XL2 main fuse blown -- FU-1000 culprit!

David Calvin · June 28th, 2006, 06:42 PM

The first day I ever shot with the XL2 I changed the lenses from the 20x to the wide angle while the camera was ON. Nothing happened, thankfully. Never have done that since.

Someone had just warned me about it too, but I was in a hurry at a performance and just didn't think.

Bad me. Bad me.

Lucinda Luvaas · June 28th, 2006, 08:10 PM

OK, I'm back from the Canon Customer Service Center and I do have a few observations to pass on.

I was sitting waiting for my # to be called when a fellow came in with an XL2 and several ZR cams. I motioned him over and asked why he'd come in and lo and behold! his XL2's power went dead while he was filming for a TV program, so he had to go and rent another cam. He was pretty disconsolate since he paid so much for the cam and wanted something reliable, etc., etc....he couldn't even get his tape out to use with the rented cam. Obviously I truly empathized with him.

Does this sound familiar?

So, when my number was called I mentioned to the woman behind the counter that a number of people had a problem with the power going out and both she and her fellow worker said, "No, they'd never seen a problem like this before."

Odd that they said that.

I own a number of Canon products and love the company. I like the support techs and the customer service. My questions and concerns about the XL2 are not adversarial, they are supportive: I simply want Canon to look into this issue and improve the system so that it's more reliable. The camcorder is very fine in most ways. I'm pleased with it, but this issue of powering out for whatever reason is an achilles heel for this model. I'm certain of that. I have a strong sense that peripherals could possibly strain or cause power surges.

For instance, I'm now concerned that when I used the JVC video monitor while shooting that I might have weakened the fuse, or whatever, even tho' I saw no signs of that while shooting that day or two days later when I didn't use the video monitor and just was doing some handheld work.

The camcorder has the firewire capability and the SVHS, the audio outputs, etc., and we know that we shouldn't plug into anything when the cam is on...but I'm afraid that there is a weak spot in the design of this system and I for one, want to write to Canon and urge them to look into it so that future buyers, present owners, etc., will have more reliability.

Canon says that this power out business is rare, but I don't think it is and you know what? I don't think the people who fix these systems think so either and that they are working on improving the cam for the future. It's just that they won't tell us about it for obvious reasons.

I'll let all know when I pick it up what was wrong in case any of you have similar problems.

I did read the thread about the firewire cable.....

Jarrod Whaley · June 28th, 2006, 08:18 PM

Lucinda, thanks for letting us know how it went. There does seem to be a pretty serious pattern developing here as we hear more and more reports of power surges and blown fuses. I agree that if there were a major power problem and Canon knew about it, they'd never say anything because we'd all be warning each other like crazy and the sales would go into the cellar. This whole thing just keeps getting more and more worrisome.

By the way, how did the repairs go? Did you get your camera back, or do they still have it?

Chris Hurd · June 28th, 2006, 08:20 PM

Lucinda, did you go to the Jamesburg, NJ location or the Irvine, CA location?

Lucinda Luvaas · June 28th, 2006, 08:28 PM

Hi to Both of You,

I went to Irvine today because I live in So Cal. I hope to pick it up next week but, they are closed Monday and Tuesday is the 4th. So we'll see. I really want to speak with the tech person who fixes the XL2 because I want to ask questions about compatibility issues, externals like the video monitor, etc., which shouldn't tax the system. I'm hoping they won't just have me pick it up with no opportunity to speak with the person who worked on it. I'll make sure to speak with him/her however.

Chris, why were you wondering which Service Center I went to? Just curious.

I'd like to add to this that I don't know yet why I have no power on the XL2. I'm assuming it's a power surge or fuse issue based on what I've learned here and from ZotzDigital. But I don't know yet. If it is a power surge issue, that's of real concern...I wouldn't know what to do in that case except bite me nails! and pray to the god/goddess of Canon.

Lucinda Luvaas · June 29th, 2006, 02:54 PM

In terms of power surges, I was wondering if I should use a power surge strip for the video monitor, to plug into that strip. Would that take care of power surges? I have the svhs cable going from the XL2 to the video monitor and wonder if my XL2 would be better protected using a surge strip? However, the XL2 is powered by the battery pack....

