550 Meter Issue, Need Help

[CCadrin]

I was out hunting over the weekend and my Sovereign GT started acting up. Thinking it was a battery problem I recharged the battery pack for 8 hours. The next day the same problem occurred.

I was getting alot of false signals and when I looked at the 550 meter the number was a -1 that was left justified in the window. Usually, the numbers are right justified such as -1234 or 550. In my case only the -1 and the other 3 digits were not present.

To diagnose the problem I removed the meter and verified that the Sovereign was OK and it was the meter misbehaving. I confirmed that the meter was the issue.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Can it be a loose wire? Sand in the meter? I exclusively use it on salt water beaches, It has never been submerged. The problem started to occur on a sunny day around 70 degrees and about 2 1/2 hours into the hunt.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

I had a 180 meter that was going to zeros and erratic.Took the meter apart and checked for loose wires.After my inspection I found no loose wires but plenty of grit inside.I took a damp Q Tip and cleaned the grit out inside and dried with a Q Tip worked fine after that.

 

[kered]

I has th e same problem, it was moiture inside, opened it left it in a warm place for a couple of days and it was ok. the funny thing is it didn't act up directly it got a showwer, it was some days later.

 

[Critterhunter]

And if that won't fix it then the POT is probably dirty. Spray on non-residue contact cleaner inside it from any way you can manage and you probably won't have to take it (the POT) apart. When you spray it inside it move the POT around to help the wipers clean the surface.

 

[wildherre]

The XS2 meters and some of the first blue faced Elite meters used a panel meter that had the edge connector trimmed off to fit in the meter housing leaving all of the traces exposed on the edge.. Salt water hunters sometimes had a layer of salt build up on the edge causing problems.. The fix was to clean it off, seal the edge with some finger nail polish then seal around the meter face with some clear temporary caulk, also put a dab on the screws if you leave them exposed... I think Ive got a pic of the meter edge..........Yep................... wildherre


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