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SD 2100 switches off by itself... battery problem?

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Post  Steinreich Wed Nov 07, 2012 7:13 am

Good morning,

I am very new to detecting, just started reading this forum a few months ago...

Then last week I decided to buy a SD 2100 from ebay. It came with two batteries, very small batteries with a switch on the box to change from 6.7 to 7.3v. On the box its written that Coiltek recommends 7.3v for SD series...

So when the detector arrived here one of the batteries was allready broken. The seller forgot to put it into the box with the detector and sent it in a seperate box. It looks like the postman threw it over our fence and it landed on the concrete... I found it lying in the rain when I came back from work. Just happy that he didnt do that with the detector... Rolling Eyes
So the other battery looks OK to me, I checked if its working and everything seemed to be good.

Then I went into the bush for the first time on Saturday, I have no car so I just walked into the forest from Ballarat train station. After I adjusted the detector and tried it with my own targets everything seemed to be fine.
Ten minutes later there was a very loud strange noise and then the detector just switched off. First I thought I found another hand of faith, but then I realized somthings wrong with the detector...

Tried to switch on the machine again after one minute and it worked fine again. I couldnt see the red light for low battery. But after two minutes or so it switched off again.
Packed up everything and just walked through the forest for the rest of the day...

After charging this battery for twenty hours, like the manual says, I tried it again yesterday. All good, so I went into the bush around Bendigo this time. Just checking the ground balance the machine switched off again after a few minutes and I couldnt start it anymore. Just in this moment when I got a little bit frustrated a Kangaroo almost jumped over me!!! Shocked That was great! I come from Germany, so maybe you can understand how happy I felt... Very Happy

So packed up the machine again and walked through the bush for the rest of the day. It is so beautiful out there!

But I still would like to use my new detector, so if anyone could help me with this problem I would be very happy.
Do you guys think it is the battery and if I would buy a new one the problem is fixed?
It doesnt look to me as if there were loose contacts or so because when it switches off it stays off...

Too many things I want to write and aks, lets start with this first post... cyclops


Steinreich
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Post  Guest Wed Nov 07, 2012 8:35 am

Gday

The first thing that comes to mind is the battery is not being fully charged, either the battery is faulty or the charger is not working properly, you will need to test what amount of charge the battery is getting by charging it as you have done and then using a multimeter see what voltage it is at when you take it off charge, the battery will be warm so the reading will be high,(if this is the case you know the charger is working), as the battery cools the reading will go down, test it again when cold and again the next day if the battery voltage is now considerably lower then its the battery that is faulty.

The coiltek system has an inbuilt regulator, so if you test the charger and battery and if they seem ok, then it could be the regulator, in which case you will need to send it in to coiltek for repair, however there is always the chance that there is an issue with the detector, I would suggest that you take it to your local detector shop and get them to run it for you on a standard battery system and if it continues to run without shutting down for a longer time that it was doing on the battery that you have, then you have isolated the problem.

The coiltek systems are quite reliable and lightweight, but if you find yourself having to replace it all it will be expensive and you will it cheaper to go back to the original 6v gel battery set up.

cheers

stayyerAU




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Post  CostasDee Wed Nov 07, 2012 9:43 pm

Hi Steinreich and welcome to the forum.
What StayyerAU has said above are all valid points. I have used the Coiltek Pocket Rocket for over 2 years and found it to be fantastic, with the exception of some aftermarket cheap chinese batteries. The warning light on the SD will not come on as it is decigned for the standard 6v cell and comes on somewhere about the 6v mark (I think) whereas the Coiltek is designed to give 7.3v and drops to about 6.95v just before it goes flat and cuts out, therefore it doesn't get low enough to activate the SD's low power light.
It could be the detector, it could be the regulator, it could be the charger, but if I had to put money on it, I'd say it's the batteries and I would be lending or buying one of those first to try out. I think Coiltek in Maryborough sell the original ones for about the $80 mark, or I had some success from a seller on eBay (funny enough from HK I think) for about the $35 mark. I have tried the $25 ones off eBay and they did give me trouble with cut outs and quite short usage times.
Cheers
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Post  getascripter Wed Nov 07, 2012 10:22 pm

G'day Steinreich Very Happy I'm not techie minded, but just wanted to say Hi and Welcome!!

