Xcal.... battrery problem?

[dewcon4414]

I hope this isnt an issue.... but.. I spent 4 hours in the water yesterday the first two wasnt good. I turned on the detector and it was like someone had the volume turned down..... i could hear but it wasnt the normal blow your ears off over surface targets. In fact targets close to the surface crackled so bad it was hard to tell the tone. It reminds me a lot like VCO where the tone is reduced on large targets. I checked all the cables, tapped the coil, re-installed the battery, nothing changes it much but briefly if i turned it on and off. From what ive read this could be a battery issue. after about 2 hours it seemed to smooth out and i was hunting in the same area so i dont believe it was those conditions. It wasnt giving me highs then lows like trying to tell me the battery was low. Is it possible to OVERCHARGE causing this condition? I havent tried discharging the battery totally by leaving it on then recharging it. I did check the voltage when i got home it was very close to 13V. This has been happening with the crackle of targets, but now the volume was like half the normal and sounded like going over a large piece of iron crackle. Gurus.... give me some ideas?

Dew

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

How to Research for Treasure Hunting and Metal Detecting From Lead Generation to Vetting - Grab it through Amazon!

[Treasure_Hunter]

Not sure what is happening... Could be the battery...... A suggestion I would make for future is to get a spare NiMH battery...... It costs $41.00 with free shipping.......I replaced my batteries with these and they have been working great, plus the charge last a lot longer... You can get them from ebay or directly from onlybatterpacks.com, price is the same....

1600mA NIMH BATTERY FITS MINELAB EXCALIBUR MODEL 800 | eBay

 

[dewcon4414]

Thanks Th..... Battery is the only thing i can think of. Its just odd that it cleared up after a couple hours. Are you using them in the water? I had looked into that, but was told from ML they were water resistant not proof. So thats why i didnt get one sooner. All these issues and im still looking at getting another Xcal at the end of the year lol.

Dew

 

[Sandman]

I have this battery pak in my Excal 1000 and it is about seven years old now and still going strong. Course now that I told everyone it will fail me.

 

[dewcon4414]

Sandman..... i have to say ive been pleased with MLs batteries. Ive had them with the Explorers and you are fight they really last a long time. Ive got anywhere from 800 to 1000 hours on the Xcal. I dont believe the ML batteries have a memory so maybe i just need to drain it completely. Can i use a couple of wires with a flash light light to drain it..... anyone got any idea as to the reading on a Multi meter when its drained?

Dew

 

[bigscoop]

I had a similar issue a while back. Not sure what fixed it but here's what I did.
a) Cleaned out the coil cover, and rinsed the entire machine off with fresh water.
b) Once it was dry, I unplugged my battery connection, hit them (battery as well) with a little contact cleaner, and let them air out over night. (inside)
c) Rotated my control nobs back and forth several times just in case I was developing some dirty contacts in a switch.

Next day the thing started running like a champ again.

Prior to this I was getting a bit of crackling and instability. A few times the thing even cut out on me for a few moments when it would hit on shallow targets very close to the coil. (Still does this every once in a while but I think it's because the sensitivity is set so high?)

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

A tiny bit of moisture may have got insdie to casue that too.....Good suggestion Bigscoop.

 

[dewcon4414]

Boy.... that sounds very much like my issue going over targets. I clean it well after each use.... so ill start the clean up. What surprises me thou is the battery should be dry i keep mine inside and it warms up during charging..... you would think it would dry it out.

Dew

 

[dewcon4414]

Just curious if you can see what i think i can see. I looks like a small broken wire thru a magnifing glass. View attachment 668155

 

[bigscoop]

Boy.... that sounds very much like my issue going over targets. I clean it well after each use.... so ill start the clean up. What surprises me thou is the battery should be dry i keep mine inside and it warms up during charging..... you would think it would dry it out.

