RobHowdle Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 Hello! Fairly new to the forum in the sense of posting. I am expecting a few people to be a bit shocked as my amp is rather old. I bought a Line 6 Spider III 75 Watt quite a few years ago, been my main amp both for gigs and just for jamming about with, never had a fault with it. Just been playing through it and I have my foot pedal plugged into it (the one it came with) and went to tune my guitar, tuned it, then tapped one of the channel buttons on my pedal and I have 3 metal settings and one clean and no matter which one I pressed they were all clean. I was a bit confused at this. I then turned off my amp and turned it back on and attached is a picture of what the display is coming up with constantly. Not doing anything no sound, no buttons are flashing and there isn't anything I can do with it. I'm tight on cash and just wondering are there any fixes for this problem or is it worth just saving for a new amp? Like I said I've had it for quite a few years and not had a problem with it. Many Thanks Even more thanks for quick replies hehehe Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radatats Posted August 4, 2014 Share Posted August 4, 2014 unfortunately I can't give you any kind of quick advice here. I don't think that model is reflashable so whatever cooked is going to have to be looked at by a tech somewhere. If you can get a good shop to give you an estimate, fine. Probably time to get something newer for similar money to what you will pay for a repair... Try resetting by holding down the A button while powering on but I don't think it will do it for you... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdhoov Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Did everyone that own a Line 6 Spider III just die?When I bought the same amp, this forum was thriving. Moreso than it is now. You would log on and there would be pages of settings for particular songs/bands. Tech support was constant. A very thriving forum. I doubt all those people just forgot what their amps did, or went away? The error you show was the most common problem with the III and given the popularity of the amp, was talked about quite often.Here's the simple fix, or bad news...Turn the amp off. Hold down the Channel A button and turn it back on. This will reset the systems electronics/computer. If it doesn't work. Your amp is dead. If you're somewhat electrically inclined, you can remove the cover plates and see if there's a loose connection on a ribbon cable. But... I don't remember many coming back from the black boxes, if the initial reset didn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatech Posted December 20, 2014 Share Posted December 20, 2014 I have this problem too on my Spider III 75w, but the behavior is sporadic, sometime it wakes up. Advices would be greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fflbrgst Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 I have this problem too on my Spider III 75w, but the behavior is sporadic, sometime it wakes up. Advices would be greatly appreciated. IF the problem persists after the facotry reset, most likley you have a bad component or solder connection somewhere in the amp, hard to find/diagnose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatech Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it. I believe I successfully did a factory reset without any improvements but I will try it one more time. >Could be the infamous but surprisingly common overheating problem? It's almost laughable but controversial with components reaching temperatures above 100 degrees of Celsius with no heatsink, this is stupidity. I'm not 100% sure yet but it seems like it always work next day first day after having had the power cord unplugged during the night. The overheating seem to be very easy to solve? Just a good heatsink and some cpu cooling pasta on the DSP/CPU in the middle of the board (I have been watching some youtube videos). Looks like an old heatsink from a Pentium 4 will fit pretty well. What about the power fuse? Could a faulty fuse cause intermittent problems? Since the display always get lit up (but sometimes showing black boxes) I assume power is getting through though? I guess I have nothing to loose, I could try this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makatech Posted December 23, 2014 Share Posted December 23, 2014 It's really acting strange. But maybe the thing always works after all. I sporadically get the black box message in the display but if I wait it start working after maybe 2-5 minutes. Maybe it will always start working if I am patient enough. ;-) Anyway: I assume that this kind of behavior isn't correct, it should start up within 1-2 seconds after pushing the power button, right? It's not like a computer doing some kind of slow booting? ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHarlock Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I've been having some problems with my Spider III. The amp models are going screwey. Ordinarily I use the Crunch Green LED model, but it's jumping all over the place when I turn the dial. I've had this amp for about a decade, and this has been happening only within the last few weeks. I've tried cleaning it and vaccuming out the back, but it keeps creeping back in.I have the feeling that I'm going to have to get this repaired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martingill Posted February 8, 2015 Share Posted February 8, 2015 My Spider 2 has just gone the same way. It powers on, the speaker makes a clunk but the lights don't light up and I get nothing. Tried holding the A channel butting down while booting and that does nothing. Any pointers would be useful, otherwise it looks like repair or replace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainHarlock Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Well I found a "work around" for mine. I went to the old stand by of gently tapping on it. And PRESTO! It worked! For how long it will work, and for how long tapping on it will resolve it, is anyone's guess. At some point I'd like to get a new amp though. The Line 6 has served me well and the decision has nothing to do with recent issues, but it might be time for a change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thereverendgpat Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 If your "work around" involves tapping, it sounds like a bad solder joint or a cracked board. Neither is good in this type of printed circuit board era. The black box message is more than likely an indicator of the PCU intermittently shorting out. This can be a direct result of a bad solder joint or a disruption in the current path. The fix may be more than the amp is worth. Lots of good and new and used amps out there. Time for a shopping trip? