DC800 Pro Strobe Malfuntion

[scuba_frog]

I have a DC800 Pro that is maybe a year old. One strobe works fine (left), the other was not at all (right). I could not get the right strobe to do anything. I played around with the battery door and got the indicator light to work. Now I have a couple problems:

1. The ready indicator stays lit no matter what position the on/off switch is in.
2. When in the on position, I can hear the strobe "charging" and it fires when I switch to Test, but will not fire in the on position when I click the shutter.

I tried taking off the cover where the fiber optic wires attach to the camera housing but cannot figure out how to get that cover off. I don't even know if I'm on the right track. Any suggestion on what I can do here? Thanks the help.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

I have a DC800 Pro that is maybe a year old. One strobe works fine (left), the other was not at all (right). I could not get the right strobe to do anything. I played around with the battery door and got the indicator light to work. Now I have a couple problems:

1. The ready indicator stays lit no matter what position the on/off switch is in.
2. When in the on position, I can hear the strobe "charging" and it fires when I switch to Test, but will not fire in the on position when I click the shutter.

I tried taking off the cover where the fiber optic wires attach to the camera housing but cannot figure out how to get that cover off. I don't even know if I'm on the right track. Any suggestion on what I can do here? Thanks the help.

The DC800 Pro comes with a single strobe... For the sake of continuing, you purchased a second SeaLife strobe? (It seems so, from your post, but I don't want to assume anything)

I tried taking off the cover where the fiber optic wires attach to the camera housing but cannot figure out how to get that cover off.

Are you mentioning this piece?

It comes off when you pull it off the camera housing

SeaLife strobes function through a rudimentary fiber optic. That is to say, light from the initial flash of the camera passes through a fiber optic cable and then makes the strobe flash on the other end via light passing through the FOC (fiber optic cable).

The other end of SeaLife's strobe (the charging phase) is powered by a small magnet sensor. Since you receive a charge indicator, this part would be an unlikely issue. Heck, it's charging correctly (better than I can say about mine...)

From a purely technical aspect, the problem is between the cable and the strobe.

Since your camera is the "Pro" version and one strobe is working (in this case I will assume it is the strobe that came with the Pro outfit...) Try these troubleshooting tips...

1. Did you make sure the fiber optic line was all the way into the flash cover (the picture piece above)?

2. Did you follow the instructions that said to strip away 1/16" from the fiber optic cover?

3. Did you follow the instructions that said to strip away 1/16" from the fiber optic where it connects to the strobe? (This is where I would start troubleshooting... The connection screws into the strobe and can easily slip if it is not tight enough).

4. If you unscrew the connection of the wire to the strobe, is there a visible portion of the cable past the screw connector? Does there appear to be some portion of that cable "naked"... or, is the outside cover stripped away to about 1/16"?
---

There's your start!

 

[scuba_frog]

Thanks CoolTech. I was mistaken. I have the Maxx setup not the Pro...this one...

And yes, I was referring to this part.

The housing and strobes came pre-assembled and was working just fine last year. I read about the fiber optic wires and stripping 1/16" from the ends. The part that goes into the strobe itself looks good and there is a stripped piece. The part of the wire that goes into the piece pictured above, I cannot figure out how to check. I thought removing it would help....maybe not.

Because the red indicator light does not turn off with the on/off switch, I was thinking that maybe there was a problem in the strobe itself.

 

[SeaLife Joe]

Mind if I jump in!

Scuba Frog - have you checked the settings on the "right" flash, inside the back cover? They should be on "0" for Pre Flash and "1" for brightness.

The red indicator light signifies that the capacitor is charged and ready to fire.

You do not need to strip any ends on the new digital pro Flash, they should be flush at both ends.

As for removing the flash ring adapter, all you need to do is squeeze it a little at the 3 and 9 oclock positions and pull straight off. It can be a little tough but that is to make sure it doesn't come off during a dive.

To check and see if you are getting enough light transmitted to the strobe head, unscrew the flash link from the flash head completely and look at the end of the cable as you take a picture. You should see a bright white light coming through the end of the flash link.

Let me know how these go and if it helps with the firing.

Joe

 

[scuba_frog]

Mind if I jump in!

Scuba Frog - have you checked the settings on the "right" flash, inside the back cover? They should be on "0" for Pre Flash and "1" for brightness.

The red indicator light signifies that the capacitor is charged and ready to fire.

You do not need to strip any ends on the new digital pro Flash, they should be flush at both ends.

As for removing the flash ring adapter, all you need to do is squeeze it a little at the 3 and 9 oclock positions and pull straight off. It can be a little tough but that is to make sure it doesn't come off during a dive.

To check and see if you are getting enough light transmitted to the strobe head, unscrew the flash link from the flash head completely and look at the end of the cable as you take a picture. You should see a bright white light coming through the end of the flash link.

Let me know how these go and if it helps with the firing.

Joe

Thanks Joe. Settings are definitely at 0 and 1. I understand what the red indicator light is for. However, it goes on even when the strobe is set to the OFF position. The strobe does not charge in the off position.

As for the amount of light being transmitted through to the strobe head, I understand what you are suggesting, but what happens if there is not light coming through. What would need adjusting? I have to check tonight when I get home.

 

[SeaLife Joe]

Scuba Frog.

After you check everything and still not working, you can send it in for us to take a look at the whole system.

 

[scuba_frog]

Scuba Frog.

After you check everything and still not working, you can send it in for us to take a look at the whole system.

Thanks Joe. I think I will have to do that. I checks the fiber optic cable and it flashes just fine. Just cannot get the one strobe to fire properly. I also found the receipt and it was purchased July 2008.

As a side note, my guess is that there is some sort of short in the strobe. I left the batteries in overnight in both strobes...the left worked the next day...the right was completely discharged.

Can you let me know what to do next? Thanks.


EDIT: Spoke with Karl from Pioneer Research. I made arrangements to send the strobe head in for replacement.