Why is my D4i in gauge mode? How do I get it out of this mode?

[dorkito]

How did my D4i get into Gauge (bottom timer) mode? The Dive mode has three choices: Air, Nitrox, Free. I don't understand how it got into this mode. Now I can't access any Dive mode except Free and the Plan mode is not showing up at all. No fly time was at 48 hrs when I surfaced.

I noticed something was weird when the computer did not acknowledge that I was at my safety stop. Another weird thing is that my DM has the same computer and she said hers was beeping at her like crazy for how quickly we ascended to our stop (not a good thing to hear from a DM, I know). I never heard any alarms from mine, so it must have been in this mode the whole dive? I admit that I'm new to this computer and was only looking at dive time and depth during the dive, so I didn't notice if any of the other displays were not the same as the regular Dive mode.

I've read the manual backwards and forwards, and there are a few references to this mysterious Gauge mode, but it is not shown as an option you can select anywhere.

I've searched pretty thoroughly here and elsewhere online and can't find the answer. I see that Chris@suunto told a guy with a D6 that he accidentally put his computer into Gauge mode, but, like I said, the D4i doesn't even have a gauge mode that you can select.

I uploaded my data to DM4. There it shows as a Gauge dive. What is up with this?

 

[reefduffer]

How did my D4i get into Gauge (bottom timer) mode? ...

... my DM has the same computer and she said hers was beeping at her like crazy ...

I've read the manual backwards and forwards, and there are a few references to this mysterious Gauge mode, but it is not shown as an option you can select anywhere. ...

Welcome to scubaboard. This smells a little like a troll, but it's a long weekend, and in case you're serious and need information:

Look at your manual page 79:
"... If you continue to violate the decompression, the dive computer will go into a permanent Error Mode. In this mode, the instrument can only be used as a depth gauge and timer. You must not dive again for at least 48 hours (refer to Section 5.6. Error conditions).
You will find section 5.6 on pages 41-42. The big thing you need to know immediately is
"... After surfacing, you should not dive for a minimum of 48 hours ..."

Read it backwards or forwards, either way you got into a deco obligation and then ignored the computer's guidance about staying below the deco ceiling for the required stop. You've exceeded it's ability to give you any guidance on N2 loading, so all it can tell you about is time and depth, which is what "free mode" means.

 

[NCadiver]

I agree with Reefduffer it looks like you violated your dive profile. Also you can attach the dive profile here as well.

 

[PsyWulf]

You "bent" the comp,like the manual says if you violated any of the safety rules for Deco it locks out for 48hours. Did you check your pressure/altitude and oxygen mix settings from the profile?

 

[dorkito]

Hi there. I'm not trolling, just confused about this and new to the forum. I tried to add a lot of detail to the post so that it would save others time. I saw that part on permanent error mode in the manual. Page 86 mentions bottom timer mode (g) but doesn't say anything about it being an error. The other modes shown there are the ones you can select...

Other posts talked about this, but the posts that included permanent error mode said the unit was damaged. The posts that talked about gauge mode said it was selected accidentally before the dive. I'd love to post my dive profile. I have the PDF but I don't see how to upload it (insert picture asks for a URL, and sorry I'm new)? You'll see it's not horrible except for a borderline fast ascent over a relatively short vertical distance. And the unit wasn't beeping or anything at that point, so that's why I'm wondering if I accidentally selected gauge before I even started the dive... This might reset again in another day, but If that's what happened I don't want to accidentally do this again and ruin my day.

Thanks!

 

[PsyWulf]

I've only seen it happen once due to a bad selection in altitude settings,guy was using the suunto as a backup so wasn't aware he was exceeding its deco limit,after ascending the computer locks out to prevent further harm assuming you've hit DCS or another safety limit

 

[dorkito]

PsyWulf, My personal and altitude settings were at 0. Here is a link to my movescount for this dive dorkito's 0:44 h Scuba diving Move Doesn't have as much data as the DM4 pdf, but it has the profile graph at least. I'd be curious to hear if you think the ascent was nuts.

Reefduffer, first, thanks for the welcome. The thing is that the unit didn't make a peep during my ascent. I rented a computer on my last dive trip and there was no missing the sounds it made when I (briefly) started going up too fast. Preemptive admission: when I'm vertical I tend to kick a bit without thinking and I find myself ascending. It's something that I know I need to work on.

 

[PsyWulf]

That first ascent from 11-3m exceeded safe ascent speeds if my napkin math checks out,but afaik that would only generate a warning,would need the full profile to see if you exceeded a decompression alert

 

[muzikbiz22]

This thread is extra interesting because the d4i does NOT have a gauge mode. It does have a stopwatch function. Things don't add up here.

 

[PsyWulf]

Indeed,I assumed Freediving mode is used interchangeably for lower models when erroring out