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cgrafx wrote:Seems there is a faulty DSP chip on the main board. The service tech identified the specific chip but doesn't do board level repair anymore, so his only option for me was to replace the mainboard at a total cost of about $1400. The chip in question costs about $35 and is readily available. I have to purchase some tools to properly unsolder and replace the chip without damaging the board, but I'm going to go that route first. Worst case I'm out $200 or so and will still have to replace the main board. Best case I'll save $1200.
Please note: This is not the kind of repair work you'd want to do without both the proper tools and a reasonable amount of experience doing this kind of board level re-work. If your unit has the same basic problem and you can find a service center that actually does board-level repair work I would expect it to cost $300-$400 for this kind of service. Otherwise the only other solution is a replacement of the mainboard.
My Stage 3 is really getting difficult to power on now, I just checked back here and realized that you had posted again in August. Did you actually make the chip swap and how did that go? I need to find somebody local here that could look at mine and figure out if it's the same issue (sure sounds like it). The guy that Nord support sent me to for authorized repair just told me over the phone "it will need a new power supply" when I described the issue, not sure how confident I am in him. I had considered ordering the power supply myself but I hate to drop the $300 and find out it had nothing to do with the problem.
If you can let me know how your repair went, or if anybody else has dealt with this issue, I would greatly appreciate the input! It's very frustrating when setting up for a gig and everybody is staring at your Nord wondering if it's going to power on.
Hello, this has officially become a major problem for me, my NS3 will refuse to power on for a long period of time after unplugging it for just a few minutes. Have you actually completed this repair at this point, and if so did it end up being the chip mentioned before and how did the repair go? Many thanks, I'm trying to avoid buying a new main board!
I haven't attempted the repair yet, but will have to set aside some time to do so soon as my NS3 no longer powers on. This is a good thing as a hard failure makes it much simpler to identify the actual issue.
It's very easy to check if the power supply has failed. You just need a simply volt meter to check if it is outputting the correct voltages. (a repair shop could easily test this for you).
Last edited by cgrafx on 16 Jan 2024, 00:31, edited 1 time in total.
Current Gear: NS3C, Alesis QS6.1, QS7.1 & QS8.2, Hammond B3 with Leslie 122, Yamaha CP70, Yamaha C3 6' Grand, Roland D-05, Roland AX-Edge, Waldorf Blofeld Keyboard, Behringer Arp Odyssey
cgrafx wrote:I haven't attempted the repair yet, but will have to set aside some time to do so soon as my NS3 no longer powers on. This is a good thing as a hard failure makes it much simpler to identify the actual issue.
It's very easy to check if the power supply has failed. You just need a simply volt meter to check if it is outputting the correct voltages. (a repair shop could easily test this for you).
Thanks for replying! You're the only other person I know with possibly the same issue, and I'm afraid I may be at the same spot as you now, I powered mine off this afternoon to move it to another keyboard stand and now it refuses to power up. When I called the authorized service guy in my area that Nord referred me to, he told me over the phone that it needs a new power supply. I wasn't confident in that answer - your description of a thermal issue on the board made more sense to me. I could order a power supply and swap it to see, but it looks like all of these parts are non-refundable so I would probably burn $300 to rule it out. I might have to just bite the bullet and take it in, I don't have the experience to troubleshoot the board or do any kind of chip replacement myself.
cgrafx wrote:I haven't attempted the repair yet, but will have to set aside some time to do so soon as my NS3 no longer powers on. This is a good thing as a hard failure makes it much simpler to identify the actual issue.
It's very easy to check if the power supply has failed. You just need a simply volt meter to check if it is outputting the correct voltages. (a repair shop could easily test this for you).
Just an update to yesterday, after leaving my NS3 powered on for a day, I tried cycling the power switch again and after about 10 times it powered up and is working perfectly again. I really thought it had given up the ghost. I called my local Nord tech again this morning and he keeps saying it's the power supply, but any other similar issue I'm finding on-line says they fixed by replacing the main board. I'm close to ordering the board from Syntaur and swapping it to see if it takes care of it. This seems to be a pretty rare problem with the Nords, but I've found a handful of folks now on-line that seem to have the same issue.
Just had a thought, I have a Stage 3 Compact as well, wonder if I could swap the power supply first, and then the main boards to see if the problem moves to the Compact? Does anybody know whether the power supplies and main boards are interchangable between the HP76 and the Compact 73? That would be an easy (hopefully) way to isolate the problem, if so.
cgrafx wrote:Yes the power supply and main board are the same
I may swap the power supply from the compact this weekend, to see if it helps and if not, move the main board over. I'll post what I find out afterwards.
there is some question about Rev A and Rev B main board compatibility. Rev B can be used to replace Rev A boards, but Rev A may not function correctly in Rev B units.
There should be some sort of Revision number on the board, just double check that they are the same before swapping the main boards.
The power supplies on the other hand are identical.
Current Gear: NS3C, Alesis QS6.1, QS7.1 & QS8.2, Hammond B3 with Leslie 122, Yamaha CP70, Yamaha C3 6' Grand, Roland D-05, Roland AX-Edge, Waldorf Blofeld Keyboard, Behringer Arp Odyssey