Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE BASE.

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

For anyone who wants to rid themselves of any doubt that the problem could still be within the guts of your model...

Go to a Radio Shack, buy a mono male phono plug jack, connect it to a 9 volt battery with a resistor on the black (negative) wire and plug it into the bottom of your Falcon and all your lights should power up fine.

JV

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

Man, that is one piece of messed up engineering (and manufacturing). I hope the solution is that simple for everyone (it would be kinda ironic if a simple fix like this actually fixes it.........).

Gene

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

I have an Enterprise that is doing something very similar with that phono jack power rig. I am going to take a look at the base on that and see if that is the issue. This is a great thread, thanks for tearing your falcon apart for the greater good. :lol

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

phez said:

I have an Enterprise that is doing something very similar with that phono jack power rig. I am going to take a look at the base on that and see if that is the issue. This is a great thread, thanks for tearing your falcon apart for the greater good. :lol

Click to expand...

Grumble grumble...

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

I don't see any way of getting past the mirror to get inside of the base. From what little I've managed to pry away at the edges... it seems that the mirror glass is probably attached to the black frame with a durable double stick tape. I can see right by the switch along the side seam, that there is a section underneath that probably gives access to the wiring before the base was sealed.

Also, the switch is a complete piece of crap. I took it apart, it's one of the loosest and faultiest connections which explains the flickering power.

I cannot pull any wiring up through the frosted post to resolder to the phono jack because there is no slack whatsoever. So unless I break the mirror glass (or whatever material it is made out of) I cannot get inside to repair the faulty wiring.

Would be nice if the MR team could direct people to getting replacement bases that would solve the Falcon lighting issue huh?

JV

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

So here's the deal guys.

If I can find a resource on replacing the top mirror panel with the correct offset hole for the pylon mount, I will tear open my base and figure out how to repair this wiring issue and post instructions here.

The hurdle is making sure I can restore the base with a replacement mirror after removing the existing one, and I see no way of removing the existing one without pulling it off in a way that will crack it.

I put in an email to Kodofett who makes MR style mirrored display bases to see if he can sell me a replacement mirror panel that will fit, if he can, I'm gonna take on fixing my base and providing instructions here. i see no other way of addressing the lighting issue without getting inside the base without MR being able to provide replacement bases.

JV

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

Just sent this to Master Replicas. I'll be curious to see if they continue the blow off now that the cause of the problem has been identified.

JV

"Hi. I bought your Millennium Falcon Signature Edition back in November of 2006. I put it straight into storage without opening it and upon moving, finally had a place to display it this past December of 2008. Right out of the box, the front portside mandible LED light did not work.

After quite a bit of research, I have discovered I am not the only MR customer that paid a lot of money for this collectible, to have the front mandible light not work and discover that MR's stance was that it's "out of warranty". Well as mine was only unpacked and put on display after spending two years in storage, this is an unacceptable position.

I took the front panel of my Falcon off where the problem LED was. After removing the LED to replace it, I figured I'd test it anyway with an alternative power source and I discovered it works. After reconnecting it, and connecting a 9 volt battery to a male phono plug jack and connecting it to the lower gunport of the Falcon, all the lights on my Millennium Falcon collectible now work fine. Which means that the problem, is in the power supply in the mirrored base as it sends current to the Falcon. The switch on my base was always wonky to begin with, and never stayed on. You had to wiggle it back and forth and he power to the Falcon was always inconsistent, and indicative that the problems with the Falcon's lighting have to do with the mirror base with all the flickering of the lights as you had to try to position the on/off switch in a manner that would keep the lights on for a few moments before going out (with the one mandible light never turning on at all).

Please read this thread at the Replica Prop Forum all the way through to the end.

http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=60946

The only solution I see in being able to make my Falcon light properly with the AC base, is to take the base apart to address the faulty wiring issues under the mirror panel that lead to the frosted support pylon. But it is impossible to remove the mirror panel without cracking it. My only solutions are to find a vendor who can provide a replacement mirror panel so I can effect repairs, or find out if you, Master Replicas, can direct me to the vendor that made the bases for your Millenium Falcon so I can try to buy a replacement base, even if the item is out of warranty and you don't have the license anymore, the bases are not licensed items, and I would like to restore my signature edition to be able to power up the way it should have out of the box without this problem or "out of warranty" excuses.

Please respond and please don't tell me you can't do anything because it's out of warranty. I want a display base that works, the problem is not in the licensed Falcon replica, and if I have to pay to buy a working base I will. But I need you guys to respond to all the research I took on identifying the cause of this problem for so many customers. It's not an isolated issue, it's prevalent on many of the prop collecting forums where customers of yours who have bought Millennium Falcons from you have posted."

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

Hey JV,
I actually had a base a while back that had a crack in the mirror and tried to just remove it. I can tell you that won't be a viable option. The mirror is very thin and completely glued down, it will crumble when trying to remove it.

The base itself is solid with the switch and plug-in being inside a cut-out. Vaderdarth had a great idea when I was telling him about this the other day. Just drimmel into this cut-out from the underside and then replace one or both of these parts, it will never be visible and you could actually install an access plate to cover this area if you put just slightly taller rubber feet under the base. Best of luck.

Chris

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

Also, I think the problem may be in the plug-in. I know Vaderdarth's Falcon would go out intermittently and a wiggle of the cord at the jack would temporarily fix the problem, though he might want to chime in on that.