Richard Hunter · June 29th, 2006, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucinda Luvaas

In terms of power surges, I was wondering if I should use a power surge strip for the video monitor, to plug into that strip. Would that take care of power surges? I have the svhs cable going from the XL2 to the video monitor and wonder if my XL2 would be better protected using a surge strip? However, the XL2 is powered by the battery pack....

Hi Lucinda. Power surge protection shouldn't do any harm, but if your camera main fuse is blowing due to a surge through the video cable, then the video output circuit will also be fried, and I would expect the monitor to be showing some problems too. When you go to collect the camera, maybe you could ask whether anything was damaged (apart from the over-protective main fuse)?

Richard

Lucinda Luvaas · June 30th, 2006, 11:49 AM

Richard thanks for the information! The video monitor worked fine, everything did. There was no indication of a power surge, and yes I plan to ask if there was any damage to the camcorder besides a fuse blowing if that indeed is what happened. I'm just trying to think of anything that this could be and learn about it to protect the camcorder from future woes. When I asked the Canon rep at the window, about the power going out as it did and the causes, she said, "We don't know what causes it," and I asked, "You mean you have no ideas of what this could be, what could cause a power outage?" and she said, "No." I don't understand that and hope to get more clarification from a tech when I speak to one which I hope and pray I do. Thanks again Richard!

David Calvin · June 30th, 2006, 11:53 AM

Yeah, I am starting to get nervous too. I plug a monitor into my camera while I am shooting.. also.. I plug a hard disk recorder into the firewire port.

Should I make sure the camera is off before I plug these in? I've always done it live. Now I am thinking I should make sure the camera is off before plugging the hard disk recorder into the firewire port.

*shiver*

David

Lucinda Luvaas · June 30th, 2006, 03:11 PM

David,

I'm not sure, but I always plug in peripherals when the power is off. However, I'm not sure whether this should effect the camcorder or not.

Mark Sasahara · June 30th, 2006, 11:24 PM

Plugging into a monitor shouldn't cause a problem, because if there was a power surge, or something, then the monitor would be experiencing problems too.

Lucinda, did you check and see if the internal button battery was working? I forget whether, or not that takes the whole camera down, or not.

Sorry to hear of your trouble.

Jarrod Whaley · June 30th, 2006, 11:51 PM

If the button battery dies, it won't cause any power issues with the camera. The date and time will be reset, as will any stored settings.

Lucinda Luvaas · July 1st, 2006, 12:05 PM

I was concerned about that small battery, but people on this forum said that that wouldn't affect the cam's power.....I sure hope not, because if that's tht case I've wasted mucho time!

Jon Bickford · July 1st, 2006, 05:56 PM

i had the same thing happen to my XL-H1 a couple of months back during a feature shoot! i was told that it had something to do with phantom power mics, she really didn't tell me much more, on that particular shoot i was switching between a line level signal from a board and occasionally phantom power with a mike plugged straight in. it was during the latter that the fuse blew. before i could get the whole question out i was told "Phantom power mics aren't canon approved accesories because we have no control over that" my obvious argument being that mics are probably the #1 most common accesory one would use.

i've been a little nervous every time i plug a mike into the camera since but thus far no problems.

-Jon

Lucinda Luvaas · July 1st, 2006, 07:24 PM

Jon,

That's interesting that you mentioned the phantom power. The fellow I spoke to from Canon yesterday at the Irvine Service Center asked me how I plugged in my audio technica mic, etc., and I told him. He told me that I was doing it correctly. It's my understanding that power should be off when you plug or unplug your audio cables. However, in a rush and brain surge moment, one could forget and plug or unplug with the power on. I think it says right in the Canon XL2 manual that you need to make sure to perform these operations with the camcorder off.

Having said that, my problem occurred not on the day I was using phantom power.....and I've been using it for some time now with no power outage.
So, it's hard to know what's going on here. Hopefully, I'll know next week.

I was told that I wouldn't be able to speak with the person who fixes my XL2, but I strongly urged the fellow I spoke to to please ask the questions I have in order to avoid problems in the future if at all possible.

I want to thank all of you for the help and solice you've provided over these past few days. I want you to know that I appreciate it greatly.

Happy Fourth! By the way, the XL2 takes great clips of fireworks!

Say Jon, I just want to add that what the person told you-- that phantom power mics aren't Canon accessories and or approved and such is a stock answer from all the companies...and it's nonsense. They provide the option to use phantom power for mics, SVHS, etc., and all of these options should work fine, otherwise they shouldn't have them on the camcorder.

