Please help. My Kronos just died.

[DuaneAdams]

My Kronos suddenly shut down while playing normally. When I attempt to restart now the screen lights up, the Kronos start-up begins and then 5 seconds later everything goes blank. I've changed outlets, power cables everything I could think of. The Kronos is not connected to anything other than sustain and volume pedals. Any ideas would be welcome.

I searched the forums before posting. The only thing I found that sounded similar involved an error message. I am not receiving an error. The screen goes completely black and the Kronos power shuts off.

Many thanks in advance.
Duane

[19naia]

If you cannot get the power to stay on long enough to do a boot up, then you need physical service on your kronos.
If you are not experienced or confident to open it up and check for loose fittings, then you should look for the nearest korg tech service.

You may still have to send it in even if you open it and opening it would void any warranty coverage on the thing..
If you have warranty, do not open it and send it in for repair or replacement.

Comment your country and city location and maybe someone will know a good place to drop Kronos off for service.

[GregC]

My Kronos suddenly shut down while playing normally. When I attempt to restart now the screen lights up, the Kronos start-up begins and then 5 seconds later everything goes blank. I've changed outlets, power cables everything I could think of. The Kronos is not connected to anything other than sustain and volume pedals. Any ideas would be welcome.

I searched the forums before posting. The only thing I found that sounded similar involved an error message. I am not receiving an error. The screen goes completely black and the Kronos power shuts off.

Many thanks in advance.
Duane

Thats disappointing. Sorry to read.

I would suspect the internal power supply failed. I am not a DIY type so I don't recommend you mess around and figure how to replace. And its simply a guess anyway.

If you like, you can tell more story- like if you gig, , move it around, play in a dodgy bar with flighty power. Here in CA, we experience power surges from our wonderful utility, PGE.

Is it used, how new, did you buy it used, did you upgrade hardware yourself, etc, etc.

That kind of stuff.

A simpler thing is to open up the bottom to cover to see if 1 of the cables disconnected.

[AntonySharmman]

I am not receiving an error. The screen goes completely black and the Kronos power shuts off.

You face Kronos PSU failure (Enhance ENO-1612 120W part) and must be replaced by authorized service !

[JFree]

I've been through this 3 times. The first time the RAM needed to be reseated. The second there was a faulty solder joint on the MB. The last was the power supply going, and 2 decoupling caps failed (not sure if there was a connection).

[Derek Cook]

I am not receiving an error. The screen goes completely black and the Kronos power shuts off.

You face Kronos PSU failure (Enhance ENO-1612 120W part) and must be replaced by authorized service !

Assuming it is out of warranty and you can get the part yourself, I would not say it is essential to pay the cost of "Authorised Service" if you are capable of doing it yourself. As an ex-electronics Craftsman, it galls me to pay good money to other people for something I can do myself.

The main issue of cause is you are potentially "messing with mains", but so long as you take basic precautions then it is less hazardous than all of the implicit risks in your life, like your kitchen or garden or driving down the motorway/freeway/autoroute.

[GregC]

I am not receiving an error. The screen goes completely black and the Kronos power shuts off.

You face Kronos PSU failure (Enhance ENO-1612 120W part) and must be replaced by authorized service !

As an ex-electronics Craftsman, it galls me to pay good money to other people for something I can do myself.

The main issue of cause is you are potentially "messing with mains", but so long as you take basic precautions then it is less hazardous than all of the implicit risks in your life, like your kitchen or garden or driving down the motorway/freeway/autoroute.

I am in to giving 'safe advice '.

Plus , it's strictly a guess it's the PSU.

I did not know electrical work/repair is equal to driving down the road.

What are the basic precautions that a novice should follow acting as an
as an ex-electronics Craftsman ? This might be a career opportunity for me, too

Thanks

[DuaneAdams]

Thanks for all of the replies. I️ bought the Kronos used and I’m not sure if it’s covered by the warranty anymore. According to the support site, there’s a authorised service provider near me, so I️ guess I’ll have to bite the bullet.
I️ appreciate all of the responses.
Duane

[Sweat]

If it is no longer covered by warranty, I would first try reseating the ram.

[AntonySharmman]

I would not say it is essential to pay the cost of "Authorised Service" if you are capable of doing
it yourself. As an ex-electronics Craftsman, it galls me to pay good money to other people for something I can do myself

Well , as an active Electronic Engineer R&D , I can ensure DIY experts that you will face a serious issue with
this particular SMPS , since "Enhance ENO-1612 120W" is discontinued , service centers still have stock
from Korg and any alternative solution will cost you the double compared with repair center plus the factor
that you must be an expert in SMPS design topologies !

Just for the story

[Derek Cook]

You face Kronos PSU failure (Enhance ENO-1612 120W part) and must be replaced by authorized service !

As an ex-electronics Craftsman, it galls me to pay good money to other people for something I can do myself.

