The presence of rust would be the result of not having the drain (unshielded) wire properly grounded. Although the rust can be cleaned off, if the drain wire remains not grounded properly, the rust will continue to accumulate.
Rust on the MEGA 360 or MEGA Live wet switch can cause a few major issues for the transducer.
- Prevent the wet switch from detecting water.
- Cause the transducer to show as "Unconnected"
- Cause irreversible damage to the transducer resulting in repair/replacement being necessary.
1. Grounding Best Practices
- Ensure all conductive components in contact with water are at boat chassis/hull ground potential (0V).
- Use the boat chassis/hull ground as the central reference point for all interconnected electronics and power supplies.
2. Drain Wire Connection
- Boat Installations: Connect the MEGA Live drain wire to the DC negative/ground terminal of the unit’s power source.
- Ice Fishing Setups: While electrical noise is typically lower, it’s still recommended to connect the drain wire to the negative terminal of the power source for best results.
3. Mixed Battery Chemistries (e.g., Lithium)
- Grounding principles apply regardless of battery type or voltage.
- Even with lithium or high-voltage battery banks, ensure they reference the boat chassis ground if part of the interconnected system.
4. Isolation vs. Ground Referencing
- Recommended: Reference all battery banks to the boat chassis ground.
- Alternative: If electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) issues arise, isolate noisy systems and carefully manage shared conduction paths to prevent ground loops and EMI.
5. Fuse Block Installations
- If powering the unit via a fuse block, connect the drain wire to the fuse block’s negative terminal, assuming it is properly grounded.
