Drdamski Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Very excited new owner of Gibson Original Robot guitar... Stalled at the starting line though! Carefully followed the charging instructions to find that it does not appear to work. The LEDs on the MCK and Charger/Adaptor do not flash as described in the manual. Instead the MCK eventually shows the Tuning Peg LED flashing green, and the charger shows a solid red light. No indication that the guitar is taking any charge. I'm in the UK, have all the original bits + adaptor to fit UK socket. I'm the second owner so it must have worked previously? Can anyone suggest what I'm doing wrong? HELP!!!!!! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tronical.member Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Drdamski, Seems there is not enough current. Firstly make sure that your power supply is 12 V and 1.000 mA. Then follow step by step, please: - Connect a short guitar lead (max 1 m) to the charger - connect the power supply to the charger box and plug in the wall plug. - Now pull on the MCK, turn to C and press on the display. The Charger LED should start flashing Green, the MCK matrix should show that charging is in process by the outer LEDs shining Green, too. If the battery is completely down turn ALL potentiometers half way up/down, pull up the MCK and connect the Guitar / charger as described above. Wait for 20 minutes and follow the steps above. Tronical You play. We tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drdamski Posted March 21, 2010 Author Share Posted March 21, 2010 Hi, Thanks for your instructions. I've checked and it would appear that the power supply that came with the guitar is 12V and 1500mA. Will this still work? Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tronical.member Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Yes, will work! Tronical You play. We tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drdamski Posted March 21, 2010 Author Share Posted March 21, 2010 Hi. Followed instructions - still some queries: - Charger light flashed green as expected - No outer LEDs on MCK flashing green (!?) - Red battery LED on MCK flashing red after about 15 secs: - Charger begins flashing red - Tuning Peg LED on MCK flashing Green - Battery LED on MCK no longer lit Any ideas? Does this sound like the battery is totally dead? Thanks again for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tronical.member Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 Drdamski, I dont think your battery is totally dead. Verify the charge level by turning to C and depressing on the display. The more outer Green LEDs you see, the higher the battery level, if it goes to Tuning Peg LED its nearly full!! The flashing Green Tuning Peg LED indicates "time out", in that case restart from the beginning. I think you are having a contacting problem, most likely with your cables, in special with the power supply cable to the charger. Make sure there is no contacting issue with any plug / cable from the guitar to the charger box and from the charger box to the wall plug. If the charger LED was flashing Green, then the charger in fact did recognize the guitar for a second or so... The Red Battery LED on the MCK indicates that the guitar is still looking for the charger. Tronical You play. We tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niemepet Posted March 21, 2010 Share Posted March 21, 2010 I don't know if this is the issue, but some of us has charging problems with the long cable. Change the guitar cable to shorter one and see if it work better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfloyd57 Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 I have this problem every single time I try to recharge mine. I'm using a 4" long cord, so I can't go much shorter. I'm wondering if the Nuetric jack contributes to this issue? The only way I can get my guitar to take a charge is to try the initial process over and over again, sometimes 10 or more times, before it finally syncs up properly. Gibson Les Paul Studio Limited Robot (Purple) 2001 Paul Reed Smith Custom 24 10 Top with birds 1979 Gibson E2 Explorer 1990's Steinberger GL4T 1965 Fender Mustang 1976 Fender Statocaster 1995 Rickenbacker 360/12 1972 Martin D-35 1973 Martin D-18 Hernandez Classical Epiphone SG with Roland GK2 Pickup Marshall 100 watt TSL Head Marshall 1960 A Speaker Cabinet Fender Twin Reverb Custom Pedal Pad pedalboard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tronical.member Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 pfloyd57, that can only happen if there is an issue with some of the cables or connectors. If the lead is a short one, if you follow the instructions and all connections are stable, then the charge process must be stable, too. I would check what happens if you push or hold sidewards your power supply connector, which is going inside the charger box. We had a couple of guys here in Germany and UK that did not use the proper connectors for the power supply, they were a bit too small, which resulted in intermitent charge performance. Only by pushing and holding these connectors sidewards made charging possible..... Tronical You play. We tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drdamski Posted March 23, 2010 Author Share Posted March 23, 2010 Have had a suggestion from another person that once the charging process is started the guitar goes in to standby mode, and that it still charges up. The manual does not seem to suggest that this is what happens... ... Can anyone confirm this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibby Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Seems like i got