PM sent. Hopefully, I can help.
Suunto Cobra stuck in dive mode
- Thread starter SBDeadly
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
Well I might have some good news so I thought I'd share it. I put the cobra in a bucket of warm bleach water and let it soak for several days. I normally wouldn't do this but didn't think I had anything to lose at this point.
After it soaked I took it out and let it dry for a couple days. The display read "err" so I popped the battery out and put it back in after a few seconds. The computer appears to be working again.
I can access all the menus and it knows its not 400 feet below. The real test will be to go diving which I'm hoping to do this weekend. I'll keep the thread updated.
One thing that really blows is because the computer was stuck in dive mode so long, it erased all my dive history. But I guess that's a small price to pay if it's actually working again.
Lesson learned. Don't buy used and don't buy suunto because their service stinks.
After it soaked I took it out and let it dry for a couple days. The display read "err" so I popped the battery out and put it back in after a few seconds. The computer appears to be working again.
I can access all the menus and it knows its not 400 feet below. The real test will be to go diving which I'm hoping to do this weekend. I'll keep the thread updated.
One thing that really blows is because the computer was stuck in dive mode so long, it erased all my dive history. But I guess that's a small price to pay if it's actually working again.
Lesson learned. Don't buy used and don't buy suunto because their service stinks.
SBDeadly, although this post is 6 years old, I have to thank you so much about the bleach water trick!!
My Suunto Cobra (bought in 2002) before yesterday showed the same issue. Right after the battery test it displayed 125m (410ft) and start to alarm. After trying to resurrect my computer using warm tap water, warm tap water with vinegar, compressed air in the sensor hole, etc, without sucess . I quit. Then, I found your post! Well, the exact procedure I did was:
1) I filled a bucket with aproximately 5L of water.
2) Added 100ml of bleach water.
3) Heated up to about 50C.
4) Leave it soaked for 24h.
I had to do all this procedure with the battery off.
Today, after the 24h, I took off the computer from the bucket and dried it. Put back the battery and... 0.0m and everything back as before !!!!!!!!!
Thank you one more time!
I'll dive this weekend to test the beast.
Regards,
Gustavo
Gustavo,
I'm glad to hear this worked out for you! Those contacts seem to be the Cobra's achilles heal. I did end up buying a Cobra2 because I liked the idea of having a compass built into the computer and I've had similar issues with this one as well. luckily warm water and vinegar have fixed it every time. Bleach is a last resort of course but when all else fails, bring out the hammer!
Happy diving!
Dave
I'm glad to hear this worked out for you! Those contacts seem to be the Cobra's achilles heal. I did end up buying a Cobra2 because I liked the idea of having a compass built into the computer and I've had similar issues with this one as well. luckily warm water and vinegar have fixed it every time. Bleach is a last resort of course but when all else fails, bring out the hammer!
Happy diving!
Dave
Scared Silly
Contributor
Just a quick question - how long are you soaking your gear after diving? Most people do not soak their gear long enough for the salt and other minerals to dissolve. I recommend a good 1 hour soak.
tbrady
Registered
There seems to be a problem with cobra and vyper models not aging very well. The symptom is depth reading that is off by 10 to over 400 feet. Vintage computers just out of warranty seem to have the highest failure rate. Soaking and repeated tests do not repair the problem. Neither Aqualung or Suunto offer any recourse. Their stand is any dive computer out of warranty should be replaced at the owner's expense when it fails. My theory is the potting compound used to seal the depth sensor does not weather very well and may fail during a dive. (dangerous situation at best). The potting compound is very soft and not repairable. Evidence shows Suunto is aware of a problem because they raised the warranty of the depth sensor to five years, although they have not advertised this fact. Problem is the sensors fail in the 6 to 9 year range. I would be leery of buying any used unit.
Sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but I didn't see any newer threads and the previous posts were really helpful. I hadn't been diving in eight years, but some friends got me back in the water last month. All my old gear was fine after normal servicing, except for my Cobra: It didn't reliably detect when it was submerged, and the depth sensor either thought it was on an amazing sawtooth-profile dive while sitting on the counter, or it refused to read any depth at all. About the only thing that still reliably worked was the tank pressure display.
A 24-hour soak in a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water, plus a good scrubbing with a toothbrush on the water contacts got that function working again, but the depth sensor was still acting wonky. I was about to give up on it (in fact, I bit the bullet and bought a new Vyper), but decided I had nothing to lose by giving it a really long soak so I kept it in the vinegar solution for two weeks. Each morning I shook the snot out of it for a minute while it was in the container. Lo and behold, on Monday's dive it was back to normal and performed like a champ!
I'll need to get a few more dives on it before I really can start trusting it again, but I wanted to pass along the good news that there is hope if your older computer starts acting up--just be patient and give it a good long soak!
A 24-hour soak in a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water, plus a good scrubbing with a toothbrush on the water contacts got that function working again, but the depth sensor was still acting wonky. I was about to give up on it (in fact, I bit the bullet and bought a new Vyper), but decided I had nothing to lose by giving it a really long soak so I kept it in the vinegar solution for two weeks. Each morning I shook the snot out of it for a minute while it was in the container. Lo and behold, on Monday's dive it was back to normal and performed like a champ!
I'll need to get a few more dives on it before I really can start trusting it again, but I wanted to pass along the good news that there is hope if your older computer starts acting up--just be patient and give it a good long soak!
I know this thread is old but I thought I post my results and finish it off.
My Cobra died so I bought a Cobra II. The day after the warranty ran out the computer died during a dive. Everything went out. Depth, PSI, time... just everything. Again Aqualung wouldn't service it so I decided to buy an Atom. It's a much nicer computer. I've only got a few dives off of it but the display is awesome (it's color) and doesn't need a back light.
Every time I go diving people comment how nice it is. I've even had people read the display on my computer instead of their own during dives. That's how easy the display is to read!
One draw back to the Atom is the battery. It isn't user replaceable. I haven't been diving in more than a year. I plugged the computer in and the battery will only hold a 50% charge so I'll have to send it in to be replaced. Otherwise I love it.
My Cobra died so I bought a Cobra II. The day after the warranty ran out the computer died during a dive. Everything went out. Depth, PSI, time... just everything. Again Aqualung wouldn't service it so I decided to buy an Atom. It's a much nicer computer. I've only got a few dives off of it but the display is awesome (it's color) and doesn't need a back light.
Every time I go diving people comment how nice it is. I've even had people read the display on my computer instead of their own during dives. That's how easy the display is to read!
One draw back to the Atom is the battery. It isn't user replaceable. I haven't been diving in more than a year. I plugged the computer in and the battery will only hold a 50% charge so I'll have to send it in to be replaced. Otherwise I love it.
markrodg
Registered
A gallon of water, 1/2 cup of bleach and 24 hours soaking did the trick for me. The Cobra 2 had just come back from the shop where it was serviced. They claimed it was clean. Apparently not.
Before I took it in, I turned it on and it instantly thought it was on a 400+ ft dive.
The guys at the shop didn't even notice it.
Now... Do I trust it??
Before I took it in, I turned it on and it instantly thought it was on a 400+ ft dive.
The guys at the shop didn't even notice it.
Now... Do I trust it??
Similar threads
- Question