June 28th, 2006, 06:42 PM	#31
David Calvin Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Cupertino, Ca Posts: 63	As an aside The first day I ever shot with the XL2 I changed the lenses from the 20x to the wide angle while the camera was ON. Nothing happened, thankfully. Never have done that since. Someone had just warned me about it too, but I was in a hurry at a performance and just didn't think. Bad me. Bad me.

June 28th, 2006, 08:18 PM	#33
Jarrod Whaley Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: chattanooga, tn Posts: 721	Lucinda, thanks for letting us know how it went. There does seem to be a pretty serious pattern developing here as we hear more and more reports of power surges and blown fuses. I agree that if there were a major power problem and Canon knew about it, they'd never say anything because we'd all be warning each other like crazy and the sales would go into the cellar. This whole thing just keeps getting more and more worrisome. By the way, how did the repairs go? Did you get your camera back, or do they still have it? __________________ -->jarrod whaley. www.oakstreetfilms.com

June 28th, 2006, 08:20 PM	#34
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,368 Images: 513	Lucinda, did you go to the Jamesburg, NJ location or the Irvine, CA location? __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

June 30th, 2006, 11:53 AM	#39
David Calvin Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Cupertino, Ca Posts: 63	Electrical safety Yeah, I am starting to get nervous too. I plug a monitor into my camera while I am shooting.. also.. I plug a hard disk recorder into the firewire port. Should I make sure the camera is off before I plug these in? I've always done it live. Now I am thinking I should make sure the camera is off before plugging the hard disk recorder into the firewire port. shiver David

June 30th, 2006, 11:24 PM	#41
Mark Sasahara Major Player Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: NYC Posts: 649	Plugging into a monitor shouldn't cause a problem, because if there was a power surge, or something, then the monitor would be experiencing problems too. Lucinda, did you check and see if the internal button battery was working? I forget whether, or not that takes the whole camera down, or not. Sorry to hear of your trouble. __________________ Mark Sasahara Director of Photography

June 28th, 2006, 08:10 PM	#32
Lucinda Luvaas Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 233	OK, I'm back from the Canon Customer Service Center and I do have a few observations to pass on. I was sitting waiting for my # to be called when a fellow came in with an XL2 and several ZR cams. I motioned him over and asked why he'd come in and lo and behold! his XL2's power went dead while he was filming for a TV program, so he had to go and rent another cam. He was pretty disconsolate since he paid so much for the cam and wanted something reliable, etc., etc....he couldn't even get his tape out to use with the rented cam. Obviously I truly empathized with him. Does this sound familiar? So, when my number was called I mentioned to the woman behind the counter that a number of people had a problem with the power going out and both she and her fellow worker said, "No, they'd never seen a problem like this before." Odd that they said that. I own a number of Canon products and love the company. I like the support techs and the customer service. My questions and concerns about the XL2 are not adversarial, they are supportive: I simply want Canon to look into this issue and improve the system so that it's more reliable. The camcorder is very fine in most ways. I'm pleased with it, but this issue of powering out for whatever reason is an achilles heel for this model. I'm certain of that. I have a strong sense that peripherals could possibly strain or cause power surges. For instance, I'm now concerned that when I used the JVC video monitor while shooting that I might have weakened the fuse, or whatever, even tho' I saw no signs of that while shooting that day or two days later when I didn't use the video monitor and just was doing some handheld work. The camcorder has the firewire capability and the SVHS, the audio outputs, etc., and we know that we shouldn't plug into anything when the cam is on...but I'm afraid that there is a weak spot in the design of this system and I for one, want to write to Canon and urge them to look into it so that future buyers, present owners, etc., will have more reliability. Canon says that this power out business is rare, but I don't think it is and you know what? I don't think the people who fix these systems think so either and that they are working on improving the cam for the future. It's just that they won't tell us about it for obvious reasons. I'll let all know when I pick it up what was wrong in case any of you have similar problems. I did read the thread about the firewire cable.....

