At pro issues.

[Flanaganj25]

Here's the skinny folks, went last weekend to hunt a swimming area. Before I went out I went through the at pro and made sure seals and cable connections were tight and clean. This is my 4th time water hunting and the machine hasn't acted up before. After the hunt I got home I dried off and put detector up. Today I got up EARLY and super excited to hunt but when I turned on my machine it chattering non stop and vdi going crazy. Tired removing batteries, turning on and off couple times, and also ran through different modes and new batteries. Still same issue. Took apart connectors and battery pack and no moisture signs either. Guessing some water must've seeped in somewhere but at end of hunt last weekend it worked fine. Another tip is be super careful with battery holder. As I was trying to check them without cam plug in, it fell out onto the ground and shattered! Any info would be helpful but I'm now shipping back to garrett. I'll update any info I find from Garrett and what the fix was, if any. My machine is out of warranty, I bought it new from a dealer off this site and did warranty card. Hope repair isn't to expensive. Fingers crossed.

 

[John-Edmonton]

It sucks when when your machine breaks down. I hope you have a spare machine for a back-up. At least Garrett is a company in USA and their turn around time is awesome!

Good luck!

 

[mrhvmd]

Have dropped and broken battery pack. When I posted about it I learned that every other AT Pro owner has done the same at some point. My experience like everyone else - call the company and they send you a few, gratis. Hope your machine isn't hurt bad. When I broke my battery pack I was SOL so I biought a back up AT Pro. Now keep one with standard DD and the other with a small coil. Easy to switch out and always have a back up.

 

[FrankG]

Do you have an alternate coil to try ? '

At least that would isolate the problem and perhaps get you up and running again.

I say that because I purchased a sniper coil a while back and it had those symptoms out of the box (DOA). My other coils still worked fine so diagnosis was a no brainer

My dealer quickly sent me a replacement and all was well again.

 

[Flanaganj25]

I don't have another coil to check, been waiting to buy the 5x8 and wish I did already dang it. And since the dang battery clip is shattered, now I can't try and diagnose any further. I've read the horror stories bout dropping that holder and I've always taken such care not to drop it., and of course today is the day. Last day of my 4 day vacation and finally decided to get out and hit it. Man what a disappointment. Thanks for input y'all. I'm at least relieved garrett is a good company so I know I'll be in good care!

 

[antoninvs]

Hi
May by the same problem
http://www.findmall.com/read.php?79,2056558,2056558#msg-2056558
antoninvs

 

[togamac]

I recently raved about Garrett service because a worker mailed me a coil on the same day I called and gave her the symptons of my problems, i.e., everything reading in the 30's including my huge SS scoop. Turns out, that wasn't the problem because the same thing happened to me again a couple weeks later with the new coil. The only way I could get the thing to work was by knocking on the housing with my knuckles. I had to send the control unit back in for repairs and try as I may, I could not get an explanation of what the problem was. I don't treat my equipment roughly nor was there an instance of a huge temperature change that would have made the unit leak. I would really like to know the cause of the failure so that I could prevent it from happening again.

Is there a leak problem with the control housings? Do the control units have to be handled with kid gloves?

 

[Flanaganj25]

I'm sending mine in today. The lady I spoke to was very nice and courteous. I've always treated my at pro with much care and did regular cleaning of parts. I think mine is just a unfortunate glitch. Electronics are known to fail from time to time, and for what this machine does, it's really stout. Still glad to own it and would still recommend garrett products fully!!!

 

[mj-air23]

I had my AT Pro less than a year and a half and had water leak into my control box causing erratic sounds and display. I had to send it in to Garrett for warranty work. (luckily). Turnaround time was quick , by the way. They replaced the control housing box and PCB board. Treated it gently just not sure what happened. Now last weekend my buddy got water in his screen while out water hunting cutting our trip short. I wonder also if there is a problem with the housings or seals on the AT Pro. After all, they are supposed to be waterproof.