Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hello,
So I've got an AB 800 for like a year or so.
Today it started failing. When I fire it with my CyberCommander or even manually, the flash doesnt fire with the power I am setting it to.
Doesn't matter if it is at the lowest power or at the highest, all it does is give a very very weak flash.
It also makes a *click* sound.

I was wondering if there is any way for me to fix this flash. Couldn't find anything on google :(

Thanks in advance!



Edit: I have to add that, if I disconnect the CRBS+ the flash would fire properly. I get a green light on the test led. Thing is that it has to be disconnected from everything. Not even the sync cable.
when the sync cable and or the CSRB+ are connected, the led light turns red.

I also tried changing the flash tube.

A few things to confirm.

1. The power slider on the light itself was set to full?

2. The outlet you were using was properly grounded (or at least appeared so)? This means a 3 prong outlet.

3. Were you using a power strip or extension cord?

4. Try setting the CC to ALL, then fire from there and see what happens.

Yes to all and I was using the cord that comes with the flashes connected into a VLX.
This keeps happening to me. What fixes the issue is disconnecting the triggers from the flash (the phone cable ones), dumping the charge from the flash and reconnecting the triggers again.
This happens every time I turn off and on the flashes. (AB800 and 400).

Ok, so you were connected to a Vagabond! In this case, keep the model lamps on via the Cyber Commander, might as well keep them at FULL via the Cyber Commander, and turn them off on the flash head.

There is a hand shake that happens using the grounding and the model lamp circuit. With the Vagabond, the grounding is a bit different, as it is not Earth grounded. Setting the model lamps up as I have described should resolve your issue.