more 334 issues!!

OK. So I had the same sort of issues with my last unit after only a couple months.Lowarnce replaced the last unit,(I had to pay shipping),but its happening again!
Heres the problem,the thing worked flawlessly for a month,now the other day I was out and I hit the Pages key to change something and the Sonar option was gone.
I only have Status,Navigate,Map.No Sonar.
The only way I can get Sonar is under the Map option as a split screen.Like I said the last unit did the same sort of thing.Did I get two lemons or what.
I’m about ready to try a different brand,or at least a different model.
Am I the only one to have this problem!!
I wish the whole signal problem I’ve been hearing about was all I had to worry about.That has not been an issue.
Thanks for listining to me vent.
Later, Brad G.

your not the only one. for fathers day we bought my dad a 334 and all he has had is problems with it first it was droping it signal the it was the screen was flashing on and off now once and a while his buttons don’t even work. What is the deal????? Maybe I should have got him a Garmin!!!!!!!!

The 334C has been one problem after another. I would call Lowrance, tell them you want a 332C in exchange and be done with it. Just remember guys, if you change to a 332C you’ll need to connect that second set of power wires that you probably don’t have connected on the 334C. The second set runs the external GPS module. The 332C has been a great unit.

I gave a 334C to my father-in-law too and it’s having problems. I plan to wait until the end of the season and exchange it. Maybe they’ll have the 334C issues worked out by next season.

Thanks for the input guys.
Glad to here I’m not alone.
But it still sucks to drop that kind of dough and not be happy.

The rumor has it on FLW tour 332s and 334s are a gnats butt from total recall and or replacement stay tuned. This would make alot a people happy and help keep Lowrance’s good name!!

Why the 332c’s? I haven’t heard any problems with them.

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The rumor has it on FLW tour 332s and 334s are a gnats butt from total recall and or replacement stay tuned. This would make alot a people happy and help keep Lowrance’s good name!!

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The 332C is a great unit. The problems have been with the 334C, NOT the 332C. Let’s be careful that we’re not spreading the wrong information. That could cause a lot of confusion.

I haven’t heard anything about recalls on the 334C but I’d be all for it. Lowrance has been exchanging the 334C for new ones but as I’ve said before, I’d ask for a 332C in exchange, not another 334C.

This came straight from rep 332’s are having problems also just not as many

Of the 80,000 LMS-332C units that have been sold over the past 2 years about 5-7 percent have had problems of some sort. In electronics, 7-10 percent is about the norm. There have been other issues, especially early on, but many of those issues were due to user error, a poorly written manual (1st draft), and networking issues. The LMS-332C is the number one selling unit on the market and is the best selling unit Lowrance has ever had. Let me be very clear. There is no recall on the 332C, and there never will be a recall on the 332C. There is no need for a recall. It is a great unit… One of the best. I highly doubt there will be any recall on the 334C either. We’ll likely see a new model or a free software upgrade, something along those lines, but not a recall. Like I said, I know the 334C has had problems. But don’t drag the 332C into the discussion. It’s careless misinformation without basis. Thanks.

I search a lot of fishing websites and have a lot of buddies running 332C’s and have never heard of any major problems. I wished I had one in my bow!

EJ

I have a LMS-332C and have noticed that if my Battery is 12.5v and I select to display voltage with the LMS-332C on the brightest setting the voltage displayed is 12.3v if I hit the power button and drop the intensity one notch the display dims and the voltage is indicated at 12.7v and if I hit it one more time the voltage display goes to 12.8v as the display dims again. My fluke meter hooked to the back of the unit still says 12.5 volts. I didn’t expect the Voltage to match the Fluke but it seems the intensity of the LMS-332C affects the internal workings of the unit enough to affect how the computer/sensors are working. I saw another post on a different website that confirmed Lowrance has an issue with the light intensity setting affecting the internal antenna on the 334c units. Just thought I would share what I was experiencing. (My day time job is Electronics Technician so I know how and where to measure voltages).

