My Sovereign Elite needs help

[54shooter]

Hello Minelab fans,
I have posted about my Elite before and the problems that I have had with it. Basically the problem is that when I try to detect it will kind of make a snap then go to a siren type sound and then shut down. Sometimes I can take the battery pack out the put it back in and it will seem to work. I only have the 12 volt pack with the 8 1.5 volt batts. I have tried new quality batteries, I have tried cleaning the contacts and pulled them out VERY carefully. It still does the same thing. I have tried 3 different sets of earphones. I have done everything that has been suggested to me and then some and still cannot get it to work. Is there anybody on the forum that works on these detectors. I have contacted Minelab and they told me that they still support the Elite. I got the machine at no cost to me so I am not afraid to put some money into it. I would really like to make this my primary machine and use my AT-PRO and ACE 350 as backups and water and foul weather machines. I just want that Elite to work!!! The stories about Minelabs customer service scares me. So if anybody can help me out that would be great. Thanks for reading.
Tony

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Tony,I have an Elite you pay shipping, just need the box and battery. I'll see if I can find your problem free.Give me a PM and I'll give you a PM and my address later today.HH Ron

 

[Rick(ND)]

I am curious too as what the problem is and was hopping someone that knows his Sovereigns would be close by to see if it was something simple, then if not he could call Minelab service dept to get it sent in and repaired.


Good luck Ron and if it gets sent to you and if you have any questions you can give me a E-Mail or post it on the forum as maybe someone else has seen this problem and knows what it is.

Rick

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Rick,between us I think we can find the problem.Thanks Ron

 

[Critterhunter]

Are you the same guy who showed a pick of his Elite a month or so back that had rust on the switches and such, where it was either sprayed with salt water mist water hunting or it's been sitting outside or something? If that's the case did you take it apart and flush the salt out of it with a good electrical contact cleaner that also has an anti-rust compound in it? If you're not the guy then I apologize for mixing you up, but if you are him that machine is dying a slow death until the rust and corrosion is halted inside it. It might already be too late if that's the case. Electronics will survive a dunk in even salt water, but only if you act fast(ish) and flush out the salt, let it dry well, and the spray the board and controls with a contact cleaner that will also halt any rust.

Beyond all that, it still sounds to me like a low battery alarm. The quick shut down though is what is different after the siren, so I'm suspecting you've got a intermitent short somewhere. It builds up enough resistance to drop the voltage and cause the low battery alarm, and then the short gets quickly worse and all power is lost, or at least enough more for the machine to no longer be able to even produce sound anymore.

To scout for that kind of problem, you need to take the machine apart and then start wiggling parts (after grounding yourself to avoid a static charge) while it's running fine to see if you can cause it to shut down or act erratic. If you find the part doing it, look under a loop or magnifying glass and see if you can spy a cold solder joint or such. Might also be a problem with one of the connectors inside the box. From memory there is a tiny power plug that goes from the battery compartment to either the circuit board or the face plate. Tiny little plugs like that one are prone to getting a loose connector or having a build up of oxide on them. Bending the pins apart a hair will fix the loose plug, and spraying with a contact cleaner will take care of any oxide issues. There might also be another tiny power plug that either goes from the face plate to the circuit board or vise versa. And there's also a ribbon connector that could be an issue to with a loose or dirty connection. 9 times out of 10 an electrical problem is only due to a bad connection, such as a plug, loose wire, or a cold/faulty solder joint.

The other suspect is still the battery holder and the main contacts on it and the control box. I would look there first before going on.

EDIT: See that Ron has offered to take a look at it. You're in good hands there. If it's something that somebody can fix other than Minelab Ron should be able to figure it out.

 

[Critterhunter]

If you decide to take a crack at it before sending it to Ron, look at this pic below...You see the arrow I drew. Notice there is a black and red wire coming from the battery box going to the face plate. That's the power from the battery. If I remember right that's a tiny little two pin plug that plugs into the face plate. That could be your issue right there. Notice also the lone black wire going from the face plate to the circuit board. That should be a ground and could also be the problem. Then again that might be used to ground the RF shielding, as I think there was a wire going to a paper clip on the shielding to ground it.

