Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hello, I was recently using my WL X1600 and noticed that it was not firing at full power even when I changed the setting on the cyber commander. I further investigated and thought it was the batteries in the cyber sync so I changed those...still the same issue. I unplugged the cyber sync and tried manually adjusting. Still nothing. Then I pulled out the flash tube and noticed that one of the prongs on the flash tube was corroded. Here is a picture.

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/0w2gwdnwkmvw6tn/AADIeiT8G26ERD1ijh-Ua1VBa


I tried using a flash tube from a secondary x1600 and it still wasn't firing at full power. Has anyone ever run into this? It seems like the whole unit would probably need to be repaired. Any idea of what the cost would be?

Thanks!

This charring is from the flash tube not making good contact with the eyelet inside the flash unit. With poor contact, the energy will arc (like a really big static shock) and this is where the charring comes from.

The poor connection likely comes from impact with a softbox as it is being mounted or dismounted.

Be careful swapping tubes with units or tubes known to have charring. The charring can prevent proper contact, which will then cause arcing, which then causes charring in the formerly un-affected tube or flash unit. I would inspect the tube you used as a test tube to see if there is charring to prevent more damage to it or the flash it normally lives in.

Repair for this would be $45 plus the cost of the flash tube $35, plus shipping. If the light is under warranty, the $45 will be waived, but you are still responsible for the flash tube and shipping.