Studio Color 575 Won't Strike

I've got 6 1997 Studio Colors 575 I got used. Lamp hours say 7000 something and lamp strikes say 3000 something. The total fixture hours are OVER. They've been sitting unused but powered on for probably years. Cleaned them up and I'm ready to go, except...

On all of them either F1 or F2 on the lamp board is blown. Now, HES says it's a 16A Fast or Ultra Fast blow...depenping on where on the site you read. But the board says 16A slow. Since I couldn't find either, I went with a 15A Fast. Figured it was safe enough and they must be some wiggle room right? Anyway, I mostly wanted to see the darned thing work. Replace the cover, turn it on and nothing. Look inside again and the new 15A fuse is fried. Somehow I'd let all the smoke out. Replace with another 15A but leave the cover off this time. Hit the power and the fuse lit up like a strobe lamp. It was a very short show but as least I had light, right? :18: Oh wait, it's supposed to be light on the outside.

Based on what I think I might be looking at (I'm hardly an electronics guy) it looks like power comes from the wall through the switch then through the RFI filter and straight on to the board. Looks to me like the filter could be bad but what else? And what do I do next?

Any help would be huge. And I gave the history in part to help troubleshoot and in part to solicit comments on what other damage I might still be looking at. By the way the Vers is 39E, it's a 575S plugged into a 120v/60Hz circuit, and the boards look mightly clean...no burns, exploded capacitors or dust.
  • Well, that is the wrong fuse,
    I would start with the correct one, then work from there,
    the correct fuse is a 16 Amp Ultra Fast,
    If it blows the correct fuse, then you are going to be stuck sending the board in for repair, either to lightparts or Highend..
    (that is also where I would get the fuse, the 16 Amp Ultra fast is hard to find)

    The board may or may not be repairable, depending on how badly damaged it is.
    I would start by looking for burnt parts of the board, especially around T1.
    Good Luck!
    Joshua Wood

    Oh, and I would also replace the lamp, and reset the lamp and fixture hours, I would guess that these lamps even if they strike may fail at any time, and if they go too long, they definetly can fail in such a way that the break alot of glass...
  • The lamp is new. But since I'm still just trying to get things to work, I haven't reset any counters. Are the lamp and fixture counters just for information or does the fixture use them to take or not take any actions?
  • On studio 575,
    It is just for information, but since you have installed a new lamp,
    You should reset at least the lamp counter, Just as a general rule.
    some fixtures (Cough Technobeam) will not keep running past a certain number of hours, if they have a setting set a to limit them.
    In any case, as I mentioned, get the right fuse, and start from there.
    you could actually see if you can find 2 of the correct fuses that are Ok, among your fixtures, just to test things.
    Good Luck!
    Joshua Wood
  • I'm not feeling so happy right now.

    Found 2 good fuses and stuck them in one of the units. Turned it on a heard a loud buzz. :eek: That can't be good. Opened it up and found a bad fuse, a distinct smokey aroma, and what appears to be tiny circuit traces poking out of the back side of the board between the board and the heat sink. That's gonna cost me thinks.

    Next unit...no guts no glory, right? Two new fuses. Fire it up and no buzz. I can let my breath out now. Run through the self tests and I can hear the click when the lamp should stike, but no light. Open it up and both fuses are still OK.

    My plan when I bought these was to send them in for a factory or a qualified tech for a complete refurb. It still may be the wisest move, and certainly the fastest, but I just hate to go through the trouble if there's something easy I can do here. Plus they came from an install so there's no box or road case.

    I'm willing to keep plugging away at it because...well...$1100 worth of new lamp board (times 6?) is more than slightly motivating.

    Recommendations?
  • If you are getting a click from the Lamp power supply, it probably is Ok,
    Are you getting any clicking from the Ignitor card in the arm?
    If not, it probably needs a new ignitor card... You could try one from another fixture....

    I believe High end is having a refurbished board sale right now,
    so that might help offset some of the costs of repairing these fixtures..

    As for having someone look at them, do you not have a local High end dealer of some type that can look at them? If so, they should have a High End Trained technician on staff...

    Let us know how it goes...

    Joshua Wood
  • I'll try that tomorrow. In the mean time, I'm in San Diego so Los Angeles is right up the road. Or if anybody knows a good tech in or near San Diego...speak up!
  • :banana: Woohoo! Happy Dance! It's the igniter board! :You_Rock_Emoticon:

    Only 5 more to go. And I'm also pleased to announce the rebirth of a bouncing baby Cyberlight SV. The first of 3 lit up right on cue.

    The igniter board is serious toast. Very crispy. Looks like TH2 exploded and the board disintigrated around SP3. Any idea what causes that and should I be concerned about whatever the cause taking out the next one or something else?

    So now I've got lots of soot (the whole igniter board box and anything that was in it are covered with it). The one crimp (SP3) is crispy from the shock and has some melted crud on it but seems to work, and two crimps (SP3 and SP1) are missing the cover. By and large the wire seems OK other than being dirty which surprises me. There seems to be minimal slack on the wire harness to recrimp.