the exact same issue... It definately worked before because i once charged it up fully and the tuning worked perfectly.. But i can't do the same procedure as last time cause there are no green lights showing the battery power anymore.. Got original charger etc.. I tried short cables long cables.. When i pull out the MCK it starts normal.. after a couple of seconds it just flashes the red battery icon.. If I'm fast enough to go to C it won't show any green leds just the same red flashes.. The charger sometimes reacts to the cable being plugged into the guitar by showing all possible lightcolors in sequence... I once got it to flash orange instead of red for a while.. After I tried charging, pull the MCK in and out again.. It won't start normal.. It just flashes the red battery icon even faster.. after a while it blinks green slower.. If i then try to connect the charger it blinks both of them once shortly every 6 seconds or so.. with a clicking sound coming from the mck ? would be good to know what which color means in what speed etc.. that way i would at least know when i'm doing something right.. Whats the advice here.. should i just buy a new charger + battery or is there something else i could do ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoz Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Same here - I find it only makes a good connection if I stand the little black charger on its end so its pressing down on the power socket (the one that leads to the wall wart). I think the little black box charger must have a slightly weird power socket size. Nothing I have fits it quite right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tronical.member Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 stoz, thats exactly the point!! Some German customers over here had the same issue and purchased a connector thats fits really tight in the power socket of the charger to solve this. The polarity does not matter in this case, the charger routine will recognize that. And again, make sure to have the 12 V and 1.000mA power supply along with a short guitar lead. Charger: - Once the charger LED is flashing Green charging is in progress, the fuller the battery the slower the flashing. Blue charger LED = battery fully charged. - Red flashing charger LED indicates that the charger is waiting for connection with the guitar. Charging is not initiated yet. MCK(position C, then "enter" by depressing on the display): - Green (OK) or Red (charge immediately) battery LED indicates the charging level - Green outer LEDs up to the peg LED indicate the charge level. All outer LEDs up to peg symbol Green = Fully charged. - Once the battery LED on the MCK is flashing Green charging is being initiated. - Ascending Green LEDs on the MCK indicate that charging is in progress. Tronical You play. We tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niemepet Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Ok, now I got this problem. The charging has work well so far, but today I got this problem. Has somebody get the GOR's charging work? Or is every 1st gen GOR's battery dying this year (2010)??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niemepet Posted July 22, 2010 Share Posted July 22, 2010 Wow, I fix my problem. 1. When I push charger's electricity cable hard in to the charger, it start to charge! When I STOP pushing electricity cable, it stopped charging. 2. I pushed electricity cable into the charger about a MINUTE. I stop pushing and now it is charging like charm (=normally). - either I have connection problem in chargers electricity plug or charger requires this kind of procedure, that it start to charge after the battery is dead. I haven't get my battery dead before... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niemepet Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 I have a question to Tronical. After the charging issue I had - my 1st run Robot doesn't finish charging with blue lights (this is the third time that I'm charging it). I have stopped the charging after 90 minutes, because user manual says so. Is this telling me something? Battery has reached the end of the life? I know that battery's lifetime is limited. So it is not a surprise. Or do you think, that there is something wrong in my 1st run Robot and I have to find a technician? It was the first time that my battery went dead. Usually I start to charge the battery, before it is totally empty. Thank you for your reply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shredderlokki Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I have issues initiating a charge on my GOR too. When it finally does charge, it only goes about 8 green leds not 10. I could live with that except it goes dead overnight after I charge it, whether I actually use the tuners or not. I am not leaving the MCK pulled out. anyone else having this issue, is it new battery time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarBuilder Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I have issues initiating a charge on my GOR too. When it finally does charge, it only goes about 8 green leds not 10. I could live with that except it goes dead overnight after I charge it, whether I actually use the tuners or not. I am not leaving the MCK pulled out. anyone else having this issue, is it new battery time? Sounds like a dead battery to me! It is out of stock in the Gibson store, but you could try contacting Guenther5508 on eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geebake Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 I know that this topic has been long since abandoned but I wanted to very belatedly thank you guys. I bought a used Robot SG today and couldn't get it to take a charge to save my life. After finding this thread, I tried some contact cleaner and a brush to clean the charger contacts and she's now charging perfectly. Phew! I really do appreciate this! