Raymarine C70 Plotter screen issues

[want2cruise]

I have been using my Raymarine C70 plotter without any issues until all of a sudden the screen started acting funny. At times it works well for either an hour or a few moments after turning it on and then the screen starts to fade away gradually or lines start appearing on the screen before it goes black.
I am in no way an expert when it comes to these things so did not touch anything that could have cause this. has anyone else experienced this and could it be just an age issue (mine is about 5 years old)?
the unit is still 'working' even when screen is off as the various button combinations still respond as they should, it is just that nothing can be seen...
Thanks for any advise that anyone might have!

[djmarchand]

Send it to Raymarine. They fixed mine with the exact same symptons for $100. The local Raymarine dealer/technician thought it was a bad video driver chip.

David

[noelex 77]

I fixed one of these a few weeks ago for another boat. It was simply the driver board connected pulling away from the screen.
I understand this is a common problem.

[DennisM]

I have had the same problem, and found I could fix it, sometimes for days at a time, by merely squeezing the screen frame against the NavPod.

What noelex said above makes sense to me, and I suspect it is the culprit in my display misbehavior, also. I took my NavPod apart in November and tightened things down, and now it seems to work fine. But thanks to noelex, I will be able to look for a specific connection to tighten if it happens again.

[want2cruise]

After some time we had a chance to look at it again and it almost seems like the solution in my case was a very simple one. I had a loose connection at the gps receiver that caused the screen issues. once this was fixed everything went back to normal (for now...). let's hope it stays that way! thanks again for teh great answers and I am sure they may come in handy later down the track.

[leidback]

What do you do when you take it apart? How did you keep it from pulling away?

[noelex 77]

Welcome to forum leidback

The problem is one of the connections to the screen. The most common one is shown here. The connection (which is at the back of the circuit board) is held in place by the plastic clip. It has a tendency to jump out of this clip. The solution is just to push it down (towards the screen). This pushes the connector back in place. You will hear and see the little plastic clip jump back into place. I think there was also a self tapping screw.

I have put an enlargement of the spot here.

Then you have to put it all back together

I hope this answers your question. If not post again.

[travispdx]

Great post, thanks for the information. I have an e80, and the same thing happens. But the official Raymarine in Portland, advised me two weeks ago, that it was trash, and that the plotter only were made to work for 5 years or so. I was like " what the flip", I spent how much cruising money on this package, to be told buy a new one. That is not going to happen. I will try the the fixes you all state. The dealer told me also, that I COULD NOT SEND IT BACK, to be worked on. The reason is that Raymarine will not support the analog models, because they have moved on to digital. Also, he stated that it is probably my power supply, because there is no know issues with the internal unit. So, I keep a close plot on my charts, as I know we all do, right.

[transmitterdan]

I wonder if your dealer really knows what Raymarine will support. Ask here: http://raymarine.ning.com/

[Kinvig]

I had the same problem. I sent it back to raymarine but the problem came back. After talking to a raymarine engineer he pointed me at the screen connector saying that if I pushed the bottom half of the screen in it would work. It did, but only for a while. I have taken it apart and found that there is a screw that is 2 mm too long that is pushing the screen out from the connector. Cut the screw and that should be it.. Surprised that Raymarine did not spot as the board is marked where the screw was pushing into it.

[Peleon]

I have the same problem, and want to ask if it is complicated to fix it myself.
I'm in spain, and nobody want to do it, they all tell me to buy a new one.
Does anybody have a tutorial I can use.
Thanks and regards from the mediterranean

[Kinvig]

It's fairly easy to do. Take off the cover and unscrew all of the screws round the screen. Then take the unit apart. To there are ribbon connectors between the boards. Just flip up the connector and they come out. From memory you need to take the first 2 boards off. I think someone else has posted a picture of the connector. There is a screw that is a fraction too long in the board which over time pushes the connector out. 2mm off the end with a small hacksaw and job done. Took me about an hour and been fine since. Just need some small screw drivers and a hack saw. Hope that helps.

[Peleon]

I'll try tomorrow.
Thank you very much for your help.
This forum is really fantastic.

[Skipper69]

Hello,

I've got the same display problem with raymarine c70, but also an additional problem: I lack an SMD Resistor on the display board, close to the flat ribbon cable. Can anyone tell me the value in Ω? I added a picture, to show which location I mean exactly.

Thanks

[catnap892]

Well, since it is now 2017 and my C series chartplotter just went dark, is there any new fixes or should I rely on the older replies? I understand, from friends, that it requires a $600 fix. I am thinking of trashing it and simply using my Ipad with Garmin Blue Chart. Any thoughts are appreciated.
Bill Schardt
My Lady Blue. Mainship 400T