New power supply gets very hot, HD 500x continually restarts

[SmooBG]

Hi Guys,

     My old power supply on my HD 500x was cutting out, so I ordered a new one from Line 6.  Now, the power supply gets very hot, and the unit continually restarts.  I did the whole 'press the left directional button while restarting the unit' trick, connected it to my Mac, and updated the firmware, flash memory, etc.  It was ok for about an hour, then the POD crashed my Mac 4 times, lost a bunch of my preset patches, and now whenever I connect it to my Mac, the Mac immediately crashes.  Anybody else experience anything like this?

 

Thanks,

Brad

[silverhead]

What is the model/name of the Line 6 power supply you are using?

[bjnette]

It should be fairly warm and touchable.

If too hot to hold, remove it!

Check your mains power with other similar wallwarts.

What area of the World are you in currently, and answer Silverhead's Q.

[Rewolf48]

The possibilities are:

 

1 - the power supply is not the correct one; probably not able to provide the necessary Amps and this is causing the unit to brown-out.

 

2 - there is nothing wrong with the power supply (or perhaps you previous one either) and something in the unit or attached to it is shorted out causing excessive current to be drawn and the unit to brown-out

 

In either case turn it off and unplug to avoid damage.

 

If the power supply is the wrong one then this can simply be confirmed by the model number or just by looking at the specs on it.  The Line 6 power supply should be good for 110 - 240 V AC 50-60 Hz (it works anywhere in the world with the correct Pin adaptor) and it should provide 3 Amps DC at 9V.

 

If your unit says anything else - for example only 1A (or 1000mA) then it is the wrong power supply.

 

If you have the right power supply then you need to work out where the problem lies.

 

Is the mains socket you are using working for other equipment? If no then check to see if the HD500x works when plugged into a different supply - if it is fine and other equipment has problems then your mains or extension cables are faulty. Disconnect and be very careful as this is a potentially lethal problem that has nothing to do with the HD500x.

 

Does the problem still happen when the only thing plugged into the HD500x is the power supply?  If it does then it still might be the power supply or an internal fault on the HD500x and it will not be easy to determine which without extra equipment to compare (such as somebody else's working HD500x with power supply).  If the problem goes away then plug the normal connections back in one by one until you find what it is that is causing the problem - it is possible that something you are plugging in is shorting a live output to ground; that equipment will need to be fixed or replaced.  If the latter is the case then the internals of the HD500x can be damaged by excessive current demand and the faulty equipment should be unplugged as soon as the association with the problem is confirmed.

[gdespins]

I'm have the same problem with a brand new Line 6 Pod HD (Desktop bean type).  I just bought it new yesterday, updated the firmware and flash memory and it worked great for hours all evening .  This morning I hooked it up to a brand new FBV Express MKII floor board that I got on amazon (which is compatible according to the manual) and it all worked wonderfully for about 20 minutes.   Then my POD started automatically restarting every few seconds.  I tried shutting it off for a while and restarting it again.  Same thing happened again.  Eventually the screen changed to just horizontal lines and then went totally blank.  I checked the power supply and it felt pretty hot.  I could hold it in my bare hand but if I squeezed it at all it became too hot to hold.  

 

I took the POD HD back to the store and they said the power supply was toast.   I have an older pod 2.0 and they suggested I try the power supply for that one just to see if the pod HD will work (its 9V 1200mA for pod 2.0 instead of 2000mA for Pod HD).    The POD HD turned on but it was just the horizontal lines again.  I tried a factory reset (nothing happened) and updating the firmware again (computer wouldn't recognize it anymore) and while I was doing that, the POD HD screen went blank again.  I quickly checked the power supply and it was hot!   I let it cool off and tried it back on my POD 2.0 and.....nothing.  

 

I feel pretty stupid for burning up two power supplies.  Now I have no pod's at all to use over the holidays.   I wish stuff would just work like its supposed too.  So disappointed with Line 6.    I now have a dead POD HD that eats power supply's, a POD 2.0 without any power supply and a new FBV Express MKII that I'm scared to plug into anything else. 

 

2016 can't be over fast enough....

