Wiring a Garmin fish finder to a battery source on your kayak (and fixing the fuse)

This is something I was clueless about when I purchased my first kayak but knew that it was something I really wanted to have. So, like many of you, I'm fairly sure, I browsed the KZbins endlessly in search of understanding how to do it and with the help of many various videos eventually figured it out. Every fish finder unit is a little different and may have different-looking cables but the concept is the same. In this video, I try and convey this concept and show you how I fixed the wires connected to the fuse that corroded off their connections.
#wiringfishfinder #kayakfishfinder #garminwiring

[@PeterRanieriII]

Hey everyone, been busy lately so haven't gotten out in a while, here's a kayak related video I did a couple months ago when my fish finder wasn't working and I found out the wires at the fuse were corroded through

[@PeterRanieriII]

@@NickOnTheWater ah man yea i guess it’s bound to happen being in the saltwater. I’ll prob need to just get a new power cable soon too. Yea I hate not having it too so it’s a nice feeling to get it working again

[@glennjohnston7115]

Just helped me do an install, in June, 2024. Didn’t see in the instructions, what the wires were. Thanks!!

[@dngendron]

Got the kayak and even took it out fishing yesterday in the rain 🤪. Today I set up the fish finder and glued the Berley Pro keel Guard down. Was supposed to see they recommended marine goop I was originally going to use epoxy. Following your videos gave me ideas on how I wanted to set things up and let me know of products like the keel guard. Can’t wait to put her in the sound soon. 🤟🏼

[@PeterRanieriII]

AWESOME. haha i don't blame ya for trying it out in the rain, you were prob so stoked. I'm glad you got 2 things done already and it's nice to hear that my videos helped ya a little. How'd setting up your fishfinder go? the Striker series transducer fit in the hull opening on the bottom ok?

[@FishinAccomplished]

Thanks for making this video Peter, it's very informative, and I'm sure it will be very helpful to many an aspiring kayak fisherman! I'm really not good with electronics, so this is a nice frame of reference of what needs to be done to properly set up a fish finder! Truth be told, I did a pretty janky job setting up my fish finder, and at some point, I will likely have go back in to make the connection a bit more secure! Hope you're able to get back on the water again soon!

[@PeterRanieriII]

Appreciate it! Starting out, this was one of the more daunting things to try and figure out. I'm not really good with electronics either, and I still don't fully understand how it works but a basic understanding of the concept can go a long way, especially when something breaks and you have to try and fix it. Haha yea this is def just a very basic janky setup that works as well, it is by no means a good setup but it works so I'm happy for now, lol. It's great though to get feedback from other kayak fishermen that have better ways to do this and I've learned a lot from everyone that comments. Dying to get out there man, rain this weekend doesn't look great, oh well...

[@TheMichiganFisherman]

Mine broke the same way yours did and for the life of me I couldn’t open that clip. Thanks for showing a way to work around it. You’re a lifesaver 👍

[@PeterRanieriII]

Nice man glad it helped you! Yea I can see how this would be a common place for the wire to corrode as it’s sort of exposed and really thin.

[@thekayakfishingfreak]

Old video but found it helpful. Had the same issue with the same FishFinder. Needless to say this helped me out and my FishFinder is back up and running. Thanks for sharing, im ready to get back out on the water now. 😂😂 🍻

[@PeterRanieriII]

lol Im glad it helped you. I never thought this video would help so many people, I was honestly figuring out how to fix it myself as I went 😂

[@LI-FLKayakFisherman]

Hi Pete, I used the $5 HF ammo box and $33 Lithium 6aH battery for my Garmin setup. Battery holds the charge forever and is very lightweight. Added a cheap SAE connector to the side of the box for charging.

[@PeterRanieriII]

That sounds like a great setup. I def want to get a better box and battery soon, did you drill a hole in the ammo box for the SAE cable? I like that idea of adding SAE connector so then you just leave the battery in the box always, and your wires are always on the terminals so they're protected?

[@LI-FLKayakFisherman]

That was my plan to keep the terminals protected and enable a quick connection for charging. Nice thing about the lithium battery is you can toss it in the hatch and not worry about how it’s situated. And at 1.65# it’s less than half the weight of a small lead acid or AGM battery.

[@LI-FLKayakFisherman]

Yes I did drill to install the SAE connector but it’s waterproof.

[@matthewmatassa4795]

@@PeterRanieriII Use these to pass the wire through the box and keep it waterproof. I added some silicone just to be sure. www.amazon.com/Agile-Shop-Plastic-Waterproof-Adjustable-3-5-13mm/dp/B01M9J2HCU/ref=dp_prsubs_1?pd_rd_i=B01M9J2HCU&psc=1

[@PeterRanieriII]

@@matthewmatassa4795 great idea, was thinking a gasket of some sort, this looks perfect, thanks

[@shahangler1572]

Thanks for sharing, its good information this video

[@PeterRanieriII]

Glad it was helpful! I really never thought this video would reach as many people as it has, I plan to do another video soon on installing the fish finder without a transducer mount (through-hull install).

