All New Electronics, Same Active Bass Problem

[95JettaCity]

My apologies for the length of this post, I just want to be sure I'm sharing all of the details.

I'm working with a Lakland 55-01 that came to me with Nordstrand Big Splits and an Aguilar OBP-3 that was installed somewhere along its' journey to me. I didn't care for the pickups so I replaced them with Nordstrand Big Singles. After swapping out the pickups, I could get about 5-10 minutes of active mode before the sound would distort, drop in signal level, then eventually go silent. Switch to Passive mode and it worked fine. Switching back to Active would go back to silent. The only fix would be to remove and replace the battery which gained me another 5-10 of playing before the cycle repeated. Multiple name brand batteries have been tested with the same result.

I used this opportunity to replace the preamp as I wanted more control of the tone in passive mode. I swapped in a John East Uni-Pre and followed the instructions for installation. I also used the included battery connector with the JE so that I could rule out the battery box being an issue. The issue is still occurring with Active mode lasting about 5 minutes and Passive mode working perfectly.

Seeing as how the pickups are the only common denominator here I want to spell out the wiring that's done. Following JE & Nordstrand instructions, I have the black and grey wires going to ground and the white going to hot for both pickups. There is also a 4th wire connected to a metal grounding plate under each pickup that is soldered to the ground chain between the output jack and bridge. That part is an addition from a previous owner but worked fine in its' original to me form. It's soldered with temporary electrical tape wrap.

Any help is very much appreciated. Happy to learn where I've went wrong.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

1. Did it work properly before you changed out items?
2. Is the battery dead each time or just 'reseting the eq (lack of terms) makes it start back?

 

[95JettaCity]

Yes, everything did work before the initial pickup swap. I did take one of the batteries out and put it in a pedal which is still going strong months later so I don't think it's killing the batteries. I can also leave the bass alone for a few hours and that will reset the cycle.

 

[mmbongo]

Well that battery does say ‘best before 2016’ on it. Just making sure you tried a fresh battery of different type.

 

[95JettaCity]

Wow, it sure does. I have tried other batteries from what I thought were different boxes but I will double check that. Thanks for the good catch.

 

[Snaxster]

There is also a 4th wire connected to a metal grounding plate under each pickup that is soldered to the ground chain between the output jack and bridge. That part is an addition from a previous owner but worked fine in its' original to me form.

Hello. After photo-documenting them (for easier reversion to them), try removing these "4th wire"s.

 

[dwizum]

Can we have a photo of this mystery plate with 4th wire? If it's intended for shielding, it's not really necessary - Nordstrands have copper shielding on the flatwork on the bottom of the pickup.

It would be nice to see a photo of how the ground side of the output jack is wired, and how the ground side of the battery connects to the wiring.

Once it goes silent, and you take the battery out, does putting the same battery back in allow it to work again? Or does it only return to working if you put a brand new battery in it?

 

[95JettaCity]

Egg, meet face. As mmbongo kindly pointed, the battery in the photo was way beyond its' expiration date. Turns out, all 8 of the batteries I tried, 4 of which were "new" with covers on them, were all past their expiration date. New battery in, dated 2026, and it's so far so good after 30 minutes.

Thank you to all that helped and I'm sorry for wasting your time. Lesson learned for all to see.

 

[Geri O]

Egg, meet face. As mmbongo kindly pointed, the battery in the photo was way beyond its' expiration date. Turns out, all 8 of the batteries I tried, 4 of which were "new" with covers on them, were all past their expiration date. New battery in, dated 2026, and it's so far so good after 30 minutes.

Thank you to all that helped and I'm sorry for wasting your time. Lesson learned for all to see.

Please, not at all a waste of time!

Do you have any idea how many folks will read through this thread and think to themselves, “I wonder what the ‘use before’ date is on my batteries”?



Neither do I, but it will be several, no doubt!

 

[Zooberwerx]

Egg, meet face. As mmbongo kindly pointed, the battery in the photo was way beyond its' expiration date. Turns out, all 8 of the batteries I tried, 4 of which were "new" with covers on them, were all past their expiration date. New battery in, dated 2026, and it's so far so good after 30 minutes.

Thank you to all that helped and I'm sorry for wasting your time. Lesson learned for all to see.

Hey...just found some yogurt at the back of the fridge I need you to test. Might want to check the cells in your smoke detectors and CO monitors. They may give up the ghost without even a "chirp".

Riis

 

[mmbongo]

Egg, meet face. As mmbongo kindly pointed, the battery in the photo was way beyond its' expiration date. Turns out, all 8 of the batteries I tried, 4 of which were "new" with covers on them, were all past their expiration date. New battery in, dated 2026, and it's so far so good after 30 minutes.

Thank you to all that helped and I'm sorry for wasting your time. Lesson learned for all to see.

lol awesome! Sometimes it's the simplest thing

 

[Lava]

Wow, good to know. Checking my batteries today.

 

[MoireBass]

When wrangling electrons, since they're difficult to see, a voltmeter can be very useful in eliminating confusion. You can just measure the batteries' voltage to see if they're still charged.

Cheap, low-quality but adequate digital multimeters with a voltmeter, ohmmeter, ammeter, etc. are available for $7 at Harbor Freight Tools. Sometimes even given away as a bonus with another purchase.

 

[95JettaCity]

When wrangling electrons, since they're difficult to see, a voltmeter can be very useful in eliminating confusion. You can just measure the batteries' voltage to see if they're still charged.

Cheap, low-quality but adequate digital multimeters with a voltmeter, ohmmeter, ammeter, etc. are available for $7 at Harbor Freight Tools. Sometimes even given away as a bonus with another purchase.

We'll just add insult to injury... I own a multimeter. Oh, and I work for an AV company.