Canon XLH1 Main Fuse Blown! at DVinfo.net

Gregory Dillard · March 29th, 2008, 04:36 AM

Talk about weird!! We are shooting for BET's Spring Bling this weekend and yesterday on the shoot the XL H1 died after shooting our first program. The tape is still in the drive and they need it. I have pressed the reset button, removed all batteries and plugged it into an AC outlet, but still no power. We had to switch to our XL2, but i am trying to figure out if this has happened to anyone in regards to completely losing power with the camera. By the way, is it me, or does Canon do a bang up job in terms of camera assistance. They won't even send out a loaner and that's really upsetting to me seeing that i'm on location on a shoot for a show, and their assistance regarding repairs is awful, but that's just my opinion. Before i send this camera in does anyone have any suggestions? Thank everyone in advance for any help.

Chris Hurd · March 29th, 2008, 05:38 AM

The problem is a blown master fuse. I don't know the procedure for replacement, sorry. It must go back to Canon service. Loaners are reserved for XL / XH Club members.

Gregory Dillard · March 29th, 2008, 06:05 AM

thank you Chris. I am a member of that group (i believe).

Chris Hurd · March 29th, 2008, 06:42 AM

If you're an XL Club member and they're not sending a loaner to you, it's most likely because they're getting ready for NAB and whatever they have on hand in the loaner pool is going to that show. Just a guess though.

Julian Pompey · March 22nd, 2009, 08:32 AM

Hello all,

I'm new to this forum ( just signed up a few weeks ago.) and this is my first post sad to say. I recently purchased an XLH1 about a month and a half ago and everything was doing great. The picture quality was superb, I loved the bulky body, great outside appeal, I was growing anxious to use it's HD-SDI output in the near future then all of a sudden hell broke loose.

I was shooting a short film yesterday afternoon with the use of an XLR boom microphone that was using the XLH1 for it's phantom power. I was repeatedly taking out the XLR cord from the rear jack of my camera throughout the day (5 hours). When I brought my camera back home to view the footage, all of a sudden my camera began to flicker on and off a few times until it went completely dead. I noticed that underneath the handle (where the CUstom Prest buttons are located) was feeling very hot as if it's been sitting out in the sun for an hour. I let it cool down, I changed the battery, changed the charger plate, etc... and to no avail I can't get my camera back. What's worse is that the tape is still in my camera.

1) How much does it cost to have a main fuse repaired on an XLH1?
2) What's the best 1920x1080 true progressive camera under $4,500 that doesn't shoot onto HDV? I am furious about Canon and vow to never switch back again. Ever!!!

I appreciate all your personal insight toward this terrible dilemma.

Thank You.

Richard Alvarez · March 22nd, 2009, 08:40 AM

Julian,

Only CANON can answer your questions directly, and all they'll do is give you a rough estimate before they open it. What else can they do, diagnose through email? Could be the main fuse, could be something else.

You can do a search for 'main fuse' issues on the forum - use the search function. I blew one on my XL2, and as I recall, the repair was in therange of $250 (the usual price for cracking open the camera.) But if it's under warranty, it MIGHT be covered.

Main fuses can be blown while connecting/disconnecting the FU-1000 viewfinders, changing a lens with the power up, and various other conditions.

Call Canon, and send it in.

Daniel Epstein · March 22nd, 2009, 08:50 AM

Julian,
Not sure how much Canon will charge you to fix the camera. I am guessing it is not under warranty. Hopefully it is only a blown fuse like you surmise. Give them a call. The repair shouldn't be too expensive. All electronics systems have some failure rate so it is unreasonable to expect that it will always be someone elses camera which will fail.

As for your camera selection under $4500 my guess is you will have very few good choices.
One you might like is Panasonic AG-HMC150 Learn about Panasonic's AG-HMC150

Like every system you will have to figure out what its limitations are and there is always a risk of something going wrong along the way. Taking tape out of the equation changes the risks but doesn't eliminate them. It does shift the risks into different areas which you may be happier with maybe not.

Bill Zens · March 23rd, 2009, 08:13 PM

Daniel, a lot of us have had the problem. Mine was caused by the firewire port on the computer when connecting to the XL2 for transfer. I blew it not just once, but THREE times.
Canon was wonderful, and fixed it for No Charge each time.

I now, of course, always use another, cheap camera to transfer my footage. (And, have never had problems with that camera at all...)

Daniel Epstein · March 25th, 2009, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill Zens

Daniel, a lot of us have had the problem. Mine was caused by the firewire port on the computer when connecting to the XL2 for transfer. I blew it not just once, but THREE times.
Canon was wonderful, and fixed it for No Charge each time.

I now, of course, always use another, cheap camera to transfer my footage. (And, have never had problems with that camera at all...)

