Oh no! Help!

Cylon_Detector

Junior Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
Messages
88
Location
Southern Vermont
So I've been using my week-old Fisher F2 and loving it. Great machine, very accurate and easy to use and handle. So I used up the Energizer 9V batteries that were included with the F2 and replaced them with brand new right from the package 9V duracels. Since having done that the detector has started shutting itself off randomly. Sometimes right after I power it back on, sometimes I hunt for a few minutes or few seconds and with no warning it shuts off. It's also getting a "phantom" reading of 5 and Iron at shallow depth often. I recently switched from my 8 inch coil to my sniper coil (both brand new as well) and the sniper coil worked fine with the original batteries. Is it the coil? The batteries? I tried swapping one of the duracels in my MD with the one that came with my pinpointer to see if maybe the batteries were defective, but it kept happening. What could be causing this?? What can I do? I love this machine and don't want to have made a bad investment :(
 
Do a reset by holding the power button on for about 10 seconds when you are turning it on. You won't get any indication of a reset, but hopefully this'll take care of it. If that still doesn't make a difference, change your coils, do another reset, and see if it works. You might have a bad coil but I think it just needs a reset. Supposedly you're supposed to do a reset whenever you change coils, even though this isn't in the manual. One last thing to try if all else fails is to remove your batteries and put them back in reverse order of what you did before (if you put the left one in first before then start with the right one first this time).

Good luck and tell us if you're up and running again!

Edit: you're using alkaline batteries, right?
 
What could be causing this?? What can I do? I love this machine and don't want to have made a bad investment :(

Cylon,
sorry to hear you are having problems with your F2-here are a couple suggestions to try.

Make sure the batteries are in the correct way - easy to put in backwards sounds silly but it happens.

Make sure you are using Alkaline batteries. Use a fresh set of batteries.

Do a factory reset - with the detector off, hold the power button in for about 8-10 seconds.

Turn down the sensitivity a notch

Don't turn it on in your house - EMI will make it go crazy, try it outdoors.
 
Does this happen while using either coil or just with the 8" coil. Just because the batteries came new in the package doesn't mean they can't be bad. Do the reset as mentioned and if that doesn't do the job try some other new alkaline batteries.
 
Thanks everyone for the tips. I will try the reset before I go out tomorrow. I did consider that the new batteries I removed from the package could have been bad. But the one I swapped from my pin-pointer runs fine in my pin-pointer, but I'm guessing that thing is a pretty simple and low-powered device compared to my MD. Yes all my batteries are alkaline. Hmmmm still not sure how this happened. It never happened with my 8" coil, and I used my Sniper yesterday and nothing like this happened. So we'll have to see.
 
Thanks everyone for the tips. I will try the reset before I go out tomorrow. I did consider that the new batteries I removed from the package could have been bad. But the one I swapped from my pin-pointer runs fine in my pin-pointer, but I'm guessing that thing is a pretty simple and low-powered device compared to my MD. Yes all my batteries are alkaline. Hmmmm still not sure how this happened. It never happened with my 8" coil, and I used my Sniper yesterday and nothing like this happened. So we'll have to see.

Make sure the batteries are installed correctly!!!
 
Sounds like the batteries are loosing contact with the machine. maybe you can lightly bend the contact tabs in a little to make better contact.
 
That's a great suggestion too Choppadude. I had wondered if they were loose. it's not the easiest thing to pop them in and out of the battery compartment in this MD. I still hunted today despite the issues and found 25+ nails, rusted cans, and a metal whatchamajig but I hiked for over 5.5 hours, so that was nice.
 
What choppadude said. I know this sounds weird but duracells are a little bit shorter than energizers. Energizers are a little hotter though. I would suggest that you get a brand new energizer battery and try that first. On my Delta4000, when I put an energizer in, it fit really tight and when I turned it on my machine went nuts. I put a new duracell in and it worked fine. Your fisher must like energizers.
HH _/
Craig
 
Cylon_ Detector, I am in Western Australia and have just ordered a Fisher Gold Bug DP detector. In addition I have also bought the following batteries and charger to save myself any dramas while out in the bush.

2 X 9 Volt batteries.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251308569071?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
$5.35 Aust each.

Battery charger.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/201043255435?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649
$6.38 Aust

All free postage.
I hope this info is of some help.
Simmo.
 
So I bent the contacts up a bit more and I did the 10 second power button reset this time and it worked like a charm. It only shut off once in about 6+ hours of hunting today and I think that may have been my gloved thumb slipping over the power button. Thank you everyone for the excellent suggestions! You guys Rock! :D
 
So I bent the contacts up a bit more and I did the 10 second power button reset this time and it worked like a charm. It only shut off once in about 6+ hours of hunting today and I think that may have been my gloved thumb slipping over the power button. Thank you everyone for the excellent suggestions! You guys Rock! :D

glad to hear you got it working.
be careful with those tabs though, don't want to always keep bending them.

I use energizer batteries in my F2 and have not had that problem
 
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