Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hi - I have 2 alienbees 800

I have been having some problems with the strobes not firing, would usually fiddle around with the cord in the hotshoe connector and they would fire again. I was just thinking I need a new cord.

Now last night the strobe connected to the wire was firing but the other was not. I took the cord out and put it in my other strobe and then the other was not working (obviously the slaves are not reading each other?)

Finally, kept trying and then neither of them would fire.

I unplugged them for about 10 minutes and tried again. They both fires about 3 times and then both stopped working again? Suggestions? Kai

First, do either still fire by pressing the test button on the back? With the lights on, do they fire as you plug and unplug the cord in the sync jack of the light?

What modifiers were you using when only one light would fire at a time? What power were your light set to?

if you press the test button, they fire (only the one you touch the button on, they are not both firing.

I was using no modifiers.

I played around with the power...it didn't matter what the power was on.

Any help would be appreciated!

Kai

When you put the sync cord in one of the lights, is the sync jack in the other one empty? If you have a sync cord or blank sync plug inserted in an AB this disables it's slave. So to get one to slave from the other, one must be synced to the camera via cord or radio remote and the sync jack in the other must be empty.

Yes -

The other one is empty.

so with no reflector, umbrella, softbox, ect. on the light; both lights plugged into the wall and turned on; and nothing plugged into the 1/8" sync jack or telephone jack; when you test either, the other will not fire?

There is a white dot on the back of the light that needs to see the flash from the first, if this is not working, then the light(s) will need to be repaired.

Thanks for the reply. What is the approximate cost of fixing this and how long will they need to be away to be serviced?

Thanks!

Warranty service would cover it, and the waranty is 2 yrs. Out of warranty service is typically $40 per light (though if it varies we will contact you first), if you send it to us. Turn around is usually 4-5 business days in house, though may vary some depending on work load.

There is also an authorized repair center (KHB Photographix) in Mississauga, ON. In-warranty repairs should be covered, however, they are not part of our company so I cannot speak of any out of warranty repairs or turn around times, so you may wish to contact them first.

Contact info for our location or KHB can be found here:http://www.alienbees.com/contact.html#repair