Just ordered mine today!! Very little info on the internet as far as installing, so thank you for this video 👍 ...... UPDATE**.... the Garmin Reactor Kicker is the best investment I’ve ever made for my boat!! What a game changer ...
Good timing on your excellent video. I had a call with Garmin the other day to get parts for my old TR-1 gold. They are no longer supporting it. Next time something breaks I will be watching this video to install the Reactor 40.
@@homergross I got the kicker model, I love it. I can spend a lot more time fishing. I set a guard zone on my radar so I'm alerted if I get too close to other boats so I can make correction if needed. I created trolling routes on my Garmin 8610 and it follows them perfectly.
Great video Jim, nice to help others as your have. I only wish Garmin offered 1.) on/off/start for the kicker 2.) Power tilt Then I would not have to run back and do that everytime I want to jet back upriver when trolling a strecth. Can always hope!
Really appreciate the install tips. Helped me tremendously. 3rd day out today had the same problem as you with the steering connector falling apart. Rebuilt with loctite and locking nuts which i assume you had to do also. Thanks again!
Thanks to this video we installed this unit pretty easy which was in March of 2020 purchased new for my Yamaha 9.9 high output 4 stroke which pushes a Sportscraft 252 .. All was good until a week ago May 7th 2023 .. My Garmin 93 Sv and autopilot component started beeping and engine went to idle I looked at both screens and it said ECU temperature.. I shut everything down and rebutted and it still gave warning .. So we pulled all poles in and headed to the dock .. Tried it there and same .. I called Garmin and told them what happened and they said did you reboot and let cool down and I said yes .. They had me take the cap off Garmin motor to see if wires were burnt or got rubbed down to wire and Eve looked good .. The wanted the serial number and said send it in and we will give you a new motor .. Well my warranty expired by 2 months so I paid $400 for a new one but get half back after old one is received by them .. Installed new one and ran good for about a half hour and SAME thing happened ECU temperature warning .. Now my 9.9 moves back and forth with ease and it was a very calm evening on the lake smooth as can be .. We pulled poles in went to the dock tried it again and beeping same .. Now waiting to call Garmin in the morning..
Thanks for putting this out there...Quick question?? The video is not too clear as to the location of the CCU (centerline/waterline)...it appears that you put it in the storage area in the bow, but where did you affix it? Thanks in advance
Sorry didn’t get a good picture of the location, I installed the ccu just above my bow storage doors, bolted to the underside of the step, they want the ccu to be more towards the front. Tight lines
I could not figure out what was wrong with my TR-1 system. Spent money on replacement power button didn't resolve. I decided and worked out getting the Reactor 40. Shop I think is putting the GHC 50 in back of boat. not sure if that is best location. I have someone that knows how to work on their TR-1 make me an offer on parts when I get my boat back. Shop told me they will remove all of the TR-1. The shop I don't think will connect the NMEA 2000 for me. I told them I do have it connected to the TR-1. I replaced my fish finder with a new Humminbird and never programed it. Does connecting that to your fish finder really do much? With the TR-1 I didn't think it worked all that great.
Great video! I know it’s been a while, but where did you end up relocating the throttle actuator pack? I can’t figure out where else to put it other than the location in your video. Thanks!!
Hello, I haven’t looked at this for quite a while, I relocated the throttle actuator to the top of the engine, laid it flat and zip tied it down, that completely did away with the over heating from being next to the spark plug.
The system on your dash how much does that cost? I'm trying to figure out my TR-1 and if fails to work will look at getting the Reactor 40. Any suggestions on good dealers and pricing? Only one near me is outragious what they charge, $185 an hour for labor and $4,200 to install. I believe I can do the install myself as long as I have the parts and marked so I know which to use. We have a 2007 Mercury Prokicker 9.9. Is the dash unit really necessary? I usually us the fish finder speed on our Humminbird Helix 12 Si G4N. Use to have a speedo on old Humminbird.
Jimmy, do you think if a kicker had remote controls it would still work ? there was a note in the instructions about it only working with tiller boats. But... if all it is is connected w/ a tie bar to main motor i cant see it being too much different.
