Do any of you like to discuss/troubleshooting on Norman ML600 series monolight strobe?

[Jamiry]

Hi Guy,

I wonder if any of you have experiences on the Norman monolight ML600 series strobe? I have 4 of them and turn out they all have problems now, but I cannot find any information. Their owner is not helpful at all, ask but no answer reply.These strobes are very expensive ~$680 each, but it is really weird, it has lots of problem beside there is no discussion about them that I can find. It seems I am the only one not lucky with these strobes, or people are not using these, except me. So, I want to open this discussion to help me and also to any one who use them to know more about these to avoid of these problems. Hope it works and helps.

Here is my strobe problems:

The digital reading from 91 down to 18 will be show as "BFL" when I clicked the test button and the flash won't fire in these range although the ready green light is on and the modeling light and button work just fine.

Also, one of these four ML600 turn out dead as its digital reading keep showing " - - - - " and sometime "BFL" when I clicked the power button on, its ready green light also not on, its modeling light only start to light on about 10 seconds after I power up, and then off, and the flash won't fire although I kept trying to click the test button. It keep doing like it when I clicked the power button on. Beside, the fans still run smoothly, and I changed all new bulbs for these strobe, but it still shows these problems above.

Another one works only if the modeling light is set at FULL and the flash verification is ON. Otherwise, if the modeling is set at RATIO or OFF, or the flash verification is set OFF. It won't fire at all, and on the digital display will show the letter "BFL" again and for the rest.



So, do any of you have any experiences about this? If so, please give me a helps. Thanks.

 

[Taylor03]

Welcome to the club,

Im also frustrated with the lack of info / troubleshooting on the ML600. I have two and constantly get the "bfl" code on one of them. From what I understand it means a missfire, allthough if I keep triggering it even with the warning it will start shooting again ( weird ). I have changed modeling lamps ,flash bulbs and switched from wireless trigger to wired sync.

Model lamp - Eiko BA15D - 120V - 200w ( also have tried 150watt with success )

Flash bulb - Amglo Kemlight FQ8

Interesting to see that yours acts differently at higher output, I will try mine and see if there is a difference. Im guessing that a repair would not be cost effective even if I could find someone to fix it. I love the lights but I cant trust them enough to use them for an event .I swear if I see that "BFL" warning again im throwing it through the wall .

Good Luck

 

[Stevs H]

I use ML-600's in my studio. I have replaced the fans in several unis and found a source for snap on filters, they keep the dust out. A few of my units fire randomly. I would like to figure out whats going on. Has anyone created a schematic?

Steve

 

[Ed Shapiro]

Hi Guy,

I wonder if any of you have experiences on the Norman monolight ML600 series strobe? I have 4 of them and turn out they all have problems now, but I cannot find any information. Their owner is not helpful at all, ask but no answer reply.These strobes are very expensive ~$680 each, but it is really weird, it has lots of problem beside there is no discussion about them that I can find. It seems I am the only one not lucky with these strobes, or people are not using these, except me. So, I want to open this discussion to help me and also to any one who use them to know more about these to avoid of these problems. Hope it works and helps.

Here is my strobe problems:

The digital reading from 91 down to 18 will be show as "BFL" when I clicked the test button and the flash won't fire in these range although the ready green light is on and the modeling light and button work just fine.

Also, one of these four ML600 turn out dead as its digital reading keep showing " - - - - " and sometime "BFL" when I clicked the power button on, its ready green light also not on, its modeling light only start to light on about 10 seconds after I power up, and then off, and the flash won't fire although I kept trying to click the test button. It keep doing like it when I clicked the power button on. Beside, the fans still run smoothly, and I changed all new bulbs for these strobe, but it still shows these problems above.

Another one works only if the modeling light is set at FULL and the flash verification is ON. Otherwise, if the modeling is set at RATIO or OFF, or the flash verification is set OFF. It won't fire at all, and on the digital display will show the letter "BFL" again and for the rest.

So, do any of you have any experiences about this? If so, please give me a helps. Thanks.

This ln ik will get you to a MANUL for your unit. Microsoft Word - 335-028C ML600 Manual.doc (normanlights.com)

If you can not solve your issues by adjusting the various controls, your nex step is to seek repair. This link will get you to a list one authorized NORMAN repair shops as well at the Norman website.

http://normanlights.com/service_centers.asp

If you cannot solve any of the issues by readjusting or reprogramming the unit via the controls on the back panel of the unit, unless you are an experienced electronic technician and have the schematic diagrams, test gear, and access to parts, this is not a DYI project.

Ed Shapiro- Commercial and Portrait Photographer. Ottawa, Ontario Canada