• Registered: 2008-04-02
  • Posts: 5

Topic: Fireface 800 - Cycling flashing lights

Hello,

To my dismay this morning ..I boot up my DAW and load a session... the program says "audio engine is disabled" i look down at my fireface and see this : https://youtu.be/QIg7KCbz4t0

It powers up to host mode fine when hitting the on switch (solid red light), it's when the computer try's to talk with it, this happens.

I've been reading about the PSU problems these units have, this is actually a replacement unit for my original that suffered an input section malfunction about 5 years ago ... Is there any troubleshooting i can do to determine if it is infact the PSU ???

Do you think it's a possibility that the firewire 400 port ive been using for years is shot ?? is it worth getting a 6pin to 9 pin 1394b cable and trying to connect it to the computer that way ?? Is that possible ??? 

I don't want to spend a 100 bux shipping it to the Distributor only to have them tell me it's gonna be a $1000 dollar repair. Please help. I love my interface and would like to continue using it as it's ideal.

Help !

2 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
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  • From: Germany/Thailand
  • Registered: 2007-04-06
  • Posts: 25,542

Re: Fireface 800 - Cycling flashing lights

Yes, this is the typical sign of a broken power supply. Repair is possbile by either repairing the PSU itself or by replacing it completely.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

3 Reply by ImoB1080P (edited by ImoB1080P 2016-11-17 07:32:02)

  • Registered: 2008-04-02
  • Posts: 5

Re: Fireface 800 - Cycling flashing lights

Thanks for your prompt response.

I saw a post from a Synthax rep stating to try using firewire bus power if it's available.

I did not know the unit can be powered by bus power alone, is this true ??

it would be a great troubleshooting step.

this is my firewire controller - http://www.viatech.com/en/silicon/legac … /vt6308ps/

it states it supplies power to 5v tolerant inputs. I'm not sure what that means, but my unit will not power on when connected to the computer without AC plugged in. I'm using FW 400 6 pin ??

Can you clarify ??

4 Reply by MC

  • MC
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Re: Fireface 800 - Cycling flashing lights

The Fireface 400 can be used bus powered, but not the Fireface 800.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

5 Reply by ImoB1080P (edited by ImoB1080P 2016-11-17 20:52:09)

  • Registered: 2008-04-02
  • Posts: 5

Re: Fireface 800 - Cycling flashing lights

Just a heads up to others experiencing this... Just because you have flashing lights, does not mean your PSU is gone... It turns out the Firewire port on my computer died ... These simple steps from Bill Kinal @ Erikson Audio helped me isolate the issue.

-Power down the FF800, disconnect the FireWire cable.
Power up the FF800. If the unit still has flashing lights, it is very possible that there is a fault in the power supply and it must be repaired by a qualified technician.
There also exists the possibility that you have a blown FireWire Hub IC.
If this is the case, you will have to return the unit to the point of purchase or another Canadian authorized RME retailer they will forward it to the Jam Industries Service Department.
-If all seems normal with the FF800 when disconnected from the computer, the problem might lie with a defective FireWire cable.
When replacing it, make sure to use an Apple approved cable or purchase it directly from Apple. 3rd party cables are problematic, or don’t work at all.

So moral of the story, just because you experience "Flashing lights of death" do not jump the gun. See video of my error :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIg7KCbz4t0

6 Reply by MC

  • MC
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Re: Fireface 800 - Cycling flashing lights

If the FireWire ports on your computer died then the only way to verify this is to connect the Fireface to a different computer. There is no mention of that in your post. (?)

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • Registered: 2008-03-29
  • Posts: 75

Re: Fireface 800 - Cycling flashing lights

I also saw this flashing lights activity on 2 fireface 800s.  Also coincided with interfaces disconnecting.  It was a bad 800 to 400 cable.  Changed cable and all good.  Thanks to the RME engineers for giving us such a visible bad cable indicator.  I wish I had read about it in the manual first though because my heart rate really increased! wink

Cheers guys!

Jonathan Leonard

  • Registered: 2008-04-12
  • Posts: 14

Re: Fireface 800 - Cycling flashing lights

Revisiting this, I first got this continually with no startup of the RME drivers, now I get the flashing lights for a few seconds then it works, wondering if that's a sign of failure in the future?

  • Registered: 2008-04-12
  • Posts: 14

Re: Fireface 800 - Cycling flashing lights

Replying to myself, I'm pretty good with a soldering iron and it's very obvious which capacitors are bad (16v 22000uf in this case) , one of them leaked a bit on the power supply board. The caps come in the mail in a few days, totally worth fixing I use the FF800 as an ADAT hub for my hardware synths, and the Babyface as the master. hopefully the obvious ones are the extent of the issue, if not the power supply seems to be under $200usd.

  • Registered: 2008-04-12
  • Posts: 14

Re: Fireface 800 - Cycling flashing lights

Decided against replacimg all the capacitors when it still acted up after replacing the obvious ones, and bought a replacement power supply off of Synthax RMEs USA distributor. It went pretty well, but my unit was wired directly to the board and the replacement had a plastic wire harness female connector that I took off with the soldering gun. the board had so much coating on it it was difficult to get a good solder but it's working. I'm grateful that RME sell replacement units, I just wish they sold them with either an attachment for the wires or wihthout the harness as an option.