Fair call mate. Mackka
GPX6000 Faults/Issues
Help Support Prospecting Australia:
rustyhooks
Russell
Well the GPX 6000 saga it seems is ongoing for some, we did a coil last year up in the middle of nowhere and were lucky our mate was leaving to go home to Ktown for work committments and left us hic coil which we used for another ten days thanks to him we had our best haul of small nuggs and species etc, i also had the speaker screws come loose and one fell out completely, the blue tooth headphones also stopped working and i had to use the lead.
On return to Geraldton i contacted Minelab and they sent a new coil and headphones i also sent the old units back to them, bit of a coincidence but our mate Pedro had his coil shit the can on the same date as ours and that both detectors were bought on the same day from the same dealer so go figure even though we were at different locations 2000kms apart, the new minelab coil has worked really well since 2 x trips of 14 days duration over towards Menzies, but sadly i am not now confident of the 11" minelab coil so have bit the bullitt and bought a new Coiltek 14"x9" Goldhawk mono as the main coil and the 11" is relegated to backup duties, i might also add i bought the coil online from Lost Treasues in QLD they have the coil on special for $550.00 plus postage which leaves all the other dealers for dead , ( all other dealers $639.00 saved me $89.00 so really pleased means more beers aye) mates have all gone the same way and the early reports from both of them on the 14x9 are fantastic.
The Dragon and i are just packing up now before heading north for our annual Pilbara trip 3 months this year and looking forward to the outcome, will keep everyone posted .
On return to Geraldton i contacted Minelab and they sent a new coil and headphones i also sent the old units back to them, bit of a coincidence but our mate Pedro had his coil shit the can on the same date as ours and that both detectors were bought on the same day from the same dealer so go figure even though we were at different locations 2000kms apart, the new minelab coil has worked really well since 2 x trips of 14 days duration over towards Menzies, but sadly i am not now confident of the 11" minelab coil so have bit the bullitt and bought a new Coiltek 14"x9" Goldhawk mono as the main coil and the 11" is relegated to backup duties, i might also add i bought the coil online from Lost Treasues in QLD they have the coil on special for $550.00 plus postage which leaves all the other dealers for dead , ( all other dealers $639.00 saved me $89.00 so really pleased means more beers aye) mates have all gone the same way and the early reports from both of them on the 14x9 are fantastic.
The Dragon and i are just packing up now before heading north for our annual Pilbara trip 3 months this year and looking forward to the outcome, will keep everyone posted .
Moneybox
Philip & Sandra Box
Well as I've said before, Minelab are good with their warranty. After sending the above video to Minelab and pointing out the original problems with the 11" coil and the crash-on-startup they have decided to send me a new GPX6000 complete. I must return everything they originally supplied once I get the new one.
Even though I'm not happy with the product I can't complain about the customer service. Thank you Minelab.
Even though I'm not happy with the product I can't complain about the customer service. Thank you Minelab.
Moneybox
Philip & Sandra Box
No Dave, I don't think so. They know I have two stuffed coils and a machine that crashes on startup. There's not a lot that doesn't need sorting out so this should be a quick fix and hopefully get a customer back on their side 
The issues you've had are beyond unacceptable. Good to hear they've stepped up to the plate with a whole new package. Hopefully it's a good one.No Dave, I don't think so. They know I have two stuffed coils and a machine that crashes on startup. There's not a lot that doesn't need sorting out so this should be a quick fix and hopefully get a customer back on their side
Moneybox
Re: the GPX 6000 coils.
You explained that your friend bought two NF 12x7 Xceed coils >>but both were faulty<<. That has me very concerned because I just bought a new Nugget Finder 12x7 Xceed which I have not used yet and I have never heard about faults with these coils before.?? What kind of fault did your friend have.?? Thank you for any help is appreciated.
I just bought a new GPX 6000 and was told by Minelab (by my serial number) it needed the internal speaker Audio PCB upgrade, then someone else told me the coils are defective due to weak plastic. Are all your 6000 problems sorted out.??
Moneybox
Philip & Sandra Box
Deano, Forget what you are told, these faults don't apply to all GPX6000's so you might have no trouble at all. I've got a brand new one now so I'm hoping it's a good one but I'm not going to fret over it. The truth is that most detectors really don't do much work, just a week here and there. Mine usually get a four or five month straight run during the cooler months and occasional work throughout the summer when the ground is too hot to kneel on. The difficulties arise when you head out beyond the black stump for an extended period and the detector lets you down. Most people with a coil problem could just slip the other coil on for a few days and sort their faults out once back at home. I've had reason to use the DD coil for a few weeks and if the conditions are right this is a very capable coil finding the tiniest particles of gold but it is difficult to use it tight shrub and rough terrain.
Had my 6000 just over a month now and just a few days ago managed my second day out with it.
All was well for the mornings detecting (no gold unfortunately) but after lunch whilst digging out my umpteenth shotgun pellet (I think), I lost the signal and just couldn’t find it again.
A little further on I noticed how even the threshold tone seemed and looking at the screen noticed that it was blank and the exclamation icon was the only thing showing. Even my pick head would not evince a signal response. Not far from the car, I headed straight back to check the manual to see if I had done something wrong,
The manual says that exclamation icon indicates a system error and the detector should shut itself down after 5 seconds but that did not happen and I could not even turn it off with the on/off switch. It seemed to have seized on and the only way I could turn it off was to pull out the battery.
When I reinserted the battery I was able to turn it back on with the on/off switch and it seemed to operate normally again although I had lost the pairing with to headphones.
The manual also says that if this happens the authorised Minelab service should be contacted.