Hello, sorry about responding so late, the kicker operates separate from your main and doesn’t have the power to turn the kicker and main, good thing is if the unit fails for any reason you just disconnect the bracket from your kicker and hook back up your easy steer rod
Hey Jim awesome video thanks. Get mine Wednesday and just trying to figure out install. You seem to explain it where it’s easy to do. Have same type of boat, main motor and kicker so should be easy. Only question I have is where or how did you install the CCU. Any more pics you have of that. I’m going to basically mimic everything you did on your boat.
Thank you for the video. From what I can find online the cruise control is not an option on the kicker version. Have you figured out how to use cruise control? If so how?
Hi Jimmy Enjoyed you video. What were the steps to connect your Garmin Reactor 40 Kicker Autopilot to your Lowrance Sounder? My guess is you entered the Trolling Motor Autopilot section on your Lowrance? Any help will be much appreciated. Thanks, Kenny
Hello, you don’t have to enter anything into your lowrance, make sure though that on preferred sources on your GHC to recognize what you are using as a heading sensor. I’m using a point one so that’s what I have. Because it on the nema 2000 when you enter way point or routes to go then on your remote enter go to route it will talk to the lowrance. Tight lines
Jimmy, Thank you very much for the great video. I also purchased the kicker autopilot and have a question i hope you can help me with.There is the steering cable that connects the CCU to the ECU. Where that cable connects to the CCU there is a additional cable with 4 bare wires. the instructions state to connect those the steering bus on the boat. According to my boats wiring schematic i dont have a steering bus and being a kicker package that im connecting to a tiller motor im not sure how to proceed. Did you use those wires? and if so where did you connect them. Thank you for any response. Rob
Hello Rob, I think what you are looking at on the CCU isn’t a steering bus connection but the nema 2000 connection, if you already have a nema 2000 then you won’t need to hook up the power wires but will need to have it hooked up to the nema back bone. and if you have a GHC dash controller that also hooks to the nema back bone along with your fish finder. The nema system is how the components talk to each other. the CCU will need to be connected by the nema to either your fish finder that would need to be blue tooth capable that will pair to your remote or the GHC 20 dash unit that pairs to your remote or both in which you will be able to follow a route and go to a way point by way of your fish finder. Hope that helps you. Tight lines
@@jamesdonnelson2519 Jim, Thank you for responding. and again thank you for the video. theres not much out there for help with this unit. I did get some help from garmin they were actually pretty good.All set Thanks again
Just received one, installing this weekend, scared. Watching your video 14th time😀. Tired running ulterra and kicker together. Hope install will go well. Also put dolphin fin from uncle norms marine, more rudder for 8hp honda to steer. Will update and thanks you!
Thank you for putting out this video. Very helpful! I have 2 questions, 1st is the flat bracket that mounts for The Yamaha. Was it a factory problem or did something cause it to break? How is your throttle actuator mounted now?
The bracket was ok it was where the flat bracket connected to the motor bracket that fell apart on my sea trial, so what I did was, I found a Teflon insert that was slightly thicker than the bracket, used two very slim as fender washers and a 1/4 x 28 nylock, still working great, the throttle activator was moved to the top of the engine. My email is jc.donnelson@gmail.com send me note and I’ll send a picture of the activator mounting. Tight lines. Jim
great video Jimmy! I recently puchased a 22 foot Cabo and im in need of a kicker motor. I was looking at the yamaha 9.9HT. However, im also looking at buying a 16 foot klamath truck topper. If I were to buy a 20 horse yamaha and use it on both boats, how hard would it be to disconnect all the garmin wiring from boat A to add to boat B. Bascially what im thinking is it why buy 2 motors with autopilot if I can get away with only buying one motor but 2 sets of wiring(1 for each boat). Also, are the tiller and the variable rpm still operation after you install the reactor 40. Maybe im being too big of a cheap-O.
Good day Adam, I’ll me attempt to answer your question. If you buy one motor, the throttle and steering activator are already on the kicker, note the throttle activator as I showed on the video I had to move to the top of the engine to stop over heating issues, the components and wiring you’d have to move is your ECU(the brain)the CCU (compass)and the GHC 20 ( the dash unit that controls and pairs with your remote) if not the GHC then a fish finder that has blue tooth capability that will pair with your remote and will act as your heading sensor if you don’t have an individual one, like a point one, You will need to decide if the hassle of moving these components are worth it. As for the the rpm adjustment that comes with your throttle activator that after installation it becomes part of your kicker but only when using the auto pilot.
