Explorer alkaline battery pack question

[Spungehead]

Well, I was taking some dead (or close to it) AA's out of my alkaline pack last night, and as I got down to a few batteries, I heard something clanging around that I knew couldn't be good. Turned out to be one of the battery contacts from the end opposite the battery door....in fact it's the one that sits behind the spring on that end of the pack, and I assume it finally just detached from metal fatigue. To clarify (even though I think the alkaline packs are all pretty much the same), I have the XS. The batteries have always been a very tight fit, and I've often wondered if I should use a particular (i.e., shorter) brand of alkaline to keep it from being so tight....but it seemed they were all pretty tight. So, I guess the question is, do I stand any chance of actually opening up this pack (separating the two halves) and fixing this myself?

This leads me to a potentially more troubling problem. It seems that the actual contact between <b>either</b> the AA pack or the rechargeable pack, and the detector itself, has become more iffy in the past year or so. The spring tension still seems to be there, but there have been a few times where the machine either wouldn't start, or a jolt of some sort (bumping the coil hard enough, etc.) could interrupt contact long enough to cause a shutdown. The contacts are all corrosion free to the best of my knowledge, so I don't think that's a factor. When the machine wouldn't boot, pulling open the rubber endcap of the battery compartment and pressing in the pack against the tension of the inner spring a few times to make sure the pack was making proper contact, seemed to solve the problem. Is this probably just an age factor of 5 or 6 years of removing/inserting battery packs??
Thanks for any and all opinions!
Andy

p.s. Ironically enough, I've yet to have the rubber endcap separate from where it's screwed into the frame....must be this Florida humidity keeping the rubber pliable.

 

[James N.D.]

I took out a set of Alkaline Batteries from my pack and one of the flat connectors broke off at the bend. After this, the Batteries wouldn't stay tight and it would cause connection problems. I bought a new Alkaline Pack from R&L Enterpises (RICK(ND)) and haven't had the problem since. Also, about the rubber door on the battery compartment. I have owned my Explorer XS since fall 2001 and I too have yet to break one off. Must be some really tough rubber to withstand all the opening and shutting of the battery compartment. But I also got an extra one from Rick (ND) just in case in the future it does decide to break on me. So if I were you, I would contact Rick (ND) and get a new Battery Pack and maybe even an extra rubber door. Nothing more irritating than going out somewhere and finding out that you have a Battery Pack that won't work or some other vital part of your unit break. Just makes it difficult if something major happens to do any detecting. Always go out prepared for such things because I know if I didn't, there would have been a few times I wouldn't have been able to detect at all. Rick's Banner is on the White's Forum if you want to contact him. Good Luck and HH.

 

[Spungehead]

n/t

 

[James N.D.]

n/t

 

[Dug]

I have a battery pack that won't start the machine about 50% of the time unless it is fiddled with. There was an extra spring slipped over the negative contact at the end which opens, but the spring flew out one day and I couldn't find, not even with my detector. If I bend the remaining contact so it puts some pressure on the negative end of the battery, then the contact point gets too low on the battery to make electrical connection. But, if I put a piece of paper or something under that end battery, it brings it up enough to make contact and the machine turns on. It has to be tht right thickness or I can't get the sliding cover back on.

I intend to fix this problem more permanently and effectively by soldering a spring to that contact, but have not found the time or pressing need to do so yet. It sounds like it must be a design problem.

Doug