Raymarine C80 reboot problems

[kenhoneycutt]

My C80 is a little less than a year old. Yesterday while sailing I had the GPS chartplotter on (no radar) when suddenly the screen went blank and the Raymarine default factory screen came on. It then went back and forth between the Raymarine screen and a blank screen which I assumed it was trying to reboot according to what I could read in the manual. I was able to get the chartplotter back up after holding down the first key on the bottom of the charplotter for 3 secs. like the manual says.
Has anyone else had this problem with the C80. Is it something I should be worried about? I want to use it this summer and hate the thought that I may have to send it back to Raymarine for repair.

[sailingdog]

Did you check the battery voltage??? This looks like what happens when the system is trying to work on too low a voltage.

[kenhoneycutt]

I was running off the #2 battery which was low. I had just cranked the engine about a minute or two before the screen went dead so I was wondering if it was some kind of delayed reaction to a low voltage situation?

[sailingdog]

Generally, I try to isolate the electronics from the starting battery, since starting can cause voltage dropouts and spikes that can damage electronics.

I have the BlueSea 6011 Dual Circuit Plus battery switch, which isolates the sides in the normal operating position, but still gives you the option of combining the banks in an emergency.

The voltage may have been high enough until you cranked the engine. Running the starter may have dropped the voltage down below the threshold for the C80, since they are pretty tolerant of low voltage.

[negrini]

Same happens to my E80, and I can assure this is only when engine is running. Despite isolation (I use CL series), looks like my 80A alternator is posing some spikes acros the VMOS switch. I had not time yet to explore it deeper with my scope, so will put RF filters on power lines as preventive action, regardless the real culprit. Considering your instalation is up to ABYC standards, and no bad connection is present, voltage has little influence as these displays accept 10.7V to 32V, unless you had a depleted battery.

[artbyjody]

Double check your connections of all inputs going into the C-80. The reset is more indicative of a loose cable or worn out connection. If cables check out tight and no pins loose (use a small screwdriver and make sure none of the pins of the connectors wiggle (but before doing so make sure breakers or power are turned off to the devices)). Then trace backwards to the DSM box, or whatever else devices you have hooked into. The C-80 supplies most of the power to its devices so - anything shorting out can cause that symptom. Typically if battery is low - the unit will just shut off - it will not power back on without user pressing the red button to power on.

So the cycling indicates a cabling - connection issue. If you are confident none are found, please make sure you have registered the equipment online with Raymarine (for warranty). but its unlikely its internal in most cases as usually it will work or not work...(but its possible)...