XL2 Won't Turn On!

[R.W. Swanson]

I was working w/ my XL2 last Monday and it turned off twice. At first I thought I bumped the standby button. But I didn't, and the only way to get it to turn on was to unload the battery and reboot.

Well it happened again today while I was on a EPK gig. This time it wouldn't turn on, not with any of my batteries or with the adaptor/charger. The battery connectors are clean. The camera has never been dropped. When not in use it always lives in it's Porta Brace case. So what gives?

Could it be my PHANTOM POWER? Recently I bought a Sennhesier ME-66/K-7 and although I keep a AA battery in the mic (which I think is for when you don't want to run PP from the camera), sometimes I forget to power on the PHANTOM POWER or I may disconnect the mic before turning the PP off. Could this have been the culprit?

When the camera died I had the mic in and the PP was on. Should the camera have been turned off before I put the mic in? I may or may not have done that.

Does the XL have an engineering flaw?

How much is this fix going to set me back?

I had to borrow a Z-1U and now my back is killing me! And I have to go back tomorrow.

Yikes.

Thanks.

[Bill Zens]

A variety of us have had this problem with the XL2 dieing. I've heard it's some sort of fuse that can go out.
You will have to return it to Canon to get it fixed, but if you are a member of the XL2 owners club turnaround is pretty quick. Lucky for you the western regional fixit place for Canon is in Irvine and you should be able to run it down there...

Good luck.

[Richard Alvarez]

My XL2 blew a fuse a few months after I got it 2004. I was using the FU-1000 Black and White viewfinder. They indicated that that MIGHT have been the problem. Shipped it all back, and had it repaired. It blew again. Shipped it all back and got a NEW camera.

No problems since.

[Rainer Hoffmann]

Yes, it's probably the main fuse and it has to be replaced by Canon because it is on one of the circuit boards.

The fuse of my XL2 blew about a year ago, but as in Richards case I was using the FU-1000. They fixed the connecting cord of the FU-1000 and since then I've had no more problems. Still, as a rule, whenever you connect or disconnect something to or from the camera or whenever you change the lens: power down the camera! The main fuse is obviously very sensitive.

[R.W. Swanson]

Thanks for the advice y'all, but does that include having to power down to attach a measly shotgun mic, too? And did any of you have to pay for the service and if so how much did it run you?

Thanks.

[Rainer Hoffmann]

Originally Posted by R.W. Swanson

Thanks for the advice y'all, but does that include having to power down to attach a measly shotgun mic, too?

Well, I always power down the cam. It's a bit annoying but better than a dead camera in the middle of a shoot.

Originally Posted by R.W. Swanson

And did any of you have to pay for the service and if so how much did it run you?

In my case it happened in the first year so it was still under warranty.

[Adam Bray]

Originally Posted by R.W. Swanson

Thanks for the advice y'all, but does that include having to power down to attach a measly shotgun mic, too? Thanks.

Power down ANYTIME you attach or unattach ANYTHING. It ony takes a second.

[R.W. Swanson]

Originally Posted by Adam Bray

Power down ANYTIME you attach or unattach ANYTHING. It ony takes a second.

Thaks all! You were right, the damn thing blew a fuse. It cost $240 to fix which was the orginal estimate. Since they had my camera I had them check the tape heads and tracking because all of my shot tapes would never play audio on any other decks, other than Canon.

I just got it back today, it was completed on the third business day, and I'm going to do some tests.

Thanks again.

You guys may or may not remember me from a month ago or so, but my guess was that I had a blown fuse on my XL2. Anyway... I really didn't have much of a choice but to send it in. I also sent in a canon XL1 because of playback issue's (heads out of line is my guess).

Everyone else that had a blown fuse said the repair came to somewhere around $250.

I just got a quote from the canon factory service (CA office), and they're telling me it's going to be $412 on EACH camera just to "Check all functions". All labor, no parts costs YET!

What's going on here? 412 dollars just to inspect the camera? then I KNOW they'll try and get back to me with more repair/parts costs.

I'm not paying $900. What are my options here?

-brown

I'm going to call and see why they're charging me more than what everyone else was charged.

[Pete Bauer]

Ryan, I merged your post with the existing thread you started last month and edited to tone it down to be within DVinfo policy. I can certainly understand that you're upset, but no rants here.