Hey Ral, my reply didn’t go through, I’ll try and make one on setting up routes and waypoints on the Gen 3. Until then here’s an idea. On your gen 3 while sitting at home on the chart page curser to where you want to start a route, than go to the route page and select new route, by map and it should go to where your curser is, move along that depth line and enter each route point, when finished save and name, now that route is on your log, on your remote select one of the three presets to be for routes. Now when on the water go to that route and go to then on your remote push that preset number the number should start to flash on the remote then push again at that point the auto pilot should take over. I may be a little off in sequence but with some practice you will figure it out, just need to take some time on quiet water and play with it. Good luck and tight lines
Hey Jimmy, great video. I have a question about the Throttle Actuator. I have installed everything but have been working with Garmin on getting the throttle actuator to show signs of life. It looks like there is a light on the actuator. Is that correct? If there is a light when does it come on? I have been sent a new actuator, cables, and now ECU with no luck. Steering is working great. Any feedback you have around the throttle actuator and how I might know if it's getting a signal and power would be helpful. Thanks and again, awesome video.
Never mind Jimmy. I figured it out after another 1.5 hours on the line with Garmin. Long story short, the little tiny opening on the front of the throttle actuator does nothing and there is no LED in there. That was misinformation from one of the Garmin support guys I talked to early on. Another misconception is that there should be an RPM reading in the Tachometer information displayed when you go into the settings on the GHC or your Garmin Chartplotter. And Garmin will actually be removing the tachometer RPM reading from the settings on the GHC in a future update. Nonetheless, I have it working now. I hope this info helps someone else trying to understand the ins and outs of the throttle on the Reactor.
Garmin highly recommends that the CCU is mounted towards the bow as close to the water line and as close to center as you can, also to stay clear of any magnetic field such as speakers, your vhf, anything that could effect a compass, that’s what your CCU is. You can use a hand held compass pass over the area to make sure the needle doesn’t move with in a foot or two if possible. Hope that helps .
Hello Rusty, all controls stay the same, to operate you put into gear at idle and let your remote throttle up or down and steer, when in standby or the unit is off your helm controls operate as they always have. Tight lines. Jim
Thanks ya I figured it out. Only battle I have is the tube on my Merc the tread is differnt dosnt thread on to far. Certain year the used differnt thread pattern. That’s what I was told. Anyways. Thanks
Garmin techs have told me they have proved to endure the Alaska waters. Ive been in some pretty good size water using it but my trips to the ocean have all been canceled so I can’t really comment.
I bought and installed mine on Yamaha 8HP motor. Everything works but throttle control. Spent about 1.5 month working with Garmin on troubleshooting and pretty much replaced all components one at the time except NEMA switch and the display. Can't really get straight answer on how to mount RPM sensor wire. One Garmin rep says that it has to be clipped to the spark plug wire right next to spark plug boot, other one said that I have to actually stick it underneath the boot. A boat mechanic told me that I need to coil it up around spark plug wire 5-6 times. Don't really know what is right and whether or not this is the root cause.
I’ll tell you how we installed the one I have, I zip tied the small sensor wire to the spark plug wire, the activator body we moved to the top of the engine to keep inductance from the main body. That has worked for me. My last 6 trips out I have been getting a speed source error and my remote won’t adjust the speed, each time resetting back to factory defaults on the GHC20 has fixed the issue but it has been a bit annoying. A tech who might be able to help is Fred at Harbor Marine in Everett Wa. He’s installed several .Hope you find out what’s going on, let me know. Tight lines. Jim D
I fixed mine by adjusting cable wire. Also, garmin tech recommended to set low rpm settings to at least 1000. May be you need to do this to avoid error messages
I have only had mine since January 2020, We are on the salt primarily, the reports I got before buying were very positive on durability in salt. As far as your new Honda if it has a tiller tube for the steering activator it should work but you should for sure contact your Garmin dealer to verify. Good luck & tight lines.
