FC 12 buttons stop working

Daveporter33765 said:
Wow! Do you gig frequently…plugging and unplugging a cable into the XLR connections on both the AX3 and FC-12? If so, did the issue become more pronounced over time? I am trying to determine if this issue is an intermittent connection that occurs after repeated use of the connections on one or both units wearing the out so they no longer connect tightly. My other thought was just the opposite…does this occur when when a person rarely gigs wi their units and the cable connectors are constantly connected to both units causing metal fatigue to occur over time resulting in intermittent connections when one does disconnect the cable and gig with the unit from that point forward. Could there be a connector quality issue?
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Does not seem to be related to the number of times it is plugged/unplugged, at least for me.
 
ewiz666 said:
Try another cable. Try another cable. Try another cable. Send in FC to reproduce. Send back FC with no changes. Use FC power supply in addition to XLR. Send in both Axe and FC to reproduce. Send both back with no changes. Replace both units. Back to square one. While support was extremely responsive, I'm still sporadically experiencing issues.
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Is this in multiple locations or the same location? Just curious if it may be a power issue...
 
unix-guy said:
Is this in multiple locations or the same location? Just curious if it may be a power issue...
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Multiple. I would think that the power supply would negate that but anything is possible.

This is not meant to be snarky, but I didn't have any of these issues with Kemper, which uses power over ethernet for the FC.
 
ewiz666 said:
Multiple. I would think that the power supply would negate that but anything is possible.

This is not meant to be snarky, but I didn't have any of these issues with Kemper, which uses power over ethernet for the FC.
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I am curiou, do you have a power conditioner/voltage regulator in your rack? I do here. So far, I have not experienced he FC issues…but mine is only three months old. I have taken it on over 20 live gigs and five or six recording dates so far with no problems. I hope it stays that way.
 
ewiz666 said:
Multiple. I would think that the power supply would negate that but anything is possible.
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I have seen one person here report repeated issues with their FC-12, but only in a single venue - which apparently had a reputation for power issues.

They didn't report any issues with the Axe Fx in the same venue.

So, it is within the realm of possibility.

The fact that you sent both units back to Fractal and they didn't find anything is really curious, and I'm sure it's very frustrating.

ewiz666 said:
This is not meant to be snarky, but I didn't have any of these issues with Kemper, which uses power over ethernet for the FC.
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Fair...

But many people use lots of gear without experiencing any issues, while others may experience them.

That doesn't mean the Kemper is better or worse, it just means you had a better experience.

Anyway, I'm not trying to diminish your experience at all and I hope you get it resolved.
 
Daveporter33765 said:
I am curiou, do you have a power conditioner/voltage regulator in your rack? I do here. So far, I have not experienced he FC issues…but mine is only three months old. I have taken it on over 20 live gigs and five or six recording dates so far with no problems. I hope it stays that way.
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Yes Fuhrman rack but I have ruled that out because it also happens plugged right into the wall as well.
 
unix-guy said:
I have seen one person here report repeated issues with their FC-12, but only in a single venue - which apparently had a reputation for power issues.

They didn't report any issues with the Axe Fx in the same venue.

So, it is within the realm of possibility.

The fact that you sent both units back to Fractal and they didn't find anything is really curious, and I'm sure it's very frustrating.


Fair...

But many people use lots of gear without experiencing any issues, while others may experience them.

That doesn't mean the Kemper is better or worse, it just means you had a better experience.

Anyway, I'm not trying to diminish your experience at all and I hope you get it resolved.
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Understand. I love the Axe and everything about it is better than Kemper (for me) but instability and unpredictability of the Fc are not fun. Oddly enough it happened last night for the first time in over a month and made me think of this thread. I’ve been exclusively using the Fractal FASlink cable since last fall.
 
For those not experiencing the issue, do you quickly scroll through presets (I.e. up 10 patches for this song, down 5 patches for that song, etc) using the FC? That seems to be the scenario that triggers the issue.
 
ewiz666 said:
For those not experiencing the issue, do you quickly scroll through presets (I.e. up 10 patches for this song, down 5 patches for that song, etc) using the FC? That seems to be the scenario that triggers the issue.
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I don't...
 
