Oh man, batteries draining...

tuBass · #1 11-03-2005, 08:51 PM

After 3 years of never having a battery go bad on me, I've had two sets go out on the last month. I'm sure it has somethign to do with the new barrel output jack I put in a couple months ago.
I could swear I put the new one in EXACTLY like the old one, but I might have messed something up.

What could I have done to cause the batteries to drain in two weeks with the bass unplugged?

Thanks,
Mark

PilbaraBass · #2 11-03-2005, 09:29 PM

take an ohm meter...set it to ohm setting

pull out the battery...on the battery clip, measure the battery negative point to the ground (back of pot will do)...

if you're getting anything other than open circuit, then you have a problem...

if your jack is a stereo jack, your negative battery lead goes to the centre of the jack (not the tip, not the ring...centre) and the ground wire goes to the ring...

if you reverse these, the bass will work...but the battery will drain through the electronics, even with your bass unplugged...

happy hunting.

tuBass · #3 11-03-2005, 11:20 PM

Thanks, I'll check it with my meter tomorrow.

tuBass · #4 11-04-2005, 01:10 PM

OK, my ohm meter doesn't have long enough probes on it to reach in and test the interior of the jack, but here is what I found so far.

Did the test by putting one lead of the ohm meter on the negative side of the plug, and the other side on a pot. No change at all, so I guess that's good news.

By negative battery lead is connected to the longest of the three stems from the back of the jack. The ground is attached to the one that's mid-sized, and the wire from the tone pot is going to the short center jack. Doe that sound right to you? I can get continuity if I touch the ohm meter from the longest stem to the mouth of the jack where I put the jack in, but I cant get to the interior of the jack.

Is that enough for you to tell me if I reversed the wires?

Bassic83 · #5 11-04-2005, 01:15 PM

Quit buying batteries from the $.99 store...

Seriously, though, pull your jack out to check the connections. Should just be able to unscrew the jam nut and slip it out far enough to get to the connections.

tuBass · #6 11-04-2005, 01:18 PM

I can get to the back side of the jack, it's the interior of the jack that I can't reach because it's a barrel jack, and my probes are too short

Bassic83 · #7 11-04-2005, 01:21 PM

Ummm...if you can get to the connections, that should be good enough. swap the center and tip connections, and it should be fine.

tuBass · #8 11-04-2005, 01:25 PM

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question, but which one is the ring, and which one is the tip? I've got three stems, and I don't want to pull the wrong ones.
The smallest connector, the one that is being fed from the tone pot, is the one that is right in the middle of the jack, is that the tip? What about the center?

tuBass · #9 11-06-2005, 02:24 PM

OK, here's an update. I took a 1/4" to RCA adapter and put it in the jack, and that way I gave myself access to read which tab was the ring, and whch one was the tip.

Just for future reference, the ring was the longest tab, and the negative battery lead attached to the mid size one.

I did have two reversed, so I switched them and I expect everything to be fine now.

PilbaraBass · #10 11-07-2005, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tuBass

OK, here's an update. I took a 1/4" to RCA adapter and put it in the jack, and that way I gave myself access to read which tab was the ring, and whch one was the tip.

Just for future reference, the ring was the longest tab, and the negative battery lead attached to the mid size one.

I did have two reversed, so I switched them and I expect everything to be fine now.

I'm glad you found the problem (hopefully, it IS the problem)...looks like it, anyway...

I was re-reading the thread...a good tip for everyone to check out your circuits as they relate to the jack is to get a stereo plug and solder 3 clip leads on it (ring/centre/tip)...combined with a multi-meter this is a very handy device if you do a lot of fiddling with active electronics...