Digi 002 Popping noise/ no response need info

[a-hopps]

Digi 002 Falls out of sync with pc. Stops working, screen goes blank, sometimes displays locating. Starts making a popping noise through speakers. It seems to keep rebooting. and then freezing. In standalone mode the unit will freeze and not respond to any of the buttons not even the mute/unmute button. The faders autto reset to 0 when moved. No audio in or out.

I had this problem when I first purchased the unit after nearly a year. I sent it to you guys and you replaced the power supplu &/or the harness. Apparently this was a big problem with some of the early models.

Actions required to reproduce the problem:
Power on open a session or put in standalone mode, leave on for 3 to 5 minutes.

Troubleshooting already attempted:
Power off and left off for a long time.Hours and days even. Disconnected firewire cable, replaced firewire cable. removed inputs.
This thing is too expensive to have these problems. It never leaves my studio, and has not been moved in years let alone mistreated. Any help would be nice. I sent this to digi techsupport but you guys may be faster.

[a-hopps]

Well I made the mistake of thinking that because I had a power harness issue a couple of years ago, wich resulted in me sending my 002 back to digi for repair, that it couldn't possibly happen again. Well I was wrong. I opened that damn thing up and sure enough there was a loose harness connector. I pulled them and reseated them all one at a time, powered up and everything seemed ok. Buttons and faders responding in and out of standalone mode. After getting some asi action from reasons( faster program to start than ptle) I was finaly relieved. I guess my awsome monitors and sub may have knocked the connector loose. I should have checed before asking for help. That what I do at work but I guess I panicked, being out of my element and all. Anyway anyone having similar issues, just open it up and ry to fix it. If the harness is your problem it is a really easy fix. Thanks for looking at my 1st post, Im out, got music to make, mix and master.

[brownj24]

I've been searching the DUC for a step-by-step instructions on how to reseat the power harness... to no avail. Can you describe how you went about doing this? Thanks,

Jer

[Obsidian Dragon]

The power harness is basically the bunch of wires tied together to keep everything relatively neat. It connects different components or parts inside the 002/002R (most often from the power transformer to the circuit boards). At each end of each wire is a connector (normally plastic with metal contacts) that are design to couple with a connector on each component or circuit board (also normally plastic with metal contacts). As the power harness is responsible to make electrical connections from one part to the next, if that connection is broken or not good, the symptoms of the power harness issue happens. Digidesign has redesign the connectors on the power harness to improve this situation and this can be ordered by calling customer support. For an short term but quick solution, you can open up the unit (many tiny screws), and simply wiggle the wires at each connection point. Some may even disconnect and reconnect the connection. The process of removing and reinserting the connector of the power harness onto the components or circuit boards will scrape the metal contacts and therefore remove some of the oxidation that may have built up over time and dramatically improve the metal to metal contact which improves the electrical connection. In the case above, it sounds like his speakers and subwoofer actually rattled a connector loose. I have not seen this happen, but then again, I may not have his awesome speaker. In either case, this is a simple operation that only requires a small phillips screwdriver and some patience. I would strongly suggest that you test it afterwards before closing up the unit and putting all this tiny screws back. It is probably a good exercise to go through even if you are ordering the replacement power harness as this will familiarize you to the power harness and it's connections. If you have a digital camera, take a picture of the inside of your 002/002R with the old power harness before you start disconnecting. That way if you get lost or forget what goes where, you have something to look back at. I don't mean to frighten you as this is not that complicated. Do it an you'll be back in action quickly. Otherwise you will be down and need to wait a few days for Digidesign to ship the replacement power harness.

[brownj24]

Thanks a lot for the detailed response. One further question just to clarify: What is the easiest way to take the 002 apart? Should I flip it upside down and unscrew the bottom panel, unscrew the back, the front, does everything have to be unscrewed?

Thanks again

Jer

[Obsidian Dragon]

On the 002 (not the 002R) all the screws are on the bottom. Put them in a dish to avoid loosing any. Just one more thing, some have warned to be careful around the firewire ports as there is a delicate wire there that can easily be damaged. I did not have any problems with this however.

[Ssaidvox1]

Thanks Obsidian! My 002R just crapped out yesterday, of course in the middle of a session with a full band Anyway, gonna go try this... thanks again!