Wade,

Does the LMS-339C IGPS also have the same problems as the LMS-334C IGPS? The two units are nearly identical so I assume they would have the same problems?

Boone

Boone, Same issues. I advise folks to go with the external antenna at this time: the 332C or 337CDF.

I would agree with Wade. I purchased the 339 and I shipped it back to Lowrance for repair. Same problems.

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OK. So I had the same sort of issues with my last unit after only a couple months.Lowarnce replaced the last unit,(I had to pay shipping),but its happening again!
Heres the problem,the thing worked flawlessly for a month,now the other day I was out and I hit the Pages key to change something and the Sonar option was gone.
I only have Status,Navigate,Map.No Sonar.
The only way I can get Sonar is under the Map option as a split screen.Like I said the last unit did the same sort of thing.Did I get two lemons or what.
I’m about ready to try a different brand,or at least a different model.
Am I the only one to have this problem!!
I wish the whole signal problem I’ve been hearing about was all I had to worry about.That has not been an issue.
Thanks for listining to me vent.
Later, Brad G.

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Brad, I have seen the same problem you’re talking about with the “pages” button not displaying all the options…..Navigation, status, map and sonar. Here is a fix.

With the unit off, hold down the “pages”, “exit” and “Power” button at the same time and hold for a second or two. That will “reboot” your unit, and should take care of your problem with the pages. Be happy you don’t have any signal issues! . Get a 332C if possible…..or for a few hundred more bucks, look at getting a 3500C Global map GPS and a 102C sonar….same sonar and gps as 332, just with two 5 inch screens. Much easier to view, without spending a lot more money.

Hi,

The major problems with the 334 are not fixed as of now.
Huge engineering problem (screw-up) by Lowrance, most problems are coming from the intesity of the display. That is why you loose your signal. I get the info from RF engineering at Lowrance. Just get a 332 and go fishing.

Cheers,
Mike

So what do I do with the 334 I just dropped 650 bucks on??
Thanks Steve, I found that out last time I called Lowrance.
I asked then if I could just get rid of the thing by trading them for a different model.
“OOOHH” she says,”thats a great unit you have”
I beg to differ.

My assumption would be that Lowrance has a major firmware upgrade coming soon if they now know what is causing the problem. Doesn’t help you guys now, but knowing Lowrance, they will get the issue fixed or do right by you.

I assume that not all the 334’s have issues? Knock on wood, I have one on my flat and have yet to have a problem.

I am sending mine in for replacement. If I hit my pages botton nothing happens. I am stuck on the mapping page and have no way to change it. Thank God this happened on the last day of my week long fishing trip and not the first day. I called Lowrance and after sitting on hold for half an hour i told the guy my problem. I have only had very slight siganl loosing problems with my unit. I was advised that the early batch of 334’s have had problems that have since been corrected ????? I hope he is right. I even asked if they would just send me a 332 instead and he said thay could not do it and there was no need to worry since the problems have been corrected.

Matt

When can we start trusting the 334. I plan on buying the 332 very soon, but would love be able to buy the 334 (internal antenna). Cant buy it after hearing all these problems.

Well, Like I said, I have one I got this spring and I haven’t had a problem yet. Maybe they are better know??

I don’t post much but i had to add my 2cents to this thread. I bought a 334 from Wade(Jolly Ann ) back in May, but would have bought one sooner but was really worried after hearing all these horror stories. well so
far i am really loving this unit. it has worked flawlessly
for me and i know it has put more fish in my boat. since
may i have put allot of hours on it averaging 15 hours of on time a week. mine is installed on my single console with virtualy no windshield. i am not ready to say all 334’s are flawed units. could it be that only units
with a problem are openly mentioned and the people who
have working units are not heard from?
no doubt if i had or start to have problems i hope
lowrance will make it right.

BigRoy, I’m glad to hear your 334C is working well. It’s a rule of mine, never upset anyone named BigRoy!

Seriously guys, I don’t know when we can say they’ve REALLY got the problem resolved. I know they are trying. If I get any information that I feel is reliable I will share it here.