Posting here to see if anyone else has encountered this problem before I do so just in case I have done something stupid. (I remember the time when a mate ran his 5000 for a whole morning in cancel and mono and remarking how pleasantly even the threshold was sounding that morning.)
All was well for the mornings detecting (no gold unfortunately) but after lunch whilst digging out my umpteenth shotgun pellet (I think), I lost the signal and just couldn’t find it again.
A little further on I noticed how even the threshold tone seemed and looking at the screen noticed that it was blank and the exclamation icon was the only thing showing. Even my pick head would not evince a signal response. Not far from the car, I headed straight back to check the manual to see if I had done something wrong,
The manual says that exclamation icon indicates a system error and the detector should shut itself down after 5 seconds but that did not happen and I could not even turn it off with the on/off switch. It seemed to have seized on and the only way I could turn it off was to pull out the battery.
When I reinserted the battery I was able to turn it back on with the on/off switch and it seemed to operate normally again although I had lost the pairing with to headphones.
The manual also says that if this happens the authorised Minelab service should be contacted.
Posting here to see if anyone else has encountered this problem before I do so just in case I have done something stupid. (I remember the time when a mate ran his 5000 for a whole morning in cancel and mono and remarking how pleasantly even the threshold was sounding that morning.)
Last edited:
Just got back from Lucky Strike and after discussions with Minelab the machine has been sent back for checking.
Better to get that done now rather than wait until we are in the middle of a trip if it should happen again. Hopefully won’t take too long for the check and diagnosis so we can organise our next trip.
Better to get that done now rather than wait until we are in the middle of a trip if it should happen again. Hopefully won’t take too long for the check and diagnosis so we can organise our next trip.
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2021
- Messages
- 64
- Reaction score
- 50
Yep, I have had same issues, the battery terminals on machine and battery need to be cleaned.use that alcohol cleaner.
Fixed it . Minelab will tell you machine is all ok.
Fixed it . Minelab will tell you machine is all ok.
Got my 6000 back from Minelab today. Suspected cause was contaminant found on the face plate of the battery causing poor voltage.
Still a bit mystified with that as the battery used was the second battery only removed from its plastic pack and charged up the night before and being used for the first time.
Minelab couldn’t however reproduce the system error message or symptoms to confirm any electronic fault so they have taken the precautionary step of effectively replacing the internal electronics of the detector as well.
Happy with that as basically have a new detector with the same serial number.
As Madmax800jw says pays to keep your battery contacts clean. I have attached a picture of the two batteries faceplates. The one on the right side was the one that had contaminant on it. Both look much the same now.
Keen to get back in action as next week the wife and I are booked into a resort at Bright for a week. Found a publication listing nuggets found in the Bright area but very few compared with the GT. Taking my sluice as well so instead of Gina digging my detecting holes for me, I may have to settle for sitting back beside a gurgling mountain stream watching her shoveling gravel through it.
Still a bit mystified with that as the battery used was the second battery only removed from its plastic pack and charged up the night before and being used for the first time.
Minelab couldn’t however reproduce the system error message or symptoms to confirm any electronic fault so they have taken the precautionary step of effectively replacing the internal electronics of the detector as well.
Happy with that as basically have a new detector with the same serial number.
As Madmax800jw says pays to keep your battery contacts clean. I have attached a picture of the two batteries faceplates. The one on the right side was the one that had contaminant on it. Both look much the same now.
Keen to get back in action as next week the wife and I are booked into a resort at Bright for a week. Found a publication listing nuggets found in the Bright area but very few compared with the GT. Taking my sluice as well so instead of Gina digging my detecting holes for me, I may have to settle for sitting back beside a gurgling mountain stream watching her shoveling gravel through it.
“Thanks” both you and madmax800jw, I will then clean the electrical contacts on my batteries and on my machine with an alcohol type cleaner. One question, I am in Canada and I have a total of 5 batteries for my 6000, I see you mark your batteries with a white pen, I used a black felt pen on mine from 1 to 5 and I can hardly see my markings. What kind of white pen did you use? Can you tell me the make and the type?
Last edited by a moderator:
It’s a permanent white marker which are better known as paint markers. You can find a better range of colours and tip sizes in places like Officeworks here in Australia or probably similar large office supplies stores in Canada. This one used on the batteries was the small one (Pica) with a tip size of 1-2mm and is great for writing on small components. The thicker one (POSCA) is better for larger objects eg storage boxes as shown. Both brands would be available in different tip sizes.
Thank you very much for the extra effort to help me out! I have recorded your information above and I’m going to look into it further. It will help me to mark (in white or another colour but not black) all five of my batteries from 1 to 5 so I can charge and rotate them efficiently in the correct order, so I do not use the same battery twice in a row. I have all my batteries charged up to full in warm storage right now. Because it’s minus -13* Celsius at the moment (on the thermometer out the kitchen window) and it’s much too cold for detecting until about April 1st or later but then the ground might be still be frozen until about May 1st or so when the first leaves appear on the trees.
~This may sound like a silly question, but I lost or misplaced the headphones for my 6000 last year, I’ve only used it twice with the external speaker since I bought it new, “are there any rechargeable batteries in the headphone”.? (Because I’m just worried it might have ‘ruined’ a potential battery in my cordless headphones if they’re outside in the cold weather because it was down to about minus -34* a while ago. I may have to buy another set of headphones if I can’t find them this Spring.)
Last edited:
Thank you! I have clicked on and “bookmarked” your website link so I can look into it further for a white pen, even a gold coloured ink would work, any colour that shows up on the background of the batteries black colour. Look at my post above.
Last edited:
Moneybox
Philip & Sandra Box
I just wrote on the white label with black texta.
