Pin numbering on 4pin M12 Amphenol LTW A/B/D Code - Excal coil connector

[Sandscoopdan]

Hi, does anyone know the pin numbering on these M12 4 pin connectors? I have a quick change mod on my excal and I figured out that in order to solder the wires on the new Coiltek All terrain big orange coil:
Pin#1 = Red wire
Pin#2 = Black wire
Pin#3 = White wire
Pin#4 = orange or yellow wire

The thing I cannot figure out is what pin is 1, 2, etc. on this connector.i looked at it under magnifying glass and no markings on it or anything.
Anyone have experience with adding these connectors onto the coil cables?

 

[OBN]

Who did the quick change set up for you, or did you purchase it like that? There is no set Pin Out for that modification. Other words, whom ever did it would be the only person who knows. And the M12 4 pins do not come lettered or numbered like the old GT or Sovereigns 6 pins were.

If you have no information on who did it, my suggestion is cut the old one (m12 4) off and trace the wires to which pins they go to.. than purchase another M12 4 pin and do both at the same time.

And by the way the first to try fittings n coils (On the excal) was Treasure Hunter and MT Pockets< I seen them talk of it and so I did the research and came up with something a little different.

I did do "Two" of the inlines (and this was a long time ago, 2012) I found out after a few, the inlines had a falsing issue in the saltwater and the best performance results were had when the fittings mated with the endcap M12 4 pin / along with using a all metal jacket 3M M-12 4 pin code A . My pin out was the first pin to the right of the slot was red, pin 2 was black, pin 3 was white than pin for was yellow.

I No longer do this stuff, to much like work after a couple of years.

 

[Sandscoopdan]

Thank you for posting OBN! I really appreciate this info.
I sent my excal to Detector Center last year and they added the inline coil change mod:

4 Pin Female IP68 Coil Connector for Excalibur Coil Interchanges - CONTROL HEAD END.

4 Pin Male IP68 Waterproof Connector for Excalibur Coil Installations - COIL END.

Detector Center added the 4pin m12 onto the stock 10in coil and added one to the Tornado coil. Both coils work great.

The most recent coil I got from a guy - Coiltek all terrain series for sovereign. He took it off his excal so it should / hoping it will work fine.

The pics in my first post were pics of theM12 connectors I bought from that link you sent me last year but if I remember correctly, they were out of stock so I had to buy a few of the other ones they had. They looked very similar.
So, is the connector you mentioned with pin1 to the right of the slot a Male connector? I posted a picture of how I interpreted what you are saying. Could you tell me if I got this correct? Also, I will put some clear silicone around all the suspect areas and then figure out what else I need to do to it so I can start wading in the water again. I got really sick over the past two years or so. Ended up with staff infection that got into the blood stream and it messed me up really bad. Affected my brain and everything. I was in the hospital for 15days a few months back. I am getting better slowly. So, I am looking forward to getting back into the water.
Cheers,
Dan

 

[OBN]

My picture above, Excalibur coil change endcap, the fitting to the left is a male...the fitting on the endcap is a female. And yes pin #1 is too the right but the order goes clock wise. Now that is how I did it.. Call the service center and ask how they wire theirs.

Glad your feeling better! Sounds like you had a ruff time for sure. I just got over one of those bumps a from a few years ago, and working on getting out like you..

 

[Sandscoopdan]

My picture above, Excalibur coil change endcap, the fitting to the left is a male...the fitting on the endcap is a female. And yes pin #1 is too the right but the order goes clock wise. Now that is how I did it.. Call the service center and ask how they wire theirs.

Glad your feeling better! Sounds like you had a ruff time for sure. I just got over one of those bumps a from a few years ago, and working on getting out like you..

Good idea. I will call them and ask what PIN number they used for each wire. I thought about pulling the male connector they put onto the tornado coil but not sure if I can pull the sleeve back to see which wires are going to each pin.

I hope you get to feeling better!
When I first got to the emergency room a few months ago, they said they may not be able to help me and if I had waited a couple more days I would have died. It was the most horrible feeling I have ever had, not knowing if I was about to die or not.