[@shahangler1572]

@@PeterRanieriII Good job friend.

[@dngendron]

I made a box out of a Plano waterproof box with through hull fittings and am using a Milwaukee tools 8ah 18v battery and 12v adapter for power. I’ll always have a fresh battery.

[@PeterRanieriII]

thats a serious battery, and probably wasn't cheap, if it also doubles as your power tool battery then its a win win

[@dngendron]

@@PeterRanieriII use these batteries for work so I literally always have one charged up that I can borrow. Should be able to get some serious run time out of them.

[@QuanNguyen-og6pq]

how did you make the connector on the box waterproof? I figure that you had to drill through the box to get the power lines out, right?

[@caseyhartsough4979]

I had the same issue this video saved me for a fishing tournament I had the new part wouldn’t come in until the day after tournament Thanks Bro

[@PeterRanieriII]

I’m so happy to hear this! Glad you could get it to work in time for the tourney!

[@fishin48]

What do you use to charge your battery?

[@PeterRanieriII]

I use this: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G8AIMU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I used to have an SLA battery but recently upgraded to a lithium battery and this charger still works for that one as well

[@dngendron]

Supposed to get my Compass tomorrow 😬

[@PeterRanieriII]

🤞 I hope you get it, and with the seat too, haha. Is setting up the fishfinder high on the priority list for you?

[@dngendron]

@@PeterRanieriII yes I have everything I’m planning on doing for the boat sitting in a bag on my half sanded down BMW that I’m painting 🤪. I bought the striker 4 vivid, the front keel guard, an anchor trolley and beach wheels. I’m getting the seat to because my dealer is hooking me up for not being a pain in the a$$ and paying in full when I bought it. Also since I keep buying mor from him. Great dealership. Eventually I’ll do the rectangle hatch a cooler bag, h crate, and possibly that metal jobber that goes up front for standing up.

[@dngendron]

@@PeterRanieriII went with the vivid because I’m not a fan of Lowrance (junk) and every FF I’ve ever owned has eventually broken even the $1000 ones. Lowrance CS sucks though. Figured go cheap and keep it small but wanted down imaging and chirp sonar.

[@mexicanwatsup4490]

Question what type or terminal and size did you use

[@mexicanwatsup4490]

And how many awg

[@PeterRanieriII]

so the unit's power cable comes with only 22 AWG which I think is just so small. Even if it works electrically its just not durable so I spliced this area with 18 AWG and the terminals are called quick slide solderless I believe. Here's a link: amzn.to/3VnrK4A but I would go to your hardware store it will be cheaper and you can talk to the person about it.

[@bryanreed8408]

What’s are those other 2 wires fot

[@PeterRanieriII]

I think theyr for data transfer if you needed to put your waypoints to another unit. But you can also use the SD card to transfer so I’m not really sure. They don’t have to be connected for it to work tho

[@CatmandoTNR]

@@PeterRanieriII Mainly used for bigger boats where a finder is mounted at the captain's consol snd the bow or to move data to an upgrade Garmin

[@PeterRanieriII]

@@CatmandoTNR your absolutely correct, they connect other garmin devices to your unit

[@eddiegarner8515]

@@PeterRanieriII so frustrating, where would a person connect the blue and brown? usually a brown is for running lights and a blue for charging

[@chrisweber4381]

Ditch the crappy fuse and get a auto inline fuse holder... you would have been done with this a week ago

[@PeterRanieriII]

I agree that is better. This is a very crappy fuse and for sure not the best way to do it but I'm all about just making it work with what I got. This probably took a couple minutes to fix and it lasted all of last year's season. But I do plan to make a better box and wiring altogether for the upcoming season, thanks for the suggestion of the auto inline fuse 👍

[@FirearmNation]

Those two random cables are to connecting the unit to another garmin unit. So, totally useless

[@PeterRanieriII]

Good to know, lol thanks - yeah I guess if you needed to monitor other metrics in navigation you could add other types of units but it’s pretty pointless for a basic fish finder to have - also data transfer via the SD card is very simple. Just seems unnecessary to have those wires for this type of device and it has confused so many people,

[@edwardegnor9641]

Lol solder it

[@PeterRanieriII]

Lol yes that is way better

[@gabescoffield]

didnt work whatsoever

[@PeterRanieriII]

Didn’t work when you tried it out? Can you send me a pic or video? I’d be willing to try and take a look and see. [e-mail]