Why are my batteries dying so fast?

aorr01 · #1 04-28-2011, 05:25 PM

Hi there! I'm new and this is my first post. my question is about my Cort C5Z bass. It has active pickups. I used the bass about 3 to 4 nights a week for about 3 years and maybe replaced the battery 2 to 3 times... now i have to replace the battery about every 3 weeks. and i dont even play it as much since i got another bass. but it drives me crazy! i want to play it but 9v are not cheap. i took it to get it fixed by one shop and they didnt know why, i even had them replace the input but that didnt change anything. anyone know whats wrong? please help. I love the bass but not like this.

**line6man** · #2 04-28-2011, 05:32 PM

There may be a short from the ring terminal of the jack to ground.

Do you have a multimeter handy?

aorr01 · #3 04-28-2011, 05:45 PM

im not sure if i have one of those.... your not talking about a volt meter/reader are you?

funkyebk · #4 04-28-2011, 05:49 PM

Ockham's razor qualifier question here:

Are you keeping the bass plugged in when not in use?

Sorry, don't mean to offend or belittle... just gotta trouble shoot the obvious first.

aorr01 · #5 04-28-2011, 05:54 PM

ha ha no i don't leave it plugged when i'm not using it. it just sits. I told the guy at the shop about it and he said there is a switch that engages to activate the pickups when i plug it in, then when he took it apart there was nothing like that, that's why he didn't know. but no i dont leave it plugged in

ric stave · #6 04-29-2011, 06:40 AM

Wait - did you have someone replace the jack before this guy looked and said there was no switching for the bass? If someone replaced the 'switching' jack (TRS) with a regular TS jack, then your circuit will be on constantly whether a cord is plugged in or not.

DWBass · #7 04-29-2011, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ric stave

Wait - did you have someone replace the jack before this guy looked and said there was no switching for the bass? If someone replaced the 'switching' jack (TRS) with a regular TS jack, then your circuit will be on constantly whether a cord is plugged in or not.

Ding ding ding! We have a winner!

aorr01 · #8 04-29-2011, 09:41 AM

hmmm... now that i think about it i had the input replaced by another shop before because it was poping a lot... so you think he probably put the wrong kind of input in? Am i able to put the right kind back in?

Tommorichards · #9 04-29-2011, 10:43 AM

Simple, just get hold of one. and stick it in.

FunkMetalBass · #10 04-29-2011, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tommorichards

Simple, just get hold of one. and stick it in.

Pretty much. The most complicated part is finding the lead coming from the battery negative terminal (it's usually black, making it easy to mistaken as a ground, which is likely why the first guy to replace it connected everything to a simple TS jack) and attaching it to the ring.