need to jump the batteries) The ACR are closed but there would need to be a charging source for this to happen. ( unless the ACR has failed). In this post there is not enough information to help diagnose or troubleshoot your issue. The information provided would lead me to believe that the engine was not running the parallel switch was on and both the engine and house bank were discharged and required a full charge. Or Both your engine and house batteries are in need of replacement. Garmin House circuit, engine EVC engine circuit.

 

[wabislander]

Thanks for the feedback. I think my first check is going to be the house batteries. We purchased used so don't know prior owners maintenance on electrical but they are in the end of life range of over 2 years.