XLT in wet grass

The Hunter · May 21, 2008

My XLT goes berserk in wet grass. It falses repeatedly making finding anything but the strongest signals impossible. Has anyone else encountered this or does mine have issues.

Thanks

TH

dazoff · May 21, 2008

I'd suggest your coil has a short do you have another coil to try. Dan

The Hunter · May 21, 2008

I have a big 15 inch I may try. I also have a buddy I hunt with who has a xlt, I may swap coils with him and see. I also found a couple of pin holes in the epoxy that joins the two halves so I fixed those. I'll have to try it again next time.
Thanks for your response.

TH

Sarge · May 22, 2008

You already thought about water in the coil. Chances are there's more leaks than what you found. Try squeezing the coil in a very quiet room & check for any whistling sounds. Can I assume that this is not the 9.5 coil but a foam filled one?

I've never had that problem with my Spectrum Eagle, XLT or DFX- all with various coils & I've been in some mighty wet conditions including rain.

The Hunter · May 23, 2008

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll give it a try.

sndman60 · May 29, 2008

I had this issue with my XLT. It also happend in early morning frost on the ground. But, mine also would never ground balance, anywhere, anytime. It was the 950 coil that came with the machine. Contacted Whites and got a new coil. That made no difference and I sent the whole thing back and got a new DFX that works wonderfully. I hope you get it worked out, I know form experience how frustrating that can be. Issues like that really diminishes your confidence in the machine. I would be interested in knowing if someone actualy figures this issue out. I wish you the best of luck.

The Hunter · May 29, 2008

That is exactly what I'm experiencing. I can rarely get it to ground balance, and never if there's dew on the ground. I called whites and they said it was the coil and I sent It back to them. I'm a little discouraged that a new coil did not fix your problem. The sad thing is that I had to send my spectrum back to White's 3 times and they where not able to fix it. They finally gave up and sent me this refurbed XLT which works fine until I encounter wet grass. I'm afraid now that a new coil may not fix it. I can see this turning into another big mess.

sniffer · May 29, 2008

you might also check the connection where your coil wire goes into the coil

Sniffer

The Hunter · May 30, 2008

Hey Sniffer, I check that and everything else I could think of. The White's tech seems to think that the ground is broken. Anyway it's on it's way to them.

Thanks

sndman60 · May 30, 2008

Hunter, are you getting another XLT? I would suggest to have the White's tech let you know just what they find, if anything, that is causing such a deteriorated performance. I just got my new DFX300 on Wednesday, and oh what a difference it is. WOW, this machine really performs like I would expect from a high end machine. But a smaller coil is due for those really trashy areas because this machine really sings out on targets. Well, good luck and I do hope you get it sorted out. Keep us posted on the findings.

Gary

The Hunter · May 30, 2008

Gary, right now I've only returned the coil. In retrospect, I should have returned the whole unit. If they send me a coil that works then I'm good. If this turns into another nightmare as it did with the Spectrum, Then it may be time to consider a new machine. I like the XLT when it's working so I hope this can be resolved because I don't wish for a large cash outlay for a new one. With all the trouble I've had (this makes the fourth time I had to return it to White's in the last six months), I'm not entirely sure I will stick with them. I know they have a lot of great working machines out there, but so far all I have to go by is the one I own.

Hunter

sndman60 · May 30, 2008

Yea, I must admit, that when the XLT works, it works great. But, when it doesn't, it is very frustrating. Good luck, I hope it's a good switch and a quick turn around for you.

Gary

sniffer · May 30, 2008

sounds like that machine has problems period. Don't give up on whites yet, I've got a DFX and it has worked without a flaw since day one

desertfox · May 31, 2008

I've had my XLT since they first came out. What, a good 10-11 years now and the same thing, wet grass, it sucks....
I just turn the sen's down along with a few other minor adjustments and it works fine. Don't give up on White's for the price you can't beat them!

Happy Hunting

Shortstack · May 31, 2008

desertfox said:
I've had my XLT since they first came out. What, a good 10-11 years now and the same thing, wet grass, it sucks....
I just turn the sen's down along with a few other minor adjustments and it works fine. Don't give up on White's for the price you can't beat them!

Happy Hunting

There is absolutely NO reason for a high end machine like the XLT to be screwed up by wet grass. At a thousand dollars, that puppy should do everything, everywhere, AND fix your coffee.

Sarge · May 31, 2008

I hope White's quality controll isn't slipping. I've had my XLT since they first came out & the same with my DFX. They both worked right out of the box & they're still going strong.

I'd hate to see the quality of their products go downhill. I've owned 5 detectors from them starting with the 4900D & they all functioned beautifully.

Garrett had a problem a number of years ago when they were assembled in Mexico. I hope something like that isn't happening at Whites.

The Hunter · May 31, 2008

Not sure what going on there. I know White's has been a good brand. I have several buddies that use them with no problems. Seems I somehow managed to draw the short straw...............

Shortstack · May 31, 2008

Sarge said:
I hope White's quality controll isn't slipping. I've had my XLT since they first came out & the same with my DFX. They both worked right out of the box & they're still going strong.

I'd hate to see the quality of their products go downhill. I've owned 5 detectors from them starting with the 4900D & they all functioned beautifully.

Garrett had a problem a number of years ago when they were assembled in Mexico. I hope something like that isn't happening at Whites.

In 1996 Garrett had a real bad problem with their coils. I watched a dealer open 3 different NEW detector boxes before he could find a coil that would work with a new machine he was trying to demo to a customer. Man, talk about embarrassed. He was not only a dealer, but was also a distributor. He called Garrett and told them not to send anymore of their machines until they got their problems fixed. That situation happened with two different customers while I was in his shop and, I believe, at least one other time when I wasn't present. I think the particular machine was the Groundhog, but I may be wrong on that.

I started years ago with Whites machines. Had a few Coinmasters and then, later bought one of the first series of the Spectrum XLTs. Still have one--the Coinmaster I-- and it does still operate. Had one Garrett's (a Master Hunter 5) and then I discovered Tesoros and haven't looked back.

Even though I now have a Detector Pro Headhunter Diver in my kit, my brand of choice is solidly Tesoro. Bought the Detector Pro because it was available at such a ridiculously low price that to pass it up was unthinkable. With it, I'll be able to search in swimming holes, waterfilled ditches in CW sites, and fresh water beaches with no worries about dunking it. Several years ago I dunked a brand new Whites Coinmaster II in the surf outside of Keesler AFB, Mississippi and learned an expensive lesson.

I haven't heard of the "wet grass" problem for years. That use to be prevalent before the manufacturers learned to shield the coil's windings.

Baldingboy · Jun 3, 2008

I too, have an XLT. I have been having this problem for a long time and recently it seems worse. I can ground balance the machine, but in wet grass and dew, it seems to be pretty erratic. Lately, it seems that the pinpoint feature is becoming eratic at times too. I will squeeze the trigger and hover over the object and as I approach the center of the target the tone breaks and it sputters quite a bit. I have to clear it by clicking the trigger again and re-pinpointing. It seems to have a heck of a time locking on to a target in this mode.

Baldingboy

Sarge · Jun 3, 2008

It doesn't sound that this idea will work but give it a try. Reboot your detector. I's very simple. Turn the machine on, pull the battery without turning it off, wait a minute, replace battery. You'll lose all of your temporary changes to the program you're using but the main program will still be exactly the same as it was when you saved it.

I do this regularly - every time I put a fresh battery in. It seems to take care of all the gremlins that sneak in.

It just might help, but I think it's a coil cable problem in which case it won't do any good.