Bill,
Yes most people post with problems of one sort or another. I just don't think it is the manufacturers fault every time something happens to one of their cameras except of course for the hit on their Karma. If they have put a defective product on the market then they have to deal with it. If the product is mostly reliable but fails for some unknown reason then you don't blame them at least right of the bat. In your case they seem to have done the correct thing so your response seems reasonable compared to Julian saying he will never use a Canon again. If I stopped using every manufacturer whose gear broke on one of my shoots I wouldn't have Any left to choose from. This doesn't mean I am a big Canon fan but I don't think in this instance they have been proven at fault.

Dale Guthormsen · March 25th, 2009, 07:26 PM

Good evening,

I have used canons forever, even back in the dark ages of my slr times in 60's 70's.
I have only had canons fail me three times in 40 years. In all cases it had to do with something I did or did not do!!! the slr banged into a cliff as I was repelling.
My gl2 I was jacking the tape drive back and forth!!! Daaa! I got a player camera afte that. My xl2 I accidently nudged the fu1000 cord outgetting in and out of the truck doing run and gun. It was working when I noticed it slightly out. I pressed it back in and OOOPPPS!!! blown fuse and 410 dollars later.

Oh yea I dunked a sony in water for 1 second in Africa, done forever!! Darn that sony, I will never get another.

Joking aside, they are only made by mear mortals!! all created products have a % of failures. In my bow building business in the past I allocated 5% failure rate into the business plan. I would imagine that electronics run higher than that for all companies!!

Hoping everyone has a year ahead without failures!!

Julian Pompey · March 26th, 2009, 10:10 PM

Hey,

I called Canon and told them about my problem, They gave me an address in New Jersey to have it serviced. Already spent $100 to send it off. Technician said that he hasn't heard of a problem like that before. Now hearing that your xl2 blew on you while hooked up through the firewire is beginning to rase some concern with me because my camera was attached via firewire when it went out on me. Weird. Also, I tried to hook up my buddies Sony HDR-FX1 to my computer and now he can no longer capture to his MAC. Perhaps I've mistaken what my intial problem may have been. WHenever Canon calls me after receiving the camera, I will bring this to their attention.

I mentioned earlier before that I was leaving Canon as my premiere brand of camcorder. I've come to this choice after I've steadily progressed from the Canon GL2, XL1, XL2, to the XL-H1. I purchased this camera not too long ago because I felt "loyal" to the brand. Whatever that means. I believe that I made an uninformed decision by not putting much research into the camera's HDV technology/compression/1440x1080 versus other cameras that are on the market right now that can deliver me "real" 1920x1080. HD-SDI is too expensive right now for me to use through the camera and if I did, I'd rather it be 1920 than 1440. I spent about $4,000 thinking that 1080 HDV was 1920x1080. Just trying to get it right the next time.

THank you...

Richard Hallowes · June 15th, 2009, 09:03 AM

I know the thread is somewhat historic now, but I have only just got my XL-H1 back from Canon UK after 4 months of wrangling with a computer manufacturer and Canon UK over getting repairs paid for.

In my case I was trying to download footage via firewire on the point and shoot HDR-HC3E (cheap, but it works) and could not get my new PC to see the camera. Everything else was fine. So I plugged in the XL-H1 in case it was a driver issue with the Sony only to have smoke pour from the XL-H1 and both it and the computer crash stopped. Nothing I could do would get the camera to power up, but the computer recovered.

Investigations revealed that the firewire header connector from the PC motherboard to the front of the PC had been fitted one row of pins out of alignment. The result of this was that instead of only having data on them, pins for TPB +/- were at 0v and TPA +/- were at +12V DC with an 1100W PSU sat behind them.

The Canon RCC in the UK originally thought it might be a blown pair of fuses and the repair quote was approx $200 USD. However upon further investigation they discovered that the camera's main board had been fried and the repair was now approx $1000 USD.

I thought it was interesting that the Sony worked fine apart from the firewire connection, but the XL H1 was totally fried.

It's all been paid for by the PC builder but it has cost them two $400 PC mainboards and repairs to both the Canon and Sony (which was a mere $270 USD approx to fix). Although in theory you cannot fit a firewire header plug the wrong way around on a main board, you can put it in one or more rows of pins out of correct position and it can be expensive.

Bill Zens · June 18th, 2009, 09:39 PM

Wow, your explanation of the wires getting out of alignment sounds exactly like what happened in my situation. I never really knew, but this sounds exactly like what I had.
At this point in time I never let my XL2 come near my computer, at least on transfer, and only transfer tapes with another camera.
Problem is when I'm using Adobe On Location when capturing direct to the computer I hold my breath and hope nothing bad happens. In those situations I use a 4pin to 4pin connector, and so far, at least, it's been good to go...

