Garrett Ace 350 possibly broken? Rapid beeping at random times!!!!

RMP91

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Jul 3, 2011
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Location
Bay Area Peninsula, CA
Greetings!

I've owned a Garrett Ace 350 for a little over a month now, found a few hundred dollars worth of clad, a variety of foreign coins, a few pieces of gold jewelry, and several silver earrings/pendants, and even an old axe-head!

But that's not why I'm making this thread.

Recently, my Ace has been having issues that I can't seem to fix through conventional means. One day at a park I frequently hunt at, it suddenly started giving off signals all over the frequency chart. It kept going from iron to silver to gold to pulltabs to just about every other signal threshold, all within the span of 3 seconds. I tried to aim the coil up in the air hoping it'd stop, but it would do the same thing even though the coil is 1-2 feet up in the air and there's obviously no airborne targets. I didn't have my headphones on me at the time so people were gawking at me like I was doing something illegal :mad:

I ended up ending my hunt early because of this now-frequent malfunction.

Some days, it works just fine and I sometimes find some decent stuff with it. Other days, it'll have tantrums such as the one described and I go home empty handed with a malfunctioning $300 machine.

Is this something all detectors have an issue with or is my Ace a lemon?
 
Get in touch with Garrett and explain what's going on. They are supposed to have very good customer service!!

Dusty

PS
Make sure it's not EMI from power lines, cell phone towers, etc.
 
sounds like there are other issues with your 350, if you tried cleaning out the coil cover, making sure all connections(coil cable) is tight and secure and maybe even do a factory reset by holding the power button for several seconds until it beeps to reset the machine...if all this fails to correct the problem then i'd send it back to garrett for repairs, it could be an issue with your coil (maybe a crack or the coil went bad)
good luck
 
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sounds like there are other issues with your 350, if you tried cleaning out the coil cover, making sure all connections(coil cable) is tight and secure and maybe even do a factory reset by holding the power button for several seconds until it beeps to reset the machine...if all this fails to correct the problem then i'd send it back to garrett for repairs, it could be an issue with your coil (maybe a crack or the coil went bad)
good luck

dogpound, does that reset trick work with all the ace models? I think I may try it with my 250. It's been doing the same thing the last several outings. Including areas that I've used it several times before without the problems (i.e. my backyard, the sports field in the park, etc). Replaced the batteries with no improvement.
 
dogpound, does that reset trick work with all the ace models? I think I may try it with my 250. It's been doing the same thing the last several outings. Including areas that I've used it several times before without the problems (i.e. my backyard, the sports field in the park, etc). Replaced the batteries with no improvement.

yep, turn on detector and then just hold the power button for about 10 seconds or until it beeps, that will reset the detector back to factory settings and sometimes fixes minor quirks. also check coil connections to make sure they are tight. if it continues then i'd call garrett which i'm sure they'd suggest sendin it in for a checkup
 
yep, turn on detector and then just hold the power button for about 10 seconds or until it beeps, that will reset the detector back to factory settings and sometimes fixes minor quirks. also check coil connections to make sure they are tight. if it continues then i'd call garrett which i'm sure they'd suggest sendin it in for a checkup

ok thanks for the info dogpound. do you think putting a sandwich baggie over the control box and screen could have caused moisture to build inside the box? i've used the baggie for a while now as a make-shift cover to keep it clean. i also smacked the coil into a rock or two over the last couple years and never had a coil cover on it. i'll try the reset though for sure. thanks again.
 
ok thanks for the info dogpound. do you think putting a sandwich baggie over the control box and screen could have caused moisture to build inside the box? i've used the baggie for a while now as a make-shift cover to keep it clean. i also smacked the coil into a rock or two over the last couple years and never had a coil cover on it. i'll try the reset though for sure. thanks again.

i've used a sandwich baggie as a make shift dust/rain cover for a couple years without problems, i'd think its more of an issue with the coil if the problem continues unless you physically see condensation behind the screen, maybe try disconnecting the coil and make sure the connection is clean and tight, if that and a factory reset doesn't do the trick i'd just give garrett a call and speak with Brad, they have great and friendly customer service and will fix ya up.
 
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When I sold my ACE 250 it would do something similar which I thought were just large deep objects.

Turns out the little screw was missing from the coil connector to the control head and that was causing the coil to malfunction.

Its a TINY screw and I never even missed it, but it caused the detector to false.
 
When I sold my ACE 250 it would do something similar which I thought were just large deep objects.

Turns out the little screw was missing from the coil connector to the control head and that was causing the coil to malfunction.

Its a TINY screw and I never even missed it, but it caused the detector to false.

Ok, i did the reset. I held and it beeped after about 8 seconds then I just let it go. I also found that little screw I think HighCap is talking about. You actually have to unscrew the thumb screw to disconnect the cable from the control box in order to see the tiny screw. I was able to turn the tiny screw about 3/4 turn so maybe that will help too. Then I wound the cord around the shaft a little tighter. I may put some zip ties around it to keep it even snugger. I'll see how it works the next time I'm out. If it doesn't, sounds like I'll be calling Garrett.
 
Just did the factory reset on my ACE 350, gonna go out later today and see if it fixed it. If not, I'll call Garrett and have them take a look at it!
 
OK, I went out yesterday. The problem didn't seem to reappear after I did the factory reset. Ended up finding $4-5 worth of clad, A car key of some kind, and a Smokey the Bear pin :)

I'll post again in this thread in case it shows up again, which I just may have to call Garrett over.
 