 

[Sandscoopdan]

So, wanted to give you an update on getting the M12 4pin connector onto the coil side of the Coiltek all terrain big coil. I could not solder it myself so I took it to an electronic repair shop. That was about 2months ago. He thought he soldered the wires in the correct order but he did not. I went up there about 1month ago and tried it out and all I could hear was a low null sound. I am tired of this and really want to go to the beach to try out the excal. I am going up there today to get it. Another $100 down the drain.

Since the end cap has the stainless steel on it to shield it then I was wondering if someone makes an inline waterproof M12 4pin connector that does not require soldering. I have seen some for field applications but not sure which one will work.
The problem is, and correct me if I am wrong, but the coil side connector will have match the connector on the control side. This would mean I would have to change all of the connectors.

I was considering buying the end cap with coil quick change capability from Anton. This way, At least then he could tell me the correct wiring for the connectors that I Will need to put on the coil side of each coil. The only problem then is trying to figure out how to solder all the wires.

Do you know of anyone I could send the coil to and pay to have it soldered or could I get a solder-less M12 4pin from some place?

 

[OBN]

I don't know of any place to send it to be soldered. They do make a M-12 fitting like you asked about buy I've never bought them. And Im not sure if they are still made. I will look around.. you could call https://www.digikey.com/

 

[DizzyDigger]

Have you tried contacting the techs at Minelab or Coiltek?

 

[Sandscoopdan]

Have you tried contacting the techs at Minelab or Coiltek?

Yes. I contacted Minelab detector repair but it has been awhile since the inline quick change was done so he was not sure how it was done but he did tell me the typical pin numbering order Minelab uses and I had posted it above. Need to go back and read it. I did order a new M12 4pin , A Coded waterproof field serviceable quick connect for each wire and also bought the end crimp terminals that crimp each wire before going into the fitting.

My main concern about this whole inline quick connect for swapping coils on the excal is if I am going to get the loud scream from the energy produced by the waves when they pass by when I am out in waist - chest deep water. I read somewhere about a way to wrap each connection point on the coil cable to minimize this but not sure if I actually read that somewhere, or if that is just wishful thinking on my part. I will post a pick of that connector tomorrow and will make a video of it as well. I need to find the crimp tool today for the end pins for The wires .

 

[OBN]

Been so long ago I can't remember why I put the red letters on this.. from 2012?

 

[JosephElectronTek]

Oh boy, just found out that the excalibur is not the same as excalibur 2. Different technologies. Search coils for each are not interchangeable. Coiltek does NOT offer a compatible WOT search coil for excalibur 2. Only the excalibur. Coiltek vendors verify this fact. There are other large coils out there for the excalibur 2, just not coiltek at this time.

 

[JosephElectronTek]

P.S. Shout out hat tip to OBN, Great info for the relevant machines.

 

[JosephElectronTek]

I deleted a previous post about connections regarding Excalibur/2 et all, the info was misleading, I assumed the diagram I got from the internet search regarding the compatibility between the Excalibur2 and Coiltek's WOT coil was accurate, however wrong it was.

 

[OBN]

Oh boy, just found out that the excalibur is not the same as excalibur 2. Different technologies. Search coils for each are not interchangeable. Coiltek does NOT offer a compatible WOT search coil for excalibur 2. Only the excalibur. Coiltek vendors verify this fact. There are other large coils out there for the excalibur 2, just not coiltek at this time.

You got me confused.. 😂 All excaliburs are BBS, all sovereigns are BBS, so all BBS coils are interchangeable with BBS machines. It can be confusing for they make WOT coils for FBS Minelab machines. No sweat for the excalibur ... be it any model is a very good water machine, but with all the new MInelab machines I would guess it maybe there slowest selling machine? Don't see many of them anymore on the beaches. Except me...

Over the years 1994 to present (2026) there have been 3 models of the Excalibur, all are the same, BBS tech. Over those years they have had different vendors make the boards and other parts. They may look different to a point but they all work the same, even as far as performance. There were a few differences between the sword and the blues on up, everything is fairly much interchangeable.. except the swords had a bigger board and control tube. The coils and just about everything else will work with any models. Be it the Blues and Greens, and the first.. Gary Storm Swords.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Dont know who you talked to, but they are wrong. OBN is correct as usual, all Excaliburs and all Sovereigns are BBS and any coil that works on one will work on all the others.

