GPZ 7000 12 volt charging lead issue

Hi 7000 swingers,
During a recent trip I noticed sparking from the cigaret lighter plug as it was removed from the charging socket. On closer inspection the cable insulation had cracked where it exits the cable restrainer and parted allowing the now bare wires to short-out.
Talking to the local dealer, it appears they have had other folk come back with the same problem, also MineLab are aware of the problem, it will be interesting to see what they come up with to rectify the fault.
Cheers, AUoptimist.

the problem lies with the thin wires that service the standard cig lighter plugs in most vehicles.

from an earlier post I made,

Redfin wrote:As you said, the wires are not of the right capacity, but not the minelab wires, the wires in your car to your cig lighter.
A dedicated charging or auxiliary socket [ in car ] work fine.

In my Prado I have the same problem in my cig lighter, the battery charger flashes red.
However, all works fine in an dual auxiliary outlet I have installed at the rear of my car, running the fridge and the charger at the same time ,
which uses 6B&S, not some flimsy factory wire.

AUoptimist wrote:Hi 7000 swingers,
During a recent trip I noticed sparking from the cigaret lighter plug as it was removed from the charging socket. On closer inspection the cable insulation had cracked where it exits the cable restrainer and parted allowing the now bare wires to short-out.
Talking to the local dealer, it appears they have had other folk come back with the same problem, also MineLab are aware of the problem, it will be interesting to see what they come up with to rectify the fault.
Cheers, AUoptimist.

I had the same issue. The insulation peeled back right were the wires enter the cigg plug then shorted and must have blown the fuse as it stopped working. Upon inspection of the exposed wires, it became apparent that the wires are tiny and prob the cause of charging issues.

Bottom line is that the cigg lighter lead is a cheap, poorly made piece of crap. Im really not happy getting a piece of junk like that with a 11k product.

The quality thats coming out of ML lately is woeful. Iv had nothing but manufacturing issues with my SDC and GPZ, sending both units and their accessories back numerous times with multiple failures. Luckily performance has been their only saving grace. Its really not good enough.

JayMowgrass wrote:

AUoptimist wrote:Hi 7000 swingers,
During a recent trip I noticed sparking from the cigaret lighter plug as it was removed from the charging socket. On closer inspection the cable insulation had cracked where it exits the cable restrainer and parted allowing the now bare wires to short-out.
Talking to the local dealer, it appears they have had other folk come back with the same problem, also MineLab are aware of the problem, it will be interesting to see what they come up with to rectify the fault.
Cheers, AUoptimist.

I had the same issue. The insulation peeled back right were the wires enter the cigg plug then shorted and must have blown the fuse as it stopped working. Upon inspection of the exposed wires, it became apparent that the wires are tiny and prob the cause of charging issues.

Bottom line is that the cigg lighter lead is a cheap, poorly made piece of crap. Im really not happy getting a piece of junk like that with a 11k product.

The quality thats coming out of ML lately is woeful. Iv had nothing but manufacturing issues with my SDC and GPZ, sending both units and their accessories back numerous times with multiple failures. Luckily performance has been their only saving grace. Its really not good enough.

Gee Mate that doesn't sound good, do you mind outlining what issues you have had with both units please?? as this will help others be on the look out & be a little more prepared, is there a need for a recall? to rectify any of these issues?

Thanks for the warning AUoptimist, I have only used my cigi socket a couple times and although it has not shorted, I have noticed the thin wires bend at the cigi socket end (which is hard plastic made to look like a flexible cable keeper) and the sharp bend angle and thin wires will eventually break and short at an inappropriate remote detecting location with some use (as others have pointed out). So as usual minelab have a great electronic detecting platform but have packaged it with cheap and nasty components. They should have installed the $2 chinese deluxe cigi plug component instead of the $1 cheap rubbish. WILL MINELAB EVER LEARN.

How about a recall Minelab, and send out 7000 purchasers a warning letter/email and a new charging plug that will not endanger lives when they fail and possibly cause a fire in the car.

I am not being a whinger, I have seen a 12v fan short and burn a car into a mass of molten alloy running down the hill.


