XL2 main fuse blown -- FU-1000 culprit!
 

I know this has been posted before, but i think it wise to repost because i have now had this experience twice in less than 2 months.

Bought XL2 at Zotz from Brian March 3. It blew main fuse with FU-1000 CRT viewfinder on it.
Being the sport he is, Brian took the camera back and replaced it with a brand new one. I called canon and they 'knew noting about FU-1000 incompatabilities' (i suspect they just always blame the customer and say they removed a lens while camera on etc, etc).

New XL2 in hands. Shooting with FU-1000 on it before heading off for important work where i cant have this thing blowing. With camera on, 16x manual lens, following all the rules, PUT IT IN STANDBY AND POOF!
That was it! This was the EXACT same thing i did that blew it last time, but just couldnt remember (repressed memory from trauma???).

This has been mentioned a couple times in posts, but if you dont know to look for it you wont know about it. So here i sit, no new camera or FU-1000 (sent in with camera at canons demand) to use on my XL1 in the meantime. I am also looking at eating the $40 shipping charge on top of it all. And, the FU was just serviced at canon a few months ago (because i accidently pulled the FU plug out from my XL1 and it blew the FU fuse) so its fine.

Just warning the community about this.

SO, NEVER, EVER, EVER PUT YOUR XL2 IN STANDBY WITH AN FU-1000 B/W VIEWFINDER ON IT.

greg

Wierd. I do it all the time (XL2, Manual Lens and FU1000) and never had problems.

It gives a sad new meaning to the "F.U." in FU-1000.

That was in bad taste.

DJ

<technician mode on>

If you think for a moment about the commonality in Gregory's situation, it is that two different cameras have been adversely affected by the same FU-1000 unit. I have the same set up and have never blown the fuse by going to standby. I suspect the FU-1000 that Gregory has is defective, hence the reason Canon wanted it sent in with the camera this time.

The truth is, this shouldn't happen and it should be okay to put the camera in standby without a fuse blowing. But, I think this is more an individual v/f issue than a widespread camera body issue.

<technician mode off>

None the less, proceed with caution at your own risk.

-gb-

I 've put mine into standby many times and never had a problem (20x lems, fu 1000). Now my WA 3x lens is a different story. In 14 months, it's been back to Canon 3 times?
Fingers crossed...
Bruce Yarock

I have suffered the main fuse blowing (same setup FU1000 & XL2). I always powered down the camera before removing lenses or changing v/fs but perhaps I was a little quick. When you you power down there is still some activity in the camera (you can here the tape mechanism for example). So now, not only do I power down, I unplug the CH910 or pull out the battery before changing anything.

I have a theory: The FU-1000 is a small CRT-monitor, right? It contains of a cathode-ray tube, lots of coils consuming current. It takes some time after shutting down before all current vanish from these coils. If you disconnect anything before the currentflow has ceased, I would guess that this could blow a fuse?

Any comments?

- Per Johan

When the FU-1000 is plugged, or unplugged, the power has to be off completely, do not put the camera in standby mode.

If it's the same viewfinder, then maybe the viewfinder has a problem. I often put the camera in standby and haven't had a problem (16 Manual lens, FU-1000). Send the viewfinder to Canon and have them check it out.

Also, before you turn the camera on, make sure that the viewfinder plug is firmly seated and pushed all the way in. Check by pushing it it each time before you turn the camera on. It's best to keep it plugged in all the time.

Wait a few seconds after turning the camera power off. Some video cameras need about 6-10 seconds for the various mechanisms and electronics to power down.

Haven't used the 3x lens, heard it was a dog. Sorry Bruce.

interesting variety of responses
 

yes, it is possible i have a problem with my fu. thing is , as i said, it was just to canon maybe 6 weeks before.
worth restating: i unplugged nothing at all from the xl2. plug firmly in place.

i really want to remain optimistic that this is going to work for me, so i shall continue with my using of the fu/xl2 combo and hope for the best.

thanks, encouraged to hear of people absolutely sure they put their xl2 in standby w/ the fu-1000 on and no problems.

I have had no problem with the FU-1000. Always power of before you attach or disconnect anything to the XL2.

No Power Getting to my XL2
 

I was just about to film and put my panasonic miniDV tape in my XL2 when I discovered that nothing happened when I put my tape in...the camcorder was dead!

I had just used the XL2 two days before and it worked fine. I booted up my battery pack. The one I use is the one I got from Zotz Digital and it has about 8 hours on two batteries, it was fully charged.

I tried plugging the XL2 in with the coupler to an outlet, not using the batteries, to no avail.

I couldn't go to VTR mode or any other, the light didn't come on at all.

I've tried everything I can think of, but can't seem to fix this.

I'm going to take the cam to Canon, but I thought I'd ask this forum about this problem. The cam is a little under one year old and I'm surprised that I would have problems like this. I had to return my first XL2 because the 20X lens was defective, so this is my second one. I'm discouraged.

Does anyone know the reasons why the power wouldn't be getting to the camcorder? is it the coupler, or a fuse, or what could it be? is there any way I could try something myself to fix this? Thanks to anyone who can help me!

Likely that the internal fuse is blown. Bad news is that it isn't user replaceable. A call or trip to Canon is probably in order.

-gb-

Greg:

That's what Brian at zotzdigital told me, but isn't this unusual for a newer XL2? I've had it a little under a year, and haven't used it constantly....pretty light usuage to blow a fuse I would think. Is this common? what causes it? It's been pretty humid here, could that cause this? and if they fix it will it be ok? I'm sort of loosing confidence in this camcorder. I've always loved Canon products, but as I mentioned before, I had to return the first one because of a defective lens and now this....makes me shakey with this camcorder. What do you think? Sorry, but I could use feedback right now. I'm feeling pretty unhappy about this.

One more thing: I read on another thread about a sony camcorder and battery issues, someone asked about the little cadmium coin type battery you put in for the date and time, etc., and if that expired, would it cause the camcorder to not power up? I wondered about this and asked Canon and the fellow said know, but this is the only thing I haven't tried yet. Anyone have any suggestions about this?

No, that wouldn't give you any power issues. That battery just keeps the date and time, and preserves some camera settings.

There was at least one thread a while back about the fuse issue, and I think that everyone managed to come to a consensus as to what was causing it. I know that doesn't help you now though. Sorry.