help shark shield stopped working

My shark shield seems to have stopped working. When I turn it on in the water the green light blinks instead of holding steady like it should under water. When I grab it I don't feel a shock so I don't think it's working. Any ideas?

I don't have any answers, but the same thing happened to mine. How old is your SS?

I don't have any answers, but the same thing happened to mine. How old is your SS?

I bought it 3.5 years ago. I've used it around 70 times.

Did you test it in freshwater or saltwater?  It only works in saltwater. Ive spoken to their customer service and was told the pulse it sends out does not diminish as the unit gets old, its the battery that eventually dies.

I don't have any answers, but the same thing happened to mine. How old is your SS?

I bought it 3.5 years ago. I've used it around 70 times.

It should last way longer than that. I used and abused mine for almost 10 years. I still think it’s salvageable and have a few things I want to try, but have not had the time to do so yet.

Did you test it in freshwater or saltwater?  It only works in saltwater...

Yes I tested it in saltwater. I have touched it before so I know what it should feel like.

If you drop it off in Union City, I could help you check the continuity between the probes and the inside, or look at the board under a uv camera to see if there's any hot spot, or check the battery health even.

In my opinion, the most likely cause for the SS to not work is either physical damage to the probes, or battery issues. The fact that you have blinking green light means your battery is probably ok. If you do not rinse the entire SS religiously after every trip, your probe wires may have been corroded and caused the SS not able to sense the salt water. Corrosion damage is hard to spot underneath the mesh cover. If that's the case, your only option is to send it back to the factory for repair.

ernest

The fact that you're getting some kind of light probably means this suggestion is not going to be helpful, but Just in case:
   Shortly after buying and using mine a few times, I couldn't get mine to turn on.  The problem was that I was rinsing it with a hose with some pressure and it got water under the turn-on knob, which corroded the little magnet that is part of the knob which activates a switch inside the plastic case.  SS sent me a new knob and O rings and that fixed it.  After that, I rinsed it by dunking it in a bucket of fresh water.

If you drop it off in Union City, I could help you check the continuity between the probes and the inside, or look at the board under a uv camera to see if there's any hot spot, or check the battery health even.

In my opinion, the most likely cause for the SS to not work is either physical damage to the probes, or battery issues. The fact that you have blinking green light means your battery is probably ok. If you do not rinse the entire SS religiously after every trip, your probe wires may have been corroded and caused the SS not able to sense the salt water. Corrosion damage is hard to spot underneath the mesh cover. If that's the case, your only option is to send it back to the factory for repair.

ernest

I think you may be right that probe is damaged. I forgot to pull it up one trip and dragged it under the kayak through the sand for a short ways. I thought it was working after that, but now I'm not so sure. Can I test the continuity between the lower and upper portion of the tail or do you have to open the unit and test from a single probe to the wires inside? Thanks for the offer to check it out I may take you up on that.

The fact that you're getting some kind of light probably means this suggestion is not going to be helpful, but Just in case:
   Shortly after buying and using mine a few times, I couldn't get mine to turn on.  The problem was that I was rinsing it with a hose with some pressure and it got water under the turn-on knob, which corroded the little magnet that is part of the knob which activates a switch inside the plastic case.  SS sent me a new knob and O rings and that fixed it.  After that, I rinsed it by dunking it in a bucket of fresh water.

It's definitely turning on so I don't think the switch is the problem but thanks for the heads to avoid blasting the knob with water.

Can I test the continuity between the lower and upper portion of the tail or do you have to open the unit and test from a single probe to the wires inside?

No, the upper/lower part of the whip is not suppose to have direct continuity. You need to check continuity between the upper probe and inside the unit, the lower probe and inside the unit. You will need to open up the unit. Check the resistance value while you check the continuity. Each probe should have very low resistance to the inside. High resistance indicates poor connections. That would affect the sensing logic I believe.

Try to look really really closely at every inch of the whip (including the area that connects to the SS) to see if you can spot any damage or corrosion. If you can't spot anything, chances are you can't reach the damaged or corroded areas, which means you really can't do much. Should contact Tech Support to see whether they can help you repair it. If you could spot the damage, then it's only a matter of whether you could repair the damage. I believe if anything is damaged, it's on the outside of the unit.

Can I test the continuity between the lower and upper portion of the tail or do you have to open the unit and test from a single probe to the wires inside?

No, the upper/lower part of the whip is not suppose to have direct continuity. You need to check continuity between the upper probe and inside the unit, the lower probe and inside the unit. You will need to open up the unit. Check the resistance value while you check the continuity. Each probe should have very low resistance to the inside. High resistance indicates poor connections. That would affect the sensing logic I believe.

Try to look really really closely at every inch of the whip (including the area that connects to the SS) to see if you can spot any damage or corrosion. If you can't spot anything, chances you can't reach the damaged or corroded areas, which means you really can't do much. Should contact Tech Support to see whether they can help you repair it. If you could spot the damage, then it's only a matter of whether you could repair the damage. I believe if anything is damaged, it's on the outside of the unit.

That's what I was afraid of. I'll take a close look and see if I can find anything but I'm not hopeful. On the plus side, it's one less piece of gear the haul around.

Can I test the continuity between the lower and upper portion of the tail or do you have to open the unit and test from a single probe to the wires inside?

No, the upper/lower part of the whip is not suppose to have direct continuity. ...

Not sure what you mean, but when my SS was functioning, I could certainly detect the pulse by probing high and low on the whip...

Measure when powered off, you want good contact from each electrode between the outside and inside the unit. I’m not talking about continuity between the two electrodes.


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Can I test the continuity between the lower and upper portion of the tail or do you have to open the unit and test from a single probe to the wires inside?

No, the upper/lower part of the whip is not suppose to have direct continuity. You need to check continuity between the upper probe and inside the unit, the lower probe and inside the unit. You will need to open up the unit. Check the resistance value while you check the continuity. Each probe should have very low resistance to the inside. High resistance indicates poor connections. That would affect the sensing logic I believe.

Try to look really really closely at every inch of the whip (including the area that connects to the SS) to see if you can spot any damage or corrosion. If you can't spot anything, chances you can't reach the damaged or corroded areas, which means you really can't do much. Should contact Tech Support to see whether they can help you repair it. If you could spot the damage, then it's only a matter of whether you could repair the damage. I believe if anything is damaged, it's on the outside of the unit.

That's what I was afraid of. I'll take a close look and see if I can find anything but I'm not hopeful. On the plus side, it's one less piece of gear the haul around.

Hopefully it won't be the last time you haul anything around...