Carter, Waxy nailed it. I have an Elite Ti2 9 and will be adding a 7 to do much the same thing via wireless. In case you didn’t know, there is also an app for phones/tablets that will let you mirror the screen as well. I use it sometimes when at the stern of the boat, giving me a 3rd screen.

Well, the plot thickens for me. I took the boat out a couple days ago to test the change in settings on the Lowrance. However, the Xi5 appears to have experienced a failure in the GPS module (per MG support). The GPS lock blue indicator light comes on about 30 seconds after the Xi5 is powered on, then the light goes out, and stays out, after about 3 minutes. The only way to get the GPS lock light to come on at all is by powering off the Xi5 and powering it back on, but the GPS indicator light goes out every time. Definitely something wrong, and maybe it was failing all along and was causing the errors in navigation.

So the Xi5 is heading to an authorized service shop, and I learned there are no repair shops in Washington (my state), none in Oregon, and none in northern Idaho. The closest shop is in Montana, over 360 miles one way from me. Thus the Xi5 has to be shipped, which is not going to be cheap. I haven’t heard back from MG support, but they better reimburse me the shipping charge – it’s not like we live on another planet. With the difficulty in finding a repair shop, coupled with the problems I’ve been having with the Xi5 and its integration with the Lowrance, I think I blew it by not buying a Minn Kota.

Yesterday I got a call from Larry at Motorguide support. He seemed very knowledgeable and worth asking for if you ever need to call in for support. Here is what he told me, in no particular order:

• He said to change the settings to use Local and not Global, and set GPS source to the Lowrance internal device.
• He did say that the integration between the Xi motors and Lowrance units doesn’t work the way they hoped.
• He said that in later Xi motors there is the ability to configure the motor to operate in either heading lock or compass mode. I’ve attached a copy of the document for your reference.
• Larry mentioned an occasional glitch where the motor will take off at 100% on its own. Sounds like that may be what you’ve experienced, CaptainMusky.
• Larry also said that MG and Lowrance have weekly conference calls to discuss plans and customer feedback. It sounds like an opportunity for any of us experiencing issues to contact MG support and ask that the feedback be given to Lowrance in the weekly call.

I will provide another update once I’ve had a chance to test the different tweaks in our boat in the coming week or so.

(forgot to add the attachment)

Attachments:

1. 

   Course-and-Heading-Mode.pdf
   

Navigating to a cursor or waypoint, saving routes, etc. are all the things I am hoping to do. However, sometimes it works (maybe I got the NMEA bus connector lined up on those times) and other times it doesn’t work. I am going to try to upload a screenshot with this post that shows a failure to navigate to a waypoint.

I did find a couple references to some settings to change. Here is what someone posted in YouTube comments, and they match what someone else posted in a bass fishing forum:

“I was told by motorguide you have to do 3 things. Step 1 – re calibrate the angle of your trolling motor. This is in your motor guide manual 2 re-calibrate your trolling motor gps this is also in the motor guide manual. Step 3 – change settings in your lowrance unit under data source > gps> change from auto to lowrance internal and in global to local. Under vessel >gps change to motor guide gps. (Motor guide must be on for this option to be selectable.)”

I changed these settings and will test them out the next time I’m on the water.

Attachments:

1. 

   Screenshot_2019-05-30_12.48.50.png
   

thanks for the replies. I agree that the cost is pretty ridiculous, although I would get the value out of it if it worked for me.

David, I appreciate the tip on the connector. I never noticed any arrows on the connectors, although I thought it strange that the connectors will connect regardless of orientation. the boat is under a cover for a few days but I will check it out when the walleyes start calling my name again.