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_folch Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Hi kids. After several years of having my Spider III 150w just fail and not working. Apparently the fault is of the EPROM and place nearest repair is 5 hours away. The screen is out with black boxes and no LED light. The solution is not easy. Read on a site that is repaired from the RJ45 else but changing the EPROM chip. Fuel costs or shipping is too high and not worth. If you do not offer me a better solution to repair manufacturer and I will change order Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishop102211 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 How do you dertermine what the black box message is indicating i have a Line 6 spider iii 150 watt head bought it about 3 months ago in the middle of playing it went from insane red to clean red I figured it was my pedal needing calibrated again so i shut it off then when i turned it back on it just gave me the 7 black boxes the lcd screen lights up orange with 7 black square boxes it seems from yalls forum that the stupid thing is dead I tried the reset as well as trying to find a way to flash it and I got nothing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fendernewporter Posted February 11, 2017 Share Posted February 11, 2017 I have a Spider 3 , 75 watt , when the guitar is plugged in has a high pitch squeal ,cant hear any guitar , I could plug in just a jack , hooked to nothing and its the same thing Any Ideas ?? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veryDisappointed Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 I bought this amp a long time ago. I had merely used it only for about a month or so when I had left my guitar playing alone for a few years. When I got back to it, I discovered that it had serious flaws that should NOT exist without concern of business practices. In particular, the amp operates for a few minutes and then becomes unable to operate functionally. It begins by cutting in and out in second-beats with the lights at present settings that blink in sync. Since I have NOT had a problem other than a delay in time between uses, the problem is likely intentional "planned obsolescence". (I have sufficient electronic background to be sure this is not trivial.) So, to this staff and to any other readers, I recommend holding companies like this accountable to products or risk losing business. The concept of Line 6 is good. But if the business practice is to create products that intentionally fails after a period of time, any apparent 'quality' means nothing. I'm very disappointed and it will affect how I decide to buy again in the future. The only sincere 'fix' for this is to assure LIFETIME warranted products, not merely the year granted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillBee Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 I bought this amp a long time ago. I had merely used it only for about a month or so when I had left my guitar playing alone for a few years. When I got back to it, I discovered that it had serious flaws that should NOT exist without concern of business practices. In particular, the amp operates for a few minutes and then becomes unable to operate functionally. It begins by cutting in and out in second-beats with the lights at present settings that blink in sync. Since I have NOT had a problem other than a delay in time between uses, the problem is likely intentional "planned obsolescence". (I have sufficient electronic background to be sure this is not trivial.) So, to this staff and to any other readers, I recommend holding companies like this accountable to products or risk losing business. The concept of Line 6 is good. But if the business practice is to create products that intentionally fails after a period of time, any apparent 'quality' means nothing. I'm very disappointed and it will affect how I decide to buy again in the future. The only sincere 'fix' for this is to assure LIFETIME warranted products, not merely the year granted. Line 6 will still have your info when you registered it "a long time ago", even though you used it for a month a few years back. Submit a Support Ticket and with your sufficient electronic background you can help them diagnose the issue. You can try and reset it: Spider I, II, III, IV, Micro, and Valve Series: Hold down the A (or clean) button as you turn on the power and hold the button for 5-8 seconds. More than likely you have an oxidized or bad solder joint (assuming a component has not failed) so a trip to the service center should be expected. BTW Lifetime Warranty? Bwahahhaaaaa!!!! What electronics on this planet has one of those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowerR64 Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 I think its hit and miss on these amps, it seems about half of them have the issue and half dont. For instance i have 2, one works flawless the other has issues, i believe the one i have that works will continue for years. The bad one just will see the rubish bin if i cant find the "main board" that i believe is the issue with them all. The one i have that doesnt work had the issue when i got it and i put some extreme cooling on all the fets that power the main board these fets control the power to the main board i think they are actually called regulators i think the tollerence of the componets are the issue some are within tollerence and they are the ones that will work for years to come those that just didnt quite meet the tolerence caused problems with heat and they eventually just fried. One thing i found when i first got the bad one i have is it has a "FAULT" mode, if it detects there is a heat issue or voltage fault it goes into that lock down mode, but over time the caps drain and then the faul mode resets and it will boot up like a new amps till it finds the fault again. Ive taken the amp apart and unplugged all the connectors from the transformer to the power board, the large IDE looking plug and the smaller one that powers the main board and let it sit like this for a few days. Then when i remember i go back and plug everything back up and it powers up fine again as if it was new, but it quickly overheats and locks back up What i was hoping to do was to figure out a way to just use the amp, i know the main board is bad and i cant seem to find a replacement board for it so i thought maybe i could use the poweramp, Mine is the Stereo 120 that would be nice to be able to plug a pod into the front and just use the 60X60 power amp in it even if i couldnt use the modeling/smart effects part. Been hanging on to it hoping it would some day be useable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamstan2oo Posted October 14, 2017 Share Posted October 14, 2017 Did everyone that own a Line 6 Spider III just die? When I bought the same amp, this forum was thriving. Moreso than it is now. You would log on and there would be pages of settings for particular songs/bands. Tech support was constant. A very thriving forum. I doubt all those people just forgot what their amps did, or went away? The error you show was the most common problem with the III and given the popularity of the amp, was talked about quite often. Here's the simple fix, or bad news... Turn the amp off. Hold down the Channel A button and turn it back on. This will reset the systems electronics/computer. If it doesn't work. Your amp is dead. If you're somewhat electrically inclined, you can remove the cover plates and see if there's a loose connection on a ribbon cable. But... I don't remember many coming back from the black boxes, if the initial reset didn't work. My Spider iii is still working fine. Had it since it came out in 2006. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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