 

If anyone has any suggestions on what to do next, please let me know.

 

Greg

[phil_m]

I'm have the same problem with a brand new Line 6 Pod HD (Desktop bean type).  I just bought it new yesterday, updated the firmware and flash memory and it worked great for hours all evening .  This morning I hooked it up to a brand new FBV Express MKII floor board that I got on amazon (which is compatible according to the manual) and it all worked wonderfully for about 20 minutes.   Then my POD started automatically restarting every few seconds.  I tried restarting shutting it off for a while and restarting it again.  Same thing happened again.  Eventually the screen changed to just horizontal lines and then went totally blank.  I checked the power supply and it felt pretty hot.  I could hold it in my bare hand but if I squeezed it at all it became too hot to hold.  

 

I took the POD HD back to the store and they said the power supply was toast.   I have an older pod 2.0 and they suggested I try the power supply for that one just to see if the pod HD will work (its 9V 1200mA for pod 2.0 instead of 2000mA for Pod HD).    The POD HD turned on but it was just the horizontal lines again.  I tried a factory reset (nothing happened) and updating the firmware again (computer wouldn't recognize it anymore) and while I was doing that, the POD HD screen went blank again.  I quickly checked the power supply and it was hot!   I let it cool off and tried it back on my POD 2.0 and.....nothing.  

 

I feel pretty stupid for burning up two power supplies.  Now I have no pod's at all to use over the holidays.   I wish stuff would just work like its supposed too.  So disappointed with Line 6.    I now have a dead POD HD that eats power supply's, a POD 2.0 without any power supply and a new FBV Express MKII that I'm scared to plug into anything else. 

 

2016 can't be over fast enough....

 

If anyone has any suggestions on what to do next, please let me know.

 

Greg

The store gave you bad advice if they told you to try the 2.0 power supply with the HD. The 2.0 power supply is 9V AC, and the HD is 9V DC - they aren't interchangeable. Actually, I don't even think the 2.0 power supply barrel will physically fit in the jack on the HD, so I'm not sure how you tried it. If you actually forced it in, you could have damaged either power supply barrel or the jack on the HD...

[gdespins]

The store gave you bad advice if they told you to try the 2.0 power supply with the HD. The 2.0 power supply is 9V AC, and the HD is 9V DC - they aren't interchangeable. Actually, I don't even think the 2.0 power supply barrel will physically fit in the jack on the HD, so I'm not sure how you tried it. If you actually forced it in, you could have damaged either power supply barrel or the jack on the HD...

UBer Guru,

 

Both power supply's Outputs are 9V AC according to their labels and they are the original power supplies that came with the PODs which I bought new.   And the size of the jacks are identical inside and out.  I didn't have to force it at all.  So that wasn't the issue.  Any other ideas?

[phil_m]

 

UBer Guru,

 

Both power supply's Outputs are 9V AC according to their labels and they are the original power supplies that came with the PODs which I bought new.   And the size of the jacks are identical inside and out.  I didn't have to force it at all.  So that wasn't the issue.  Any other ideas?

 

 

Well, that's probably the issue, at least with the HD. The HD requires 9V DC, and should come with the Line 6 DC-3g (shown here).

 

Don't take this the wrong way, as I'm not meaning it to be disrespectful, but are you sure you're dealing with POD HD? The black bean? All the prior beans - the 2.0, XT, and X3 used the the same AC power supply (well, at one point they did increase from 1200mA to 2000mA, but the barrel size was the same). All the HD series PODs use the DC-3g power supply, and the barrel is slightly larger. I just tried inserting the smaller barrel into my HD500 just to see if it would fit, and it does not even fit in the jack. So that's why I'm a bit puzzled here.

 

As you can see on the back of the HD Desktop here, it requires 9V DC, 2.5A.

 

[gdespins]

Well, that's probably the issue, at least with the HD. The HD requires 9V DC, and should come with the Line 6 DC-3g (shown here).

