VFX SD distortion, battery and disc drive

[Omydawg1956]

My Ensoniq VFX SD was working fine until the low battery voltage message appeared. I replaced the battery but the message still shows. Plus, the sound is very low volume with distortion and a loud buzz. The disk drive reads not ready when I try to format a disk. All fuses and diodes are good. Any help would be much appreciated.

[Rasputin]

What kind of battery did you replace it with? Identical to the original? Clearly you should get the DMM out to see if the battery voltage is proper and making it to the RAM.

Give us more to work with... tell us the tale of the time you attempted to replace the battery, such as you were giving a tutorial to someone.

[Omydawg1956]

Thanks much for the reply.

I replaced with the identical battery and I tested the voltage to make sure it was correct. The old battery was running less than three volts and the new battery was at the correct voltage. The old battery was crimped to the legs on the circuit board so I pried the legs free. Then I put the new battery in the legs and put a rubber band on it temporarily to test it. Would a bad battery connection cause the distortion? Also, I wonder if the battery legs on the back side of the board have broken free. And would the synthesizer boot up if the battery wasn’t connected?

[Ashe37]

with no battery, the synth would act like the battery was dead. the legs were usually soldered onto the batteries on a VFX.

[Rasputin]

The old battery was crimped to the legs on the circuit board so I pried the legs free. Then I put the new battery in the legs and put a rubber band on it temporarily to test it.

Re-read that to yourself and then go take it to a tech.

At the very least, post a lot of pictures and give an exact step-by-step of what you did. Like I said... way more info is needed.

[Ashe37]

as i said, the legs are *soldered* to the battery. which is why many of us just put a battery holder in...

[madtheory]

A rubber band??? Ya, you've not actually connected the battery at all. Take it to a tech. Any tech.

[Omydawg1956]

Believe it or not, an elastic tension device (rubber band) can provide the connectivity needed to test the battery. The legs of the battery holder were crimped to the original battery and will not take solder. This is only a temporary fix as a new battery holder will be installed once I determine if I can fix the VFX. Hate to part it out. When it worked, it was a terrific synth and their numbers are dwindling.

[Rasputin]

Believe it or not, an elastic tension device (rubber band) can provide the connectivity needed to test the battery. The legs of the battery holder were crimped to the original battery and will not take solder. This is only a temporary fix as a new battery holder will be installed once I determine if I can fix the VFX.

And duct tape can fix anything, but that doesn't give us any more information than we had before about the synth's exact history and what you've done.

Did the issues with the sound and disk drive happen prior to the battery repair attempt? Such as the low-battery warning and the symptoms appeared simultaneously? Or did the battery warning appear, you decided to fix, and now nothing is working?

[madtheory]

What Rasputin said. Do that. Logic.

However, I have to respond to this comment:

Believe it or not, an elastic tension device (rubber band) can provide the connectivity needed to test the battery.

Highly unlikely IMO with the teeny surface area and (likely) corroded, broken condition of the connectors sticking out of the board. The test conditions should be the same as the useage conditions. There should not be any compromise.

[Omydawg1956]

The VFX worked fine until the low battery voltage message. I didn’t test the disk drive until after the problems started. I hadn’t used the synth for about a year. When I got the low voltage message, I noticed the smell of something overheating so I immediately turned it off. The smell did not return after I let it sit for a few months. It looks like the battery legs are fastened to the circuit board so I will need to pull the board out and replace the legs with a battery holder. The synth had work done by the previous owner because the metal plate over the circuit boards is missing. It may have been dropped in the past.I think the battery is original. I tried to attach a photo but the JPG file is too large.

Again, your feedback is much appreciated.

[Rasputin]

The VFX worked fine until the low battery voltage message. When I got the low voltage message, I noticed the smell of something overheating so I immediately turned it off.

Okay, that's some critical information. I do not think you're going to be able to fix this yourself, honestly, as it is something beyond a battery issue. You'd probably have to test all the voltage rails, and track it down on the component level.

[Omydawg1956]

I think you are right. This is beyond a battery issue and beyond my abilities. I need to find a tech within driving distance and that won’t be easy. Thanks to all for your help.

May the synth be with you!

[madtheory]

May the synth be with you!

Oh, nice wish. Same to you! I hope you get it fixed. It's a pretty unique synth.

[Omydawg1956]

Update!

The tech told me they no longer work on synths, especially the older ones. Too much time and hard to get parts. I don’t want to scrap my VFX. Do you think the Nesynth total upgrade EPROM firmware kit they sell on eBay will help?