A WOT coil for a Sovereign will work on any Excalibur model and on any Sovereign model.

 

[JosephElectronTek]

Dont know who you talked to, but they are wrong. OBN is correct as usual, all Excaliburs and all Sovereigns are BBS and any coil that works on one will work on all the others.

A WOT coil for a Sovereign will work on any Excalibur model and on any Sovereign model.


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I talked to Big boys metal detectors via chat, he said (the owner) that the Excalibur 2 does not have a compatible Coiltek WOT and that all other Excalibers do. Why the exception with the Excalibur 2 , he claimed that it uses a "different technology". OK, so I did a Google search for a specific question as such "What models of Coilteks WOT coils that are compatible with Minelabs' Excaliber 2? the answer was in depth and lengthy, too much to repeat, but you are welcome to do your own research. I just don't feel like working on a project with seemingly contradictory information.

 

[JosephElectronTek]

I talked to Big boys metal detectors via chat, he said (the owner) that the Excalibur 2 does not have a compatible Coiltek WOT and that all other Excalibers do. Why the exception with the Excalibur 2 , he claimed that it uses a "different technology". OK, so I did a Google search for a specific question as such "What models of Coilteks WOT coils that are compatible with Minelabs' Excaliber 2? the answer was in depth and lengthy, too much to repeat, but you are welcome to do your own research. I just don't feel like working on a project with seemingly contradictory information.

I am also confused as to this issue, I wish someone would report a successful Coiltek WOT on a Excalibur 2 install with a performance report, I could then become a believer.

 

[JosephElectronTek]

What the hey, I'll just solder this connector anyway, but it won't be easy. This connector- the M12 4 is a nightmare: so small and there is no extra room inside the connector body. The cable for the WOT coil is almost too large for this connector, red and black wires are thicker than expected. I'll be lucky to get it back together. I tested the connector that was already on the WOT, and it was wired completely wrong. It had pin 1 as orange, pin 2 as red, pins 3 and 4 were shorted together with black and white! No wonder the coil did not work.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I talked to Big boys metal detectors via chat, he said (the owner) that the Excalibur 2 does not have a compatible Coiltek WOT and that all other Excalibers do. Why the exception with the Excalibur 2 , he claimed that it uses a "different technology". OK, so I did a Google search for a specific question as such "What models of Coilteks WOT coils that are compatible with Minelabs' Excaliber 2? the answer was in depth and lengthy, too much to repeat, but you are welcome to do your own research. I just don't feel like working on a project with seemingly contradictory information.

He is wrong, I worked for both the Minelab Repair center, and for the Kellyco Repair center, we installed Coiltek WOT coils on Excalibur IIs as well as Nel, Detech, and Coiltek coils sold for the Sovereign.


The Excalibur Sword, Excalibur and Excalibur II, and all Sovereigns are BBS, you can take a stock coil straight off the original Excalibur sword and put it on an Excal or Excal II and it will work, and you can take a coil off Excal II and put it on the Excal sword or the excal and both will work.

Just FYI, OBN knows what he is talking about, so I highly recommend you listen to his advice anytime he gives it.

 

[OBN]

What the hey, I'll just solder this connector anyway, but it won't be easy. This connector- the M12 4 is a nightmare: so small and there is no extra room inside the connector body. The cable for the WOT coil is almost too large for this connector, red and black wires are thicker than expected. I'll be lucky to get it back together. I tested the connector that was already on the WOT, and it was wired completely wrong. It had pin 1 as orange, pin 2 as red, pins 3 and 4 were shorted together with black and white! No wonder the coil did not work.

The cable is to large for the the stock endcap strain relief connector, If I remember correct if you go with the stock strain relief you will have to drill it out to get the WOT cable thru... the WOT cable is like 7.5mm? where as the stock is 6.5mm?

Me... Best to go with the larger New Heyco strain relief .. which I can not remember the size, I know the replacement for the stock is Heyco (3237), the larger maybe (3251)? Its been a long time since I messed with that stuff so I'm forgetting the part numbers. And you will need a 1/2npt to tap the larger heyco. I did several WOT coil installs, and I had one myself. Nice coil for out of the water hunting.. Great coverage, and good depth.