March 29th, 2008, 04:36 AM	#1
Gregory Dillard Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 55	No Power!! Talk about weird!! We are shooting for BET's Spring Bling this weekend and yesterday on the shoot the XL H1 died after shooting our first program. The tape is still in the drive and they need it. I have pressed the reset button, removed all batteries and plugged it into an AC outlet, but still no power. We had to switch to our XL2, but i am trying to figure out if this has happened to anyone in regards to completely losing power with the camera. By the way, is it me, or does Canon do a bang up job in terms of camera assistance. They won't even send out a loaner and that's really upsetting to me seeing that i'm on location on a shoot for a show, and their assistance regarding repairs is awful, but that's just my opinion. Before i send this camera in does anyone have any suggestions? Thank everyone in advance for any help. __________________ Canon 7D and 5D Mark II,Canon XL H1, XL2, Cinevate Atlas 30, Advanta Jib, AJA i/O, KONA LHe, AJA I/O HD, ZEISS PRIMES, G5 Quad Core, MacPro 2.66GHz, XSERVE RAID 10TB

March 29th, 2008, 05:38 AM	#2
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	The problem is a blown master fuse. I don't know the procedure for replacement, sorry. It must go back to Canon service. Loaners are reserved for XL / XH Club members. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

March 29th, 2008, 06:05 AM	#3
Gregory Dillard Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 55	thank you Chris. I am a member of that group (i believe). __________________ Canon 7D and 5D Mark II,Canon XL H1, XL2, Cinevate Atlas 30, Advanta Jib, AJA i/O, KONA LHe, AJA I/O HD, ZEISS PRIMES, G5 Quad Core, MacPro 2.66GHz, XSERVE RAID 10TB

March 29th, 2008, 06:42 AM	#4
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	If you're an XL Club member and they're not sending a loaner to you, it's most likely because they're getting ready for NAB and whatever they have on hand in the loaner pool is going to that show. Just a guess though. __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

March 22nd, 2009, 08:32 AM	#5
Julian Pompey Tourist Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 4	Canon XLH1 Main Fuse Blown! Hello all, I'm new to this forum ( just signed up a few weeks ago.) and this is my first post sad to say. I recently purchased an XLH1 about a month and a half ago and everything was doing great. The picture quality was superb, I loved the bulky body, great outside appeal, I was growing anxious to use it's HD-SDI output in the near future then all of a sudden hell broke loose. I was shooting a short film yesterday afternoon with the use of an XLR boom microphone that was using the XLH1 for it's phantom power. I was repeatedly taking out the XLR cord from the rear jack of my camera throughout the day (5 hours). When I brought my camera back home to view the footage, all of a sudden my camera began to flicker on and off a few times until it went completely dead. I noticed that underneath the handle (where the CUstom Prest buttons are located) was feeling very hot as if it's been sitting out in the sun for an hour. I let it cool down, I changed the battery, changed the charger plate, etc... and to no avail I can't get my camera back. What's worse is that the tape is still in my camera. 1) How much does it cost to have a main fuse repaired on an XLH1? 2) What's the best 1920x1080 true progressive camera under $4,500 that doesn't shoot onto HDV? I am furious about Canon and vow to never switch back again. Ever!!! I appreciate all your personal insight toward this terrible dilemma. Thank You.

March 22nd, 2009, 08:40 AM	#6
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	Julian, Only CANON can answer your questions directly, and all they'll do is give you a rough estimate before they open it. What else can they do, diagnose through email? Could be the main fuse, could be something else. You can do a search for 'main fuse' issues on the forum - use the search function. I blew one on my XL2, and as I recall, the repair was in therange of $250 (the usual price for cracking open the camera.) But if it's under warranty, it MIGHT be covered. Main fuses can be blown while connecting/disconnecting the FU-1000 viewfinders, changing a lens with the power up, and various other conditions. Call Canon, and send it in.

March 22nd, 2009, 08:50 AM	#7
Daniel Epstein Trustee Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: New York, NY Posts: 1,267	Julian, Not sure how much Canon will charge you to fix the camera. I am guessing it is not under warranty. Hopefully it is only a blown fuse like you surmise. Give them a call. The repair shouldn't be too expensive. All electronics systems have some failure rate so it is unreasonable to expect that it will always be someone elses camera which will fail. As for your camera selection under $4500 my guess is you will have very few good choices. One you might like is Panasonic AG-HMC150 Learn about Panasonic's AG-HMC150 Like every system you will have to figure out what its limitations are and there is always a risk of something going wrong along the way. Taking tape out of the equation changes the risks but doesn't eliminate them. It does shift the risks into different areas which you may be happier with maybe not.

