C-Series Classic MFD w/DSM30/300 reporting No Data Source, DSM Connection Lost

[Chuck - Raymarine - Moderator]

C-Series Classic MFD w/DSM30/300 reporting No Data Source, DSM Connection Lost or Fishfinder plot freezing

Should the Fishfinder application's plot be freezing, then the problem may either be rooted in the DSM or within the transducer itself. When such problems occur,

- problem should be duplicated after connecting the vessel to shore power, permitting its batteries to be fully charged, and then testing the system while the vessel is connected to shore power.

- Power Cable should be grasped approximately 6" of the its plug. The cable should then be wiggled back and forth, and side to side while another individual is watching the Fishfinder plot to determine whether the motion causes the plot to be interrupted or for the Fishfinder application to report DSM Connection Lost. If so, then it would be recommended the DSM's Power Cable be replaced.

- the transducer cable should be examined to:
----- ensure that it has a locking ring installed on its end and that the locking ring has been rotated into the locked position to secure it to the DSM's Transducer socket
----- the transducer cable is free of damage and has not been modified or spliced
----- excess transducer cable has been loosely coiled (6" minimum diameter) and secured to a bulkhead
----- the transducer's cable should be grasped approximately 6" of the transducer's plug. The cable should then be wiggled back and forth, and side to side while another individual is watching the Fishfinder plot to determine whether the motion causes the plot to be interrupted. If so, then it would be recommended the DSM be tested with another transducer which has been installed in a temporary manner (ex. suspended over the side of the vessel while anchored or drifting. Should the problem persist, then the DSM would be deemed to have suffered a failure and would need to be replaced with an operational second hand DSM30, DSM300, or DSM250, as Raymarine can no longer service DSMs for use with C-Series Classic MFDs. Alternatively, it may be possible to adapt the transducer for use with an ax7/cx7/e7D/ex7/eSx7 MFD or Axiom DV/RV MFD.

- the DSM's Status LED should be examined to determine whether it is reporting Transducer Sense failure ... if so, then it would be recommended the DSM be tested with another transducer which has been installed in a temporary manner (ex. suspended over the side of the vessel while anchored or drifting. Should the problem persist, then the DSM would be deemed to have suffered a failure and would need to be replaced with an operational second hand DSM30, DSM300, or DSM250, as Raymarine can no longer service DSMs for use with C-Series Classic MFDs. Alternatively, it may be possible to adapt the transducer for use with an ax7/cx7/e7D/ex7/eSx7 MFD or Axiom DV/RV MFD.



Should the C-Series MFD's Fishfinder application plot be freezing or should the Fishfinder application report No Data Source or DSM Connection Lost, PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS PROBLEM CANNOT BE CORRECTED BY UPDATING THE DSM'S SOFTWARE.

Most DSM related issues, where No Data Source, DSM Connection Lost, plot freezing, or Ping Disabled is reported, are due to one or more of the following:
- loose power, SeaTalkhs, hsb2, and transducer socket retaining nuts
- insufficient power being supplied to the DSM (measure the voltage at the DSM's power plug when the DSM fails to perform)
- installation issues
- fatigued DSM power cable plug pins
- product failure (DSM, cables, MFD SeaTalk port, Network Switch, etc.)

Loose socket retaining nuts may cause intermittent or no contact between the sockets and the internal components of the DSM. It is recommended that the DSM's power, SeaTalkhs, hsb2, and transducer socket retaining nuts be tightened. As these nuts and the sockets are manufactured using plastic, be certain to not over-tighten these nuts. Per our discussion, it is recommended that these nuts be tightened and that the system be tested again.

The female pins of some DSM30/300 power cables may fatigue over time. When this occurs, the opening of the plug’s female pins may spread resulting in intermittent contact with the male pins of the DSM30/300’s power socket. One may test for fatigued DSM power cable plug pins by rocking the power cable near the plug while observing the DSM30/300’s Status LED. Should the DSM30/300’s LED fail to maintain a 1Hz green flash when the power cable is rocked, then the power cable should be replaced.

