Please help with excal I battery woes

[dbsmokey]

I am worried I have totally screwed up my excal 800 (not excal II) battery pod! The old NiCad battery pack was holding a charge for only 3 hours so I purchased this pack from onlybatterypacks.com (http://www.onlybatterypacks.com/showitem.asp?ItemID=12027.48). When I installed it, the excal, EVERY 30 seconds would let out a HOWL that was deafening. I did charge and recharge the battery to ensure it was properly charged. I am worried I got the wrong battery pack for an original excal, but had assumed the excal I and II battery packs were interchangeable. I reinstalled the old NiCad battery pack, but did so upside down. It is soooo lodged in the pod now, I can't remove it and fear I will have to destroy it to get it out.


How do I remove this renegade battery pack? Are excal I and excal II battery packs interchangeable? Any ideas of why my excal is screaming with this new battery?

HELP please!

 

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[miller433]

I just removed mine to check the wires when my rechargeable pack refused to charge while on a trip. It charged ok when I got home, haven't figured that one out yet. I'm only getting about 3hrs out of the battery pack though.
I took a heavy wire coat hanger and cut the long flat area out and made a sharp bend on the end leaving about 3/8" sticking up. After pulling the cap I slid this in beside the battery and turned it in behind the pack and pulled the pack right out. I also made about a 1 1/2" loop in the other end so I had something to pull with. This worked great for me just be carefull not to damage the batteries.

 

[dbsmokey]

I just removed mine to check the wires when my rechargeable pack refused to charge while on a trip. It charged ok when I got home, haven't figured that one out yet. I'm only getting about 3hrs out of the battery pack though.
I took a heavy wire coat hanger and cut the long flat area out and made a sharp bend on the end leaving about 3/8" sticking up. After pulling the cap I slid this in beside the battery and turned it in behind the pack and pulled the pack right out. I also made about a 1 1/2" loop in the other end so I had something to pull with. This worked great for me just be carefull not to damage the batteries.

Thanks! I tried this. The batteries are so stuck all I did was scratch them. I think I will have to ruin them to extract them. Anybody with ideas as to why the new pack made by excal scream?

 

[rc2125]

Maybe stick it in the freezer for a couple hours, see if it'll come out after that? Maybe compressed air from air compressor hose, spray in at various angles?

 

[OBN]

is this the howl?



I think the old blue battery pods are a few thousands thicker then the the new pods, and the alk pods on the inner end...hear say....plus getting the battery pacs from different places, means getting different size in batteries and with a small difference....can mean tight or lose..I like the freezer Idea on getting them out, let us know if that works. Maybe alittle wd40 while yanking...Plus one thing that may pull it out and not bend is a T handle dent puller, or a T handle spring puller

 

[miller433]

I looked at the battery web site and they are showing two different voltages, some packs are 12v and some are 9.6v. I think the original for my Excal 800 is 12v. It would be worth a call to make sure they sent you the right battery. I'm interested to hear what you find. I think I'm about due for a new set and I liked the price range of these battery packs. I've gotten 8yrs out of my original set.

 

[dbsmokey]

I remedied the problems but created another. I called the battery seller. They were a WONDERFUL help. I found out that all the batteries are interchangeable. The NiMH batteries (even the 1.2 volt) will charge to 1.5 v without harming them. So, all of the excal batteries they sell will power any excal without problems.

The problem with the howl (and yes it was THAT howl in the video) came from me using an incorrect charger. The stuck battery was easily removed by sternly tapping it on a solid surface. I did, however, yesterday, messing with the pod, crack it. I will try to seal it with epoxy to prevent a leak, although it does not now leak. Thanks everybody for your help.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I did, however, yesterday, messing with the pod, crack it. I will try to seal it with epoxy to prevent a leak, although it does not now leak. Thanks everybody for your help.

Be forewarned, if your battery pod leaks, it can cause major problems with your control unit that will require a trip to repair......I highly recommend you think twice about submerging a cracked pod. I have a friend that epoxyed one he cracked, epoxy leaked and the short caused by the water in the pod screwed up his Excal controls requiring a trip to repair..........

 

[OBN]

Dig? TH..
He just burnt his up, cause leaking battery pod?...going in for repair...

 

[Woodland Detectors]

!
I did, however, yesterday, messing with the pod, crack it. I will try to seal it with epoxy to prevent a leak, although it does not now leak. Thanks everybody for your help.

Be forewarned, if your battery pod leaks, it can cause major problems with your control unit that will require a trip to repair......I highly recommend you think twice about submerging a cracked pod. I have a friend that epoxyed one he cracked, epoxy leaked and the short caused by the water in the pod screwed up his Excal controls requiring a trip to repair..........

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Dig? TH..
He just burnt his up, cause leaking battery pod?...going in for repair...

He dropped his battery pod cracking it. He repaired it with silicone glue about a year ago. While we were hunting in the water he noticed his Excal was acting up, couldnt turn up the volume or adjust threshold. Looking at his battery pod we saw it had water in it where the repaired cracked leaked. We changed out the battery pod with a spare pod I had, dried the connector but it still had the same problem. It worked fine when we started the day's hunt. A call to Minelab repair, news was not good, was told that indead a battery pod with water in it will short out the controls......

Highly recommend not take a chance with a cracked battery pod, it isn't worth it.................

 

[dbsmokey]

Be forewarned, if your battery pod leaks, it can cause major problems with your control unit that will require a trip to repair......I highly recommend you think twice about submerging a cracked pod. I have a friend that epoxyed one he cracked, epoxy leaked and the short caused by the water in the pod screwed up his Excal controls requiring a trip to repair..........

THAT sucks. Oh well, I guess I will buy a new battery pack. Is the NiMH battery pack for the excal II compatible with the excal I? I would rather use NiMH than NiCad. Anybody have suggestions for a dealer from which to buy this pack?

Thanks

 

[dbsmokey]

Are the NiMH excal II battery packs compatible with with the excal 800?

 

[dbsmokey]

I called Minelab today. I spoke with the technician. He was very friendly and helpful. Excal II battery pods are compatible with older Excals.