March 23rd, 2009, 08:13 PM	#8
Bill Zens Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Kirkland, WA Posts: 191	Daniel, a lot of us have had the problem. Mine was caused by the firewire port on the computer when connecting to the XL2 for transfer. I blew it not just once, but THREE times. Canon was wonderful, and fixed it for No Charge each time. I now, of course, always use another, cheap camera to transfer my footage. (And, have never had problems with that camera at all...)

March 25th, 2009, 07:26 PM	#10
Dale Guthormsen Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saskatchewan Posts: 3,048	Good evening, I have used canons forever, even back in the dark ages of my slr times in 60's 70's. I have only had canons fail me three times in 40 years. In all cases it had to do with something I did or did not do!!! the slr banged into a cliff as I was repelling. My gl2 I was jacking the tape drive back and forth!!! Daaa! I got a player camera afte that. My xl2 I accidently nudged the fu1000 cord outgetting in and out of the truck doing run and gun. It was working when I noticed it slightly out. I pressed it back in and OOOPPPS!!! blown fuse and 410 dollars later. Oh yea I dunked a sony in water for 1 second in Africa, done forever!! Darn that sony, I will never get another. Joking aside, they are only made by mear mortals!! all created products have a % of failures. In my bow building business in the past I allocated 5% failure rate into the business plan. I would imagine that electronics run higher than that for all companies!! Hoping everyone has a year ahead without failures!! __________________ DATS ALL FOLKS Dale W. Guthormsen

March 26th, 2009, 10:10 PM	#11
Julian Pompey Tourist Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 4	Hey, I called Canon and told them about my problem, They gave me an address in New Jersey to have it serviced. Already spent $100 to send it off. Technician said that he hasn't heard of a problem like that before. Now hearing that your xl2 blew on you while hooked up through the firewire is beginning to rase some concern with me because my camera was attached via firewire when it went out on me. Weird. Also, I tried to hook up my buddies Sony HDR-FX1 to my computer and now he can no longer capture to his MAC. Perhaps I've mistaken what my intial problem may have been. WHenever Canon calls me after receiving the camera, I will bring this to their attention. I mentioned earlier before that I was leaving Canon as my premiere brand of camcorder. I've come to this choice after I've steadily progressed from the Canon GL2, XL1, XL2, to the XL-H1. I purchased this camera not too long ago because I felt "loyal" to the brand. Whatever that means. I believe that I made an uninformed decision by not putting much research into the camera's HDV technology/compression/1440x1080 versus other cameras that are on the market right now that can deliver me "real" 1920x1080. HD-SDI is too expensive right now for me to use through the camera and if I did, I'd rather it be 1920 than 1440. I spent about $4,000 thinking that 1080 HDV was 1920x1080. Just trying to get it right the next time. THank you... Last edited by Julian Pompey; March 27th, 2009 at 07:17 AM.

June 15th, 2009, 09:03 AM	#12
Richard Hallowes New Boot Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Bedfordshire, UK Posts: 7	I know the thread is somewhat historic now, but I have only just got my XL-H1 back from Canon UK after 4 months of wrangling with a computer manufacturer and Canon UK over getting repairs paid for. In my case I was trying to download footage via firewire on the point and shoot HDR-HC3E (cheap, but it works) and could not get my new PC to see the camera. Everything else was fine. So I plugged in the XL-H1 in case it was a driver issue with the Sony only to have smoke pour from the XL-H1 and both it and the computer crash stopped. Nothing I could do would get the camera to power up, but the computer recovered. Investigations revealed that the firewire header connector from the PC motherboard to the front of the PC had been fitted one row of pins out of alignment. The result of this was that instead of only having data on them, pins for TPB +/- were at 0v and TPA +/- were at +12V DC with an 1100W PSU sat behind them. The Canon RCC in the UK originally thought it might be a blown pair of fuses and the repair quote was approx $200 USD. However upon further investigation they discovered that the camera's main board had been fried and the repair was now approx $1000 USD. I thought it was interesting that the Sony worked fine apart from the firewire connection, but the XL H1 was totally fried. It's all been paid for by the PC builder but it has cost them two $400 PC mainboards and repairs to both the Canon and Sony (which was a mere $270 USD approx to fix). Although in theory you cannot fit a firewire header plug the wrong way around on a main board, you can put it in one or more rows of pins out of correct position and it can be expensive.

June 18th, 2009, 09:39 PM	#13
Bill Zens Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Kirkland, WA Posts: 191	Wow, your explanation of the wires getting out of alignment sounds exactly like what happened in my situation. I never really knew, but this sounds exactly like what I had. At this point in time I never let my XL2 come near my computer, at least on transfer, and only transfer tapes with another camera. Problem is when I'm using Adobe On Location when capturing direct to the computer I hold my breath and hope nothing bad happens. In those situations I use a 4pin to 4pin connector, and so far, at least, it's been good to go...