I have had a couple issues, but overall it’s been a great tool for trolling. Especially when I’m fishing by myself or one other. You can run gear without always adjusting the steering and when you have a fish on it’s great for keeping that fish at the stern.
Hello Ral, the kit comes with a Nema 2000 set up, the CCU, GHC 20 and the Gen 3 will communicate through that. When you set a way pt or route to navigate to and start or go to on you unit you then push one of the presets that you have set up on your remote it will start to blink that number push again and the pilot takes over. Makes running gear almost to fun.
Northgate Construction , as far as I know you don’t have to have it connected to a graph, the remote pairs with the GHC20 , you just won’t have the ability to navigate to a way point or route. But you still have availability of all the functions like steering hold, zig zag pattern, u turn, Williamson turn etc. Tight lines.
No information for you on how you could update, that would be a Garmin question. Dock side and sea trial were very simple and easy to perform. I downloaded the manual from the Garmin site before I bought the system to see what the requirements would be. Tight lines.
I am having throttle activator issues on my Yamaha 9.9. Had the unit installed like this video, but it appears to over heat and quits working. Anyone have similar problem or find a different location to install?
My location was based on where a shop here recommended but I did have an over heating issue and Harbor Marine had it relocated to the top of the engine, I haven’t had any issues since.
Should I also install a Garmin stainless tilt tube anyone do this we do some salt and wash after every use it's on a Yamaha t8 what's the maintenance on that tilt tube every year thx
I did change my tilt tube, problem with the Yamaha is it’s a mild steel tube and creates corrosion so after several trips if you don’t clean it the plastic screw on the steering actuator will strip from the resistance. Happened to me at the end of last season.
THIS IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH NEW HONDA 8hp!!! Just tried to install it and got off the phone with Garmin. This motor doesn’t have a push tube to install steering actuator. How nice! Return they said. TOTAL BUMMER
Piece of junk replaced steering control, throttle control, both modules. Only this that wasnt replaced was the cables. Wasted a whole season and alot of money.
Could you tell a little more please? Did garmin not warranty faulty stuff, was your boat a weird size where things didn’t run smoothly or just junk like you said. I’m looking to get this for my Luxor 200 for 2 person fishing tournaments instead of itroll. Would be great for us both to be at back of boat obviously. Anymore information would really be appreciated. I haven’t heard much negative on these units.
Just ordered mine today!! Very little info on the internet as far as installing, so thank you for this video 👍 ...... UPDATE**.... the Garmin Reactor Kicker is the best investment I’ve ever made for my boat!! What a game changer ...
So glad to hear you like it as I’m putting mine tomorrow
Mat Bob you’ll love it, install is pretty straight forward 👍
Can u mount compass heading directly to wood floor in bottom of step through box we have a windshield boat like Jimmy's
Good timing on your excellent video. I had a call with Garmin the other day to get parts for my old TR-1 gold. They are no longer supporting it. Next time something breaks I will be watching this video to install the Reactor 40.
Thank you Jimmy, good information. I'm having one installed on my Raider Explorer 210, can't wait to engage it on a route so I can fish.
How are you liking the reactor? Did you get one that controls main hydraulic or did you get kicker only model? Thank you looking to buy one
@@homergross I got the kicker model, I love it. I can spend a lot more time fishing. I set a guard zone on my radar so I'm alerted if I get too close to other boats so I can make correction if needed. I created trolling routes on my Garmin 8610 and it follows them perfectly.
Great video Jim, nice to help others as your have. I only wish Garmin offered 1.) on/off/start for the kicker 2.) Power tilt Then I would not have to run back and do that everytime I want to jet back upriver when trolling a strecth. Can always hope!
Really appreciate the install tips. Helped me tremendously. 3rd day out today had the same problem as you with the steering connector falling apart. Rebuilt with loctite and locking nuts which i assume you had to do also. Thanks again!
Thanks for this! Picking one up from Stevens on Monday.
