These two don't get along! What works to eliminate interference between bow x97c/ maxum tm? Tranducer is on tm motor. Any ideas welcome. Is this still a problem with current models?

ttt

Where are you getting power for the X97C? I've seen a bow-mounted depthfinder powered from the trolling motor batteries. There was lots of sonar interference in that case.

I have a 3-year-old PowerDrive with a transducer mounted on the motor housing. No interference at all, sonar is powered from the starting battery.

are you talking about one of those old, stand alone maximizer units?

X97c is run off cranking battery, trolling motor is 8 year old 74# trust Maxum,24v with maximizer! Soon as I hit on switch , sonar goes dark!

you did not answer my question

is the maximiser the stand alone unit?

The maximizer is not seperate from the TM!

ttt

I noted a similar problem with my MinnKota Maxxum and my Vexilar. After several unsuccessful attempts at a solution, I landed on the answer: a thick piece of rubber between the transducer and the head of the electric motor. I used a thick, round, rubber connection intended to join two pieces of PVC pipe in plumbing applications as my source for the rubber pad and cut from it a small square, just big enough to cover the ducer. I attached the rig with a worm clamp and problem was thankfully solved...no rewiring or alternate power source needed!

The TM is 8 years old? How long has this problem been going on? If the X97 and TM have worked together in the past, something has changed, you just need to figure out what. What you describe sounds like an electrical noise shielding problem. These can be a nuisance to track down.

The rubber pad idea is worth trying, cheap and easy. If that doesn't work...

Do you have a wire running from the 24V battery negative terminal connection to the negative terminal on the cranking battery? Can't hurt, might help.

The following are just guesses, but it's what I'd be looking at. It's possible the shielding in the transducer cable is not grounded, so you are picking up noise from the motor. Since you have the X97 wired to the cranking battery, that ground path should be through the main motor and/or the hull. Any chance you have lost a grounding wire to the hull or painted the sacrificial anodes on the lower unit or that they are covered with crud or missing? Any chance the transducer cable has a bad shielding contact (check the connector pins and sockets, has cable been subjected to a sharp pull that broke the shield)? The wires connecting the X97 to the cranking battery- are they at least 16 gauge, shared with nothing else and all connections tight.

hey yarcraft check your pms

I sent you one a few days ago

on the issue, there is something in the manual about adding an extra ground to your unit, I dont have the specifics on it but you might want to check that out

Its been a problem since i bought the sonar, Conflict USUALLY goes away if i turn sensitivity down below 75% but i think I'm missing a lot of fish. X97 not a powerful unit compared to some! Will try the shield the transducer with the chunk of rubber, thanks!

I guess from research i've done the only thing that works is grounding TM to neg battery post by wire!

X97c is run off cranking battery, trolling motor is 8 year old 74# trust Maxum,24v with maximizer! Soon as I hit on switch , sonar goes dark!

Sorry to sound ignorant but what is a "maximizer"? I've been running AP's for the last 6 years so haven't been around the maxum's for a while.
I did have a Maxum TM from '01-'03 on a previous boat and did have to directly ground the tm to my batteries to help eliminate interference. This came at the recommendation of MinKota. Just ran a ground wire from the neg terminal of the ground side of my 24V system down the Maxum and ground to the skeg of motor. This is where Minkota tech said to attach. Just scraped the finish away enough for ring terminal to make good contact and used a small SS screw to attach.
He also had me run a ground from my neg side of TM battery system to the Neg post of my cranking battery that was tied into my main motor with anode..
It was a lot of wire strung with little help in the end. I also had a heavy rubber boot between the trolling motor and transducer. I was using a skimmer with the std. hanger made for TM application. I wound up going back to the puck type transducer as it seemed less sensitive and didn't show as much interference. I didn't feel it gave me as good a read as the skimmer but had to make a choice. Funny thing is for a while I had a Bottom Line 5300 set up on that same trolling motor with their big skimmer version and it hardly interfered at all..I just chalked it up to a frequency thing that changed with manufacturer's and their units...Both would have been spec'd 200khz transducers but must have been enough difference to display differently and play nicer with the Minkota..
Good luck, been there done that.....RJ in Montana

Maxximizer sends a variable electrical pulse, which I guess is the crux of the problem. The 5 speed maxxums don't have this problem i believe. I'm surprised its not a bigger issue!

I wonder if this issue is limited to Lowrance/Minnkota!

Grounded TM to Neg post crank battery, seems to work! Sensitivity 97% no interference