fish finder

Question
Hi,

Was wondering if you could answer a question on fish finders.  I just bought a boat and it has an Eagle Ultra Classic fish finder.  The fish finder gives depth, boat speed and temp.  However when i turn in the machine nothing comes in the screen.  Each button makes a sound when pressed and the light for the screen comes on but the screen is totally blank.  Do these things eventually go bad? My boat is 93 bass tracker. I have checked the wiring and the fuse and everything looks fine.  Any suggestions on what else could possibily be the problem? Secondly, if i purchase another eagle fish finder to replace this one, can i simiply plug the new one in to the old transducer and speed wheel or will have to rewire it throug the boat?

Thanks for your help!

Answer
Hi Chris,

Oh, this is frightenly familiar!!!

I had this same exact problem two springs ago.  Mine was an Eagle Optima.  I had the Lowrance Rep here in the area look at it and just said , "Its shot".  And there is no fixing them.  If it over the warranty (which your probably is) you toss them.  They are sealed in a gas and you can't open them up.  Mine was only five or six years old.  He said, "that about all you are going to get out of a unit".  I was a little shocked that this is all that they will last.  So, knowing this fact, I just went and bought the cheapest one I could find that would fit my needs.  Why pay more if thats all they last, right?  So I bought an Eagle Fishmark 320 for $149.  My Optima with 240 pixels back around 2000 was like $329.  I have been using it one full season and this year and I really like it.  

As for the connections, I was able to plug right into the old wiring, but mine wasn't that old.  If the plug looks compatible, I'd try it.

Heres one other thing.  About two years after I got my Optima, My screen would come on but be totally black.  It was my transducer that went bad.  I replaced it for about $40 and it was fine till the whole unit went last spring.  That my be worth a try.  

Good luck and good fishing!