Help!! Etrac Problems

[rkgm19]

Hello All,

I need some help, I have had my e-trac for about a year now with no problems.

This past weekend I hunted it hard for three days. On the last day with about an hour left before having to head home. My detector all of a sudden shut down. I thought maybe somehow I hit the power button. Fired back up no problem. A few feet same thing, again fired right back up a few feet same thing. took the battery pack out and put it back in. Fired it up lasted a little longer but shut down again. So I put it in the car and headed home. IT had new batteries that morning during this it showed full battery lines. All connections were tight. I was using the 6X8 SEF Coil and it was soaking wet due to dew on the grass( Tall Grass) I had just crossed a fence but I am 99.9999% positive that I did not get the coil above the control box. I was hunting a really trashy area and it seemed to shut down when I hit heavy trash, Iron nulling and high reading ferrus nails. 7 hours later I got home and tried to duplicate the same thing in my yard, I even scattered some of the trash I had brought back. No Luck it wouldnt shut down. I was hoping it would so I could switch coils and try the stock coil, and hopefully identify the problem. Now I dont know what it was or if it will do it again.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Crispytoo]

I found that the battery pack was sliding out of the locked position while hunting. I temporarily remedied this by putting a rubber band between the end of the battery pack and the cover. I then tape the cover closed tight with electrical tape. I haven't had the problem since. Hope this helps.

Crispytoo

 

[Delta Digger]

What was the outcome

 

[moonshine]

i was detecting in wet grass last weekend and was careful to always keep the coil lower than the control box but when i got home i realized the lower shaft has a huge hole in it so i dont see how water could even get in there and accumulate. (?)

 

[ryanchappell]

Definitely sounded like batteries going dead or losing contact. Glad you figured it out!

 

[Grumpyolddiver]

Hey rk I had the same issue with my etrac when I first started useing it and it turned out to be the battery pack for alkilines doesn't make as good a conection as the rechargable packs.Don't have a fix for you but when I use my rechargable packs the problem goes away. Grumpy

 

[Nuke em]

Either corrosion in the battery housing (springs) or when you put the batt pack into the compartment you push or drop to fast into the compartment and the springs get squashed and lose their spring , may need stretching out again a bit . Or a broken bit holding the pack in the compartment.
Other than that call Minelab , thats all i can think of at the moment.

 

[woodie123]

i am having problem with erratic operation of my earphones cutting the sound off i waggle connection and it will work again

 

[Nuke em]

Corrosion in the jack socket or a wire has come loose.

 

[akille68]

I saw that alkaline pack should have a fuse, its malfunction could be the reason of those shutdowns, I guess...

 

[Jeff in Pa]

I had the exact same thing happen to me, it done it 4 or 5 times all with an hour. I tried everything to fix it and and could not. Finally I sat it in the corner till the next day and it never did it again. Weird but the "Go sit in the Corner with your face to the wall" trick worked!! I used it for many hours after that and all was good!


Was very strange,

Jeff

 

[E-Trac-Ohio]

I had a similar problem a few years ago - my machine just shut down on me several times with out any notice.

Called a Minelab Tech. - he told me to try cleaning the battery terminals - they are made aluminum or similar alloy and tend to oxidize.
I lightly buffed the two terminals with a very small piece of very fine steel wool.
Problem solved !

 

[DiggerODirt]

If the contacts get pushed down too hard (usually from dropping the batteries in instead of sliding them in), they are NOT easy to pull back up in the e-Trac. They are really in the handle deep, and it takes a good small flashlight and a long pick type tool to get to them...

HH,

 

[TerryR]

I had a similar problem when using the same coil. It ended up the coil wire has a short a couple inches up. Wen I would lay the machine down to dig it showed up right away and off would go the machine.. If all else fails just try a different coil.

 

[digger2]

I have had my e-trac since Last October,used 2 times and get a buzz in head phones until i hit a target then it's fine.Any ideas anyone?