Sirius 24 Intermittent Fault

[the_reverend]

I am currently in residence at a Højskole in Denmark that uses a Sirius 24 for all performance events, just before the start of last night's show, all of the channel LEDs turned on and the faders became non-responsive, all dimmer outputs were off. The console was switched back on and none of the LEDs became lit, the faders still had no effect and the dimmer outputs were at zero. This cycle was repeated for some time and then all returned to normal as if nothing had happened.

 

Today I have done some testing and managed to replicate the issue on the bench many times but with no decernable cause. The power supply rails all measure out correctlyband there are no obvious signs of failure on any of the PCBs.

 

I am hoping someone has some ideas as the the route of this issue so that I can repair the console, it may be old but it is in fantastic condition and integrates with the remainder of the system on site. This console does not have the DMX board fitted, analogue output only.

[iank99]

Try the voltages on the rechargeable battery first - they should read approximately 3.6volts with no power to the desk and approximately 4 to 4.3volts (from memory) with desk power on.

 

You may find that the battery has indeed begun to fail - the battery runs the internal memory which keeps patch tables and the showfile intact whilst the desk is off hence the behaviour when you power on.

 

Worst case scenario is the battery has begun to leak - you will see crystalline deposits on the battery itself which has in turn begun to leak and corrode the PCB tracks on the mainboard. If the battery has leaked, it may be possible to clean the gunk off the main board and repair visible damage to tracks - the issues start if the corrosion gets under the DIL header connector located next to the battery.

[the_reverend]

Thanks, the battery voltage is way down so it will need replacing. Given this battery is responsible for memory retention during power off will special precautions need to be taken for its replacement?

[iank99]

No - all you need to do once you've replaced the battery is do a 'Clear All' in Super User which will reset the desk back to blank memories and defaults - it also resets the internal data tables in the memory, so the desk should respond sensibly again.