I feel for you ... I've had troubles with my newly purchased detectors from time to time, and it can be really frustrating affraid You will get over this, and be out happily listening for that lovely mellow sound that says G-O-L-D!!
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SD 2100 switches off by itself... battery problem? Empty Pocket Rocket...

Post  Steinreich Thu Nov 08, 2012 12:10 am

Thank you all so much for the quick reply!

So now I also know the name of this battery system... Wink

That was very informative, I guess I will try to get a new battery and charger first and see if thats the problem!

Actually I didnt recognize if the battery was warm after I charged it, so now I tried it again and I think its not getting warm... The light on the charger is working, but maybe that doesnt mean anything...?

But when I think about it again, it seems logical that the charger is broken. When I first used the detector it worked for about 15 or 20 minutes. Then switched off, battery empty!? After some seconds turned it on again and switched off after two minutes. Battery really empty! Then I could turn it on again after a while but it switched of after a few seconds... battery reaaaaaaally empty...?

So after I charged it again It actually was not charged at all because the charger is broken. Then turned the machine on and it ran only for a few seconds and after that I couldnt start it anymore... Guess thats not healthy for the battery what I am doing here monkey

Really hope its like this and not the control box is defect. Just checking out the prices and where I can buy the batteries and the charger on the internet. Looks like its cheapest in the US? But then I have to pay the shipping... Maybe I will call Coiltek tomorrow and see what they say where I can get it.

Thank you again, hope that I can take my detector with me next weekend cheers

Steinreich
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SD 2100 switches off by itself... battery problem? Empty Pocket Rocket...

Post  LONE WOLF XLIX Thu Nov 08, 2012 8:45 am

HI steinrich,

The first thing to do and the cheapest is get a multi meter or loan one then test the charger to see if its putting any thing out .if not then problem found if it is working then you can use the meter to check batt voltages at diff stages of charge , and rest etc. hope this helps.
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Post  CostasDee Thu Nov 08, 2012 9:16 am

Hi again Steinreich,
One thing to keep in mind is that you cant test it here in suburbia, rather than take it all the way to the bush, only to have it fail. Just connect it all up (you'll have to put up with the squeal) and see how long it lasts. You should get about 6+ hours out of 1 battery and it should take about 8 hours to charge, hence why you need 2 batteries. Of course these are my figures and could vary with other operators and battery capacities. INHO, if the light is going on, on the charger, then I would tend to think it's in the battery as I have had a very similar situation happen to me. Either way, you should be ontop of it fairly soon.
Cheers
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SD 2100 switches off by itself... battery problem? Empty Bullets!

Post  Steinreich Tue Nov 20, 2012 8:16 am

Last week I got a new battery and a charger from Coiltek! I wanted to get a spare battery so I just ordered both...

So on Sunday I went out into the forest around Creswick to test the detector... The machine is working fine now, I am very happy! After three hours I collected five bullets, some old screws and other metal pieces. Pretty good for the first time detecting Very Happy . Next time I will bring a bigger bag! Laughing

I was wondering if such an old bullet can still explode if I would hit it while digging with my pick!?

Thanks again for all the answers!

Steinreich
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Post  getascripter Tue Nov 20, 2012 11:04 am

Hi Steinreich, and welcome to the wonderful world of detecting! (and bush rubbish collection) Very Happy

Yep, that bullet could easily discharge if struck with another object affraid however, the likelihood of that happening is very slim! Just be aware that there are many projectiles out there ... and they are not all discharged shells!
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