Loose harness ProControl
 

Hello guys,

I have a ProControl fader pack that seems to have a shortage. ie. Sometimes it doesn’t power on when I flip the switch. When I “slightly” tilt it back (not fully standing) it power on. Here and there while in use, it will suddenly turn off and after a few minutes or more it will turn back on. About 3 or four times, the leds would go dim for a minute or two then it return to normal. Please note: I purchased it second hand on eBay back in 2016. The seller told me that he had the PSU recently serviced before deciding to sell it to me. In 2018 I had back surgery and only used it 10-15 times the entire year, if not that much. Yearly usage average is 50 times at least. It has not started bugging out until this year. For now, I have unplugged it and sat it to the side, unused.

My question is: where can I find some documentation on how to fix it? I have opened the back panel to look at the PSU card. It is from SkyNet, there are no burned nor blown capacitors & neither do I smell any burning scents. I’m baffled because my PC main unit was purchased in 2015 and it has not given me any problems (knock on wood) I’m also wondering if these symptoms signs of another PSU that is blown/going or could there be something loose on the inside.

*** FWIW I’m getting one red light on led 5 on mobo inside the fader pack

Re: Loose harness ProControl
 

Most everything made in that era used lots of "Molex" connectors inside. These are white-ish nylon connectors with several sockets that fit tightly over pins on the various circuit boards. The first thing I would do is open the unit(disconnected from power:rolleyes:) and look for those connectors. Pull each one and spray the pins with Deoxit(or similar) and quickly push the connector back on and off several times(the idea being to let the contact cleaner over the sockets and too work the connections several times, to help clean any oxidation on the parts that contact). If its the connectors, this will likely solve the issue, at least for several months. If it comes back, you can repeat the cleaning, or cut off the connectors, wrap the wires around the pins and solder everything. This kind of issue hit many Control 24 and almost all the 002 interfaces:o

Re: Loose harness ProControl
 

Hi Dave,

How have you been, great to see that all is well with you. Thanks for those pointers. I will make sure I get right to it. The curveball, I will need to find a good tutorial on how to breakdown the unit 😬 I was able to open rear panel but I’m not too sure about going in from the top

Re: Loose harness ProControl
 

Just go with the flow, you can do it :cool: remember to have some way of organiaing the screws you take off, you don't want to lose any. One of the most inexpensive solutions is couple of mugs where you store screws of every step you take.. or a stripe of adhesive where you stick them one by one as you go, then just build it back in reverse order once you are done with the harness.

Re: Loose harness ProControl
 

By any chance do anyone know the size of those Allen/Hex/IDK screws on top of the unit? 😬

Re: Loose harness ProControl
 

Just buy a set of changeable heads as everyone else

Re: Loose harness ProControl
 

Just another day with parasites:p:p:p:p:p Everything else from Digidesign(002, 003, Control24 and C24) usually gets accessed from the bottom. I would start with the ProControl face down and some folded towels and remove the bottom panel. Go slow as there might be stuff bolted to the inside of the bottom(002 has the PSU mounted there). Sadly, my youtube search also turned up nothing specific to opening the ProControl.

Re: Loose harness ProControl
 

Thanks so much for the insight guys. I will begin the breakdown on Monday. Hopefully I can get er done. This would be my biggest repair on my gear. Wish me luck or I may end up with spare parts for the main unit. 😆

Re: Loose harness ProControl
 

Dont worry, it isnt rocket science


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Re: Loose harness ProControl
 

Update:

I have managed to open the unit from the top. After careful examination I have C5 led blinking near rear of unit and on the main circuit board (2 separate lights). The power harness that powers the main unit is indeed loose. Loose enough for the harness to jiggle, causing the unit to go in and out. Also the skynet PSU is visibly in good condition, no burnt smell, the caps are all seated and not bulging.

My next question:

Is there anything I can do to secure the harness that power the main circuit board? FWIW, I’ve never soldered anything; don’t know how to. Is there a special electrical adhesive that I can purchase?