Bass needs to "charge" - any clues?

[crystAlex]

Hi guys,
I got this pretty old stingray which I bought about 10 years ago, 2nd hand.
It's in great shape, but whenever I haven't played in a long time (I play guitar mostly, and only get this misses out for tracking new songs), the bass will not give any signal for about 30 min or so. I need to put in a new battery, plug in the cable... Wait... then some loud crackles and pops, and then suddenly: signal coming through, no problem whatsoever.
Same story if I repeat the story in the subsequent days, only it takes a few minutes then.
To me, that sounds like a capacitor problem, but I wanted to check if anyone had any experience with this so far...
Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Hi guys,
I got this pretty old stingray which I bought about 10 years ago, 2nd hand.
It's in great shape, but whenever I haven't played in a long time (I play guitar mostly, and only get this misses out for tracking new songs), the bass will not give any signal for about 30 min or so. I need to put in a new battery, plug in the cable... Wait... then some loud crackles and pops, and then suddenly: signal coming through, no problem whatsoever.
Same story if I repeat the story in the subsequent days, only it takes a few minutes then.
To me, that sounds like a capacitor problem, but I wanted to check if anyone had any experience with this so far...
Thanks in advance for the help!

These come to mind:

*Battery box...intermittent connection with the battery. terminals.

*Output jack or surrounding loose wiriing.

 

[crystAlex]

That'd be interesting, and a lot less of a hassle than a capacitor. Thanks for thinking along!

 

[crystAlex]

Although it does beg the question... how could a loose wiring lead to "perfect" connection once the bass is "charged". Because once it is, I don't get any more disconnections. Perhaps a few pops/glitches in the first minutes.

 

[beej]

I agree with Rod- sounds like a bad connection in the battery box. I've had this happen with guitars.

Not all 9V batteries fit the same. An easy fix is to take a little folded piece of paper, cardboard, etc. and put it on the bottom of the battery, so when the compartment is closed, the battery makes a better connection with the terminals. You can also check to see if the terminals have flattened out ... you can pry them back a little with a screwdriver so they make contact with the battery terminals.

 

[crystAlex]

But to me (and correct me if I'm wrong), that doesn't fit with me inputting a battery, getting zero signal for half an hour, not moving the bass an inch, and suddenly getting perfect connection, without any more interruptions. Does it?

I've also really tested "pressing down" on the battery, to make sure it really presses down on the terminals, and it didn't affect it one bit I'm afraid.

 

[beej]

Could still be an intermittent connection. Anyhow, if you're sure it's not a connectivity issue and the battery terminals & wires are fine (in place, not corroded, etc.), then your next step should be to drop the MM customer service folks a line and get their advice.

 

[crystAlex]

I'll do that too, thank you!