I just started having a similar problem with FC-12 today. Owned it for almost a year and a half with no problems. Initially, the right side of switches stopped responding, then the entire front row with the back row still functioning. In my situation, my gear stays at home and has hardly ever been unplugged. First thought was a new cable as a earlier thread from Cliff highlighted, but it shouldn't wear out just sitting for a year and half. Software is up to date. I could try the reset in the set up menu, but I 'd hate to have to reprogram all my settings. I do scroll a lot through my presets for various songs. Any suggestions would be appreciated before I contact support.
 
'79 Silverburst said:
I just started having a similar problem with FC-12 today. Owned it for almost a year and a half with no problems. Initially, the right side of switches stopped responding, then the entire front row with the back row still functioning. In my situation, my gear stays at home and has hardly ever been unplugged. First thought was a new cable as a earlier thread from Cliff highlighted, but it shouldn't wear out just sitting for a year and half. Software is up to date. I could try the reset in the set up menu, but I 'd hate to have to reprogram all my settings. I do scroll a lot through my presets for various songs. Any suggestions would be appreciated before I contact support.
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Have you actually tried a new cable? Also, try disconnecting both ends and reconnecting.

Cables fail all the time with no apparent cause...

Pop it open and check ribbon cables.
 
Thanks for you reply. I tried a new cable and disconnecting with no luck. I downloaded and reinstalled firmware 1.12. I also opened up the case and the ribbon cables looked solid, mainly since they seem to be glued in place. I pushed on each of them while I had it open. After reassembling, I checked it briefly and everything was working properly again. Later today, I will give it a good workout and make sure that something I did took care of it. I let you know if it acts up again.
 
It didn't magically fix itself. It seems to be mainly affecting the 3 switches on the top right. But even that can change, as a couple of days ago, the whole front row of buttons stopped working. I can get it back to normal occasionally by unplugging at the board, but not always. If I had to guess, I think the problem is at the connection with the cable and the foot controller. Since another cable didn't help, maybe it is the connection on the board. Any other things that I should try before contacting support?
 
I don't have anything helpful other than contact support and hope for the best. Perhaps you can keep track of which presets it begins to behave weird - not sure how that helps. When I go to setlist mode I don't think I have had the issue yet.
 
The FC12 has an internal ribbon cable connecting its motherboard to each of the four quadrants of its switches, i.e., one ribbon cable powers switches 1 through 3, another powers switches 4 through 6, etc. I think you should open the unit, detach and reattach those cables, and apply hot glue to keep them in place. It sounds like they're just loosening on their own.

I ended up doing extensive troubleshooting with my unit because the upper left switch stopped working, but I learned a lot about how the unit works. In my troubleshooting, I would just try one thing, put it back together with the screws off to test, then quickly dissemble if I hadn't fixed the problem. With your unit I can almost certainly say you just need hot glue to make sure the internal ribbon powering buttons 4 through 6 is coming unseated every time you reassemble the unit. From what I've read, I don't think early FC12s were shipped with hot glue, but later ones were, to prevent this issue. Hot glue guns are inexpensive and easy to find; it's really a quick and effective solution. Sorry you're having trouble, but I'd give that a try before sending the unit in and waiting, because that might be just the repair FAS might perform on your unit!
 
Thanks for the reply. The ribbon cables were hot glued at the factory. The problem switches start at the back right, but have changed the longer I play with it, including once, the whole front row stopped working. I need to contact support.
 
'79 Silverburst said:
Thanks for the reply. The ribbon cables were hot glued at the factory. The problem switches start at the back right, but have changed the longer I play with it, including once, the whole front row stopped working. I need to contact support.
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For time's sake, I still recommend removing the cable, breaking free the original hot glue at both ends of that cable, then reseating it firmly and regluing. Even if they glued it at the factory, maybe they didn't seat that one cable very well at one end, and the glue the did apply didn't help because the connection was made fully in the first place. Very quick fix if that's the case, way quicker and cheaper than sending it in, although their repair time is very very fast too (for me it was two hours!). Best of luck either way.
 
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