June 28th, 2006, 08:28 PM	#35
Lucinda Luvaas Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 233	Hi to Both of You, I went to Irvine today because I live in So Cal. I hope to pick it up next week but, they are closed Monday and Tuesday is the 4th. So we'll see. I really want to speak with the tech person who fixes the XL2 because I want to ask questions about compatibility issues, externals like the video monitor, etc., which shouldn't tax the system. I'm hoping they won't just have me pick it up with no opportunity to speak with the person who worked on it. I'll make sure to speak with him/her however. Chris, why were you wondering which Service Center I went to? Just curious. I'd like to add to this that I don't know yet why I have no power on the XL2. I'm assuming it's a power surge or fuse issue based on what I've learned here and from ZotzDigital. But I don't know yet. If it is a power surge issue, that's of real concern...I wouldn't know what to do in that case except bite me nails! and pray to the god/goddess of Canon.

June 29th, 2006, 02:54 PM	#36
Lucinda Luvaas Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 233	In terms of power surges, I was wondering if I should use a power surge strip for the video monitor, to plug into that strip. Would that take care of power surges? I have the svhs cable going from the XL2 to the video monitor and wonder if my XL2 would be better protected using a surge strip? However, the XL2 is powered by the battery pack....

June 30th, 2006, 11:49 AM	#38
Lucinda Luvaas Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 233	Richard thanks for the information! The video monitor worked fine, everything did. There was no indication of a power surge, and yes I plan to ask if there was any damage to the camcorder besides a fuse blowing if that indeed is what happened. I'm just trying to think of anything that this could be and learn about it to protect the camcorder from future woes. When I asked the Canon rep at the window, about the power going out as it did and the causes, she said, "We don't know what causes it," and I asked, "You mean you have no ideas of what this could be, what could cause a power outage?" and she said, "No." I don't understand that and hope to get more clarification from a tech when I speak to one which I hope and pray I do. Thanks again Richard!

June 30th, 2006, 03:11 PM	#40
Lucinda Luvaas Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 233	David, I'm not sure, but I always plug in peripherals when the power is off. However, I'm not sure whether this should effect the camcorder or not.

June 30th, 2006, 11:51 PM	#42
Jarrod Whaley Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: chattanooga, tn Posts: 721	If the button battery dies, it won't cause any power issues with the camera. The date and time will be reset, as will any stored settings. __________________ -->jarrod whaley. www.oakstreetfilms.com

July 1st, 2006, 12:05 PM	#43
Lucinda Luvaas Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 233	I was concerned about that small battery, but people on this forum said that that wouldn't affect the cam's power.....I sure hope not, because if that's tht case I've wasted mucho time!

July 1st, 2006, 05:56 PM	#44
Jon Bickford Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Las Vegas, NV., Los Angeles, CA, Posts: 220	i had the same thing happen to my XL-H1 a couple of months back during a feature shoot! i was told that it had something to do with phantom power mics, she really didn't tell me much more, on that particular shoot i was switching between a line level signal from a board and occasionally phantom power with a mike plugged straight in. it was during the latter that the fuse blew. before i could get the whole question out i was told "Phantom power mics aren't canon approved accesories because we have no control over that" my obvious argument being that mics are probably the #1 most common accesory one would use. i've been a little nervous every time i plug a mike into the camera since but thus far no problems. -Jon __________________ Jon Bickford, Trepany Films San Pedro, CA Trephine001@aol.com

July 1st, 2006, 07:24 PM	#45
Lucinda Luvaas Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 233	Jon, That's interesting that you mentioned the phantom power. The fellow I spoke to from Canon yesterday at the Irvine Service Center asked me how I plugged in my audio technica mic, etc., and I told him. He told me that I was doing it correctly. It's my understanding that power should be off when you plug or unplug your audio cables. However, in a rush and brain surge moment, one could forget and plug or unplug with the power on. I think it says right in the Canon XL2 manual that you need to make sure to perform these operations with the camcorder off. Having said that, my problem occurred not on the day I was using phantom power.....and I've been using it for some time now with no power outage. So, it's hard to know what's going on here. Hopefully, I'll know next week. I was told that I wouldn't be able to speak with the person who fixes my XL2, but I strongly urged the fellow I spoke to to please ask the questions I have in order to avoid problems in the future if at all possible. I want to thank all of you for the help and solice you've provided over these past few days. I want you to know that I appreciate it greatly. Happy Fourth! By the way, the XL2 takes great clips of fireworks! Say Jon, I just want to add that what the person told you-- that phantom power mics aren't Canon accessories and or approved and such is a stock answer from all the companies...and it's nonsense. They provide the option to use phantom power for mics, SVHS, etc., and all of these options should work fine, otherwise they shouldn't have them on the camcorder.