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If your Etrac does anything like this ...

That would be like a mechanic diagnosing your car's problems without ever seeing or hearing it.Not saying the tech was wrong but would think a reliable tech would have at least took it out of the box and tried a few bench tests.
 
First off you have my sympathies. That is way too much money to spend to have that kind of headache. I know how I would feel.

What strikes me as odd is, why does it stop when is rotated? Everything inside the box is solid, nothing should move. Maybe it needs opened up and cleaned? Loose wire?
 
moonshine - The only explaination I can think of is it is like a vertical or horizontal polarized antenna. When you rotate the coil you are changing the polarization of the signal to the detector???
 
Sorry to hear about your troubles. That repair cost is outrageous.

My Explorer acts like that on occasion. I usually have to pull the battery, move to another area and restart. It also won't read a coin even an inch away when it's going nuts like that.
 
OK. So I took the detector apart tonight and seperated the two boards. I took compressed air and blew the boards off. Around the bottom of the board that holds the screen you could see dust on the bottom of the board. This is right where the foam grip ends and the front panel starts on the exterior. I took and blew it off the best I could.

Now in Auto the machine is stable with no flucuations. In manual it is more stable than when I sent it off. I will make a video again tomorrow and post it up for you guys to see.

If the motherboard/pcb board was burned I do not believe cleaning it would improve the problem.

Anyone know of something to clean the board without damaging it?.
 
Do a search on the net. There are several sprayable circuit board cleaners. If something on the board actually "burned" you'd see obvious signs of trouble. If something had just failed then it wouldn't be visible. If it's a problem with corrupted firmware then they would need to reload it.

I'd be making some noise as somebody somewhere isn't doing their job.....
 
Mercman said:
OK. So I took the detector apart tonight and seperated the two boards. I took compressed air and blew the boards off. Around the bottom of the board that holds the screen you could see dust on the bottom of the board. This is right where the foam grip ends and the front panel starts on the exterior. I took and blew it off the best I could.

Now in Auto the machine is stable with no flucuations. In manual it is more stable than when I sent it off. I will make a video again tomorrow and post it up for you guys to see.

If the motherboard/pcb board was burned I do not believe cleaning it would improve the problem.

Anyone know of something to clean the board without damaging it?.
Click to expand...

INCREDIBLE. If my detector were doing that out of warranty that is the first thing I would have done and the least that ML tech could have done when it was in his possession. He could have charged you $50 for blowing it out with compressed air, told you it was a loose wire, and you would have been happy.
 
is that what minelab really charges for the mother board? that is outragous! and you said they never even looked at it, i would be p#%ed off! i was thinking of getting the CTX but now im having second thoughts. warranty before and after the sale says alot about the company and this doesnt set well with me. heck you can even buy a good used one for that much. money. cladking
 
I can see how the board could be burnt unless it was dropped and something has touched together. And if that not the case you would think they would fix it more reasonable just to keep a customer happy. They also said that they have had the happen before from time to time so maybe a recall? I think I would start at the top and I would still be on the phone bit_hen about it.. Just my thoughts Spark
 
I recieved an email from the Brian on the 24th. He wanted to know if I was willing to send it to the main center in IL. He indicated that they had refurbished motherboards at the IL center that the service techs in florida do not have access to plus he wanted to see the unit himself. I replied back to let me know where to send it and to whose attention but as of yet I have not heard back.

I would just like to know what they think happened. If they feel I mishandled it then just tell me but if it just failed then that is a different story. I figured it would be in the $200-400 range to fix it when I sent it off but the $900 was a shocker....especially when I was quoted $1100 for a brand new one. That was the main reason I had them not repair it.

I will keep everyone updated.
 
Mercman,
Does this problem occur with just the control box , that is, without that coil attached?
When you opened it up , did you notice if any of the wires that are those for the coil where still connected?
I had a defective connector , dry joint on a coil, do just that to my Etrac.
Sounds and looks so similar to the problem.
 
No. If there is no coil signal the machine is stable. I have tried my coils on another Etrac and they are stable and work fine. The coil from the other Etrac causes the same problem on mine.

I have cleaned the connectors but that did not seem to have any effect on the problem.
 
WOW !!!!!! Mine did the same thing when it was around 35 Degrees out. They replaced the Mother Board and solved the problem. The Mother Board is surface mount technology. I think that a component has come unsoldered on yours. When you turn it on it's side, you make better contact and the noise stops. Maybe you can find a local TV repairman to take a look at it.

Bud Kaczor
 
I noticed in your video that there is a golf cart about 3 feet away from where you were having this problem. You had the racket while the machine was upright but when you turned it on it's side, the noise would go away. The sound went away because the machine was nulling on the large "piece" of iron nearby. I can't get within 3 feet of a picnic table that has steel tubing for a frame........nge
 
nge said:
I noticed in your video that there is a golf cart about 3 feet away from where you were having this problem. You had the racket while the machine was upright but when you turned it on it's side, the noise would go away. The sound went away because the machine was nulling on the large "piece" of iron nearby. I can't get within 3 feet of a picnic table that has steel tubing for a frame........nge
Click to expand...

this can be realy true :clapping: I woud sugest making tets in all metal without discrimination and with lower sensitivity because now its sounds in to high sensitivity world.
 
Mine did the same thing last year. Mine was only 2 months old. I sent it in and had to haggle with them to look at it. It sat on their shelf for 7 weeks. They called me back and said that nothing was wrong with it. I got it back and just as before it went nuts. I called them back and Minelab said that it was operator error. At least yours gets quiet when you turn it on its side. I spent a month trying different settings and it still was doing the same thing. Because of that set of mishaps I will never own a newer model of Minelabs. I have lost faith in their products. I stepped up to an Elite because of all of this.
 
nge said:
I noticed in your video that there is a golf cart about 3 feet away from where you were having this problem. You had the racket while the machine was upright but when you turned it on it's side, the noise would go away. The sound went away because the machine was nulling on the large "piece" of iron nearby. I can't get within 3 feet of a picnic table that has steel tubing for a frame........nge
Click to expand...

It is not the golf cart. I have tried the machine in so many different places and it does the same thing. I have tried it on my test bed and it does the same thing. I have tried in my yard, other Etrac owners yard, school yard, outside my work...etc. No matter where I am when you turn the machine on its side it stops. The problem is in the head unit somewhere. My coil works fine on another Etrac. The other Etracs coil does not solve my Etrac's problem.
 
Mercman, sorry to hear of your problems. Did I read correctly that the cleaning cured or reduced the issue? It sounds to me like a connection/shorting issue since turning it makes it stable and the cleaning seemed to improve it. My Etrac is 3 1/2 years old too and fortunately I haven't had any issues yet (except for a failed 6x8 SEF coil that Kellyco took good care of me and replaced).

John (who is my biggest hunting buddy and has hunted with you recently (he lives in Mint Hill)) has been telling me of your issues and I have been feeling for you. At least you have several ETrac's in your stable and can fall back on them if necessary. I would be lost and have to go back to my Xterra 70 or learn my MXT Pro.

Good luck with solving the problem!!

HH and maybe we will meet one day since I am in your area.

Tenspeed
 
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