Helix overheat - is it unreliable now?

[Propower]

I had Helix for 6 months and did a 5 hour outdoor gig on a hot day. For a good past of it the awning was not shielding the Helix. Near the end the unit shut off (only then did i realize how hot it was!). Played last two songs without it. Rebooted later and all was working fine - though at some point two of the 4 leds on the tap tempo light stopped working. Over the next year the unit would hang on boot a couple of times as well as having some odd behavior when programming things like CC commands. Most of these are real bugs though since a new Helix dd the same thing. SO - now I want to sell this one (have another - don't ask :-)... but I want to price and represent it right for the new owner. Is a single overheat incident something that has damaged the unit or is a year of 99% trouble free use enough of a selling point (never any issue at a gig - probably 100 gigs later).... Thanks!

[cruisinon2]

41 minutes ago, Propower said:

I had Helix for 6 months and did a 5 hour outdoor gig on a hot day. For a good past of it the awning was not shielding the Helix. Near the end the unit shut off (only then did i realize how hot it was!). Played last two songs without it. Rebooted later and all was working fine - though at some point two of the 4 leds on the tap tempo light stopped working. Over the next year the unit would hang on boot a couple of times as well as having some odd behavior when programming things like CC commands. Most of these are real bugs though since a new Helix dd the same thing. SO - now I want to sell this one (have another - don't ask :-)... but I want to price and represent it right for the new owner. Is a single overheat incident something that has damaged the unit or is a year of 99% trouble free use enough of a selling point (never any issue at a gig - probably 100 gigs later).... Thanks!

 

You might as well be asking for the August 12th, 2026 weather forecast for French Lick, Indiana. There's no possible way for anyone to determine whether or not there was any lasting damage, merely by reading a description of the event. 

[Propower]

Exactly how I feel too :-). I suppose I am fishing for any who have had theirs overheat and shutdown - any problems show up later? If the overheat shutdown is a design protection I feel more confident passing the unit on.

[HonestOpinion]

Talk to Line6 support. Maybe there is a comprehensive self-test sequence you or they can run. Maybe they tell you it was a fuse reset as intended and is so well protected there is no chance you hurt the device.  Might be worth talking to them. There is also the Helix test mode (FS3&FS4 global reset on the Helix Floor at least according to https://helixhelp.com/reset-options/) don't know how comprehensive it is though, it may just test the LEDs. Hard to tell if the subsequent issues you have had are related to a heat event or just the normal glitches that occur with any piece of equipment like this over the course of multiple upgrades. Not that there aren't a ton of people who would sell this without disclosing but barring a way to definitively test the unit, the honest and right way to go about it would be to tell the buyer it had a heat event once but has seemed to operate mostly fine since and has been reliable at gigs and just take the hit when the buyer expects to get a discount on the price.  Hopefully not too substantial. Btw, is there still any warranty left on it?

[antonio1961]

Sorry ,but can't help but be other than hugely impressed by the fact that you did a 5 hour gig in the hot sunshine , i'd have given up way before the Helix.:-)

[datacommando]

14 hours ago, Propower said:

I had Helix for 6 months and did a 5 hour outdoor gig on a hot day. For a good past of it the awning was not shielding the Helix. Near the end the unit shut off (only then did i realize how hot it was!). Played last two songs without it. Rebooted later and all was working fine - though at some point two of the 4 leds on the tap tempo light stopped working. Over the next year the unit would hang on boot a couple of times as well as having some odd behavior when programming things like CC commands. Most of these are real bugs though since a new Helix dd the same thing. SO - now I want to sell this one (have another - don't ask :-)... but I want to price and represent it right for the new owner. Is a single overheat incident something that has damaged the unit or is a year of 99% trouble free use enough of a selling point (never any issue at a gig - probably 100 gigs later).... Thanks!

 

Hi Propower,

 

This might put your mind to rest. A couple of years back, someone asked a similar question over on TGP, although it wasn’t such a marathon gig as yours. Anyhow, check the reply #10 from Digital Igloo, Line 6 product manger.

 

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/helix-at-outdoor-gigs-question.1833840/

 

Hope this helps.

 

[HonestOpinion]

22 hours ago, Propower said:

I had Helix for 6 months and did a 5 hour outdoor gig on a hot day. For a good past of it the awning was not shielding the Helix. Near the end the unit shut off (only then did i realize how hot it was!). Played last two songs without it. Rebooted later and all was working fine - though at some point two of the 4 leds on the tap tempo light stopped working. Over the next year the unit would hang on boot a couple of times as well as having some odd behavior when programming things like CC commands. Most of these are real bugs though since a new Helix dd the same thing. SO - now I want to sell this one (have another - don't ask :-)... but I want to price and represent it right for the new owner. Is a single overheat incident something that has damaged the unit or is a year of 99% trouble free use enough of a selling point (never any issue at a gig - probably 100 gigs later).... Thanks!

 

7 hours ago, datacommando said:

 

Hi Propower,

 

This might put your mind to rest. A couple of years back, someone asked a similar question over on TGP, although it wasn’t such a marathon gig as yours. Anyhow, check the reply #10 from Digital Igloo, Line 6 product manger.

 

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/helix-at-outdoor-gigs-question.1833840/

 

Hope this helps.

 

 

Sounds like all may be well but props to Propower for trying to do the right thing!

[pfocas]

On 4/15/2019 at 9:19 AM, Propower said:

Exactly how I feel too :-). I suppose I am fishing for any who have had theirs overheat and shutdown - any problems show up later? If the overheat shutdown is a design protection I feel more confident passing the unit on.

It happened to me too, although the unit was in the sun for a few hours before I started the gig, it then decided to pack up and stop working. I eventually got it going after about 30 minutes of mucking about, and my unit has been OK since then about a year ago.

[dickbanks]

On 4/14/2019 at 3:09 PM, Propower said:

...Near the end the unit shut off (only then did i realize how hot it was!)...

 

The most likely scenario is that the processor or one or both of your DSPs executed a thermal shutdown. If that's the case, the unit should return to normal after cooling down, and likely not have any further issues.

 

As stated above, there is really know way to know for sure short of returning it for service.

[surfsup1955]

Hmmm, not that I’d keep one running in the sun for long, but regardless, a cheap PC fan might be a nice and easy mod for these units?

 

I’d definitely ask L6 support - but it’s probably fine after shutdown and reboot.

[Propower]

In the end I decided to sell it for a good price and get a new one. Crazy I know - but I rely on this thing for like 75 to 100 gigs a year and I just wanted to feel like things were in the best shape. I sold it to a local who was very happy to get it and to my knowledge - no issues for the 9 months i used after the event - or from the new owner. Best to all :-)