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Post subject: My precision 'lyte' bass battery keeps dying
Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 5:28 pm
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I purchased a used Fender Precision 'lyte' bass about 2 years ago, and it use to work perfectly fine.

After a while though the battery kept getting worn out on a daily basis (without being plugged in).

Has anyone else had similar issues with these basses? I believe it was made in 1992 (possibly 1991).

On a side note, I requested the wiring diagram from fender a week or so ago but haven't had any response yet. The repair tech i'm working with requested it.


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Post subject: Re: My precision 'lyte' bass battery keeps dying
Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 5:53 pm
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Chances are your problem is due to the battery not disconnecting from the circuit when the cable is unplugged. With the cable unplugged, inspect visually and by meter if necessary to verify that the black wire from the jack terminal to the battery is not remaining in contact somewhere with the rest of the ground path.
SteveMusicLessons wrote:
I purchased a used Fender Precision 'lyte' bass about 2 years ago, and it use to work perfectly fine.

After a while though the battery kept getting worn out on a daily basis (without being plugged in).

Has anyone else had similar issues with these basses? I believe it was made in 1992 (possibly 1991).

I requested the wiring diagram from fender a week or so ago but haven't had any response yet.

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Post subject: Re: My precision 'lyte' bass battery keeps dying
Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 5:42 am
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I have a stupid question. Every active bass I've owned gets dozens of hours off a battery, maybe even 100+ (never actually measured). If this guy's not getting even 24 out of his preamp, might there be something else going on in addition to a failure to power down when the plug's pulled? I'd like to measure the current draw on that battery when the plug's in the jack.

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Post subject: Re: My precision 'lyte' bass battery keeps dying
Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 5:55 am
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craig.p wrote:
I have a stupid question. Every active bass I've owned gets dozens of hours off a battery, maybe even 100+ (never actually measured). If this guy's not getting even 24 out of his preamp, might there be something else going on in addition to a failure to power down when the plug's pulled? I'd like to measure the current draw on that battery when the plug's in the jack.


Anything's possible. However and typically, if any component(s) in the circuit was/were sucking too much voltage, at worst, a segment of the circuit would blow out, killing the circuit's operation; at best, it certainly wouldn't sound right.

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Post subject: Re: My precision 'lyte' bass battery keeps dying
Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 8:57 am
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The problem with your bass is likely in the jack. The barrel style jacks are stereo and are wired to disconnect the battery when the cord is unplugged. As the jack wears this disconnect feature can malfunction and the battery will be drained overnight.
The solution is to have a new jack installed but spend the extra money to buy a quality barrel jack like those made by Switchcraft, if you are located in the USA.
Other suppliers may have jacks that will also do this job but often cheaply made jacks don't function correctly even when they are new.

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Post subject: Re: My precision 'lyte' bass battery keeps dying
Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 2:29 pm
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I bet the last owner dumped the stock preamp and replaced it with a JJ 12AX7 running starved-plate and driving a passive tone stack.

(Sorry. Bad pizza a couple hours ago maybe.)

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Post subject: Re: My precision 'lyte' bass battery keeps dying
Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 3:45 am
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Your P-Bass Lyte is based on the Heartfield DR line. Read this recent thread from the "OTHER FENDER BASSES" section as it has the exact part listed that you need. Do NOT buy the Allparts brand jack, only buy the USA made Switchcraft jack! It matters in the long run! Amazon has them for like $11. (The one that is in there stock is likely Asian made.) Here is the thread. http://forums.fender.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=97813


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Post subject: Re: My precision 'lyte' bass battery keeps dying
Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 12:43 pm
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Sorry for such a late reply, and thanks for the suggestions. I'll go ahead and purchase one of the USA Switchcraft jacks and see if that helps. Recently I realized that the Battery is draining practically into my arm as I play. There must be a short somewhere because when my forearm makes contact with the bridge I can feel a very sharp burning sensation (that of being electrocuted) when its plugged in to a powered amp. This bass has been more trouble then its worth, though I did find it fairly cheap (go figure that it is so problematic).


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Post subject: Re: My precision 'lyte' bass battery keeps dying
Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 1:22 pm
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SteveMusicLessons wrote:
...when my forearm makes contact with the bridge I can feel a very sharp burning sensation (that of being electrocuted) when its plugged in to a powered amp...


You should have mentioned this earlier. This implies that the battery connector could be wired backwards and/or the IC is slowly frying and dying from the diodes on out. These possibilities would also account for the rapid battery drain. Maybe this is why the previous owner sold it cheap? You might want to bring it to a COMPETENT tech for evaluation.

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Post subject: Re: My precision 'lyte' bass battery keeps dying
Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2015 5:17 pm
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Martian wrote:
SteveMusicLessons wrote:
...when my forearm makes contact with the bridge I can feel a very sharp burning sensation (that of being electrocuted) when its plugged in to a powered amp...


You should have mentioned this earlier. This implies that the battery connector could be wired backwards and/or the IC is slowly frying and dying from the diodes on out. These possibilities would also account for the rapid battery drain. Maybe this is why the previous owner sold it cheap? You might want to bring it to a COMPETENT tech for evaluation.


Polarity reversed perhaps turning it into a P-Bass Lyte STUN GUN. Agree this needs full bench evaluation.


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