Microkorg XL won't power up! HELP! Please!

[this.is.maan]

I've been using my microkorg XL for a couple of years now without any problems. I changed my power adapter about 6 months back, which is a lower amperage than the original one. It did work with the new adapter but now suddenly it won't power on. Not even with batteries.

I did learn from somewhere that adapters with lower amperage can harm the circuit. But not sure about it though.

My tech guy told me that I'd have to replace the motherboard, which is like buying a new one itself.
But after reading a few forums online, I learnt about this power regulator in the microkorg XL (BD00KA5WF). And that replacing it might fix the issue.

Now, before opening it up myself, I need some expert advice on this.

[OpAmp]

Hi,

What's the amperage of your new power supply? My estimate is, that it needs at least 0.8A at 9V DC.
But the fact it worked for 6 months, makes me think that something else is the problem.

Can a lower amperage harm? Difficult to say. I would say it would be unreliable rather than broken.
I've seen some reports before of a fried board when the polarity was wrong.

You're sure the supply is not broken? Probably not, as the XL does not work on batteries anymore neither. But Just to be sure...

Your tech guy is right, you better buy a new one than replacing the motherboard. So, if you are comfortable enough with electronics, you can open it up and measure some signals around the power supply circuit of the board and see whether you can find something. Unfortunately I did not encounter a service manual or a schematic on line...

Good luck

[this.is.maan]

Hi,

What's the amperage of your new power supply? My estimate is, that it needs at least 0.8A at 9V DC.
But the fact it worked for 6 months, makes me think that something else is the problem.

Can a lower amperage harm? Difficult to say. I would say it would be unreliable rather than broken.
I've seen some reports before of a fried board when the polarity was wrong.

You're sure the supply is not broken? Probably not, as the XL does not work on batteries anymore neither. But Just to be sure...

Your tech guy is right, you better buy a new one than replacing the motherboard. So, if you are comfortable enough with electronics, you can open it up and measure some signals around the power supply circuit of the board and see whether you can find something. Unfortunately I did not encounter a service manual or a schematic on line...

Good luck

Hey OpAmp, thanks a lot.
The new power supply is 1A. But the original one was 1.7A. So I really thought this might be the probable reason for the XL going dead.
If the polarity was wrong, I'm guessing it would have gone dead sooner.

And I was trying to understand about this power regulator, the BD00KA5WF. If replacing it would be of any sort of help.


Also, if power supply is not the reason for the XL to suddenly stop working, what else could be?? Any clues on that?

[OpAmp]

Hi,

Indeed, you're right on the polarity issue. It would almost immediately be broken. I just wanted to mention it as the common problem that is reported when the power supply is changed and the board is dead afterwards.

You can try to replacing power regulator. They are very cheap. Still you could first measure the current one. It could very well be that the problem is somewhere else. It could be different things, a dead microcontroller, DSP, RAM, flash ... You'll need to measure some stuff to figure it out. The power regulator is a good candidate and manageable. The others are already more tricky I would say.

Ciao