Troubleshooting my Sov

[matt04]

Hey everyone,
I hope you all can give me some ideas on my problem before I have to send in my Sov. It noticed it when I bumped my Sunray DTI 3 meter. I tapped it again with my finger and it would give off tones like it was on a target and the meter would change readings every time I tapped it with my finger. Then I set it down on the ground, got some crackling static and a strange tone through my phones and the meter went blank and the Sov went dead then came right back on. It did this a few times during the next few minutes and then was fine.
My batteries are new Duracells I bought a month ago and only have 3 hrs on. I took the cover off and checked the connections, good to go. It didn't give me interference noise and falses like you get around power lines. I've never dropped this machine. I disconnected and reconnected all of the machines cable connections. Any ideas? I hate to think I may have to send it back to Minelab to repair. The machine is a Sov. XS-2A Pro I bought in late 2002. Never had an issue with it in eight years.

Thanks for any ideas you may have,
Matt

 

[ZOFCHAK]

Does it perform properly without the meter? If so, then you can rule out sending into Minelab, and should try the folks over in the Sunray forum. Does it perform properly without the meter?

I would try swapping out for new batteries (Perhaps yours were weak out of the box). Then try running it without the meter for a while and see if you have the same issues. If so, try using another coil (If available) and rule out the coil being an issue. Sending it to Minelab should be your last resort after exhausting all other routes. They are notoriously slow and in the past have had reservations about working on the older units.

 

[goodmore]

Very good advice. Rule out everything you can. Minelab might not be able to fix an older unit. Call first.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Try just using the coil.Better if you have a spare coil to try also.If the Sovereign works well with just the coil most likely a wire has came lose on one of your meter connector pins.Good news if its a coil or meter connector pin lose wire its an easy fix. Good Luck

 

[kered]

Sounds like a conector problem to me too, either on the meter or the coil. Maybe a loose wire or gunge in there or even not tight. I'm sure checking one at a time will show the problem source

 

[matt04]

Thanks for your ideas, I'll get started testing at my next opportunity.

 

[Rick(ND)]

Lot of different ideas and the first thing is getting down to the control box and the coil, this will tell you if it is in the Sovereign and coil. If it still does it that try a different coil, if not than it would have to be in the meter or broken wire in the cable. One thing the Sovereigns like the XS2 and the XS2a with the drop in battery pack had and with the alkaline pack was even worst was the battery door held the battery packs in place and many times they would slide back a little bit so the battery packs would lose contact and cause what you are experiencing. It happened to me on my XS2 and know others have had this problem too. Most would put a piece of thin foam padding on the inside battery door to hold the battery and door tight. Not saying this is your problem, but something you can check out as it has happened to me several times until I put the padding in the battery door to hold it tight and keep a good connection on the battery.

 

[Willee - Texas]

It sounds like a problem in the connector.
Clean the pins with a Q-tip and some contact cleaner.
Clean the socket with a tiny dental brush.
If you have a very small tip (micro) screwdriver you can bend the ears of the sockets to make better contact with the pins.