Thanks to this video we installed this unit pretty easy which was in March of 2020 purchased new for my Yamaha 9.9 high output 4 stroke which pushes a Sportscraft 252 .. All was good until a week ago May 7th 2023 .. My Garmin 93 Sv and autopilot component started beeping and engine went to idle I looked at both screens and it said ECU temperature.. I shut everything down and rebutted and it still gave warning .. So we pulled all poles in and headed to the dock .. Tried it there and same .. I called Garmin and told them what happened and they said did you reboot and let cool down and I said yes .. They had me take the cap off Garmin motor to see if wires were burnt or got rubbed down to wire and Eve looked good .. The wanted the serial number and said send it in and we will give you a new motor .. Well my warranty expired by 2 months so I paid $400 for a new one but get half back after old one is received by them .. Installed new one and ran good for about a half hour and SAME thing happened ECU temperature warning .. Now my 9.9 moves back and forth with ease and it was a very calm evening on the lake smooth as can be .. We pulled poles in went to the dock tried it again and beeping same .. Now waiting to call Garmin in the morning..
I didnt even know this was a thing. Now I want one
Thank you Jimmy I'm installing one right now this will help.
How are you liking the reactor? Did you get one that controls main hydraulic or did you get kicker only model? Thank you looking to buy one
Are you still able to manually steer the kicker with the steering linear actuator attached?
Thanks for putting this out there...Quick question?? The video is not too clear as to the location of the CCU (centerline/waterline)...it appears that you put it in the storage area in the bow, but where did you affix it? Thanks in advance
Sorry didn’t get a good picture of the location, I installed the ccu just above my bow storage doors, bolted to the underside of the step, they want the ccu to be more towards the front. Tight lines
I could not figure out what was wrong with my TR-1 system. Spent money on replacement power button didn't resolve. I decided and worked out getting the Reactor 40. Shop I think is putting the GHC 50 in back of boat. not sure if that is best location. I have someone that knows how to work on their TR-1 make me an offer on parts when I get my boat back. Shop told me they will remove all of the TR-1. The shop I don't think will connect the NMEA 2000 for me. I told them I do have it connected to the TR-1. I replaced my fish finder with a new Humminbird and never programed it. Does connecting that to your fish finder really do much? With the TR-1 I didn't think it worked all that great.
Great video! I know it’s been a while, but where did you end up relocating the throttle actuator pack? I can’t figure out where else to put it other than the location in your video. Thanks!!
Hello, I haven’t looked at this for quite a while, I relocated the throttle actuator to the top of the engine, laid it flat and zip tied it down, that completely did away with the over heating from being next to the spark plug.
Ok great, thank you! Are you still running the reactor?
The system on your dash how much does that cost? I'm trying to figure out my TR-1 and if fails to work will look at getting the Reactor 40. Any suggestions on good dealers and pricing? Only one near me is outragious what they charge, $185 an hour for labor and $4,200 to install. I believe I can do the install myself as long as I have the parts and marked so I know which to use. We have a 2007 Mercury Prokicker 9.9. Is the dash unit really necessary? I usually us the fish finder speed on our Humminbird Helix 12 Si G4N. Use to have a speedo on old Humminbird.
Do you know if you can set speed based off GPS speed or is it just the 5 settings on the remote?
Jimmy, do you think if a kicker had remote controls it would still work ? there was a note in the instructions about it only working with tiller boats. But... if all it is is connected w/ a tie bar to main motor i cant see it being too much different.
Hello, sorry about responding so late, the kicker operates separate from your main and doesn’t have the power to turn the kicker and main, good thing is if the unit fails for any reason you just disconnect the bracket from your kicker and hook back up your easy steer rod
Awesome Vid, thanks for sharing!
Hey Jim awesome video thanks. Get mine Wednesday and just trying to figure out install. You seem to explain it where it’s easy to do. Have same type of boat, main motor and kicker so should be easy. Only question I have is where or how did you install the CCU. Any more pics you have of that. I’m going to basically mimic everything you did on your boat.
Hello Luis, email me and I’ll send you some pictures. Jc.donnelson@ Gmail.com
Thank you for the video. From what I can find online the cruise control is not an option on the kicker version. Have you figured out how to use cruise control? If so how?
Hi Jimmy
Enjoyed you video.
