Oct 24, 2010 10:33 PM
POD X3 live
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I have many faulty switches on my X3 live. I am a traveling musician, and use this rig on a weekly basis. I am also an electrical engineer, and have the know how to replace the faulty switches, but do not want to void the warranty. I have checked that it is not a software fault, and have confirmed that the swiches are the faulty component. Any help would be appreciated. The unit is just over a year old, and is stored in a hard travel case at all times. I take very good care of this unit, but do use it quite regularly. Can I repair this unit without sending it in to a service center?
As I suspect you know, the best advice is to take advantage of the lifetime warranty on this issue and have the repair done properly, for free, at an authorized service centre.
But if you're determined to do it yourself, I suggest you search this form under phrases like "X3L footswitch fix". There have been lots of previous discussions about self-fix methods, none recommended but some self-evaluated as successful to varying degrees.
If you haven’t opened it up yet to see what you are up against here’s a picture. From what I understand, the parts that fail are the clear plastic pieces (AKA Light Pipes) that hold the PC board in place over the switch actuators. As you can see, the medal part of the switch that you step on is actually only an actuator that pushes on a tactile switch which is attached to the PC board, those plastic pieces hold the PC board and switches inline with the actuators, this is why when one switch fails, one or two of the switches next to it on the same row usually fail also. At some point Line 6 redesigned something to fix this but as far as I can tell the basic design is still the same so I would assume that they simply improved the plastic pieces somehow. You might try to call Line 6 to see if they will send you the parts, otherwise you’ll have to try and find an authorized service center that is willing to sell you the parts.
BTW, early on there were reports that Line 6 applied hot glue to try and help hold this all together, since they don’t do that anymore I think it’s safe to say that it doesn’t work.
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