Well, got the boat back last night so I could finally tackle the GPS problem. With the interlink hooked up, I powered everything up and check the volts. Helm (12.4v)/Bow (11.6v 11.8v). Then I suddenly lost the GPS signal. A side note, the dealer didn’t hear my (or ignored) my request to use BOTH GPS pucks vs running one puck through the interlink. So I disconnected the interlink and hooked the GPS directly to the 997. The 997 worked perfectly and in fact, acquired the GPS signal infinitely faster. So I accepted that I needed to do the job right like I wanted done the first time. I drilled a few more holes in my boat and now I have two GPS pucks installed. One for each unit.
Q1 – Now here’s the weird part. Without the interlink connected and each unit having it’s own GPS puck. I’m getting 12.6v at the helm and 12.3v – 12.4v at the bow. Is it possible a faulty interlink was stealing volts from the bow unit?
Q2 – Jason, I see from your pictures that you are getting 14.4v at your 1197. Do you know how that’s possible? Did you rewire with heavier gauge wire to the fuse panel?
Q3 – I assume this isolates my problem to a faulty interlink. Does anyone have any other ideas that come to mind?
Currently I have a Group 27 Optima AGM battery that is running the accessories/electronics/Verado starting battery. Would it be better to upgrade group size of battery?