Retiring my Excalibur! Or maybe it retired on me. Equipment troubles anyone diagnose?

[Tommybuckets]

I hit the beach with my trusty excalibur. It turns out that it is not so trusty lol. Last year it had become wildly unstable with the tone wandering every which way so I sent it in for repairs. It had sounded like there was really heavy EMI present but it didn't matter where I was.
They slapped a new coil on it, charged me exorbitantly and deemed it " fixed". I had examined the coil and cable using my x-ray equipment to look for any fraying of the wires etc but all looked good to me. I thought it was probably a bad filter but I am no expert. I am mad that it seemed fixed enough that I was initially fooled when I got it back. I would have sent it right back to them if I had tested it longer or in the water but it seemed good enough to trick me and the repair people for a minute. I feel like I just wasted $300+ I could have put towards a newer excal. Now that we are in the two month window where I can actually use the thing i am totally bummed. I like the excalibur better than the equinox since its so much easier to push in the surf and I knew what the excal is telling me. It seems to work a little while its cold but after warming up it gets more and more unstable until I can't use it. It sounds off randomly but also sounds off on targets. When I turn it on it works for a minute then creeps into being wildly unstable again. I am running the sensitivity below 12 oclock, threshold barely audible humming, very little disc 1-2, volume max . Its the same way I've been running it for years. Putting it in auto doesn't help. The unit is probably approaching 20 yrs old and hasn't had the best or worst life. When I went in the water it was apparent that it was not working. Anyone had a similar problem? I don't want to waste any more money on this unit if its not going to be right again.

 

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[OBN]

That's a tuff call on the issue. You could pull it a part and check for water damage? Any corrosion can cause something like that. 20 years old, I know it's paid for itself. Maybe time for a backup?

I a few excaliburs, I'm always trying to keep them up. My PP switch went out on me the other day, totally messed the hunt up..

 

[Tommybuckets]

Hi OBN, I was hoping you'd chime in. They opened it up and inspected it and thought it looked good. I am thinking I'll retire this one and get a newer one, I just wish I had done that instead of spending $340 and thinking I had an excal ready to go. There won't be many deals on an excal until after the season. Not a single used unit on ebay. I get most of my equipment used.

 

[Tommybuckets]

Yes maybe open it up and take a look, hit it with some electronics cleaner... Its just a small allen key I think?

 

[Bodkin]

PM sent

 

[pat-tekker-cat]

When was the last time you replaced the battery?

Maybe the battery isn't holding the charge, for long.
I know mine gives off real wonky sounds when the battery is running down.
One of my batteries won't even hold a charge anymore.
just something I thought about... hope your battery isn't 20 yo also....

Good luck, too.

 

[bigscoop]

First step, unplug the coil and see if it will run stable that way?

 

[bigscoop]

First step, unplug the coil and see if it will run stable that way?

If your's is hardwired, try this. Find an area free of EMI, turn on your machine and hold it a foot or two above the ground, does it run smooth? If so, now go dip it in the water and see what happens? Also, while over that dry ground (if it is unstable), switch from Disc mode to PP mode and see if that settles it down?

 

[ROBOTCOP13]

Try another battery. Even if your battery seems to take a good charge and checks out with a meter to be fully charged it may still have this problem. The thin wires in the battery pod may show a little discoloration in the insulation which means the battery wire may have been overheated and compromised by overcharging. The result is that when using the detector and the battery is under load the coil won't get sufficient current. I've had a new wire spliced in on a battery and it solved the problem. Or just get the RNB 3000 lithium replacement.

 

[LawrencetheMDer]

My Excal II had 7 yrs on it and battery cable inner wires rotted and Excal would work intermittently. Playing with the wires helped diagnose the problem. [Fixed problem myself.] Also heard some have same problem w the coil wires rotting and needing to replace coil. Disappointed this happened only after 7 yrs, I've had a Troy Shadow II for about 25 yrs and it still works fine...Just saying.

 

[dewcon4414]

Have you spoken to Keith? Should have 6 mos warranty on the repair. I’d take a look at that battery as well. How old is it and what’s the mah....750...1000?

 

[bklein]

You need to look at the battery voltage when it is acting up or use a variable dc supply in place of the battery to see if you duplicate the problem by adjusting voltage to it. Other than that the electrolytic (can) capacitors might be shot but I’m not sure if this gives these symptoms. Try heat gun or freeze spray on parts of board to try and localize the badness.