Help, EQ problems....

Eboy87

Well-Known Member
Well, I knew this would come back and bite me in the butt. When I didn't quite know what I was doing, I bought a Behringer equalizer, but, a little over a year, it's giving me quite a headache. Last night, channel 2 cut out, obviously killing the HL speaker. OK, fine, after sweating a bit, I found out that if I cut the EQ out, it will work, but with no EQ other than that on the board. So, this afternoon, I turn it back on, throw the EQ In switch and it works. Now fast forward 5 minutes, and the channel cuts out again with an unceremonious snap. Is it just the cold wether, or should I go out and buy a new EQ, which I don't really want to do.

BTW, I know a lot of people hate Behringer, but this EQ has worked faithfully for me up till now.
 
Behringer makes fine equipment. Until something like this happens. You get what you pay for. It'll do what an expensive piece of equipment will, until it breaks.

So i went on the behringer website looking for a white page and there aren't any. so I can't really suggest anything other than a shop repair. Do you A/B the eq a lot to the point where the switch would fail (unlikely you'd get this syptom if the switch were broken anyway). Overheating could have led to melted/burned circuitry. I don't reccommend looking trying to repair it yourself though. It definitely sounds like straight forward equipment failure. Just wondering are these EQs inserts or just stuck in between the outs and the amps?
 
how cold is it really? It has to be pretty cold for equipment to get funky, i mean icy. Heat is the problem wth equipment. Behringer is most like more susceptable than other equipment, but we wouldn't be talking about indoor weather (60-80 degrees F). Humitidy could have caused the problem, but it isn't likely something that can be fixed through temp changes, probably only a repair.
 
"a little over a year" - Is it still covered by warranty? Check out the Behringer web site:

http://www.behringer.com/

Their online help section may be able to advise you on your options and possibly a cause/solution.

The "snap" you refer to has me intrigued as to me that would suggest some sort of breaker or poly switch protection. What does the manual say about such things? Have you tried it since? If it now works again and then drops out after a short time?

I would doubt that it is an overheating problem, as an EQ is not working with large amplitude signals (unless you have done something silly like place it between your amp and your speakers! - but that should have caused it to go to God at a much sooner than now).

Overheating would be more likely to be caused by lack of ventilation, especially around the transformer, if it has one onboard, as opposed to using a power pack.

Could be due to a channel fault that is causing a breaker in the power supply to that channel to trip some form of protection. Dust on a circuit board is fantastic for doing this, especially when it becomes damp and conductive. Could also be a dry solder joint, broken component (that only makes intermittent contact) or a variety of different mechanical failures.

Call them up and see what they say.
 
Transformers tend to have this effect. When they go out, the item in question will work for a short period, then shut down, in some cases i've experienced. However, this isn't a power supply problem if this is only happening on one channel, although the power supply is inside the unit.
 
Well, it seems to be working a bit better now. Now when I push the EQ In/Out button, the units makes that clicking noise that it's supposed to. Don't know what happened to it. It worked for me all last night now. I'm hoping it was a one-time thing.

THanks for the replys, now I have ideas for what might cause problems like this.
 
Sounds like you may have a dirty/bad connection in the switch. If you have any contact cleaner/lubricant, give the switch a spray. In fact, given the EQ is a year old, it is probably a good idea to do all switches and faders.

It is amazing what a small speck of crap can do to an electrical contact. That little speck can be the different between a good contact and no contact at all. In some cases, it can cause arcing and oxidation.

Not to mention stress!
 
What Mayhem said about a small spec becomes increasingly true as the size of electronics continues to shrink.
 
I believe you've discovered why so many people don't like Behringer.

I have electronics in my rack that are over 20 years old and performing exactly the same as the day they were installed. They have served me well... I don't consider one year and broken good service.
 

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