A couple of my displays have gone bad. They still work, but they are hard to read. Is there anyone who repairs them? The Lowrance, I can probably upgrade, but the Raymarine Autohelm would be difficult. i.e. expensive to upgrade. Thanks!
Any hope for instrument display 'burn-in'?
- Thread starter Justin_NSA
- Start date
There's definitely people out there that sell replacement screens and/or offer repair services.
I bought a new screen for ST 4000 AP for $100 on Ebay, the seller also does installations for $50.
Do a search and look for the seller in Durango, Colo.
Do a search and look for the seller in Durango, Colo.
That's what I like to see..... precise, real answers and solutions to an issue that should be covered by the factory. I don't know the production era of the subject instrument, but the factory should, at the very least, provide a "help" or "support" service to support their products.
Back in the day, Garmin repaired my first handheld GPS I purchased (gps 45. the white one) when the internal battery died just one month before its stated life expectancy. It took less than a week for the shipping, repair and return. No charge. Cool, I thought. A year later, same thing happens again. I call them. "Nope," They said, "it's past the battery warranty, but we can install a new one for $110! I told them they replaced the current battery a year ago. "The warranty is for the unit not the battery" %#^ WTF?@#$% I can buy the new GPS 76 for around $200...... Anyway, I think they just sent a replacement gps 45 from their out of production inventory to cover the warranty. So I asked how long the warranty would be if paid the money to have the replace with a new battery.... answer, new warranty only covers the battery, not the unit......
.... needless to say I bought the very, very excellent gps76....That's all I used for years, still have it, it works...keep it in the dinghy bag.
Back in the day, Garmin repaired my first handheld GPS I purchased (gps 45. the white one) when the internal battery died just one month before its stated life expectancy. It took less than a week for the shipping, repair and return. No charge. Cool, I thought. A year later, same thing happens again. I call them. "Nope," They said, "it's past the battery warranty, but we can install a new one for $110! I told them they replaced the current battery a year ago. "The warranty is for the unit not the battery" %#^ WTF?@#$% I can buy the new GPS 76 for around $200...... Anyway, I think they just sent a replacement gps 45 from their out of production inventory to cover the warranty. So I asked how long the warranty would be if paid the money to have the replace with a new battery.... answer, new warranty only covers the battery, not the unit......
.... needless to say I bought the very, very excellent gps76....That's all I used for years, still have it, it works...keep it in the dinghy bag.
This is the same guy. I am going to ship the instrument to him and he will replace the screen and check it out. What a relief I don't have to upgrade everything! The Lowrance GPS is a lost cause.
Our 2012 Lowrance chart plotter/radar display lives under its factory plastic cover when not needed, and there is a canvas cover over the wheel and binnacle when we are not sailing. Looks 'brand new' when in use. It's sometimes discomforting to accept just how damaging UV is to all our instruments if left unprotected for a while. I am not trying criticize the OP, one little bit, by the way.
I'll second that. Ours have been under plastic covers and wheel/binnacle canvas for 22 years now, and all 4 Raymarine sailing instrument heads work perfectly. (The plotter, a C80, was a dud, though. It started to act up very early in its life, and had since been replaced by an Axiom 9, which works great.)
FYI. My instruments are never left in the elements. All 3 Raymarine instruments have individual covers and the Lowrance and Raymarine are always covered with a helm cover unless in use. I have no idea why 2 displays went bad and 2 are still perfect.
No worries: I believe you. It was a generic comment. But when I see them out in the sun, maybe with just the plastic cover, I always think that it's false economy not to have a canvas cover over the whole thing. I also have a bimini and a companionway cover (no dodger), but have drawn the line at covering all the hatches. At some point, the number of things you have to do to get under way starts to really mount up.
Speaking of being out in the sun, it occurs to me that latitude might be important as well. I live and boat at (approximately) 45.5 degrees North. Proportionately, we have a lot less "sun damage" to our boats compared to SoCal and the SE/Gulf parts of the country.
As Rosanna Rosanna Danna used to say: "It's always Something!"
As Rosanna Rosanna Danna used to say: "It's always Something!"
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 24,522
Instrument is boxed and ready to ship tomorrow! Carefully marked where all the wires plug in! Thanks again for the tip!!
That ST4000+ is at least 26yrs old, and was an existing product from a different company before Raymarine acquired that company. It was discontinued as part of that sale. Raymarine has since been bought and sold several times. The unit is many generations and companies ago, uses components that haven't been in Raymarine's production for at least a decade, so it isn't reasonable to expect any support for it at all.
In today's electronic instrument world, there isn't any fixing to be done at all. With the exception of some larger chartplotters, all instrument displays are now bonded screens, systems on chip, and sealed units. There isn't anything fixable in them.
Mark
Yep. I had to get on Ebay to see what any used ones went for so I knew how much to insure my package for. I insured for $600!