What were the steps to connect your Garmin Reactor 40 Kicker Autopilot to your Lowrance Sounder?
My guess is you entered the Trolling Motor Autopilot section on your Lowrance?
Any help will be much appreciated.
Thanks, Kenny
Hello, you don’t have to enter anything into your lowrance, make sure though that on preferred sources on your GHC to recognize what you are using as a heading sensor. I’m using a point one so that’s what I have. Because it on the nema 2000 when you enter way point or routes to go then on your remote enter go to route it will talk to the lowrance. Tight lines
Great video! Thank you. I’ll be installing my own reactor 40 on my new Seahawk HT in a couple months.
Thanks for the clear and helpful information! We just got one and this helped a bunch! Happy fishing!
How are you liking the reactor? Did you get one that controls main hydraulic or did you get kicker only model? Thank you looking to buy one
@@homergross I got the kicker model. We really like it. Haven’t had any issues with it.
Great video but how did you route the cable through the kicker cowling?
Can it work with Tohatsu outboard with tiller steering system ?
Jimmy, Thank you very much for the great video. I also purchased the kicker autopilot and have a question i hope you can help me with.There is the steering cable that connects the CCU to the ECU. Where that cable connects to the CCU there is a additional cable with 4 bare wires. the instructions state to connect those the steering bus on the boat. According to my boats wiring schematic i dont have a steering bus and being a kicker package that im connecting to a tiller motor im not sure how to proceed. Did you use those wires? and if so where did you connect them. Thank you for any response. Rob
Hello Rob, I think what you are looking at on the CCU isn’t a steering bus connection but the nema 2000 connection, if you already have a nema 2000 then you won’t need to hook up the power wires but will need to have it hooked up to the nema back bone. and if you have a GHC dash controller that also hooks to the nema back bone along with your fish finder. The nema system is how the components talk to each other. the CCU will need to be connected by the nema to either your fish finder that would need to be blue tooth capable that will pair to your remote or the GHC 20 dash unit that pairs to your remote or both in which you will be able to follow a route and go to a way point by way of your fish finder. Hope that helps you. Tight lines
@@jamesdonnelson2519 Jim, Thank you for responding. and again thank you for the video. theres not much out there for help with this unit. I did get some help from garmin they were actually pretty good.All set Thanks again
Just received one, installing this weekend, scared. Watching your video 14th time😀. Tired running ulterra and kicker together. Hope install will go well. Also put dolphin fin from uncle norms marine, more rudder for 8hp honda to steer. Will update and thanks you!
How are you liking the reactor? Did you get one that controls main hydraulic or did you get kicker only model? Thank you looking to buy one
@@homergross .
Thank you for putting out this video. Very helpful! I have 2 questions, 1st is the flat bracket that mounts for The Yamaha. Was it a factory problem or did something cause it to break? How is your throttle actuator mounted now?
The bracket was ok it was where the flat bracket connected to the motor bracket that fell apart on my sea trial, so what I did was, I found a Teflon insert that was slightly thicker than the bracket, used two very slim as fender washers and a 1/4 x 28 nylock, still working great, the throttle activator was moved to the top of the engine. My email is jc.donnelson@gmail.com send me note and I’ll send a picture of the activator mounting. Tight lines. Jim
great video Jimmy! I recently puchased a 22 foot Cabo and im in need of a kicker motor. I was looking at the yamaha 9.9HT. However, im also looking at buying a 16 foot klamath truck topper. If I were to buy a 20 horse yamaha and use it on both boats, how hard would it be to disconnect all the garmin wiring from boat A to add to boat B. Bascially what im thinking is it why buy 2 motors with autopilot if I can get away with only buying one motor but 2 sets of wiring(1 for each boat). Also, are the tiller and the variable rpm still operation after you install the reactor 40. Maybe im being too big of a cheap-O.
Good day Adam, I’ll me attempt to answer your question. If you buy one motor, the throttle and steering activator are already on the kicker, note the throttle activator as I showed on the video I had to move to the top of the engine to stop over heating issues, the components and wiring you’d have to move is your ECU(the brain)the CCU (compass)and the GHC 20 ( the dash unit that controls and pairs with your remote) if not the GHC then a fish finder that has blue tooth capability that will pair with your remote and will act as your heading sensor if you don’t have an individual one, like a point one, You will need to decide if the hassle of moving these components are worth it. As for the the rpm adjustment that comes with your throttle activator that after installation it becomes part of your kicker but only when using the auto pilot.