From an installation standpoint, the following issues must be addressed when troubleshooting a DSM:
- check the DSM's status LED and compare it to the LED codes listed on page 26 and 27 of the DSM's Installation Guide. Particular attention should be paid to an amber or red flashing LED. Should you not have access to the Installation Guide or to the Internet, please respond to this incident with the LED's flash code. The eight amber flashes is indicative of a Watchdog Failure which indicates that the DSM encountered an unexpected problem during boot-up. Normally, it is advised that the Watchdog Failure be ignored if the system is otherwise supplying the MFD with fishfinder functionality. Should DSM not be supplying the MFD with fishfinder functionality and all of the software, installation, and power issues specified within this response have been checked, then the DSM would be deemed to have suffered a failure and would need to be replaced with an operational second hand DSM30, DSM300, or DSM250, as Raymarine can no longer service DSMs for use with C-Series Classic MFDs. Alternatively, it may be possible to adapt the transducer for use with an ax7/cx7/e7D/ex7/eSx7 MFD or Axiom DV/RV MFD

- DSM communications cable has not been damaged, modified, or spliced
- Excess DSM communications cable has been loosely coiled and secured to a bulkhead to prevent bend radius of less than 6"
- The marine electronics must be powered from an isolated power source
- The power cable length for the DSM must be kept as short as possible. Should it become necessary to extend the DSM's power cable, cable of the appropriate gauge for the round trip run should be added.
- The power connections for the DSM are tight and free of corrosion.
- The power cable, transducer cable, and communications cable locking rings are installed and have been rotated into the locked position after each cable's plug has been mated to the DSM.
- The DSM should not be directly cabled to the vessel's electronics batteries or power bus bar. The DSM should be powered from a dedicated breaker or switch, permitting the DSM to be powered off when not in use. This will also permit the DSM to be restarted without affecting the state of the other marine electronics.
- The vessel's batteries have been fully charged. Following charging, one should attempt to duplicate the problem while the vessel is simultaneously connected to shore power and has more than 3' of water below its transducer. It is not possible to obtain a depth reading while the vessel is out of the water.
- The DSM is overheating. Ensure that the DSM has been installed in a location where its temperature will remain within its operating range.
Where power related failures occur, it is not usually low voltage, but rather low current availability that causes the problem. One may think of voltage as water in a hose and current as the amount of pressure behind that water that makes it move when the nozzle is opened. Simply measuring 12 volts on a voltmeter at the DSM power cable's plug does not lead to much insight regarding how much current was available. For example, the available voltage from 8 D-cell batteries is 12VDC. However, these 8 D-cells cannot provide sufficient current to run one's electronics. In a typical day of fishing, one starts the boat's engines, runs the engines for a short time to while traveling to a fishing location, drifts or anchors for a while with the engines in neutral or off, starts the engines again to relocate to another fishing location (repeating this process perhaps several times throughout the day), and finally runs the engines for a short time while traveling home. During this process, the engine alternator, which may be rated for 50 amps (but only when running at a higher RPM) cannot replenish the amount of current that has been drawn from the batteries throughout the course of the day. The output of the alternators on most boats at trolling speeds is generally much lower than at peak output. As such, we have a situation where engines are started often, drawing a great deal of current by themselves, coupled with the marine electronics running at all times causing the available current to be reduced throughout the day. Should one do a couple of trips over a weekend and then leave the boat without a full charge till next week, the problem compounds itself until finally, the battery amperage drops below the current threshold level required to sustain the electronics. The first signs of insufficient current are often blinking of the MFD back light and intermittent or total malfunction of the DSM (which when searching draws 5-8 amps) causing the No Data Source or DSM Connection Lost message to be displayed.

From a troubleshooting perspective, inspect the installation to ensure that all of the above listed installation items have been addressed. Ensure that the batteries have been fully charged. Check the size of the wires supplying power to the marine electronics to ensure that they are no less than 12 gauge. Check the age of your electronics batteries and if the batteries are not sealed, check the water levels in them. Clean all the contacts and cable points and be sure that the connections are as tight as possible, then spray the terminals with a sealer designed to keep corrosion down. Have the batteries load tested as load testing will tell one how the batteries will perform when all equipment is powered on and functioning.

Power related problems occur most frequently on boats that are not plugged into shore power with an on-board battery charger between trips. Within 3 days of fishing, it is possible for the amperage of deep cycle 4-d batteries to drop low enough to cause the products to begin exhibiting the symptoms described earlier. One test that should be performed is to operate the equipment for the time specified while connected to shore power to determine whether the problem can be reproduced while connected to shore power. Should the problem not be reproduced while connected to shore power, then the fault would be determined to be caused by insufficient power being provided to the DSM.

Should you have addressed all of the items listed above, then the DSM would be deemed to have suffered a failure and would need to be replaced with an operational second hand DSM30, DSM300, or DSM250, as Raymarine can no longer service DSMs for use with C-Series Classic MFDs. Alternatively, it may be possible to adapt the transducer for use with an ax7/cx7/e7D/ex7/eSx7 MFD or Axiom DV/RV MFD.


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