Eating batteries

[JBex]

My Stingray 5-H is eating batteries like crazy. I might play it for 8 hours spaced over a week and the preamp starts distorting and I know I need to replace the batteries. I unplug when not in use. I don’t understand why the drain happens so quickly.
It’s annoying and expensive!

Aside from taking the batteries out every time I stop, anyone know why it’s just running through them?

All settings at unity not messing with them and selector switch in the 1 position (parallel).

 

[nhbassguitar]

1. If you know your way around electronics, you could put an ammeter in series with one of the wires through which battery current normally flows and see if the preamp is drawing current when nothing's plugged into the output jack.

2. If you don't know your way around electronics, don't play the instrument for as long as it typically takes for a battery to run down. By that I mean (infer) you should not plug anything into the output jack for the entire time. After that time has passed, play it again and see if the distortion is there. If it is, the preamp is staying on when there's nothing plugged into the output jack.

3. An alternate version of the above is to leave the cable plugged in 24/7 and see if it takes the same amount of time for a battery to run down as when you unplug it after every use. If it does, same as above - the preamp is staying on whether there's something plugged into the output jack or not.

4. You could "shotgun" the problem by assuming the output jack has gone bad (such would be the likely cause of failures with tests #2 and #3 above), and replace it. Take a pic of which wires go where before you begin.

 

[DrKev]

My Stingray 5-H is eating batteries like crazy. I might play it for 8 hours spaced over a week and the preamp starts distorting and I know I need to replace the batteries. I unplug when not in use. I don’t understand why the drain happens so quickly.
It’s annoying and expensive!

Aside from taking the batteries out every time I stop, anyone know why it’s just running through them?

All settings at unity not messing with them and selector switch in the 1 position (parallel).

I have to ask because you did not specifically mention it - do you unplug the instrument when you finish playing? The battery is connected to the circuit when instrument is plugged in. Unplugging should disconnect and save the battery. If you leave it plugged in, the battery will certainly be pretty weak after a week.

 

[JBex]

I have to ask because you did not specifically mention it - do you unplug the instrument when you finish playing? The battery is connected to the circuit when instrument is plugged in. Unplugging should disconnect and save the battery. If you leave it plugged in, the battery will certainly be pretty weak after a week.

I do state that “I unplug when not in use.” I guess you could take that as unplug the amp, but I was referring to the bass itself. That’s why I’m wondering what’s going on. I assume some sort of fault somewhere in the circuit but I’m no electrician lol

 

[JBex]

1. If you know your way around electronics, you could put an ammeter in series with one of the wires through which battery current normally flows and see if the preamp is drawing current when nothing's plugged into the output jack.

2. If you don't know your way around electronics, don't play the instrument for as long as it typically takes for a battery to run down. By that I mean (infer) you should not plug anything into the output jack for the entire time. After that time has passed, play it again and see if the distortion is there. If it is, the preamp is staying on when there's nothing plugged into the output jack.

3. An alternate version of the above is to leave the cable plugged in 24/7 and see if it takes the same amount of time for a battery to run down as when you unplug it after every use. If it does, same as above - the preamp is staying on whether there's something plugged into the output jack or not.

4. You could "shotgun" the problem by assuming the output jack has gone bad (such would be the likely cause of failures with tests #2 and #3 above), and replace it. Take a pic of which wires go where before you begin.

I’m not that handy, tho I wish I was… so option 1 out. Option 2 is just ludicrous! Not play! Option 3 could do.

I probably should just take it to a tech to figure out, but was wondering first if it was just the way MM 18v preamps were. It’s loud as hell, so figured it was really pushing those batteries.

 

[DrKev]

I do state that “I unplug when not in use.”

Ah, sorry I missed that. Are you using rechargeable batteries or alkaline? Rechargeable may last only about half a long as alkaline. (Rechargeable will also maintain voltage quite high for most of charge but then suddenly drop off. Alkaline batteries will gradually lose voltage as they are used.

OK, so thinking out loud here, maybe a faulty jack or a fault on the circuit board somewhere (though if the bass sounds good, hard to say what it would be).

If you're not currently electrically inclined, I would go to a tech and have them test that the batteries are correctly out of circuit when the bass is unplugged, and try to measure the current draw when it is plugged in. The StringRay Specials (which have the 18V preamp) should easily last 200+ hours. So the current draw should be very low, a few milliamps.