OK, I went out yesterday. The problem didn't seem to reappear after I did the factory reset. Ended up finding $4-5 worth of clad, A car key of some kind, and a Smokey the Bear pin :)

I'll post again in this thread in case it shows up again, which I just may have to call Garrett over.

great news, sometimes the machine will get a glitch and the factory reset is all thats needed. if ya had any custom settings setup these just need to be reset. good luck and hopefully the problems solved
 
I had the same problem and did the reset and problem gone. That was when I first got it [my second detector] and was playing randomly with the settings. It is still in my opinion the best detector under say 500.00. I am kinda new to this but I have a lot of hours with a lot of detectors. The Ace 350 works great on the beach and in wet sand but goes south once the coil is submerged, at least it seems. But then at 650.00 my Minelab exterra 705 is difficult at best when submerged. In the sand you just need to turn down the sensitivity and there is one segment on the scale that I block that is in the 18 to 20 range. Of course, that is here.:)
 
Recently, my Ace has been having issues that I can't seem to fix through conventional means. One day at a park I frequently hunt at, it suddenly started giving off signals all over the frequency chart. It kept going from iron to silver to gold to pulltabs to just about every other signal threshold, all within the span of 3 seconds. I tried to aim the coil up in the air hoping it'd stop, but it would do the same thing even though the coil is 1-2 feet up in the air and there's obviously no airborne targets. I didn't have my headphones on me at the time so people were gawking at me like I was doing something illegal :mad:

I ended up ending my hunt early because of this now-frequent malfunction.

Some days, it works just fine and I sometimes find some decent stuff with it. Other days, it'll have tantrums such as the one described and I go home empty handed with a malfunctioning $300 machine.

Is this something all detectors have an issue with or is my Ace a lemon?

I've had my Ace 350 for about 10 months now, and it started doing the same thing in July. One day, worked fine, next day random beeping and jumping. Factory reset worked once, but then it started doing it again later that day and it hasn't stopped since. The only thing that helps is to keep the sensitivity down at 1 or 2 bars. Once it gets up to 3 bars, I start getting random jumping, and it goes crazy above that. Aiming it in the air makes no difference, no power lines nearby, nothing metal around...I don't even have to move the coil and it jumps all over the place. I can only use it to search an inch or two down on lowest sensitivity. Summer was really busy for me, so I didn't have time to deal with it until now. I just kept my hunts shallow.

But I will say this: I contacted Garrett about it, and they sent me a new coil to try, in case the coil went bad. (I'm still not sure how a coil can just "go bad", but I'm no electronics tech either). Unfortunately, the new coil didn't help. Great customer service...just wishing I didn't need it. I'm guessing it will have to be shipped back for service. Hopefully, I'll hear back from them today.

Has anyone else had this same problem??


-- Update --

I'm getting my 350 back today...UPS tracking says it's on the truck, out for delivery. Unfortunately, we're usually the last ones on the run, so I'll get it around 4:30 and have basically no time to try it out today. I feel a vacation day coming on tomorrow! At any rate, I was told that they reprogrammed the unit and calibrated it. I'm still wondering how it would have gotten messed up, unless this was a firmware update of some kind. The customer service rep offered no explanation (nor did I ask, specifically...I think I will after I get a chance to try it out). Stay tuned...

-- Update --

Works fine now...the thrill is back. Gotta love being able to see more than 2 inches below ground! I'm still a bit concerned that it could happen again, but we'll see. For now, I'm happy....and I'm VERY satisfied with Garrett's customer service.
 
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Ok,
Ya'll are scarin me now...:shock: Mine has done this twice... the second time just this week... I really had to scrape & save to buy this machine... I hope it's not messed up. I've used it like 6 or 8 times. Gonna try the reset thing and check connections. I've had the coil cover on it since I recieved it, other than cleaning under it. Hoping for the best. :yes:
Tommy
 
Ok,
Ya'll are scarin me now...:shock: Mine has done this twice... the second time just this week... I really had to scrape & save to buy this machine... I hope it's not messed up. I've used it like 6 or 8 times. Gonna try the reset thing and check connections. I've had the coil cover on it since I recieved it, other than cleaning under it. Hoping for the best. :yes:
Tommy

Nah...don't panic...Even if something did go wrong, they are VERY good about repairs.
 
Ace 350

I wish I had stayed with my ACE 250. I have had nothing but problems with my 350. Goes crazy sometimes beeping, hard to pinpoint targets. I am thinking about buying a 250 coil to go on my 350 and selling my 350 coil.
 
I wish I had stayed with my ACE 250. I have had nothing but problems with my 350. Goes crazy sometimes beeping, hard to pinpoint targets. I am thinking about buying a 250 coil to go on my 350 and selling my 350 coil.
I am willing to bet that you won't have a problem selling the 350 coil, I have read where lots of folks want that coil for their 250.
 
I wish I had stayed with my ACE 250. I have had nothing but problems with my 350. Goes crazy sometimes beeping, hard to pinpoint targets. I am thinking about buying a 250 coil to go on my 350 and selling my 350 coil.

The thing for me is, my Ace 350 is my first detector, so I don't know what "normal behavior" is for an MD. It seems to me that there are so many variables (soil type, target composition, target depth, target size, target angle, possible interference from overlapping targets, swing speed, stray RF interference, manually adjustable sensitivity, and on and on)...I'm always surprised when I *do* get a clear, consistent signal. I usually chalk it up to me being new to this and assume I'll get better with experience, like everyone usually says. And, honestly, I've noticed an improvement in my ability to anticipate what's under my coil in my few months of practice. But it does seem like there's an awful lot of extra beeping going on. Could be a lot of trash underground, could be the detector, could be me, could be external interference. I just have no way of evaluating it.

It would be nice to see how a different detector responds to the same target, side by side. That might help. I may have to jump over to the "find a hunting buddy" area.
 
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