    So...Do I need to replace all these internal parts or brush them off best I can and move on?
  • Studio Color #2: No light. Pan/Tilt work, fuses on Lamp PS are good. No blown out board traces or obvious burnt parts on the lamp ps but it still smells slightly burnt. No Clicks from lamp ps either. Igniter board looks clean but no clicks either.

    Is there a manual I could go through putting a meter here and there to do some of the leg work without being such a pest?
  • As for the crimps, you are correct, there is very little slack, you will probably be better off just leaving them without the covers, as long as the crimp is still good, I would stick with that...
    as for cleanup, I would just clean the crud off everything as best you can, it should all be fine...

    As for your other studio color, I would replace the Lamp power supply with one from another unit, it sounds like that is your problem there,
    unless the wire from the logic card isn't plugged in...
    there is a gray wire that runs from the logic card all the way across the fixture to the LPS, it is the only connector plugged into the LPS that has more than 3 pins... off the top of my head I believe it is a 6 pin connector, but I may be making that up, I am pretty sure that all the pins are not connected however...

    As for a manual, not so much, there is a training class in austin that many of us have taken....

    Good Luck!
    Joshua Wood
  • It looks like I'm getting last of the LPS issues under control. I replaced some fuses and used the good LPS from another fixture to troubleshoot. The bad ones are headed for repair.

    Lotsa Studio Color questions here so thanks in advance...

    While cleaning the optics with the belts off, I noticed several bad stepper motors. Some were nearly frozen and others have a little too much resistance. Am I correct in that these cannot be repaired and should be replaced all 7 at a time?

    On other fixtures, the color wheels with the belts attached spin with a different feel. Some spin smooth while others "bump" along with the grooves in the belt. Which is normal? Is this a tension issue and if so, what is the proper tension. Some have a snug but flexible fit and others are just plain tight with little or no give.

    Also, is it normal for a new lamp, fresh from the box and cleaned with alcohol to smoke? The bad lamps that were in the fixtures before have a white ball in the center that appears to have melted to touch the outside glass. The smoking lamp looks like it's headed in this direction after less than 5 minutes of use.

    2 fixtures have pan issues. One moves through most of its range then grabs. The other will not move at all without manual assist. When they grab, they make a noise like the belts are rubbing against something...like the grooves or sprockets in the belts are being forced against something. But when I look inside, I just hear the noise. The belts are not moving at all. With the power off, the unit pans freely with no noise. What should I be looking for here?

    As a side issue, each working fixture seems to home such that the yoke is not parallel to the base. Is this normal? How do I correct this? I tried pan calibration on the menu but +/- 20 is not enough.

    The last question is about lubricating parts. Should I be re-lubing the color wheel spindles and if so with what? And are there any other parts on the Studio Color (of the Cybers) that need to be lubricated.
  • While cleaning the optics with the belts off, I noticed several bad stepper motors. Some were nearly frozen and others have a little too much resistance. Am I correct in that these cannot be repaired and should be replaced all 7 at a time?


    You cannot repair motors, I dont care who says you can.
    As you spin a motor in your fingers you can feel the steps. If it has spots that go from normal to almost a 'free spin' replace it. If it feels 'chunky' replace it. Feel a new motor. This is what your motors need to feel like! Any difference, replace the motor. Note* measure the place where the wheel is attached. The new one goes exactly where the other was per motor!! Note the teeth on the orange belts. If frayed replace the belts.
    Note** there is tension adjustment per motor, one of the motor mounts is slotted slightly.


    2 fixtures have pan issues. One moves through most of its range then grabs. The other will not move at all without manual assist. When they grab, they make a noise like the belts are rubbing against something...like the grooves or sprockets in the belts are being forced against something. But when I look inside, I just hear the noise. The belts are not moving at all. With the power off, the unit pans freely with no noise. What should I be looking for here?



    The entire head including the glass lens must be in place to operate or test properly. Check the belts, teeth missing or excessive wear? Replace the belt. Still chattering or not getting full movement replace the 3 ph motor. Still have a bug ? Replace the driver chips.

    As a side issue, each working fixture seems to home such that the yoke is not parallel to the base. Is this normal? How do I correct this? I tried pan calibration on the menu but +/- 20 is not enough.

    The last question is about lubricating parts. Should I be re-lubing the color wheel spindles and if so with what? And are there any other parts on the Studio Color (of the Cybers) that need to be lubricated.


    They are a little off and thats normal.
    PUT NO LUBE ON THE SPINDLES!!!:nono: OIL AND MOVING LIGHTS DONT MIX!!:aiwebs_007:
    FIRE MAY RESULT!! KRYTOX IS THE ONLY LUBE I USE AND IT AINT CHEAP!! ONLY USE KRYTOX. SMALL TUBE IS AROUND $100.00 US.
  • Man, now you went and blew the suprise of when he calls and asks for moving light lube (krytox) and they tell him its 80-100 bucks for like 3oz. They call it million dollar grease for a reason. And no its not marked up highend pricing, most of their prices are fair, its just that the grease is really that expensive. Call any other moving light manufacturer and they will tell you the same thing.
  • Hi all... Old topic i know...
    Have some problems on "old"
    Studio color 575 lamp ballast. Anyone tryed to fix them? wich components usually may be damaged?
    Thanks!
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