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

jvasilatos said:

I don't see any way of getting past the mirror to get inside of the base. From what little I've managed to pry away at the edges... it seems that the mirror glass is probably attached to the black frame with a durable double stick tape. I can see right by the switch along the side seam, that there is a section underneath that probably gives access to the wiring before the base was sealed.

Also, the switch is a complete piece of crap. I took it apart, it's one of the loosest and faultiest connections which explains the flickering power.

I cannot pull any wiring up through the frosted post to resolder to the phono jack because there is no slack whatsoever. So unless I break the mirror glass (or whatever material it is made out of) I cannot get inside to repair the faulty wiring.

Would be nice if the MR team could direct people to getting replacement bases that would solve the Falcon lighting issue huh?

JV

Click to expand...

Given that you were able to take the switch apart, were you able to twist the wires together, then either plug the 9 volt battery into the adapter jack, or try using the adapter to see if the Falcon would light up properly via the base wiring? If it does light up nicely, then all you would need to do is change the switch and/or the adapter jack.

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

weird said:

Given that you were able to take the switch apart, were you able to twist the wires together, then either plug the 9 volt battery into the adapter jack, or try using the adapter to see if the Falcon would light up properly via the base wiring? If it does light up nicely, then all you would need to do is change the switch and/or the adapter jack.

Click to expand...

The switch doesn't seem to want to go back together again in a way I can understand so that it works... I'll take pictures and post the switch. Once I removed the toggle a "v" shaped wire inside that makes the connection popped out and putting everything back in doesn't toggle back and forth anymore the way it did before and since I couldn't see what it loked like before, I don't know how it's supposed to reassemble now.

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

I can tell you that the wiring in the base is very simple. There is only the switch and plug-in jack in the cut-out with two wires running down a small trench to the mounting pole. If the switch is your problem, then it would be a simple matter to go in from the underside and just bypass it altogether. You could use a power strip or switched receptacle to control the lights. Hope that helps.

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

This is great news! Thanks Jerry!

Now I can have the studio stand wired to handle it properly! I was just gping to display it static... which still looks KILLER to me, but this is a great option for a fix!

BTW...Jerry.... would love to talk with you soon... email me when you get the chance my friend.

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

My Falcon light is out & its never been displayed with the base, but I have powered it via a Battery & jack but could never get the damn light to work!!!

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

I'm gonna ask a stupid question - but then again this is a stupid problem... Is the issue something as simple as the phono jack on the stand not inserting far enough into the jack inside the ship? If that were the case it would just be a matter of shaving some material off the top of the post.

What do you think about that?

Jedi Dade

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

Jedi Dade said:

I'm gonna ask a stupid question - but then again this is a stupid problem... Is the issue something as simple as the phono jack on the stand not inserting far enough into the jack inside the ship? If that were the case it would just be a matter of shaving some material off the top of the post.

What do you think about that?

Jedi Dade

Click to expand...

It could be the issue, although something tells me that it has to do with the stupid switch that never kept a consistent current relayed from the converter to the support pylon...

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

Okay, so a rep from MR did respond to my email, however I cannot post the contents because of the email confidentiality disclaimer:

"This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. If you are not the intended recipient you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited."


However I will post my response to MR here as I don't have any such issues sharing my correspondence for the sake of other owners of this model suffering from the same circumstances.

JV


"Dear ***-

Thank you for responding.

Had an adequate policy been in place for consumers regarding this item, I would not have taken matters into my own hands self-diagnosing this, but because of the warranty issue there was no other option. I can only imagine current frustration by collectors who might still be purchasing these brand new, in the box from E-Bay or other suppliers who still have some inventory on the secondary collector's market to open them and discover the defect and be told that they're out of luck because of the warranty issue. No one should have a problem with these when they came out let alone now just because the manufacturer did not design the bases in such a way that power was adequately directed into the model. Furthermore, had I discovered this at the time I purchased it, there still would have been enormous aggravation having to ship the entire model back and forth for replacement at MR's expense and sacrificing the ability to keep a model that has a pretty good paint job, all because the manufacturers missed something with the faulty wiring in the less valuable mirror base. I would imagine the manufacturer could have cost MR a lot of money if there were owners who shipped these back because of the lighting issue when they discovered it during the period the models WERE in warranty. It's unfortunate also that MR has been notified of this defect by others and that they did not have the resources to get to the bottom of this given the widespread amount of complaints from buyers that faced the same defect.

Do you think that there will actually be some response from the people responsible for the mirror bases regarding the widespread defect effecting owners of the Falcon and if they may be willing to make some more that work for those who wish to purchase one or offer some kind of solution?

JV"

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

JV, I sure do appreciate you sending that letter on our behalf. If they do offer replacement bases, I'd be all over it. It's just a shame that the electronics from bow to stern are faulty. Even a half way decent company would bend over backwards to fix this issue.

Dave

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

Has anyone else with a headlight out been able to confirm that the base is the same problem with their Falcon? It would be great to see at least 2 or 3 Falcons with the headlight out all be able to light again with a 9V battery hookup. I know we should have enough people here with headlights out to be able to rigorously test this.

Re: Cracking Open the MR Falcon to fix front LED. SEE POST #16 AND #17... IT'S THE B

Kuhn Global said:

This is great news! Thanks Jerry!

Now I can have the studio stand wired to handle it properly! I was just gping to display it static... which still looks KILLER to me, but this is a great option for a fix!

BTW...Jerry.... would love to talk with you soon... email me when you get the chance my friend.

Click to expand...

Kurt-

Can you PM me your email so we can connect I would like to catch up off board.

Jerry