Shorten the transducer wire from the Garmin G-wind masthead sensor

[Hayden Watson]

Is is ok to cut the transducer wire from the Garmin G-wind masthead sensor to a more appropriate length? The wire is 85' long and with my 42' mast and the path to the GND10 I have about 20' left over. Do I cut it or coil the excess?
I have heard that some transducers you should not make any changes to the cable because they use that length (and associated resistance) to maintain accuracy.
After spending two hours at the masthead yesterday I do not want to screw it up now!

 

[kappykaplan]

Coil it

 

[dlochner]

The safest option is to coil it and secure it with wire ties.

If it is a NMEA 2000 cable you can shorten it and install and field connector. Check with Garmin before cutting wires.

 

[jeepbluetj]

It is not a N2K wire. The GND10 converts the analog signal to N2K. They typically come with a field installable connector for the connection to the GND10 and IIRC, the install manual suggests cutting it to length. (But I didn't check right now...)

I see no reason whatsoever to have 20' of cable coiled up - enough for service would be sufficient for me.

But, I'm more that willing to be educated if there's an honest to gosh reason to coil 20' of wire.

 

[DougM]

(Then there’s always the ”cut it off twice and its still too short“ problem.)
In my opinion, it depends on your confidence in making a good field connection.
I have cut all of my masthead wiring because it needs to be disconnected at deck level whenever lthe deck stepped mast is removed for storage.

 

[jeepbluetj]

I even looked it up, from Garmin's instructions:

"3. Leaving an appropriate amount of slack, cut the bare end of the wire, remove the casing, and strip the individual wires."

Hence, leave enough for service (i.e. to replace the connector 10 years from now if it corrodes into nothingness. etc...), but no need for some giant loop of wire somewhere in the boat.