Dew

Now I'm just guessing here....but try this. Turn on your machine and put on your headphones. Now, rub your thumb or index finger back and forth along the control box right close below the threshold and volume knobs. Try this with the coil clear of any interferance. "If" your threshold starts going a bit crazy or you get a few unexpected false signals or crackling, then it's probably just a simple static issue. Might get the same results if you jiggle the control unit around. I'm betting you'll experience one or both of these issues. If you do let me know. It's a simple fix.

 

[bigscoop]

Just curious if you can see what i think i can see. I looks like a small broken wire thru a magnifing glass. View attachment 668155

Won't like me see the attachment. Say's it's invalid?

 

[dewcon4414]

I tried that bigscoop...... had no affect. BUT.... when i pushed up a little on the wire going into the headphones i could get to break up. It may be a cracked cable in the headphones and the water from rinsing them stayed causing it to short. Now thats my guess.

Dew

 

[bigscoop]

I tried that bigscoop...... had no affect. BUT.... when i pushed up a little on the wire going into the headphones i could get to break up. It may be a cracked cable in the headphones and the water from rinsing them stayed causing it to short. Now thats my guess.

Dew

Sounds like a good possibility to me. Let me know what you find out.

 

[Jim in MA]

I had that same problem , sounded like the volume was turned down
turned out to be a bad wire in headphones.
Jim

 

[dewcon4414]

OK..... ML like me or not i opened up one side of the headphones. I see cracked cable casing.... it kind of makes an S and is tied in a knot. Is it compromised needing to go back to ML or an electrical tap fix? Possibly as i used them any water inside drained. Thats why they started working properly.

Dew

 

[bigscoop]

OK..... ML like me or not i opened up one side of the headphones. I see cracked cable casing.... it kind of makes an S and is tied in a knot. Is it compromised needing to go back to ML or an electrical tap fix? Possibly as i used them any water inside drained. Thats why they started working properly.

Dew

Well, if it seems to be working OK now I think I'd just leave it alone and keep it in mind until it happened again.

 

[Harold in Fla.]

Hi Dewcon, i've had the same problem a time ago, it could be a couple of things, 1. first try unscrew where you connect to the battery, and take the rubber washer off and clean it and also make sure that the prongs that go into the battery is making a good contact, you can spread them a little but be careful, put a knife blade in the slot and spread the opening a little, another thing before putting it back together put a little electric silicone grease on the prongs and just hand tighten it not over tight, that's one thing, another thing you have to be careful for on these excals on the battery is not to over tighten it, it cracks where the connectors are and you'll see hair line cracks and that will cause you trouble also. so check that out and let me know how you make out. hope that is you cure. Harold

 

[dewcon4414]

Been there done that Harold..... im pretty meticulous. Im pretty certain its in the headphones where the cable casing has cracks that almost look like a series of cuts. I suspect whats happening is fresh water is staying in the headphone when i spray them down. Then when i hunt it takes awhile for the water to drain and its causing shorts. Thats why it takes a bit of time before it starts functioning properly. I have a couple of choices.... send it in for PROPER repair or put liquid tap over the breaks. Obviously my concern would be is SALT water got into those cracks then liquid tap wont stop the corrosion of the wires. That would be bad.

Dew

 

[Jim in MA]

Dew what you are saying is what I had, First I did the patch with silicon, a year later it
came back.Then I removed enough silicon to get to good copper in the wires, cut the cable
back to good wire, soldered wires together, washed with baking soda to remove acid (using Q tip)
then re fastened wire with slip tie and re silicone very heavy being sure to cover the end of the
black wire so water can not enter it. I have been trouble free for 2 years now.
I suggest getting to it sooner than later as the corrosiveness runs up the wire causing you to chase it to
get to good copper to solder.

Good Luck Jim

 

[dewcon4414]

Thanks Jim...... if there is any chasing to be done right now ill let ML do it. Ive sent a couple messages to them with no response. I know what salt water will do to copper cable so thats why im not going to just put liquid tap on it. Looks like i may have to call ML since they arent answering the mail. Sounds like you did a good repair.

Dew