Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

While I was photographing last night, I had a WL X3200 start beeping (loud solid beep) and stop firing.
The only thing I noticed odd earlier was the red dump light was coming on after it had been charged for a bit. The fan was running (it was the second light to have a fan turn on last night). Otherwise, no indication of problems till it started beeping. It was not that hot and this was not a high exposure count session. I tried again later after the session to see if it would work after sitting for about an hour ( to see if it might have been heat) and it still beeped and did not fire.
Today I took a look at it and noticed the collar on the middle lead to the flash tube was twisted a bit so it might not have been into the socket completely. I pushed it in a bit more, plugged the 3200 in and it seems to be working (and I did not notice the dump light after it was charged).
Is the beep typical of a loose flash tube? Should I think about sending the light in to checked for another problem? I wish I had tried a third time it to see if the beep was still happening before I tried to fix it.

James

The beep can come from a misfire, which could be caused by a loose tube.

If the tube has loosened and has been used, I would remove the tube and look at the banana plugs on the legs to ensure they have not been charred by arcing. This will have a burnt, charred look. You may have some dark discoloration of the legs, but that is OK if it is not ashy. If the tube has arced and has damage, the head will also be damaged. This will require the unit to come in for repair. While the tube or a new tube may continue to work in the light with this damage, the damage will worsen and damage any new tubes installed.

Also, there will be some dark discoloration inside the glass. This is normal and is not indicative of a problem.

Just to be clear, the beep continued as long as the power switch was on till turned off. It then started as soon as the switch was turned on again.

I'll check the plugs tonight.

Thanks
James

The problem could have arisen from the loose tube. I would check the legs for charring, re-seat the tube fully, and monitor the light. If there are any further issues, let us know, as there could be something internal going on.