There are few things that may be complicated when in search of a fish finder. The fact that there exist different brands in the market would ginger you to go for the right pick, one that is user-friendly and comes with the best features. Once you have selected a good fishfinder, that is, one that provides accurate data, you’ll be required to install it. Here, at this juncture, is where things get hard. As one with no prior knowledge of connecting a fish finder to a battery is done, installing a high-technology device that is capable of reading sonar data can turn out to be quite complicated.

Connecting Fish Finder To Battery The Right Way

Fortunately, here you are, on the verge of discovering exactly how to wire that fish finder of yours to a battery, in order to kickstart your fishing adventure. To carry out this somewhat complicated task, you will need some tools so as to begin with the connections. So, ensure that you have your toolkit by your side.

Getting The Correct Equipment:

First things comes first. To begin the hooking up process of your newly bought fishfinder device to a battery, you’ll require some items. Pro anglers always fish from a boat, it could be a kayak or any small boat. So, it’s important to protect your fishfinder from water, right? So, you’ll require a good waterproof box. This could be any toolkit box you can get in a hardware store. Find a box that is large enough to contain your battery, but nothing too big. Next to a battery, you’ll have to fit a material that will also hold the battery.

So, you have to look for a plastic toolkit box just a little bigger than your battery. You’ll also require a good wire cutter, a duct tape, and a soldering iron. Once you have gotten these items, it is time to start work!

The Installment Process:

Wiring a fishfinder to a battery is not as hard as most anglers see it to be, with the right knowledge and tools, the process will turn out to be a walk in the park.

 Being that there isn’t a perfect box that accompany the battery and your newly acquired fishfinder device, you’ll have to wing it. Grab your toolkit box, or whatever you choose to put your battery in, and begin by marking the center. From there keep on marking the space where you will position your battery. This is very crucial because you need to put the battery in the center to hold it successfully.

Before you place the battery on the toolkit and secure it, ensure that you make a hole wide enough for the cables. The power cables running from the battery to the exit hole on the box should not be too lengthy. So, if perhaps your power cables are too lengthy, use your wire cutter to cut them so that they do not interwine inside the box. They should be adequately long so they can get to the exit hole on the box.

In order to secure the battery inside the box, you have to make use of a material like Styrofoam. It will ensure that the battery is in place and not prone to any possible damage. To do this, just cut the Styrofoam in a shape that accurately matches the size of each side of the battery. By so doing, your battery will be adequately secured no matter how rough your ride will be. You can also include a couple more power cables to the battery and make an extra hole. By so doing, you can charge your phone, LED lights, or anything else that you brought along to your fishing trip.

Connecting Your Fish Finder Device:

Once you have put your battery safely in a waterproof box, you can begin the process of connecting your device to it. Being that the battery should be placed at the least point of your boat, you’ll require very long power cables to join the fishfinder to a battery. If you outrightly adhered to the above-mentioned steps, you already have the tool you need for this job.

The very first thing you have to do is extend the power cables emanating from your device. Begin by trimming the cables as close as you possibly can to the power plug. Ensure that you leave adequate wire to join the cables together. This way, you’ll utilize most of the original cable material. Now, obtain a similar power cord and cut it in a similar way. Once you are through with the cutting, you can utilize your soldering iron. Join the cables and ensure that it properly done. Utilize the duct tape to secure the connection. You don’t want a situation of an electrical overload. Once you have joined two power cables together, they should be long enough to join the fishfinder device to your battery regardless of where you have placed your battery. Now, you can safely make use of your fishfinder device and locate the fish by directing it in any direction of your choice.

The biggest error you can make is to mount your newly purchased fishfinder in a way that you’ll need to turn your boat or kayak so as to alter the direction. It is like trying to find fish with the aid of horse blinders, where you only get a view of the direction in which your boat is facing.

Now you are fully ready and equipped for your fishing adventure and the only thing left to do is select the ideal fishing spot and start fishing. Ensure that you come along with all the important equipment, including your fishfinder device.

While connecting a fish finder to a battery, you have to ensure that you follow the right procedure, use the right materials, and make use of duct tape where necessary. Below are some specifics on how to ensure that all goes well with your connections.

Maintain Good Clean Connections to Avoid Interference:

One major problem anglers face when hooking up a fish finder to a battery, is electrical interference, and more often than not, this is generated by wiring shortcuts, inappropriate connections and bad wiring.

There exist lots of fundamentals when it boils down to connecting a fishfinder to a battery. Power wires running against each other is also another source of interference, especially power cable wires. Ensure that the cable wires used in connecting the battery to the fishfinder have no leak, and also remember to duct tape wherever needs to be duct taped in order to prevent interference.

 Also, when you have excess wiring (power cables), don’t bundle it up in a narrow bundle and bind it up. Loosen it up, roll it up loosely in a big and loose coil, or cut it to the needed length with the aid of a wire cutter. Tightly bundles cables and wires can cause interference.

Solder and Heat Shrink Connections:

Twists and crimps on connections can result in several issues such as interference and power cycle issues. Kayaks shake, bounce, and vibrate and these connections don’t really secure up. Ensure that you install your battery properly and discard those plastic connections by either heat shrinking and soldering the wire connections or you can make use of solder seal connectors. The solder seal connectors works well if you aren’t really skilled in manual soldering.

At the end of the battery, ensure that you add a waterproof inline fuse and make use of adhesive lined heat shrink marine grade terminals.

The above-mentioned ways of properly securing your battery connections would ensure that you have nothing to worry about regarding interference.

Power Cycle Issues:

While fishing, if your fishfinder shuts down or restart while in use, probably because of the bouncing effect of your boat or kayak, then it should dawn on you that your fishfinder has power cycle issues. Don’t be worried, it’s not a severe issue. To resolve these issues, you’ll have to follow these steps:

1) Verify if your battery is good. A bad battery will lead to power cycle problems.

2) Ensure that your battery terminals are clean. Dirty battery terminals or connectors always cause power cycle issues.

3) Ensure that you connect your fishfinder directly to the battery.

4)  Be sure to solder or solder shrink all connections

5) Ensure that you are making use of the right type of wire and guage.

A well connected fishfinder and an effective baitcasting reel will ensure that your fishing adventure turns out to be a fruitful one, irrespective of the type of fishing, be it surf fishing, saltwater fishing, freshwater fishing, etc. So be sure that you follow the right procedure when connecting your fishfinder to a battery to enjoy the benefit of an operational fishfinder.

As an angler who loves bass fishing, you should be aware that bass fishing in bad weather conditions can be turn out to be a nightmare if you fail to adopt the right fishing gear and fishing procedure that comes with bass fishing in this weather condition. Of course, a fishfinder will come in handy when bass fishing in a bad weather condition, but most anglers shy away from using this tool because they don’t know how to connect it to a battery. As an angler who falls in such a category, you are fortunate, because this article contains an easy-to-follow procedure on how to go about the connection. Aside from a fishfinder, one fishing gear you consider to take along with you when bass fishing in a bad weather condition, is a Shimano baitcaster. This category of baitcaster has the necessary features to give you that much needed edge when bass fishing in a harsh weather condition.

Conclusion:

So, you now have the knowledge of how to improvise, cut some cables and create a waterproof box for a fishfinder battery. Also, and most importantly, you’ve learned how to hook up a fishfinder to a battery so as to make it functional and ready for use.

 As an angler, you should be able to improvise because you never know what might come up in your next fishing adventure.