FM3 Fried due to power surge - Fixed

[ShaqJamin]

I was at a rehearsal for a charity event this past Saturday, an all star program put on by a group of guys in our local music community. People giving back through music (great stuff!) During the rehearsal there was a power surge as a circuit I was plugged into popped, there might have been a GFI wired in series, not sure exactly. However it happened, the outlet I was plugged into lost power, and upon recovery everything fired back up except the FM3. I was seriously under the impression I might have an $1100 paperweight.

That evening I decided to search the forum and found that the likely cause was the power supply, taking damage from the surge, and protecting the rest of the components in the unit. Upon opening the unit, I was able to get a part number for the power supply after confirming with a voltmeter that the IEC was supplying power thru the switch. A comment from Cliff (TY!) in one of the posts that I saw stated that these modules were off the shelf units and could be ordered from a reputable electronics component supplier. Ordered that evening

Fast forward to Wednesday, received new power module and installed in unit - it booted up like nothing ever happened. Extremely happy and more so appreciative of not only such a well designed unit that has modular componentry, but the fact that this forum is full of so much information, not only from experienced users, but from Cliff and Matt and the rest of the staff at Fractal.

I have so much pride to be a Fractal user (AX8, FM3, FM9) because their products are the best, hands-down. But the fact that this community in this forum really makes the difference between a great platform, and something that is actually world class!

Thanks Fractal and Fractal Forum!!

 

[BBN]

Nothing worse than walking away from a gig with potentially destroyed gear.
Glad to hear you it back up and running!

(Out of true curiosity) - were you plugged into any surge protector?

 

[Stratman68]

I was at a rehearsal for a charity event this past Saturday, an all star program put on by a group of guys in our local music community. People giving back through music (great stuff!) During the rehearsal there was a power surge as a circuit I was plugged into popped, there might have been a GFI wired in series, not sure exactly. However it happened, the outlet I was plugged into lost power, and upon recovery everything fired back up except the FM3. I was seriously under the impression I might have an $1100 paperweight.

That evening I decided to search the forum and found that the likely cause was the power supply, taking damage from the surge, and protecting the rest of the components in the unit. Upon opening the unit, I was able to get a part number for the power supply after confirming with a voltmeter that the IEC was supplying power thru the switch. A comment from Cliff (TY!) in one of the posts that I saw stated that these modules were off the shelf units and could be ordered from a reputable electronics component supplier. Ordered that evening

Fast forward to Wednesday, received new power module and installed in unit - it booted up like nothing ever happened. Extremely happy and more so appreciative of not only such a well designed unit that has modular componentry, but the fact that this forum is full of so much information, not only from experienced users, but from Cliff and Matt and the rest of the staff at Fractal.

I have so much pride to be a Fractal user (AX8, FM3, FM9) because their products are the best, hands-down. But the fact that this community in this forum really makes the difference between a great platform, and something that is actually world class!

Thanks Fractal and Fractal Forum!!

Glad you got it sorted out. May I ask, was it a big deal to install it? Thanks

 

[ShaqJamin]

Nothing worse than walking away from a gig with potentially destroyed gear.
Glad to hear you it back up and running!

(Out of true curiosity) - were you plugged into any surge protector?

No surge protector. In hindsight, bad idea, but at the time you wouldn't think you would need it is someone's basement. It was not a rehearsal space or somewhere you would think there was dirty power, it was in a residential setting.

 

[ShaqJamin]

Glad you got it sorted out. May I ask, was it a big deal to install it? Thanks

Literally took longer to find the right part online than to install (not counting time to open the unit and close back up) - two modular connectors and 4 screws. The screws were slightly larger than the holes in the PCB, so I had to pre-screw them prior to reseating the PS. Only needed a screwdriver and a needle-nose pliers.

 

[tmingle]

As an amp repair guy, I am thrilled to learn that my FM3 has an easily obtainable PS. I have worked on numerous powered speakers, subs & guitar amps over the last couple years & a lot of the time the cost of OEM parts, shipping & labor exceed the replacement cost. I recently looked at an ALTO sub for a guy. ALTO informed me that parts are no longer available for the unit. Sweetwater still sells them as a current model.