Excalibur problems

[bikerlawyer]

The rubber coating over the wires going to the coil has disintegrated, bad. Called Kellyco and with labor it will be about $300-$350 to replace the coil! Asked about doing a waterproof connector so I could switch between 8 and 10 inch coils, girl I talked to was asking Barry, he said they really don't do that but if I brought him the connector he might. I think I may make this my land machine and just buy an Aquapulse for that kind of money. This has been a lightly used machine and besides the knobs falling off I had so send it to Chicago last year to replace the connector going to the battery, then they lost my battery but in their defense gave me a new one. I think that cost me a couple hundred. Then they told me the coil had also split and wouldn't pass the leak test so I epoxied that one myself. Anyone who thinks these detectors are "rugged" must not be using theirs much!

 

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[bigscoop]

I've beat mine, dropped mine, smack it with my scoop, had it nearly yanked from arm "a lot" and pounded by waves "a lot" and....not long ago a teenager even ran over it, and me, while chasing a fly ball. It still purrs like a kitten. It's been taking this abuse from me for four years, I can't say what it's life was like the ten years or so prior to that? But here's the most important thing to any of them, regardless of make.......if you don't maintain them in a saltwater environment they will all shrivel up and die. Salt is harsh on everything, sucks the moisture right out of everything.

 

[gamiller]

The Excalibur is an excellent machine but also requires a lot TLC and in my opinion a little delicate for my taste. I can't really blame you for being upset. Making a beach machine so delicate for a mainly male dominated activity seems counter productive. I am sure others will chime in to defend the Excalibur.

 

[gamiller]

As bigscoop said saltwater is harsh on everything and maintenance is important.

 

[bigscoop]

The Excalibur is an excellent machine but also requires a lot TLC and in my opinion a little delicate for my taste. I can't really blame you for being upset. Making a beach machine so delicate for a mainly male dominated activity seems counter productive. I am sure others will chime in to defend the Excalibur.

You make a great point.....about making everything so delicate for a male dominate activity.....seems like they should come with pads and a helmet. lol

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

Sounds like your Excalibur 1000 is a closet queen, and most likely is not being periodically maintained.
I suspect your problem(s) are a result of not using your detector enough (Use it or Loose it).
Out of curiosity, just how old is it and did you purchase it new?

All detectors, including entry level detectors are delicate scientific instruments and should be treated with care. A pressure rating of 200 feet, those not mean that the detector is rugged. All it means is that that it should operate at that depth, without failure such as the pods imploding, seals not leaking, etc.

The rubber coating over the wires going to the coil has disintegrated, bad. Called Kellyco and with labor it will be about $300-$350 to replace the coil! Asked about doing a waterproof connector so I could switch between 8 and 10 inch coils, girl I talked to was asking Barry, he said they really don't do that but if I brought him the connector he might. I think I may make this my land machine and just buy an Aquapulse for that kind of money. This has been a lightly used machine and besides the knobs falling off I had so send it to Chicago last year to replace the connector going to the battery, then they lost my battery but in their defense gave me a new one. I think that cost me a couple hundred. Then they told me the coil had also split and wouldn't pass the leak test so I epoxied that one myself. Anyone who thinks these detectors are "rugged" must not be using theirs much!

 

[bikerlawyer]

I use it pretty regularly. The rubber coating has to be defective. The rubber going to the headphones is like new, the one to the coil isn't just split in one place it is literally falling apart the entire length.

 

[bigscoop]

I use it pretty regularly. The rubber coating has to be defective. The rubber going to the headphones is like new, the one to the coil isn't just split in one place it is literally falling apart the entire length.

Salt. The location above the coil is subject to a lot of salt exposure, over time it causes the insulation to dry and crack, any motion in the wire accelerating the process once the insulation starts losing its flexibility. Even when in the saltwater the elements are at work in drying out the insulation. "Always" give your machine a thorough fresh water rinsing after each use and never store it in extremely dry/hot environments. This simple handling & care can extend the life of your machine by years.

That insulation is an oil base, dry it out and it's going to crack.

 

[OBN]

Common problem on the excaliburs, reason....My opinion would be more quality of the material used and it non-compatibility to the conditions the machine is subjected to. I abuse my Excaliburs specially the one for test purposes but One thing I always do is to make sure the cables are sprayed with McNett Silicon Spray. I have over 500 hours on my machine this year with no issues yet.

 

[gamiller]

OBN good tip on the silicon spray, do you reapply it before the every use, silly question I know. The product is very reasonably priced also would seem to add years to the lifetime of detector.

 

[OBN]

Not a silly question....I'm not sure but it does seem to help evade problems with the cables.


After a good wash, maybe 3 to 4 days I will use the silicon spray and I have ran out of it now and the last two times have used Dow#7 or you can use Dow#111 which is a silicon grease. And remember I use my one Excalibur at least 5 days a week in saltwater only.

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

OBN: What do you consider a good wash and how do you usually do it?
Do you just flush it with water several times of do also use a mild soap and towel dry

If you continuously hunt, should you spray the wires with Silicon after they have dryed after
each hunt? Or only when it will not be used for a few days.

I assume the cables for the CTX 3030 would deteriorate like wise.
How do you care for these cable wires as they are inside the inner shaft, not wrapped around?

I bought extra shafts for the CTX 3030, as it would be difficult and time consuming to change coils otherwise.

Common problem on the excaliburs, reason....My opinion would be more quality of the material used and it non-compatibility to the conditions the machine is subjected to. I abuse my Excaliburs specially the one for test purposes but One thing I always do is to make sure the cables are sprayed with McNett Silicon Spray. I have over 500 hours on my machine this year with no issues yet.

