Electric Blue backlight won't shut off

insomniyack · Post by **insomniyack** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 12:38 am

I have the Electric Blue Voyager and no matter where the brightness knob is the backlight won't shut off.

I've heard a few instances where people's Voyagers start to smoke or catch on fire from problems. Is this one of those problems or is it still safe to operate with this issue?

Thanks!!

tHEbUZZ · Post by **tHEbUZZ** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 9:16 am

Probably the pot meter has a bad contact, whats your serial? is your voyager pre V3 and quiet II? I just have the same issue or similar, I goes off and on when I press the woodblock where the pot is installed in. If I don't do anything it goes to full bright at random etc.

I'm upgrading everything now to V3 and quiet II. If your voyager is post V3 you can check this pot for bad contact (solder cracks) and re-solder it, in the worst case it's your inverter gone bad but I'm not sure sins it would stop feeding the lights.
Pre V3 this pot was covered up in some black harsh so very difficult to repair unless you replace the woodblock and pot in one. They have a few left of those and is also the cheapest way to fix it.

I hope this helps, cheers

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 10:33 am

Im not really sure, though I am sure it would likely void your warranty and thus wouldn't be reccomended, but If it were mine, I would look and see if there was a cable that I could just unplug that would disconnect the lighting until the problem could be fixed. Usually stuff like that has a simple connector to a power supply that you can pull off and put back on.

But again don't try this because it can cause problems and I don't want to encourage anyone to get in there and start messing with stuff they shouldn't be messing with.

Eric

insomniyack · Post by **insomniyack** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 11:11 am

I can live with the light staying on but I just want to know if it's SAFE or could this be a problem?

I don't have hundreds of presets so it's not the newest version and I don't want to mess around with the insides. How much does Moog charge to fix it you think?

Or if it's perfectly safe I can just live with it!

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 12:35 pm

Well the lights wont last forever, eventually they will burn out. They are only supposed to work for 1000 hours at full brightness.

You should just call them. Depending on your money situation, you can upgrade to the newest operating system and get your lights fixed all in one go and it wouldn't be that expensive.

Now if you are on a really old OS like 2.x or something then there have been hardware modifications to allow for the 7 banks of 128, the aftertouch mod, the quiet II upgrade and the filter glide fix. This would probably be pretty pricey.

If you just had your lights fixed they would not charge you very much at all. Just a meager fee most likely. Sorry I can't be more specific.

Eric

insomniyack · Post by **insomniyack** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 12:51 pm

According to the website it's $350 to upgrade it plus the money to ship it so it's going to be like $400 for some more presets and a few upgrades...

Doesn't seem worth it to me. Maybe I'll just have to get it fixed...

I could buy a MoPho for $400 and get a whole new synth instead of just a few upgrades on my current one!!

EricK · Post by **EricK** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 3:51 pm

Thats a huge subjective answer there. You know another option would be to get your synth fixed and sell it, then rebuy a voyager (I got my select for 2999 with vx351) and it will have all of the upgrades available.

With the money that you save should you find a nice deal on a voyager you could throw in a mopho too.

Eric

tHEbUZZ · Post by **tHEbUZZ** » Mon Oct 19, 2009 5:42 pm

after reading your post it looks like you're on a version 2, so I'm sure it's the pot gone bad same like I have.
Contact moog customer support and ask for a replacement.
I think it's about 69$ + shipping for the woodblock/pot.
I chose to upgrade it to V3 and quiet II instead of replacing the pot and get my baby up to date.

g'luck

insomniyack · Post by **insomniyack** » Wed Oct 28, 2009 12:26 pm

Now the blue backlight doesn't light up at all...come on Moog...This is a $3500 synth! I would think this would be the last synth that would give me problems...

Subtronik · Post by **Subtronik** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 7:30 pm

Could be the inverter box:

http://www.moogmusic.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7190

Amos · Post by **Amos** » Thu Oct 29, 2009 10:57 pm

it's almost certainly just a failed pot, which is very cheap. If your unit already has the Quiet II type backlighting, then it's very easy to replace as well. The pot is on a lead with a connector that just clips on to the backlight module. You could replace the part in about ten minutes using only a #2 philips screwdriver.

And it's perfectly safe, as well... even if the backlight was still on, it would be no more dangerous than leaving the brightness up high ever is (which is to say, not dangerous).

Contact Moog about getting a replacement backlight dimmer pot sent to you, with instructions on how to swap it out.

There's also a simple test you can do first to verify that it's the pot and not the inverter that is faulty. email me @moogmusic.com and I will explain it.

Cheers,

Amos

insomniyack · Post by **insomniyack** » Fri Jan 29, 2010 7:52 pm

Now my light stays on for a few seconds and then shuts off. It goes from low brightness to full brightness than goes off again. It does this over and over again. I guess I really need to get this fixed!

tHEbUZZ · Post by **tHEbUZZ** » Sat Jan 30, 2010 1:31 pm

Again it's just the pot (if you already have Hardware V3) and the woodblock that needs to be replaced (I on HW V2 ), or upgrade to the OS3 and quiet II.
Contact Moog customer support and they will help you, I haven't found any other company yet that gives such great customer support. I had the exact same issue a couple months ago.

insomniyack · Post by **insomniyack** » Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:58 am

Well it's definately not version 3 cause I don't have all the presets and I think quiet II is already on it cause I thought all version 2s have it.

I just don't know about dropping down close to $400 (with shipping) just for a few extra presets (which I always make my sounds anyways) and a few minute upgrades...

tHEbUZZ · Post by **tHEbUZZ** » Mon Feb 15, 2010 6:43 am

insomniyack wrote:Well it's definately not version 3 cause I don't have all the presets and I think quiet II is already on it cause I thought all version 2s have it.

I just don't know about dropping down close to $400 (with shipping) just for a few extra presets (which I always make my sounds anyways) and a few minute upgrades...

It is impossible to have the Quit II in hardware version 2 since there is no room for the inverter.

All I can tell is I absolutely had the same problem and upgraded to V3 + the Quiet II + woodblock with dimmer pot replaced. Had the greatest support from Moog and I think it was affordable and worth it, even I had a few moments like you have "dang another 400/500 bucks) in the end it's worthed though. Hearing the difference between the quiet II and the original tone when you have the lights on alone is. Another thing I'm sure of that the lights shutting off and on will drive you nutz.

Cheers