@@jamesdonnelson2519 thanks Jimmy.
Any chance you can do a video on the lowrance communication with setting up routes and trails for the Garmin
Thank you very much for your time and help I appreciate it
Hey Ral, my reply didn’t go through, I’ll try and make one on setting up routes and waypoints on the Gen 3. Until then here’s an idea. On your gen 3 while sitting at home on the chart page curser to where you want to start a route, than go to the route page and select new route, by map and it should go to where your curser is, move along that depth line and enter each route point, when finished save and name, now that route is on your log, on your remote select one of the three presets to be for routes. Now when on the water go to that route and go to then on your remote push that preset number the number should start to flash on the remote then push again at that point the auto pilot should take over. I may be a little off in sequence but with some practice you will figure it out, just need to take some time on quiet water and play with it. Good luck and tight lines
Hey Jimmy, great video. I have a question about the Throttle Actuator. I have installed everything but have been working with Garmin on getting the throttle actuator to show signs of life. It looks like there is a light on the actuator. Is that correct? If there is a light when does it come on? I have been sent a new actuator, cables, and now ECU with no luck. Steering is working great. Any feedback you have around the throttle actuator and how I might know if it's getting a signal and power would be helpful. Thanks and again, awesome video.
Never mind Jimmy. I figured it out after another 1.5 hours on the line with Garmin. Long story short, the little tiny opening on the front of the throttle actuator does nothing and there is no LED in there. That was misinformation from one of the Garmin support guys I talked to early on. Another misconception is that there should be an RPM reading in the Tachometer information displayed when you go into the settings on the GHC or your Garmin Chartplotter. And Garmin will actually be removing the tachometer RPM reading from the settings on the GHC in a future update. Nonetheless, I have it working now. I hope this info helps someone else trying to understand the ins and outs of the throttle on the Reactor.
Great video. I’m going to order one as well. I’m not ordering the in dash unit. Can I mount all units back in the transom? Thanks.
Garmin highly recommends that the CCU is mounted towards the bow as close to the water line and as close to center as you can, also to stay clear of any magnetic field such as speakers, your vhf, anything that could effect a compass, that’s what your CCU is. You can use a hand held compass pass over the area to make sure the needle doesn’t move with in a foot or two if possible. Hope that helps .
Do u have full controls at the steering wheel we do wondering if I can keep my throttle.tilt trim helm controls and add this
Hello Rusty, all controls stay the same, to operate you put into gear at idle and let your remote throttle up or down and steer, when in standby or the unit is off your helm controls operate as they always have. Tight lines. Jim
Thanks ya I figured it out. Only battle I have is the tube on my Merc the tread is differnt dosnt thread on to far. Certain year the used differnt thread pattern. That’s what I was told. Anyways. Thanks
Hey Jimmy great video! Random question, do you know if you can interface the garmin reactor 40 kicker with a lowrance hds live fishfinder?
Yes you can through the nema 2000. They work quite well together, routes or waypoints.
What is the material of construction and is it corrosion resistant? Will it hold up well to use in the ocean?
Garmin techs have told me they have proved to endure the Alaska waters. Ive been in some pretty good size water using it but my trips to the ocean have all been canceled so I can’t really comment.
I bought and installed mine on Yamaha 8HP motor. Everything works but throttle control. Spent about 1.5 month working with Garmin on troubleshooting and pretty much replaced all components one at the time except NEMA switch and the display. Can't really get straight answer on how to mount RPM sensor wire. One Garmin rep says that it has to be clipped to the spark plug wire right next to spark plug boot, other one said that I have to actually stick it underneath the boot. A boat mechanic told me that I need to coil it up around spark plug wire 5-6 times. Don't really know what is right and whether or not this is the root cause.
