Transducer cable?

Allen

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Anyone on here ever successfully spliced one?

Basically, it's just a pair of telephone wire sized aluminum wires surrounded by a stranded shielding cable.

I'm discovering that replacing my transducer and cable on the Toon is one hell of an undertaking! It will involve removing a bunch of siliconed and riveted sheet aluminum to expose the necessary pathway. So I'm thinking about trying the lazy man's technique.

What I am worried about is a lowering of the voltage due to the connection and messing with the signal quality.
 


SDMF

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Cut the 'ducer off the old unit. Zip-tie the head-unit end of the new cord to the 'ducer end of the old cord. Pull the new cord up to the helm by pulling the old one through.
 

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Zip tie it then tape it smoothly over the zip ties so it won’t catch on anything on the way through. If it won’t pull you haven’t lost anything.
Sure the wires are aluminum? I spliced one once and the wires were copper but the shield looked aluminum but wasn’t.
 

Allen

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Cut the 'ducer off the old unit. Zip-tie the head-unit end of the new cord to the 'ducer end of the old cord. Pull the new cord up to the helm by pulling the old one through.

Yeah, I use electrical tape and a piece of bungee cord. I absolutely can't get the damn old cable to budge! It's either clipped to the underside of the deck, or pinched between the deck and a tube.

- - - Updated - - -

p.s. no need to cut the ducer off, it is up at Sak in a couple feet of water. I was thinking of cutting the new transducer off its cord and splicing it.

Note: I am planning on installing a new/second depth finder when I get a chance. So that will absolutely require a removal of the aluminum shields. Pop rivet heaven! :mad:

- - - Updated - - -

Zip tie it then tape it smoothly over the zip ties so it won’t catch on anything on the way through. If it won’t pull you haven’t lost anything.
Sure the wires are aluminum? I spliced one once and the wires were copper but the shield looked aluminum but wasn’t.


The old one is for sure aluminum, I stripped off a small piece just to see what I was all looking at if I decided to try and splice things together using the already in place wiring and the new transducer.
 

dewey89

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I've done it with a lowrance transducer cable. I used environmental splices to ensure no water intrusion would occur, than used heat shrink on top of the splices. Works fine.
 


guywhofishes

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if there's one thing that really, really gets my goat it's not knowing what the problem is

absolutely keeps me up at night
 

Davey Crockett

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Is there any reason that it has to go in the same shitty place as the old cable ? If it does then I'd run a piece of PVC conduit through the tight spot even if I had to use the drill and saw. Otherwise I've put new wire looms all over in boats and even underneath the floor on our old toon . Splicing might work but it's possibly pinched or crushed in the spot that it won't move that caused the issue.
 


Allen

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I think I am just going to run it like this for the upcoming weekend and tackle the removal of the tin next week. I could splice the cable, but then I would always be wondering when it was going to fail, regardless of how much waterproofing I do on it. The second transducer will have to go in a different spot because the mounting site only has room for one. Damnit! However, the tubes have a lifting strake with a flat surface on the back that with a little work I can make a mounting plate for it. The actual surface is too small, but if I "shim" it out with an inch or two, then I'll have room for the side/downscan transducer for the HDS I have for it.

One other issue I may run into is the original in-dash Humminbird must have a 30 ft transducer cable, I measured the pathway and the new transducer is going to be a little short, like by about 4 ft.

Nothing's ever easy for me.
 

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Is there any reason that it has to go in the same shitty place as the old cable ? If it does then I'd run a piece of PVC conduit through the tight spot even if I had to use the drill and saw. Otherwise I've put new wire looms all over in boats and even underneath the floor on our old toon . Splicing might work but it's possibly pinched or crushed in the spot that it won't move that caused the issue.
That’d be easiest. Can’t solder aluminum though the older copper ones were easy to splice and seal up/ waterproof. . Run pvc hose then if you ever need replacement or new wiring it’s all done. Use a big enough ID hose.
FWIW have you tried calling Lowrance or Hummingbird or the toon manufacturer? I’d bet there run into this problem before many times, and may have some good advice or some kind of fix kit.
 
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SDMF

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You're likely to find that the old cable is zip-tied to or wrapped around shifter/steering cables and/or the other electrical wires for the starter, and other switches.
 


Allen

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From the little I can see up in there, the cord goes straight up the left tube (original transducer mount and livewell pump is attached to left side tube where it disappears from sight as it goes over to the right hand side of the Toon. On the right, I can't really see anything and that is where I figure I will need to pull the sheet aluminum in order to see what's keeping it from being pulled via the old wire. Note, as the wire disappears from the left tube, it really looks like there are places where the stringers have no clearance. I suppose that should be expected as the deck has to eventually be attached to the tubes.

Last year when I bought the thing I had to pull some of the sheet aluminum off of the front in order to install the plate for the trolling motor. That's why I know how little fun it is to work under the damn thing while it's sitting on the trailer.

Oh well, in the end I will have both my in-dash Bird and my higher end Lowrance operational. May be a few swear words and bleeding knuckles tho.
 

guywhofishes

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speaking of bloody knuckles - I have been buying these in 12 packs the last decade or so - they are awesome - the dexterity is amazing and it's like you have tough ape hands

cheap enough to stash a pair in the truck, in the boat, in every work jacket pocket, etc.

white stays cool on the boat by the way

91V3KVVxmzL._SL1500_.jpg


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SJ99THO/?tag=nodakangler10-20
 

SDMF

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speaking of bloody knuckles - I have been buying these in 12 packs the last decade or so - they are awesome - the dexterity is amazing and it's like you have tough ape hands

cheap enough to stash a pair in the truck, in the boat, in every work jacket pocket, etc.

white stays cool on the boat by the way

91V3KVVxmzL._SL1500_.jpg


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SJ99THO/?tag=nodakangler10-20

Rough, dirty, scraped, and scarred hands, are manly hands. Surgeons and mimes are the only men who should have smooth soft hands.
 

Allen

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Those things look like a sock.

I'll keep them in mind, but for the time being I have a couple pair of goat skin bitchslappers that fit very well.
 

LBrandt

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You're likely to find that the old cable is zip-tied to or wrapped around shifter/steering cables and/or the other electrical wires for the starter, and other switches.
I found this to be the problem on my alumacraft when I put on a new depth finder.
 


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