Nitek "altitude" problem

[Arturo]

Hi there:

I do change batteries, pressure test them and perform minor jobs to dive computers for a living. I´ve been doing this for quite some time and eventually I come across one pacient with firmware or pressure sensor problems which I can not solve because they are beyond my abilities. In the past two months, I received two Dive Rite Nitek, from different owners (I know, they oldies), both showing exactly the same malfunction. The computers show the characteristic "E" on the lower left corner of the display, indicating the computers believe they are over 18,000 feet and, consequently, refuse to go into diving mode. Ocassionaly they drift into "altitude" 2 or 3 (enabling the dive mode), but after a while they return to the "E" legend. I´ve installed new batteries in both of them (CR3032), shorted the terminals and even push the reset button in the circuit board with no success. Anybody has seen this erratic behavior before and can shed some light?

 

[Charlie99]

Salt crystals on the sensor can bias the reading so that it thinks it is at altitude.

I have had a similar problem where my Oceanic Data Plus went into error mode because the initial reading of the sensor on power up was outside the acceptable range.

A prolonged warm water (30C/86F sort of temp) soak fixed the problem.

If that doesn't work for the Nitek computers, then I recommend a a soak in vinegar.

No guarantees that that salt crystal are the problem, or that the soak will solve the problem, but the computers are junk otherwise, so there isn't any reason not to try it.

If you do try this fix, please come back and tell us whether or not it worked.

 

[Arturo]

Salt crystals in the sensor it´s certainly a possibility, Charlie99. I´ll try both fixes and report later.

 

[Arturo]

Well, I did try foth fixes but none of them solved the problem. After soaking the computer in warm water and vinegar overnight, still the letter "E" is present on the lower left corner.

 

[Dive Rite]

Hi Arturo,

Please give Mike an email in service at service@diverite.com. He will be able to help you troubleshoot or see if there is a known issue.

Thanks
Kathleen

 

[Arturo]

Thanks, Kathleen. I´ll drop an email to Mike and see if he knows anything about this issue.

 

[Arturo]

Just to close the case. I did contact Mike at Dive Rite technical service. He responded that it is a case of a malfunctioning pressure sensor and I have to send it to Dive Rite to have the sensor changed.