PS if Minelab do nothing I suggest 7000 owners wrap multiple layers tape around the end of the cigi adapter and taper it up the wires a distance to ensure the wires cannot bend at a severe angle. Its not a fix like making yourself a decent adapter, but it may help in the very short term until you get a replacement.
Tributer

[/quote]
Gee Mate that doesn't sound good, do you mind outlining what issues you have had with both units please?? as this will help others be on the look out & be a little more prepared, is there a need for a recall? to rectify any of these issues?[/quote]

SDC: -Battery cut out issue
-Coil elbow tightening screw failed and didn't tighten enough so the entire coil came loose and had to be replaced
-Headphone plug dislodged and had to be replaced
-Headphone Jack on the SDC stopped making a proper connection with the headphones, had to be fixed
-Shaft locks didn't hold and the SDC shaft kept retracting, had to be fixed
-where the carbon fibre shaft meets the control box is loose and has play, never got fixed

GPZ: -Falses in the General Mode, just got a new coil and testing it today.
-WM-12 faulted, has to be replaced
-12v charger lead as stated above

Like i was saying, i love ML detectors and their performance and wouldn't buy anything else, but QC has gone down the tubes.

Jay

Hi 7000 Swingers,
Just an up-date on my original post re: the 12 volt charging lead for the 7000.
Minelab are to be applauded for their promptness in terms of turn-round with the shorted lead; five working days is pretty good going from when it was forwarded to them.
That said however, the replacement charging cable is the same as the original supplied with the 7000 that failed, along with others by all accounts.
So what to do to prevent the same issue occurring again? Probably the best option would be to go down to the local electronics supplier and purchase some heavier cable, like that used in the other charging cable supplied with the 7000 and the appropriate cigi plug and DC plug to accommodate the heavier cable, a relatively inexpensive exercise that perhaps ML should consider given the problems being experienced by a presumably growing number of 7000 users.
The other alternative would be to do as others have suggested here and that is to wrap some electricians tape round the cigi plug and cable to prevent the insulation from cracking that allows the bare copper wires to short out.
At any rate folks it's something to be mindful of and check on a regular basis.
Cheers, AUoptimist.

It's not really good enough. It's an $11,000 piece of gear. Same cost as a new dirt bike. Imagine if you brought said dirt bike and experienced a similar QC/design issue. You'd be livid. They should recall the cables and supply us with new ones. Period. Especially when it's hazardous like in this instance.

Jay

Hi JM,
Yep! your correct in what you say, but in the meantime we have to keep charging our 7000 battery/s and thus need a reliable, viable work-around while ML work out what if anything they are going to come up with.
Our prospecting group of three; all of us have 7000s, do most of our battery charging inside our vehicles at night; the thought of a shorted charging lead under my bed in the dead of night is not all that comforting.
I have tried to phone ML three times on the 1800 number on the Adventure Club gold key thing with no result, does not work, it would be nice to talk to someone in their tech department on the subject. I have been told by two different ML dealers that ML are seeking feedback on all aspects of 7000 user experiences; a bit hard if the supplied phone number is not working.
I guess we shall have to sit back and see what transpires on this and other aspects of the 7000 saga and hope that ML sort out these issues.
Cheers, AUoptimist.

AUoptimist wrote:Hi JM,
Yep! your correct in what you say, but in the meantime we have to keep charging our 7000 battery/s and thus need a reliable, viable work-around while ML work out what if anything they are going to come up with.
Our prospecting group of three; all of us have 7000s, do most of our battery charging inside our vehicles at night; the thought of a shorted charging lead under my bed in the dead of night is not all that comforting.
I have tried to phone ML three times on the 1800 number on the Adventure Club gold key thing with no result, does not work, it would be nice to talk to someone in their tech department on the subject. I have been told by two different ML dealers that ML are seeking feedback on all aspects of 7000 user experiences; a bit hard if the supplied phone number is not working.
I guess we shall have to sit back and see what transpires on this and other aspects of the 7000 saga and hope that ML sort out these issues.
Cheers, AUoptimist.

Mmmmm, not a good experience by the sounds. I just call their SA number and ask for the service dept. They are normally pretty helpful on the phone.

Its not a real big deal, using the alligator clips, but its nice to have both options. I guess well see what happens next. I think my charger cable arrived in the mail today along with my replaced WM-12. So we'll se what happens.
Good luck.

JM