E-Trac - Water damage

[DirtFisher]

I think I may have fried my E-Trac. >:# I was giving it a rinse at the sink to get the mud off the handle and it won't turn on. I can see a drop of water behind the screen film so I must have gotten water inside somehow. I was being careful not to get water in the vent in back but I figured the screen could take a little water. Anyone else had this happen? Is the screen really that susceptible to water intrusion?

I'm letting it dry out now and hoping it will come alive again when the innerds are dry.

[del]

yup the whole box is very susceptible to water , rain and even high humidity can make the unit act funny . i hope it comes back alive after a very thorough drying . if not your gonna have to get ahold of minelab to send it in . for future reference you migh wann just use a damp towel to wipe it off .

Dan

[DirtFisher]

yup the whole box is very susceptible to water , rain and even high humidity can make the unit act funny . i hope it comes back alive after a very thorough drying . if not your gonna have to get ahold of minelab to send it in . for future reference you migh wann just use a damp towel to wipe it off .

Dan


Thanks! I will certainly be more careful. I ordered screen covers today for my units, too.

[earthmansurfer]

I hope you unit is ok. It had been muddy here as well and I also rinsed the foam handle off in the sink. I'm glad you mentioned this as I didn't realize it was so susceptible.

What I've done now is use a velcro handle wrap around (it came with the protector cover for the battery area). That gets all the mud on it and then I just take it off and rinse that under water. A lot less dangerous. You can really use anything to cover the handle like that.

Let us know how it goes and Good luck,
Albert

[DirtFisher]

I hope you unit is ok. It had been muddy here as well and I also rinsed the foam handle off in the sink. I'm glad you mentioned this as I didn't realize it was so susceptible.

What I've done now is use a velcro handle wrap around (it came with the protector cover for the battery area). That gets all the mud on it and then I just take it off and rinse that under water. A lot less dangerous. You can really use anything to cover the handle like that.

Let us know how it goes and Good luck,
Albert


Yeah, the handle really gets muddy and the mud gets into the crack on each side below the display. I'll have to figure something out. Thanks!

[CyberSage]

Sorry to hear about the problems on your E-Trac DirtFisher. A good reminder for us all.

[martymco]

Take a hair drier to it, hope you get it up and running

[DirtFisher]

Take a hair drier to it, hope you get it up and running


I'm hitting it for the third time with the hair dryer today. I think it's a goner.

[DirtFisher]

Shooting warm air into the vents didn't seem to help so I removed three of the screws in the housing and peeled back the screen membrane half way and shot it with some more warm air. This got rod of the condensation but it still won't turn on so it's gone back to Minelab.

[Probed]

The simple solution is to wipe your muddy hands off on your pants after you dig your target out. 8/

[Jason in Enid]

Oh STOP! It's like watching torture. First you subjected it to water boarding, now you're peeling it's face off!!!

[DirtFisher]

The simple solution is to wipe your muddy hands off on your pants after you dig your target out. 8/


Yes, I'm sure you have noticed how messy I can get! I do need to work on that.

[DirtFisher]

Oh STOP! It's like watching torture. First you subjected it to water boarding, now you're peeling it's face off!!!


Sorry, man. I was desperate to get it going again. >:# I shipped it back to Minelab yesterday.

[Nitro 54]

Sorry to hear that Reese, :stretcher: looks like your just going to have to use your other unit.. :grin: It's water resistant you know :poke: thumbsup01

[DirtFisher]

Sorry to hear that Reese, :stretcher: looks like your just going to have to use your other unit.. :grin: It's water resistant you know :poke: thumbsup01


I bought two new E-Tracs two weeks ago so I can still keep going! :teasing:

[Jason in Enid]

I bought two new E-Tracs two weeks ago so I can still keep going! :teasing:


Wow, you want to adopt me?! :beerbuddy:

[DirtFisher]

Minelab just called. The E-Trac is fixed and on its way home. :yes: They had to replace a lot of the internals along with the screen pad.

[earthmansurfer]

Minelab just called. The E-Trac is fixed and on its way home. :yes: They had to replace a lot of the internals along with the screen pad.


I'm really curious. How was it dealing with them and how much did the repairs cost?

Glad you got your two E-Tracs again rofl

EMS

[DirtFisher]

Hi EMS!

Minelab service is excellent. Right up there with White's.

I shipped the unit to them, they called me when they received it and gave me reference number to use if I wanted to call in later for the status and they called me (this morning) to go over what they did to get the machine working. No charge - it was under the 3 year warranty.

BTW: the warranty doesn't have an explicit water damage exclusion, although it does exclude 'abuse'.

[earthmansurfer]

That is great to hear! No charge. You know I think Minelab is really trying to turn around their previous bad customer service rap. And from more recent posts I think they are doing so.

I actually had some condensation under my screen yesterday. It was a circular 2 pattern and it slowly went away. Maybe because it was around freezing or below freezing? I did hunt in a light drizzle last week and wonder if water got in. At one point the detector acted really chatty and then quieted up after a restart. Think it's behind me...

[DirtFisher]

That is great to hear! No charge. You know I think Minelab is really trying to turn around their previous bad customer service rap. And from more recent posts I think they are doing so.

I actually had some condensation under my screen yesterday. It was a circular 2 pattern and it slowly went away. Maybe because it was around freezing or below freezing? I did hunt in a light drizzle last week and wonder if water got in. At one point the detector acted really chatty and then quieted up after a restart. Think it's behind me...


I think you need to be really careful with your E-Trac around water - even light rain. Don't let the vent in the back fool you. Water may run off of that and not get in but the control box housing very susceptible to water intrusion.

[DirtFisher]

Update: The technician at Minelab said 2 of the the control housing screws did not have a good tight seat so the two halves didn't have a good seal. I think this is what caused the water damage. I was pretty careful to only run a little water over the housing. Anyway, the tech said they replaced the housing so it would have a good seal.

That being said, you should be very careful with water around the housing. Use a damp rag - not running (or trickling) water.

[DirtFisher]

Got the E-Trac back today as good as new. Minelab's service was excellent.

[RaZR]

Good to hear you got your baby back all fixed up and ready for the treasures of 2012. Good luck!

[DirtFisher]

Thanks! I sure enjoyed tearing the face off of it!

[Shayne]

Never Again! Yep, more weight but it never gets dirty and it looks kind of cool. Essentially, its a custom made replacement base with a sling swivel mount. I can connect and disconnect the expandable rifle bipod legs in about 15 seconds. Added height is 13-23 inches, very stable - even in the sand!

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/6990/mountbracket.jpg

http://img859.imageshack.us/img859/1029/mountedclose.jpg

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/4451/bottomfull.jpg

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/7456/mountedfar.jpg

http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/526/compressed.jpg

http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/2299/expanded.jpg

[DirtFisher]

That is a sweet setup!