Express console not powering and chirping
The information in this post is provided to assist in troubleshooting. Perform work at your own risk. ENSURE ANY POWER FROM DEVICES HAS BEEN DISCONNECTED BEFORE SERVICING ANY EQUIPMENT. If you do not feel comfortable performing the work, please contact us or your local service center. Be aware that ETC and its Affiliates are not responsible for any damage or injury caused by service of our products by anyone other than us or our authorized service providers, and such damage is excluded from the product’s warranty.
If your console is chirping, there is excessive load on the power supply. Two main causes of this are the Littlelites or an internal DC/DC converter.
Littlelites
If a Littlelite is shorted out, too much current will be drawn from the power supply to the Littlelite circuitry. Remove one or both of the Littlelites and reboot the console. If the problem stops, replace or repair the Littlelite that caused the problem. [ETC Part# M703] DO NOT use High Intensity Littlelites.
DC/DC Converter
If your Express has a BNC "Thin Net" connector on the back, chirping and power issues can be caused by a bad DC/DC converter in the brick, designated PS1. On Express consoles where thinnet is not required, PS1 (part number PS113) may be removed and replaced with a load resistor (R518). The resistor is necessary to provide a dummy load across the 12V line of the power supply to insure proper voltage regulation. A heat sink (HS101) is also required.
After removing PS1, install the load resistor across pins 1 and 3 as shown below. It’s mounted at an angle so the heat sink is as close to the PCB as possible.
Pin 1 connects to +12VDC, while pin 3 is normally not connected. Install a jumper on the back side of the board between pin 3 and pin 12 to provide a ground connection.
Make sure that there is sufficient clearance between the heatsink and the wires coming out of the ETClink connector when reassembled.