Also notice the ribbon connector going from the face plate to the circuit board. That right there could also be the source of the problem.

Always start at the source, which means the battery holder first and the contacts for the cells in it. Then work back from there to the two main leads on the battery holder, and the two main leads on the control box. Then to that red and black wire going to the face plate, then onto the ribbon connector. If you still haven't wiggled something that caused the machine to shut down or act erractic, time to start wiggling parts on the control board to see if that is the problem.

I'm willing to bet that the problem is some kind of intermittent short. That would explain what sounds like the low battery alarm, and also explain the sudden power loss as the short gets worse.

If you still can't find the problem them put semi-hardish pressure on the board at various points, as it could be a crack in the board or a bad solder joint on the board that wiggling the parts won't show.

 

[Critterhunter]

Here's another pic of where the black and red battery power wires go. See that little white two pin plug that the arrow is pointing too? I'd give that little bugger being loose about a 50% chance to be your problem IF the battery terminals and main contacts are not the issue. And if that little plug being loose is not the issue, then I'll lay another 25% on it being the ribbon connector. Those are notirous for developing shorts. And if that ain't it then I'll lay another 25% being a short on the circuit board somewhere (IE: cold solder connection).

Oh, and of course don't forgot to wiggle all the parts on the face plate too. You might have a loose pot or something.

And also make sure when powered up no metal is touching anything it shouldn't, and also make sure the RF shield is not touching anything.

 

[54shooter]

Thanks for all the info but I'm going to send it to Ron and let him have a stab at it.I'm not very handy when it come to electronics. If it has something to do with dirt I'm pretty good (27 years in heavy const.) but all that little stuff and electricity is beyond me. I'm so very grateful for all the help I've received on this forum. I couldn't have made a better move joining up.At least that's working out for me. I just received a AT-PRO in the mail yesterday and went out to use it for the first time and my back and a tooth went gunny bag on me! I have a Dr appt. tomorrow and then probably to the dentist. Then maybe some huntin. Anyway I'm getting the Elite boxed up and will most likely ship it off tomorrow. As I've said before I really want to learn this machine and with all the help from the members of the forum I think it's going to happen!!!
Again Thanks so much, Tony

 

[robby4570]

I'm the guy with the rusty corroded switches Critter..... I have hit each switch with just a tiny bit of WD40 as suggested and I am getting it to work (I think) in all metal variable and fixed. I still have NO ext speaker sound and did for a short time right after I got it. It's OK though because I am a 100% headphones user. I want to do a vid though in each mode to see if it is indeed working by posting the vid and letting everyone see it. Kinda tough to do a vid with no ext speaker, not impossible, just tough.

I will get a vid made and posted on my Youtube channel soon.

 

[Critterhunter]

Careful with the WD40. I guess you'd need to use that because it'll not only clean the switches but prevent further rusting, but many don't like the stuff to clean electrical connections because it leaves a residue which will attract future dirt and grime. Also, for the POTs, if you decide to clean those I'd highly suggest you don't use WD40. It may make them worse due to the residue it leaves behind. That said, I have cleaned sliding POTS on an old boom box I listen to in my garage when I'm doing car work. The sliding volume and other sliding controls had dead spots in them causing static and losing the volume and such. A quick squirt with WD40 about 7 years ago and they are still working like new. Better though to use a electrical contact cleaner for POTs, but for those switches...yea...since they have rust on them I'd opt for the WD40 to prevent future rust when spraying them to clean the contacts.

If your speaker stopped working then I'd for sure suspect you've got corrosion going on inside the box just like on the switches. you ned to take that box apart and see if the circuit board and such looks like it's degrading. If it is then spray it with something to stop future rust or that Sovereign is going to die a slow death. The non working speaker is probably the first sign of that. The speaker probably is not working because the stereo jack as rust build up in the connections that make and break depending on if the headphones are plugged in. When the headphones are plugged in connections to the speaker are broken mechanicly, and when the headphones are unplugged the connections are re-made to route the sound to the built in speaker. Try spraying that heavphone hack and then plugging/unplugging the headphones in 10 or 20 times to work the WD40 into the contacts and I bet the speaker starts working again. If it doesn't, then suspect a broken or rusting speaker wire connection.