Hammond Organ dilema

[Robert Wikstrom]

Ok Ok Ok....so here comes the old guy that still hauls around a Hammond B3 with Leslie 122. My B3 has never failed me until recently when we were hired to play at a couple of outdoor events in the park. The only outlets we had were GFI outlets. As soon as I plugged in the Hammond, even before turning it on, the GFI was tripped. I know it was the Hammond because I unplugged everything else except my rig. Even tried different extension cords. No luck. Anyone have a clue?

 

[Gourockian]

It seems rather strange that the mere act of just plugging in the B3 tripped the GFI, before you turned it on. However, it's possible that the mains cord has been damaged and possibly is shorted. Try checking across the pins with a meter set to resistance or continuity, with the B3 turned off. It should indicate if you have a short.

Have you been able to power it up okay elsewhere, since that happened. If so, I suspect it has something to do with the venue's power supply.

 

[delaware dave]

A hammond plug has no grounding pin, this may have caused the issue. If you have a gfi outlet at home (you should have one near a bathroom where there are water sources) try plugging the hammond into it with the same cord you used outside and see if it trips the gfi at your house. It probably will.

 

[Robert Wikstrom]

It seems rather strange that the mere act of just plugging in the B3 tripped the GFI, before you turned it on. However, it's possible that the mains cord has been damaged and possibly is shorted. Try checking across the pins with a meter set to resistance or continuity, with the B3 turned off. It should indicate if you have a short.

Have you been able to power it up okay elsewhere, since that happened. If so, I suspect it has something to do with the venue's power supply.

Thanks. Played it the next night in a club. No problems. Tried several different cords, all with the same result. Am thinking it has to be the venue. However, this was two different venues. One was a park the other a club where we played outdoors. Both had GFIs. In no other venue we play are we forced to plug into a GFI circuit.

 

[Robert Wikstrom]

A hammond plug has no grounding pin, this may have caused the issue. If you have a gfi outlet at home (you should have one near a bathroom where there are water sources) try plugging the hammond into it with the same plug you used outside and see if it trips the gfi at your house. It probably will.

You may be on to something although my Hammond does have a grounding pin. It's a Bill Beers Chopper" that was modified many years ago. Perhaps that ground pin is actually nothing.

 

[Gourockian]

May be worth investing in a decent power conditioner, if you don't already have one.. It might not have helped in this case but at least your gear will be better protected in future.