My 2nd 334c (after a swap with Lowrance) wasn’t working the first 1/2 day I used it on the river. In fact, I told wade that it might have been worse than the original I swapped it for. Because I wanted to use it on the ice as well, I ordered a LGC2000 external antenna from Wade and rigged it up on my boat — hoping the internal would be good enough for ice fishing.

I went to Lac Seul and the thing ran awesome… and it wasn’t until day 4 I realized I wasn’t even running the external because the system had reset it’s settings.

What I can tell you is that I went from a handful of Sats to 10 between the internal and the external, using the same unit just different antennas. So clearly the internal is not as good as the external BUT it fooled me for 4 days on the replacement Lowrance sent me. And it seems after the unit got “broke in” a little bit it runs better all the time. Seems awfully wierd that a piece of electronics would run that way but that’s the way it was for me.

Hey Jon, How was the trip anyway? Besides the goofy electronics.

I can’t really remember all the details so I’m going back this Thursday for another week.

The July trip was better than last year, but still on a downward part of cycle compared to 7-10 years ago. 60 fish per day per guy average. We had 4 or 5 fronts come through that week which made patterns very inconsistent. About the only thing that was consistent were tight pods of fish.. you could immediately take 5-10 fish out of a pod and *poof* they were gone. This caused us to fish with the electronics more than normal.

Something else interesting is that the cabbage still has not come back to the shallows after the water was down 6-7 feet 3 years back. Starting from shore in typical July water it’s muck for a long ways… then a thin strip of cabbage that survived because it was still under water then the shelf to deeper water. This lack of structure has really changed fish behavior.

The fish we ate for shorelunch were very healthy and absolutely gorged with perch. We saw more bait fish this July than I have ever seen on Lac Seul — a good sign for coming years.

On the topic of fish quality (caution jicky-rant incoming)… the larger fish are getting more and more scarce on Lac Seul. Back at the docks you see 8 guys come in, each with an “over” of 23, 24, 25 inches to take home and eat. Furthermore, these guys have been eating 22+ inch fish all week instead of a pair of 15/16’s. While it’s within their license and the MNR’s policies for Lac Seul they are literally killing off potential “once in a lifetime” fish for many people. It would be devistating to me if Lac Seul became another Eagle Lake, once great and a shadow of it’s former self. I would very much like to see the slot changed from 18-21 where it is now to 18-28 (or better) to preserve this fishery for my kids and their kids. But then again, I’m a little bit of a walleye conservation freak — just ask people who order commercially harvested eyes in restaurants when I’m there

Last note — I have the best wife the the entire world! 2 trips in 4 weeks to Lac Seul.. are you kidding me?

Thanks Jon. Sounds like they might need to tighten up the slot regs there. People really need to wise up about releasing larger fish. It’s a shame. And you’re right, you do have a wonderful wife to let you go TWICE!

Wade,

Any idea what percentage of the 334C are having problems? If it’s only 10% I might take the chance and buy one but if it’s 90% I won’t. I know you recommended the 332C but the internal antenna on the 334C seems like a real nice feature.

Have the units been reliable after they’ve been repaired?

This problem kind of reminds me of the problems Minnkota was having with their Auto Pilots several years ago. I had one that wouldn’t work consistently and I had a new side plate put on and it’s worked well ever since.

Thanks,

Boone

Boone, I don’t know the percentages exactly but it was pretty bad for a while there. It appears to be getting a lot better. I understand people wanting to roll the dice on the internal antenna, especially if it might be used for ice fishing as well as open water. They’re very convenient when they work. The whole issue with the 334C has put me in a tough spot. I honestly don’t know what to tell people. We just got a new shipment in so the units we have now should be the latest units manufactured. I suppose these would have as good of chance as any. I can tell you that I have sold quite a few that I never heard anything back. I’m hoping that means some of those are working well. I always try to give customers the information that I have and let them make their own decision. Like I said, it’s been a tough spot to be in.