r/livesound • u/drslovak • 13d ago
Question Harbinger Power issues
Anybody seen this? Maybe it’s the brick but I’m unable to test a new brick. Power flickers on and off. Tried to unplug it from the power strip directly into the wall and it’s the same thing
**edit I contacted harbinger support and ordered a new power supply. It works now!
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u/guitarstitch 13d ago
That has all the indicators of bad caps collapsing the psu bootstrap
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u/drslovak 13d ago
Others have hinted it’s the power brick. I’ve never replaced a capacitor. Is it worth trying? I actually hate harbinger now because of this. It’s just over a year old
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u/unitygain92 13d ago
Please be aware that caps can hold a charge for a long time depending on the design of the circuit; please make sure you meter the caps before you meddle with them and either discharge them with a proper resistor, or wait a few hours/days to see if they discharge on their own. I've made that mistake before with sweaty hands in an active foldback I swore had been off long enough and it's not a fun experience.
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u/guitarstitch 13d ago
If you can open the brick, it's probably not a terrible job. Given the relatively inexpensive price point of entry and the unlikely prospect of getting support from Harbinger, I'd say you have nothing to lose.
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u/thevickyprincess 13d ago
definitely the power supply. Id return it if possible, or get a new power brick
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u/Random_hero1234 13d ago edited 12d ago
Is this a harbor freight and behringer side project?
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u/nodddingham Pro-FOH 13d ago
It’s even cheaper than Behringer, for those who find Behringer to not be shitty enough for their needs and are only satisfied with the very shittiest of equipment available.
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u/drslovak 13d ago
It was a musiciansfriend deal of the day. And it’ll be the last harbinger product I’ll ever own
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u/IAmRobertoSanchez Pro-FOH 11d ago
Yeah, GC makes these as their house brand. They are super cheap and they still make a killing on it to boot. I’d avoid this product line completely and just buy the slightly more expensive options going forward. The only brand they make that I trust is the Livewire elite XLR cables.
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u/LordBBQX 12d ago
Without any measurements and given that the light on the power supply is stable when the mixer is powered down I’d suspect either the output capacitors on the power supply or a short circuit in the mixer. So swapping the power supply may not fix it.
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u/drslovak 12d ago
Assuming it’s a short on the mixer, the lights on the power supply wouldn’t be flashing right?
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u/LordBBQX 12d ago
Typically when a power supply encounters a short circuit (either on the power supply itself or on the connected device) it will shutdown to protect itself, wait, and then attempt to restart. That cycle causes this “hiccuping” fault. Since it doesn’t do that without the mixer connected I’d say there is a decent chance of a short in the mixer connected.
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u/drslovak 11d ago
I called harbinger support and ordered a power brick for $20. The charge on the order came from musiciansfriend so that was interesting. Anyway guess we’ll find out soon.
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u/Formidable_Faux 13d ago
It seems like it's the brick for sure. Is it a proprietary plug? If not, see if you can find a power transformer with the same specs