Power problem

[HONORABLE HARVEST]

Im having a problem with my sonar shutting off. Every time my livewell cycles or i have any thing else on in the boat the graph shuts off when i start the motor.
The only time it will stay on is when i shut everything off and turn the screen down before i start it. The unit is a x25c witch is always reading about 2 volts less than my smartcraft gauges. Could this just be a problem with my batt. It is a 3 year old optima. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[Shellback]

The low voltage reading on your finder indicates that you are having a power loss to your finder. The electronics will shut themselves off if there is too low voltage. What's happening is when another unit requires power, it's just enough of a drop to shut your electronics down. My electronics were powered off my switch panel and I noticed my voltage level was low. At first I thought my charging system was bad, but it was a voltage loss thru the wires. I wired my electronics straight to the battery, fused of course, problem solved!

[spoondog47]

Wire your sonar directly to your battery. Place a buss fuse or other type fuse close to the positive terminal. mine is within 12 inches. Also i ran the positive wire underneath the gunnel through a small clear plastic tubing to eliminate interference and protect the wire itself.Another hook up i have seen on a pro boat. The wire was run from the battery to a separate small fused terminal block underneath the console.I prefer the unit power wire fused at the battery. In the event of a short the fuse blows right at the battery.Furthermore i installed a small single pole switch on/off just past the fuse at the battery.