Loud Bang, then Surface goes dark

[Bruce Graham]

Hi All;

Tried to search in Forum for this, with no definitive answers.

I was working on the d8b when there was a loud bang, which came from my speakers, then the d8b surface went dead. All LED's off VMU dead.

I disconnected and reconnected the BFC a few times.

Upon rebooting, the console faders made a repetitive "bump" sound. Not fast.

I disconnected the BFC and the software attempted to load but came up with error. "No control Surface" (Something like that). Which I expected.

It would appear to be the Console and not the PSU.

I am going to open it up and have a look-see but, does any one have any experience or suggestions as to what I should look for and where? I have 2 spare desks in various states of working so swapping component boards should be to difficult.

Thanks for any help.
Cheers
Bruce

[arjepsen]

Hey.
You wrote you were working on the d8b - you mean just doing music on it, or modding it?

do you have a multimeter?
If so, I would start testing out whether the power supplies in the cpu-unit are giving off the right voltages.
If they are, something might be off inside the desk.

[garrett21allen]

Hi Bruce

sorry, your having troubles trust me I know what it fills like.
hope you get her back up and running.

Joe Allen

[Bruce Graham]

Hi Joe, Hi Anders;

Hey Anders, I was mixing!

Yup she is one sick girl.

Spent part of the day taking her apart, cleaning connectors and putting it back together. What a chore!

Good news was it booted and worked for about 3 to 4 minuets then went dark. CPU stayed up and working. I was shut it down as normal, BUT, the desk was dark, for the most part. This time the "Rude Solo" light was on. First time for that.

As I mentioned I have 2 other desks, so I thought I would start by seeing if one of them will run without shutting down. If it does, perhaps I would swap out the working parts from my current sick girl with the parts I believe to be defective on my spares, which is, as I recall, the fader boards.

That will not be till Monday as Saturday & Sunday are full.

I will check voltages Anders as I think that is a good place to start.

Joe... Good to hear from you. Thanks for the good vibes. Hope all is well in your world. Hopefully the Force is with me.

Cheer to you you both.
Bruce

[arjepsen]

My imidiate idea is that it could be a capacitor gone south.
Check the electrolytics to see if their to is bulging up.
maybe check the voltages before you connect another desk.

[Bruce Graham]

Hey Anders;

Your idea is what I will do.

I would assume (we all know where that goes sometimes), is that I would start with the the power distro board in the console, assuming (there's that word again), that the voltages are good.

I'll look for bulging, and leaking.

Cheers and thanks.
Bruce

[Crash]

I would hit up the database and research the "Dreaded Rail Cap Failure" when you get a chance.

[Bruce Graham]

OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crap. never thought about those bastards!

[Klinux]

Hi Bruce just came upon this post so don't know if you got things sorted. Your issue sounds similar to one that I have had. In my case I cant tell you exactly which is the problem but the issue is with the BFC. I suspect that just general wear and tear of the connector over the years is the culprit ,even possibly a dry solder joint on the connector. The issue leads to one of many strange behaviours from the desk completely dying, making a loud thumping noise and the lights flash in time with the thump or not completely dying with some channels not passing audio or meter lights being stuck on some channels. It presents itself very much in the same way as the rail cap issue. Ultimately either the solder is bad in the desk at the point of the connector or the pins in the connector have worn.

I have since thouroughly cleaned the connector and clamped the cable in place on the back of the desk furniture. This has stopped the issue. I keep meaning to pull the desk from the furniture and check out the solder joints just haven't gotten round to it.

The issue has been doing the rounds for others as well lately, I guess age has a lot to do with it. It could be the rail caps, wouldn't rule it out but that generally only affected early versions of the desk with V1 motherboards, though not completly unseen in later versions but rare. I'd put money on the BFC being the culprit. I had an issue with it recently when I connected up the probox after pulling the desk out and disrupting the clamp holding the BFC cable in place while connecting things up. The issue displays itself with the probox in yet more lunatic behaviour like all the lights coming on, no thumping this time. I reseated the cable and clamped it back down all is good again.

[Bruce Graham]

Hey all;

Capacitors are on their way..... from China (Could take a while).

I am going to "try" the same desk with a different CPU as soon as I come up for air. Doing a big Audio/Music Production at a local church.

I will make sure to pay attention to the BFC as I know this a source of difficulty. In my setup the cable is supported so that it remains straight where it connects to the console. I have a cable rest system that is about 6 Inches away from the desk.

I'll keep Ya'll posted. Thanks for the help and suggestions. Best Forum on the plant! Maybe even including the MOON!

Cheers
Bruce