Sovereign and excallibur repair manual

[mike k.]

Maybe Minelab or someone should publish a detailed repair manual for these machines , so we could fix our own machines ??

 

[surfman]

I think they need to start a training center so they can hire and train techs in house. I mean think about the difficulty of finding trained electronic techs that know metal detectors. I can understand how hard it must be. How attractive is the job salary? You have to find somebody that has the ability to relocate. How good a benefit package, and on and on. Gotta be tough.

 

[surfman]

I agree though, a manual would nice. I bet they'd sell quite a few.

Maybe Minelab or someone should publish a detailed repair manual for these machines , so we could fix our own machines ??

 

[dewcon4414]

Ha.... this is ML. We cant even get parts guys. Is there ANY detecting company you know that has a repair manual. Not that i know of.......its bad for business.

Dew

 

[surfman]

We all understand that Dew. I think it's more wishful thinking. They are in a big jam though.

 

[pasttom]

For them, selling repair manuals would be a nightmare. They would have a tidal wave of screwed up units returned and a market flooded with awful running units bearing their name. The few who could be successful would be buried by the masses who think they are up to it, I mean how hard can it be?

 

[dewcon4414]

I agree. we are already feeling the pain i believe with used modified machines. People worry these mods werent dont correctly, and rightfully so on some. Then if they buy used and it needs work ...... it take some time, IF it can be repaired. That may drive the cost of used down..... and make it real hard to sell one completely modified by the average person. Lets be honest.... most of us cant work on the boards anyway even when we have the parts. I know Joe can tell some night mares from machines he received for repair..... even from Kelleyco.

Dew

 

[treasure_hunter]

Minelab will never make and sell a repair manual for the Excal or Sovereigns, they don't even share schematics with their authorized repair centers, they would also open their selves up for liability issues....Minelab also does not sell parts to private owners...

 

[Auriemma]

ML won't even give you part number of the coil connector and/or the pin outs for a Sov. It's discontinued and no longer supported. But it is considered SECRET!

 

[GeorgeinSC]

With the current backlog of detectors waiting for repairs ( three Months or more for out of warranty ??) how long will it take for people to become fed up with the inactivity on the part of Minelab and quit recommending their machines and also to quit purchasing new machines.

Until such time as I see or hear of some action by Minelab in resolving the atrocious lag time in getting a machine repaired I would neither recommend a person buy a Minelab machine nor will I purchase A new one.

 

[surfman]

I'm with you on this George. I have three detectors, all Minelab's. Two Excal's and a CTX. The CTX is still under warranty. I hope I never have to send it in for repairs. It's a real shame that there's that many detectors there for warranty repair. That right there say's something if you ask me. Either the new detectors are total crap or the techs they have are still trying to figure out how to fix them. Taking to long to diagnose the issue would be my guess. The CTX is the most technological detector they have so trying to figure that thing out has gotta be a pain. That's unless they have a system that plugs into like a scanner for a vehicle. That would make things much easier and faster. Still waiting for those positive posts about the repair times.

 

[dewcon4414]

I think its going to have more of an affect on used machines for those serious hunters. Most may buy a NEW machine as a back up now rather than switch to another brand. Why.... because right there isnt a better choice. Yhus means a boost in sales anytime if u get people to buy new over used. There are schematics to the Sov.... in fact one sight has made improvements on the board.

Dew

 

[treasure_hunter]

I'm with you on this George. I have three detectors, all Minelab's. Two Excal's and a CTX. The CTX is still under warranty. I hope I never have to send it in for repairs. It's a real shame that there's that many detectors there for warranty repair. That right there say's something if you ask me. Either the new detectors are total crap or the techs they have are still trying to figure out how to fix them. Taking to long to diagnose the issue would be my guess. The CTX is the most technological detector they have so trying to figure that thing out has gotta be a pain. That's unless they have a system that plugs into like a scanner for a vehicle. That would make things much easier and faster. Still waiting for those positive posts about the repair times.

The majority of detectors in for repair are not warranty work, they are non warranty. Vast majority are older detectors long out of warranty with excals being the largest group. A lot of the repairs are due to people not taking care of their detectors, a lot have cracked end caps which caused leaks by dropping or bumping them into things and being thrown in back of pickups ect.. Next are cracked housing caused by people bumping the knobs which then cracks the collars around the pots where the o-rings are, when the crack goes past o-ring it leaks. A lot of the excal repairs are from people doing their own work or having someone else do the repairs or work and they used the wrong size o-rings, the wrong kind of resin in the end caps and butchered the motherboard soldering while trying to do custom mods.

Many of the packages come in with not one detector but 2 or 3 at a time, customers do not put a note inside the package saying what is wrong with detector, some do not even put their contact info inside the package and have a shipping company box it up so the only contact info they have is for a shipping company not the owner.

Next you have the parts issue as the repair center has to be constantly resupplied with parts and many times some parts are back ordered so detectors that have been on the bench can't have the repair completed because the part is out of stock..

 

[surfman]

Sorry but that just sounds like a bunch of excuses to me.

 

[GeorgeinSC]

Rather Lame Excuses.

 

[surfman]

Seems to me the last time this was brought up it was because of a warranty work backlog. Either way they are a sponsor here and bashing them isn't going to change anything. I'm sure they'll get it figured out.

 

[jtalley007]

Kellyco went from the backup repair center to the forefront, if there's any beef it's up to Minelab to support and service their products and as much as I love their products there's no excuse to let technicians retire without replacing them.

Wish they followed these forums and listened to our cry's for help, they have a base of customers that would be lifetime customers, just please take care of us.

JMHO

Jerry

 

[GeorgeinSC]

Unfortunately Minelab is either unaware of the problem or is not willing to step in and meet their responsibility to their customers. Maybe when the fiasco starts costing Minelab sales they will wake up and take some action

Yes the folks at Kellyco Repair Center are busting their backsides doing every bit that they can but it obviously is not enough to correct the problem.

My question to Minelab is do they even care. They do not reply to emails outlining the problem and requesting to know what action they plan on taking to correct the problem.

Every Minelab dealer in the United States needs to start communicating our complaints to Minelab. We as individual owners do not have a voice with Minelab.

 

[pasttom]

Keep in mind we are looking at a world wide company that is based in Australia and the US market is a tail not up to wagging the dog (obviously). Yes there is no excuse for our slow service from our side, but they may well have bigger fish to fry so to speak. I suspect more is being done than we see and things will get better. As long as two of my 4 Excals work I can wait it out.

 

[MLACindy]

Hello Jerry,

This is Cindy from Minelab, if there is something we can help you with in regards to a repair or otherwise please either call us at 877-767-6522 or email us at service@minelabamericas.com and we will be happy to assist.