The main issue of cause is you are potentially "messing with mains", but so long as you take basic precautions then it is less hazardous than all of the implicit risks in your life, like your kitchen or garden or driving down the motorway/freeway/autoroute.

I am in to giving 'safe advice '.

Plus , it's strictly a guess it's the PSU.

I did not know electrical work/repair is equal to driving down the road.

What are the basic precautions that a novice should follow acting as an
as an ex-electronics Craftsman ? This might be a career opportunity for me, too

Thanks

Hi.

Perhaps I did not phrase it very well (typically UK Minister of Parliament problem right now ).

If you are basically competent in DIY tasks and comfortable with rewiring a plug, changing a mains socket (I take mine off when decorating a room and put them back after), then changing a commercial, computer based PSU (assuming you can get it) is in IMO the same order of difficulty. The "trick" is not to try and do it when it is plugged in, as that is when the shock hazard exists if there are exposed mains elements in the PSU design (haven't seen any like that for a long time)

My comment about "driving down the road" was a bit flippant, but it was based on the fact that some people shy away from doing work because they think of all the explicit risks associated with it - like frying yourself, but they don't think about all of the implicit risks they face in their daily lives that are more likely to get them.

I work in a safety related industry (not electronics any more) where the consequences of failure are potentially catastrophic in terms of 3rd party fatalities. So we do a lot of safety analysis, and it is quite surprising that in your daily life, according to UK HSE stats, you are more likely to suffer serious injury in your kitchen, garden or on the roads than anything else going on in your life.

Service centres do have their place, and if you do not feel comfortable with what I am talking about then it is probably the best repair route. None of my synths that needed repairing have never gone that route, though, including the ones that had PSU failures, so I was just pointing that out as a potential option.

Just an opinion of course.

[Derek Cook]

I would not say it is essential to pay the cost of "Authorised Service" if you are capable of doing
it yourself. As an ex-electronics Craftsman, it galls me to pay good money to other people for something I can do myself

Well , as an active Electronic Engineer R&D , I can ensure DIY experts that you will face a serious issue with
this particular SMPS , since "Enhance ENO-1612 120W" is discontinued , service centers still have stock
from Korg and any alternative solution will cost you the double compared with repair center plus the factor
that you must be an expert in SMPS design topologies !

Just for the story

Fair point if they are now the only source of the specific PSU.

The question will be what happens when they no longer have stock and you have a Kronos with a failed PSU. That happened to my Yamaha EX5 (switched mode PSU), and neither Yamaha or their service centre supported it anymore. Then you have to start thinking about alternatives if Korg are not thinking about it at that point.

[GregC]

I am in to giving 'safe advice '.

Plus , it's strictly a guess it's the PSU.

I did not know electrical work/repair is equal to driving down the road.

What are the basic precautions that a novice should follow acting as an
as an ex-electronics Craftsman ? This might be a career opportunity for me, too

Hi.

Perhaps I did not phrase it very well (typically UK Minister of Parliament problem right now ).

1)If you are basically competent in DIY tasks and comfortable with rewiring a plug, changing a mains socket (I take mine off when decorating a room and put them back after), then changing a commercial, computer based PSU (assuming you can get it) is in IMO the same order of difficulty. The "trick" is not to try and do it when it is plugged in, as that is when the shock hazard exists if there are exposed mains elements in the PSU design (haven't seen any like that for a long time)

2) My comment about "driving down the road" was a bit flippant, but it was based on the fact that some people shy away from doing work because they think of all the explicit risks associated with it - like frying yourself, but they don't think about all of the implicit risks they face in their daily lives that are more likely to get them.

3)I work in a safety related industry (not electronics any more) where the consequences of failure are potentially catastrophic in terms of 3rd party fatalities. So we do a lot of safety analysis, and it is quite surprising that in your daily life, according to UK HSE stats, you are more likely to suffer serious injury in your kitchen, garden or on the roads than anything else going on in your life.


Just an opinion of course.

Definitely your opinion

My father died from an electrical shock induced heart attack.

When something like this hits home, all that other stuff flies out the window.

[Old Sparky]

It doesn't appear to be a typical form factor atx PSU, perhaps smaller.
Also doesn't seem to be enclosed either.

Finally, do keep in mind that a faulty SMPS can have the internal discharge path damaged for the large high-voltage capacitors.
This means they can store a dangerous charge for a loooonnnngggg time.

Pics of the internals:

[AntonySharmman]

Finally, do keep in mind that a faulty SMPS can have the internal discharge path damaged for the
large high-voltage capacitors.This means they can store a dangerous charge for a loooonnnngggg time.

Actually High voltage capacitors are always in parallel with 150-220K resistors plus the ST-BY circuit power consumption
will discharge them in the first minute after unplugin , so the last thing to worry there !
The good news is that I've discovered that genuine model of Enhance is back in circulation so DIY dudes , now you
have an option ... http://www.enhanceusa.com/webe/html/pro ... =55&page=1