 

[pat-tekker-cat]

Well my two Excal's (Watercat and Fluffy), have not been without their issues.
Watercat at about 18 mnths, had the same cable problems, cracking/splitting. On warranty, sent her in, John at Minelab told me, "keep her outta the sun".
LAWL! I advised, this is Florida dude, nothing stays outta the sun, plus they underwater all day! I baby them machines, wash, clean, wash again, inspect, blahblahblah.....
Seems Minelab had a time, when the cables they purchased were, uh, let's say, sub-par. (chinese mfg saving on plastic mix, more like it). They seemed to have this problem with a lot of the tekkers, at that time. Also, the headphones had to be rewired, as, yeah, the salt, over time (cheap wires again)......

Thanks for the spray advice OBN, been wondering about wire protection. I was gonna knit them little wire covers,
like for the toaster or can opener.

Fluffy, had some hitch in her getty-up, Barry or one of em at Kellyco fixed her up. It's just aggravating, for the amount of money they costs. AND, when I bought the thing, I had to go exchange the dang battery charger 3 TIMES! Lorraine and Joe had a BOX FULL of defunct chargers from other sales,
(again, "oh no, we no have that part, who cares, mix in with good ones, once they on container ship......")
I pay that much, I expect them to be quality, and or last more than 90 days to 2 yrs, I mean, come on!

Shoulda named them both Princess. I had to name the new computer washing machine THAT, though.
She has an aversion to clothes, water, and spinning.

 

[meMiner]

I am glad that I read this post. I used to be very careful to wash my machine after being in the ocean, but got pretty lazy about it. At a hotel, I would take a dip in the freshwater pool on the way back to the room and/or put it in the shower. Now, I use it for the full trip (1 or 2 weeks) and clean it when I get home. Only problem that I ever had was my fault on a Fisher CZ, where I forgot to tighten the screws on the battery housing. The battery blew up in minutes and the acid ate the connectors.

Another tip for some. Watch were you spray bug spray containing deet. If you are putting on bug juice, make sure the overspray does not land on anything plastic. It will eat it faster than you can believe. If you do, get the detector into the water quickly to try and wash it off. Also, careful about leaving the detector in your vehicle on a sunny day. The manual says this too. The oven temperatures can destroy it pronto.

 

[OBN]

OBN: What do you consider a good wash and how do you usually do it?

Maybe 2 minutes to get the sand / salt off her, I try and get in all the tight spots, like the heyco fittings of the pod, battery connector, and where it wraps around the shaft...but no scrubing, I do take my time on lubing the cables, unwinding from the shaft, and remember the coils I can remove...all lubed after they dry.

On the CTX, only if I change coils do I take the time to rinse n lube. And I use the CTX so little right now I need to stay on them because I believe down time is as bad as being out if they are not taken care of, the funny thing is I have coils from the old sword model excaliburs from the early to mid 90's...Not one is cracked and never have I seen one crarked or frayed.

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

[Regarding the old Sword model Excaliburs: Do you know if they were made by Coiltech, which used to supply coils to Minelab.
From the RHS picture it looks like the bottom failed coils (based on top decal, and bottom skid plate) are slim line Tornado coils which are stock for current model Excalibur ll / Sovereign GT detectors. This is alarming as it is most likely that these cables will fail at an accelerated failure rate as they age.
In contrast the failure of the coil cables on the Excalibur (Old Blue) occurred over a longer period of time. I suspect that some of the damage which occurred to the cables while the detector was stored in a may be partially the result of ozone damage, as they are not in the sun and most likely have were carefully cleaned before storing.
Are you seeing similar coil damage on: Caltech Coils such as the WOT, or the SEF butterfly coils installed on modified Excalibur’s or used on Sovereigns.

QUOTE=OBN;4199135]Maybe 2 minutes to get the sand / salt off her, I try and get in all the tight spots, like the heyco fittings of the pod, battery connector, and where it wraps around the shaft...but no scrubing, I do take my time on lubing the cables, unwinding from the shaft, and remember the coils I can remove...all lubed after they dry.

On the CTX, only if I change coils do I take the time to rinse n lube. And I use the CTX so little right now I need to stay on them because I believe down time is as bad as being out if they are not taken care of, the funny thing is I have coils from the old sword model excaliburs from the early to mid 90's...Not one is cracked and never have I seen one crarked or frayed.[/QUOTE]

 

[OBN]

Yes, coiltech from what I have heard made the sword horseshoe coils, and I have only heard of one issues with a WOT coil cable out of many, nothing on the SEF's, Sunrays, or Detech's. Which I just put one on a Excalibur...Very nice cable but bigger then the stock heyco fitting so a real pain. Also no color coding other then two gray wires and there shielding, had to cut the connector up to figure out the pin out. I would not recommend this coil for the Excalibur n saltwater.

 

[dieselram94]

Right now I am looking for a used Excalibur. Do I have this straight, the newest Excalibur tends to have the bad cables?

sent from a potato with gravy!!...

 

[Sir Gala Clad]

That would be a good question to ask on the Minelab Forum.

It could be a numbers game in that there are more Excalibur ll(s) the Excalibur(s).

It could also be that the Excalibur lls are not as well maintained than the Excaliburs as
users who purchase them are less experienced.

I have not even been able to determine if Minelab manufactures the Slim Line Toranado Coil, or it there
are multiple manufacturer(s)?

Right now I am looking for a used Excalibur. Do I have this straight, the newest Excalibur tends to have the bad cables?

sent from a potato with gravy!!...

 

[bikerlawyer]

Mine is an Excalibur I, I bought it right before the II came out. The frayed cable pics are EXACTLY what happened to mine. It is never left in the sun and I rinse it after every use. VERY disappointed with a machine that cost me $1200 and was supposed to be bulletproof. Why should I have to spend that much money and then do all the mods myself?