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarBuilder Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 You're welcome, Greg! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motownindiana Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 Drdamski, Seems there is not enough current. Firstly make sure that your power supply is 12 V and 1.000 mA. Then follow step by step, please: - Connect a short guitar lead (max 1 m) to the charger - connect the power supply to the charger box and plug in the wall plug. - Now pull on the MCK, turn to C and press on the display. The Charger LED should start flashing Green, the MCK matrix should show that charging is in process by the outer LEDs shining Green, too. If the battery is completely down turn ALL potentiometers half way up/down, pull up the MCK and connect the Guitar / charger as described above. Wait for 20 minutes and follow the steps above. Tronical You play. We tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motownindiana Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 I am having a similar problem with my 2009 robot SG that it is not taking a charge , I had to pull out the tuning keys and manually tune it to play it for a while plugged into an old tube amp to see if it would help it take a charge , don't know if it helped yet . Before this I have attempted numerous approximately 90 minute charging sessions with no success . When the tuning system was working properly I have played unplugged many times (about 50% of thev time) to figure out songs , especially going to open G for figuring out old Rolling Stones songs and reverting back to standard tuning , could this have damaged the battery ? Until lately , I only had to charge it up once when I first bought the guitar new in early 2010 . Can my battery be malfunctioning and not accepting a charge now possibly . I am a former journeyman electrician and electronics technician with a bachelors in electrical technology , so I should be able to replace a battery if needed . I have never opened the access panel yet . I am trying another charge session now with a slow single green flash on the MCK and severall multi-colored and now yellow rapid flashing on the charging unit with a less than one foot cable between the charging unit and the guitar . We will see if this time it takes a charge . Any input will greatly be appreciated . Thanks much , Rock On ! Frank White--MotownIndy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lookaroundyou Posted November 12, 2011 Share Posted November 12, 2011 I am having a similar problem with my 2009 robot SG that it is not taking a charge , I had to pull out the tuning keys and manually tune it to play it for a while plugged into an old tube amp to see if it would help it take a charge , don't know if it helped yet . Before this I have attempted numerous approximately 90 minute charging sessions with no success . When the tuning system was working properly I have played unplugged many times (about 50% of thev time) to figure out songs , especially going to open G for figuring out old Rolling Stones songs and reverting back to standard tuning , could this have damaged the battery ? Until lately , I only had to charge it up once when I first bought the guitar new in early 2010 . Can my battery be malfunctioning and not accepting a charge now possibly . I am a former journeyman electrician and electronics technician with a bachelors in electrical technology , so I should be able to replace a battery if needed . I have never opened the access panel yet . I am trying another charge session now with a slow single green flash on the MCK and severall multi-colored and now yellow rapid flashing on the charging unit with a less than one foot cable between the charging unit and the guitar . We will see if this time it takes a charge . Any input will greatly be appreciated . Thanks much , Rock On ! Frank White--MotownIndy Hey Frank, Here's replacement battery link if needed http://store.tronical-components.com/battery-pack-gen-i/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motownindiana Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Hey Frank, Here's replacement battery link if needed http://store.tronical-components.com/battery-pack-gen-i/ I finally got it to take acharge and start working again . It seemed to help that I waited to put power to the charging unit after pluging charger to the SG . maybe it was the numerous attempts as one person stated before it went normal . Thanks to all . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ux4484 Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Sorry to resurrect an old topic, but this thread did help me. Just got the last of the SG Special robots from Sam Ash ($799, WOW fire sale), while the store had charged it the night before I picked it up (it showed an almost full charge), when I went to charge it, I got the flashing green peg, and red solid charger situation with a 3ft cord. I switched to a foot pedal inline coupler (solid, no cable), and it worked correctly. As I didn't want that much solid connections hanging off the bottom of the guitar's jack: I then cleaned the Guitar's and charger's jack with a pipe cleaner (nylon bristle type, not fuzzy) with some contact cleaner on it. Now I can use up to a 6 foot cord with no problems. Next...I tackle the intonation procedure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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