Ibanez SR305 draining batteries, or not?

[FluffyDog6]

I changed the barrel jack on my Ibanez SR305 because it was intermittent.

The battery was fine when I last used it about two weeks ago, though it was of unknown age. Today the battery is dead. It was unplugged the whole time.

I believe I soldered the jack properly, as I took photos, and went wire-by-wire from old jack to new jack.

Is there any magic way to tell if the bass is "on" without plugging in, which would definitely make it "on"?

Not having an active bass before, is this kind of thing normal, or abnormal? (A friend at church always seems to have dead battery in his Yamaha bass, but he also forgets and leaves it plugged in often.)

How long should a battery last in use, and is a phantom drain when not in use just part of owning an Ibanez?

Thanks.

 

[JTE]

Battery life depends on several factors including preamp design and how long the jack jas a plug in it. My experience with active basses goes back to the StingRay I bought in '79, through several Laklands with Bart preamps. I change batteries on e a year, and I don't bother to unplug between sets at a gig. My gigs tend to be 4 hour shows, and for a long time was gigging at least once a week, sometimes three or four a week. Add in rehearsal and practice time. Batteries should last a long time. There is a problem with the circuit on your bass.

Make sure the signal output of the preamp is going to the tip connection of the jack, the circuit ground is going to the sleeve, and the battery ground goes to the ring Then check to make sure the soldering is clean with no stray wire or solder flash shorting the battery to ground. Then make sure the battery connection isn't shorting to ground (like against any shielding in the cavity, or touching any of the pots).

 

[lz4005]

I changed the barrel jack on my Ibanez SR305 because it was intermittent.

The battery was fine when I last used it about two weeks ago, though it was of unknown age. Today the battery is dead. It was unplugged the whole time.

I believe I soldered the jack properly, as I took photos, and went wire-by-wire from old jack to new jack.

Is there any magic way to tell if the bass is "on" without plugging in, which would definitely make it "on"?

Not having an active bass before, is this kind of thing normal, or abnormal? (A friend at church always seems to have dead battery in his Yamaha bass, but he also forgets and leaves it plugged in often.)

How long should a battery last in use, and is a phantom drain when not in use just part of owning an Ibanez?

Thanks.

Your battery should last 6 months, minimum.
Go back and check your wiring. I've made the same mistake when replacing a jack. It's easy to do.

 

[RobbieK]

All of the above, plus, really the definitive answer is to use a digital multimeter to check the current draw.

Disconnect just one side of the battery and set the meter to milliamps. Then put the probes on the open battery terminal and the open battery snap terminal. If you measure a current with the bass unplugged then Houston, we have a problem.

 

[fig]

Exactly what RobbieK said. If you or someone you know has a meter, do that. I'm sure your friend or family member won't mind. From opening the battery compartment to disconnecting one side of batt and metering it will take all of about 2 minutes at most.

Mistakes and errors happen. After 20+ years of doing this stuff on my basses, I still rewired my jack wrong about 3 months ago when installing a buffer/preamp. Ooopsy LOL.

 

[Drop1]

I just went through this with an Ibanez sr800. The ground and neutral were wired opposite what they were supposed to be. If they are backwards the bass will work properly but the battery will die in days, even if not plugged in.

Here is the thread with the advice given me to fix it. It worked great.

Bass eating batteries

 

[FluffyDog6]

All of the above, plus, really the definitive answer is to use a digital multimeter to check the current draw.

Disconnect just one side of the battery and set the meter to milliamps. Then put the probes on the open battery terminal and the open battery snap terminal. If you measure a current with the bass unplugged then Houston, we have a problem.

This is exactly the information I need, and yes - I have a current flow of 1.3 something or anothers. (Not sure what the lowest range on my high-quality free Harbor Freight meter signifies.)

Thanks!

 

[FluffyDog6]

Follow up for anyone who finds their way here in the future:

The black wires were reversed. After swapping them, the current flow with the bass unplugged is now zero.

Despite being careful in the original disassembly, I must have screwed up somehow. (In the future, I would label the wires with colored tape beforehand.)

This image, copied from the referenced thread above was a big help:

​

Thanks for those who assisted in providing advice, especially RobbbieK!

 

[Drop1]

It's not your fault. Ibanez messes up sometimes and wires them that way at the factory. That's why I posted my issue. It sounded like you were suffering the same thing.

 

[FluffyDog6]

I replaced an intermittent jack with a new one, hence the error.

 

[RobbieK]

Nice one mate. Glad you got it worked out. I keep a stereo plug on hand so I can test which lugs are which on enclosed TRS barrel sockets. I'm not sure the short and medium lugs are always the same with different brands etc.

 

[skateborg]

Dec 11, 2021
Brand new 2021 Ibanez SR605E-BKT bass guitar was draining 9v batteries when the bass was not plugged in. The first 9v battery drained in about a week. I put a new one in, and that drained in about a week. The workaround was to remove the 9v battery when I'm not playing the bass. Not the best method, but effective.
Feb 2, 2022
Test: I disconnected one side of the battery and set the meter to mV. Then put the probes on (1) the open battery terminal and (2) the open battery snap terminal. Measured a current with the bass unplugged, which indicates a problem circuit; there should be no current while the bass is unplugged.
Diagnosis: Took off the electronics cover. On the solder connection end of the TRS barrel input jack, there was a drizzle of solder running from the hot pole to the ground pole; this factory flaw was keeping the battery running without a cable actually being plugged into the jack.
The Fix: I sliced through the solder drizzle with an xacto blade. Retested the battery connection per above. Now there is no current. Tested the bass and the passive/active preamp works fine. All good. Problem solved.

 

[RobbieK]

I disconnected one side of the battery and set the meter to mV. Then put the probes on (1) the open battery terminal and (2) the open battery snap terminal.

Nice work mate. Trouble-shooted like a pro!