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CTX Battery Contacts Fix Sought


cjc

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I don't like to dish dirt on an otherwise superb detector and to be fair I have a sense that if my bench tech had replaced the side clips too there would have been no problem after the repair.   With the R & D that' must have gone into the CTX Im surprised that this has not been addressed more soundly.  This second gasket is not even captive--it just sits on the outside of the case--nothing some black tape wont accomplish.  My fix did work today something for anyone who has had a leak to try:  Take the lid off a water bottle and cut out two rectangles 1/32 x 1/8".  Get some tweezers and some crazy glue or mix epoxy.  Put a puddle of glue on a surface, pick up each shim , dip it and place each one exactly on where the cell clip seats--on the battery holder.  Trim with nail cutters. Use the clips to clamp for drying.  This will make for a firmer seal.  Be sure to use an (strong) elastic to secure the clips now. Then, to keep the sand out--apply two strips of black tape--top and bottom.  Just funny--Im run this machine for periods of time problem free but then it has leaked several times in  a row no matter how hard I try to make sure that everything is situated perfectly.  This fix seems so far so good--two rechargeable cells later...

PS scored this Italian cuff today18k 9.7 gt. seems to be working!

cjc

s-l300.jpg

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  • 5 months later...

I use my CTX primarily in the sea.

For the first couple of years it was travelling to Irish service centre and back every few months with leaks on battery join.

Each time new bulkhead and battery (cost paid by minelab).

However they did get their act together with the newer fatter GREY seal and the rubber seal on battery.

Since that changed a couple years ago its been fine, no leaks.

I am always a little paranoid when I recharge battery and check the seal area very carefully for no grit and I also use a silicone band to hold the release tabs down locked down.

 

 

 

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On 11/24/2018 at 3:16 AM, Steve Herschbach said:

I wonder what the true failure rates were on the CTX? There would be manufacturer defect stuff like a bad o-ring. And there would also be operator error stuff. I am sure most CTX units that got used in the water never never leaked but beyond that it is hard to get a handle on. There are lots of examples on the forums that leaks do happen, no question about that. I am sorry yours was one of them.

I think the water ingress problem for sea users was very high.

I returned mine multiple times due to this.

Several others I know had same problem.

 

Thankfully the problem was solved with the newer grey seal and the battery rubber strip to close the gap between the bulkhead and battery.

This stopped the sand getting to the seal.

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ya, I had a new bulkhead cell and clips put in and it leaked right away (mismatched clips?) right up into the control pod and would not boot but ML did me a very nice turn and gave me some seconds clips snap very nicely now looks pretty good.  hope they do in fact have their act together with this one--great machine these minor things gave it a bad name amongst many and almost me too.. 

clc

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To clean the contacts you could use an ordinary pencil eraser and take the corrosion off. Won't help if the terminals have been corroded away but does work for poor contact from corrosion.

The leaking from the cells on the battery pack?

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no it was like the clips wore and let water in upgraded gasket or not.   it was an old model.   seems pretty good now but will do some time in the tub before i trust it in salt.  cjc

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I always now do a close visual on battery to bulkhead join when putting battery on to ensure there is no gap.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hay folks , 

New hear and looking to get back into detecting , did very little , but was adding detecting to my mining / dredging 70s-90s northern CA , started with dog walking & learning - when not near any gold fields MN .

Had fire last yr. or so , lost a bunch detecting gear .

On the leak / fix issues , I do electronic repair - board level component diagnostics & replacing , surface mount / micro soldering , laptop , ham radio , test equipment .

With out having those connectors in hand to compare , I would suggest finding a source of solid nickel - cut / file / shape to fit .

You can also use copper , shape to fit & then give a coat of solder , solder protects copper , never use bare copper , and if you really want to get fancy , use a car battery & electroplate with gold , a $40 gram of gold will do more contacts then you will ever need .

To prevent , make sure to use some vaseline or silly-cone , sounds like some may have contact with detector manufactures and can ask what viscus fluid will help seal - but not degrade the factory seal .

In the automotive bis. , did that to , we use the same base as what was in the container - engine / oil , gearbox / gearlube , autotrans. transfluid base oil or grease .  

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12 hours ago, KD0CAC said:

To prevent , make sure to use some vaseline or silly-cone , sounds like some may have contact with detector manufactures and can ask what viscus fluid will help seal - but not degrade the factory seal .

 

No lubricant should be used on the battery seal. Even silicone grease will degrade the seal after 6 months.

The new batteries with rubber edging work great.

Just ensure there is no sand/grit in the grove before reinserting battery.

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