Oceanic VT 4.0 freezes after 3rd dive in a day-Hard Reset question?

[Duy Nguyen]

Hi all,

I went to Key Largo for 3 days diving and I had been diving 4 dives per day. On my last day, I dove the Spiegel Grove wreck and after I finished my first dive, my computer wouldnt switch to surface mode - I was on the boat for my surface interval and the computer still think I am still down there with 0 PSI displayed (I turned off the valve on the boat). After a few minutes, the computer got back to normal screen and counted up my surface interval (about 40 mins in). As I was preparing for my 2nd dive, I went through the menu and the computer freezes out of the blue. It got stuck in the menu screen and no mater how hard I tried to push those buttons, It would not come back up. Its been almost 2 days since I am done with diving and its still showing that menu screen - unable to navigate. I tried looking for a hard reset procedure but I could not find any solution. Have you guys encountered this issue before and I would appreciate your suggestions/help on this.

Thank you much and safe diving!

 

[Diver0001]

It sounds like a software issue to me.

This particular computer had a firmware upgrade in 2014. Did you upgrade your computer?

R..

 

[Duy Nguyen]

It sounds like a software issue to me.

This particular computer had a firmware upgrade in 2014. Did you upgrade your computer?

R..

Yes sir! I have the current firmware. Idk what I should do in this case....

 

[Diver0001]

Ok.

If I were in your position I would phone Oceanic (800-435-3483) and inform them of your problem. Ask them to put you in touch with a repair service near where you live so you can get it looked at. It could be something straightforward like water in the housing, which would be bad news for you but not necessarily something Oceanic can fix.

They may also want you to send them the computer so they can look at it themselves. Something like this could indicate a problem that could lead them to taking further measures.

Is it still under warranty?

R..

 

[dberry]

A low battery can also make a dive computer act wonky, and it's a easy thing to rule out. (At least easy for the computers I've used.)

 

[Duy Nguyen]

Ok.

If I were in your position I would phone Oceanic (800-435-3483) and inform them of your problem. Ask them to put you in touch with a repair service near where you live so you can get it looked at. It could be something straightforward like water in the housing, which would be bad news for you but not necessarily something Oceanic can fix.

They may also want you to send them the computer so they can look at it themselves. Something like this could indicate a problem that could lead them to taking further measures.

Is it still under warranty?

R..

No I bought it 5 years ago and it had always been in the case at room temperature if I dont use it. Earlier this year, I brought it to the shop to change the battery (the whole computer is off when I brought it in). When I received it, the light works but theres 1 area of the screen does not show the light. I talked to the shop, telling them that my computer had been functioning very well and I did not have that issue when I brought it in. He said he would contact Oceanic for me. Couple days after, he told me to send my computer in for Oceanic to repair and he said that Oceanic told him to do it that way. They will try to repair it and if they could not, they would send me a new computer with a fee of $250. I was pissed but at that point, I think thats the only choice I had since he had already serviced my computer. I paid $250 through the shop and received the "new computer" a week after (as he claimed). I then asked for the receipt from Oceanic and he refused to give me the receipt. He gave me the store receipt of $250 that I paid. I felt something is not right but I had no choice. Ever since then, I had a total of 15 dives on that computer and had the issue after that dive.

 

[Duy Nguyen]

A low battery can also make a dive computer act wonky, and it's a easy thing to rule out. (At least easy for the computers I've used.)

I had the shop changed the battery before my trip. So i dont think low battery is an issue

 

[Diver0001]

On the surface of it, it sounds to me like it's possible that the shop botched something up and then fleeced you on top of it. Now hearing that the battery was replaced before the trip, I suspect even more that there is now water inside. If that's the case you're not going to like where this ends.

Don't go back to that shop until you phone Oceanic first. Ask them for a recommendation.

R..

 

[Duy Nguyen]

On the surface of it, it sounds to me like it's possible that the shop botched something up and then fleeced you on top of it. Now hearing that the battery was replaced before the trip, I suspect even more that there is now water inside. If that's the case you're not going to like where this ends.

Don't go back to that shop until you phone Oceanic first. Ask them for a recommendation.

R..

I dont want to accuse them because when I gave them my computer, the screen was black as there was no battery life left- but i am so sure that everything worked absolutely fine because I take very good care of my stuff. It has been stored in its original box in my room the whole time. So I gave them the benefit of a doubt just so I can ease things out. The computer I received was blank (ie all of my data was erased, new firmware, and I had to link my wireless transmitter all over again). However, the back light stopped working on this wreck dive ( it worked after i got the computer back, but im not sure when it stopped working as I dove the reef and there was enough light - when I dove the wreck, it was kinda dark inside, i pushed the back light and noticed the light is gone) and the issue happened after that dive.

 

[Diver0001]

I think at this point all we can do is speculate. It sounds to me like there is something more wrong here than just a dead battery and I think you're wise to not jump to conclusions before you have all the facts.

If you get right down to it, there are always two main suspects in cases like this. hardware and software. If water got inside then it could explain what you're seeing. If the battery was faulty or possibly installed incorrectly then it could explain it. If the pressure sensor is malfunctioning it could also explain it because the computer will want to be in dive mode while on the surface and there is no telling how the software would react to that.

There shouldn't be any software issues if the computer was upgraded. Upgrading does indeed wipe all previous memory so it would have been "blank" when you got it back from that.

Once again, I think the best course of action for you now is to phone Oceanic and ask them what they suggest.

Good luck in any case. I hope you get this resolved to your satisfaction.

R..