GARMIN SOUNDER/FISH FINDER ISSUES

[loaferoatan]

Hello:
I own two Garmin fish finders. A 545s and a 178c. I bought the 545 as an upgrade, but hung on to the 178c for a back-up. My boat has been sitting on it's mooring for two weeks with the 545s in the centre console locked up and the 178c has been in my closet for about five months.

A couple days ago I went to use the 545s and it did not power up. The LCD does not turn on. I thought it was corrosion so I cleaned the pins and plugged it back in, nothing. I know it's getting power because the buttons are lit. So I took it out, changed the cord and put in the 178c. They still won't power up. I've also bypassed the switches on my boat and tested them directly on the battery.

Can they both be bad? Is there some kinda trick I'm missing? Any info will be greatly appreciated before I try and send them to Garmin.
Cheers
AE

[Foul Hook'd]

I had a 178C for 4 years and the only time it failed to come on was a bad ground. How long did you leave it on?? Not sure if it has a internal memory battery or not as I sent all the paper work with it when I sold the boat. They can be slow to power up if it is extremely cold, but I see you are too far south for that problem

Foul Hook'd