Who knows, maybe you've got a bad circuit in your house that kills cameras under certain circumstances, or maybe something worse is wrong with your cameras than the other two folks who mentioned their particular experiences, or maybe it was a misquote.

I'll agree that over $400 to check a camera seems pretty high. Probably would have been better if you had made your confirmatory call to Canon before going into public rant mode.

Do that and let us know factually what you learn. Hope it turns out ok.

[Joe Busch]

Canon fixed my two consumer cameras (out of warranty) with tape/head problems for free and shipped it back for free..

I'd expect them to take better care of their xl2 owners :(

Originally Posted by Pete Bauer

Ryan, I merged your post with the existing thread you started last month and edited to tone it down to be within DVinfo policy. I can certainly understand that you're upset, but no rants here.

Who knows, maybe you've got a bad circuit in your house that kills cameras under certain circumstances, or maybe something worse is wrong with your cameras than the other two folks who mentioned their particular experiences, or maybe it was a misquote.

I'll agree that over $400 to check a camera seems pretty high. Probably would have been better if you had made your confirmatory call to Canon before going into public rant mode.

Do that and let us know factually what you learn. Hope it turns out ok.

Oh... sorry about that. I'm a frequenter on another forum (dvxuser), and I may just be used to the rules over there. I forget there's a LOT more people around here, and I'll need to tone down my posts a bit. Consider it done.



OK, back on topic.

I got the estimate and called them up. They tried to tell me that the $400 is a standard fee for fixing a camcorder. I waited my turn, then informed her (secretary) that I've seen paperwork from three other people with this EXACT same problem, and they were only charged between $240-$270 for the entire fix.

She puts me on hold.

My mail client is set to check for new mail every 5 minuts, and while I'm on hold, I get a new estimate for $252.

She then comes back and says the manager was able to "discount" the $400 on the xl2 for the fix.

That basically proves to me that they were, in fact, overcharging me. When I spoke up and said others got it done cheaper, they *very* quickly sent me a revised estimate.

Not cool.

Now onto the XL1. All it needs (and I told them this) is the heads aligned. She said he could drop the price on the XL2, but not the XL1.

$412 to align the heads on a canon xl1!!!!???? this should cost no more than $100, right?

I'm contacting Canon directly about this (not their service department). Anything else anyone can think of that I can do here?

-brown

[Richard Alvarez]

Which service center is this? Just curious if its the one in Irvine, or the one in New Jersey. Perhaps there is a difference in rates for the various locations?

I've had numerous encounters with Canon over various issues. I've found that polite and firm inquiries are usually treated with respect. I've posted as m uch on this board ,when I've had issues, AND when I've had PRAISE for Canon. In particular, Chris Canada at Irvine handled my last problem with my XL2 in exemplary fashion.

Sorry you're having a sub-standard experience. Yes, a general 'cleaning' and tune up seems to run around 250 dollars, but when things are being replaced, parts can add up quick.

Good luck, keep your cool and keep us posted.

Yup, it's the one in Irvine. $250 I can deal with, but when I get quotes for $400 just for them to "check all functions", I'm not happy.

I'm calling back tomorrow to see what we can work out.

[R.W. Swanson]

Originally Posted by Ryan Brown

Yup, it's the one in Irvine. $250 I can deal with, but when I get quotes for $400 just for them to "check all functions", I'm not happy.

I'm calling back tomorrow to see what we can work out.

Dude, why do they hate you? They fixed my fuse and alignent for my XL2 for $240. I just went into the service center when I did it. I forget who I spoke with, but it's was $240 to look at it, plus (possibly) more for parts. Yet the replaced fuse was included in the $240, and the job took all of 3 days.

Usually service centers (Canon included) don't give qoutes other than the initial cost for looking at it, so it's strange the person on the phone said $400 for your specific issue. A rookie maybe? They always say, even when you know what the problem is, they'll have to look at the unit first and make a professional diagnosis.

Your case seems like an anomaly. Sorry, bub.

Edit: Does $400 for looking at "all functions" include looking at the lens for back focus issues? Viewfinder functions? Maybe they're trying to up-sale you on some "deluxe service"?