I’ll tell you how we installed the one I have, I zip tied the small sensor wire to the spark plug wire, the activator body we moved to the top of the engine to keep inductance from the main body. That has worked for me. My last 6 trips out I have been getting a speed source error and my remote won’t adjust the speed, each time resetting back to factory defaults on the GHC20 has fixed the issue but it has been a bit annoying. A tech who might be able to help is Fred at Harbor Marine in Everett Wa. He’s installed several .Hope you find out what’s going on, let me know. Tight lines. Jim D
I fixed mine by adjusting cable wire. Also, garmin tech recommended to set low rpm settings to at least 1000. May be you need to do this to avoid error messages
How difficult is this installation?
Will this work if you have a tie-bar connected to the main motor?
It won’t work to try and turn your main with it, kicker only.
How is it in salt? Also will this work on a 2020 Honda 20 hp kicker?
I have only had mine since January 2020, We are on the salt primarily, the reports I got before buying were very positive on durability in salt. As far as your new Honda if it has a tiller tube for the steering activator it should work but you should for sure contact your Garmin dealer to verify. Good luck & tight lines.
Can you set it to keep you at a certain speed?
You sure can, in fact you can raise or lower in small increments so you can find and stay on that sweet spot
Do you still like it? Any issue with it?
I have had a couple issues, but overall it’s been a great tool for trolling. Especially when I’m fishing by myself or one other. You can run gear without always adjusting the steering and when you have a fish on it’s great for keeping that fish at the stern.
@@jamesdonnelson2519 love it
How did you hook it up to your lowrance gen 3?
Hello Ral, the kit comes with a Nema 2000 set up, the CCU, GHC 20 and the Gen 3 will communicate through that. When you set a way pt or route to navigate to and start or go to on you unit you then push one of the presets that you have set up on your remote it will start to blink that number push again and the pilot takes over. Makes running gear almost to fun.
Hey Ral. I’ll try and get one done in the next couple of weeks.
Nice video thanks. Just got mine today intimidating woa. Do I have to hook it up to a separate graph or just use the monitor it came with. Thanks mike
Northgate Construction , as far as I know you don’t have to have it connected to a graph, the remote pairs with the GHC20 , you just won’t have the ability to navigate to a way point or route. But you still have availability of all the functions like steering hold, zig zag pattern, u turn, Williamson turn etc. Tight lines.
Can you tilt the kicker all the way up
Yes
How will you do updates to your ghc20 and ecu ? How did the dockside and on the water trials go?
No information for you on how you could update, that would be a Garmin question. Dock side and sea trial were very simple and easy to perform. I downloaded the manual from the Garmin site before I bought the system to see what the requirements would be. Tight lines.
I am having throttle activator issues on my Yamaha 9.9. Had the unit installed like this video, but it appears to over heat and quits working. Anyone have similar problem or find a different location to install?
My location was based on where a shop here recommended but I did have an over heating issue and Harbor Marine had it relocated to the top of the engine, I haven’t had any issues since.
@@jamesdonnelson2519
Thanks, I did the same and had no problems today, wish I had talked to you earlier.
I had five successful trips and now the unit is over heating. Would you send me a photo of your set up. Fmmcgrane@comcast.net. Thanks
Should I also install a Garmin stainless tilt tube anyone do this we do some salt and wash after every use it's on a Yamaha t8 what's the maintenance on that tilt tube every year thx
I did change my tilt tube, problem with the Yamaha is it’s a mild steel tube and creates corrosion so after several trips if you don’t clean it the plastic screw on the steering actuator will strip from the resistance. Happened to me at the end of last season.
THIS IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH NEW HONDA 8hp!!!
Just tried to install it and got off the phone with Garmin. This motor doesn’t have a push tube to install steering actuator. How nice! Return they said. TOTAL BUMMER
Piece of junk replaced steering control, throttle control, both modules. Only this that wasnt replaced was the cables. Wasted a whole season and alot of money.
Could you tell a little more please? Did garmin not warranty faulty stuff, was your boat a weird size where things didn’t run smoothly or just junk like you said. I’m looking to get this for my Luxor 200 for 2 person fishing tournaments instead of itroll. Would be great for us both to be at back of boat obviously. Anymore information would really be appreciated. I haven’t heard much negative on these units.
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