 

Don't take this the wrong way, as I'm not meaning it to be disrespectful, but are you sure you're dealing with POD HD? The black bean? All the prior beans - the 2.0, XT, and X3 used the the same AC power supply (well, at one point they did increase from 1200mA to 2000mA, but the barrel size was the same). All the HD series PODs use the DC-3g power supply, and the barrel is slightly larger. I just tried inserting the smaller barrel into my HD500 just to see if it would fit, and it does not even fit in the jack. So that's why I'm a bit puzzled here.

 

As you can see on the back of the HD Desktop here, it requires 9V DC, 2.5A.

Holy crap. You are right. It came with the wrong power supply. Here's a pic. It says 9V DC. 2.5A minimum on the back of the Pod HD and the power supply is a Line 6 - 9VAC 2000mA. Do you think the POD is repairable? Do you think my FBV Express MKII is toast too since it was attached? Also just for your info, I swear the barrel on this wrong AC adapter fits perfectly into the POD HD jack.

[phil_m]

Holy crap. You are right. It came with the wrong power supply. Here's a pic. It says 9V DC. 2.5A minimum on the back of the Pod HD and the power supply is a Line 6 - 9VAC 2000mA. Do you think the POD is repairable? Do you think my FBV Express MKII is toast too since it was attached? Also just for your info, I swear the barrel on this wrong AC adapter fits perfectly into the POD HD jack.

 

I don't know if the HD would be damaged or not. There's probably a good chance it's not. I'm not sure why the 2.0 wouldn't work, unless perhaps the barrel for the adapter(s) was damaged when you tried plugging it into the HD. Maybe it's just not making contact with the terminals now.

[gdespins]

I don't know if the HD would be damaged or not. There's probably a good chance it's not. I'm not sure why the 2.0 wouldn't work, unless perhaps the barrel for the adapter(s) was damaged when you tried plugging it into the HD. Maybe it's just not making contact with the terminals now.

 

 

Good news.  I got my hands on a DC-3g power supply from a HD500X and the POD HD appears to be working fine as well as the FBV Express MKII floor board.  The power supply for my old Pod 2.0 is toast though along with the AC power supply that came with the POD HD.  Apparently plugging an AC power supply into the DC powered PodHD cooked both AC power packs but not the POD HD.  I guess thats much better than the opposite happening.    

 

Just a note for your info -  I swear to you that the barrels are exactly the same size, inside and out on both the DC-3g power supply and the Line 6 AC power supply that somehow came with my POD HD.  They both fit the jack perfectly without any damage or forcing etc.  This might sound like an impossibility to you given your experience but I assure you, they are the same.    

 

Its been a roller coaster day.  This morning everything was working wonderfully and I was ecstatic.  This afternoon, all hell broke loose and I figured everything was pretty much melted.  And tonight it appears I'm only down an AC power supply for my old pod 2.0.  I found a lower amperage AC power supply from a looper pedal I have and tried it on my POD 2.0  It powered on just fine so it appears to be working as well.  I didn't leave it plugged in long as I want to get the right power supply for it.    

 

Having said that, I'd really like to know how an AC power supply came with the DC powered POD HD that I bought new from a local music store / Line 6 rep.

 

I probably won't find out until after Christmas.

 

Thanks a ton for your help on this!  

[joel_brown]

At least on the PODHD Desktop, I've seen where some of them take 9vDC and some take 9vAC.  The reason I know this is I bought a backup unit and noticed the power supply was slightly differant looking.  When I check all the specs I saw one was AC and the other was DC.  Fortunately the backup unit I ordered got damaged in shipping so I sent it back and got another that used the same power supply I had.

 

Moral of the story: Always be 100% sure when connecting power supplies.  Reading a few words can save you lots of time and money.

[silverhead]

   

.....

Having said that, I'd really like to know how an AC power supply came with the DC powered POD HD that I bought new from a local music store / Line 6 rep.

 

... 

 

Two reasons:

- retailers typically resell returned and cosmetically like-new units as brand new units at the original price. Especially if a new device is returned with the 10-day (or whatever) return policy period.

- The original owner repacked the box with the wrong power supply. The retailers don't inspect the packages closely, know little about compatible power supplies, and don't notice clear differences like AC/DC or mAmps.