Kurzweil PC88 MX on but not working please help

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I just inherited a Kurweil PC88 MX from my grandfather
I remeber it being hard to turn on over the years
Now that I have it all set up
I have read all the directions carefully

I hold the 1,2 and 3 buttons at the same time (far right buttons)
turn on keyboard
2 seconds later release
hit << button
turn off keyboard
turn on keyboard

When turning on and off the keyboard the lights on screen are on or off but no text
I remember text in years past

Can someone give me advice

I am just about ready to change the battery but
My mother who has has it for a few years told me it never said low battery (although admits to not using it much)

I guess I don't want to turn it over and open it up to mess it up more
Thanks
 
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thanks

I actually did contact them
I was not sure how long it would take for them to respond
But low and behold I got and anser
I am going to copy and paste it below
I am so happy and impressed with the response time of this brand
I had a hard time with this topic on the internet just incase someone stumbles upon this

I will be trying to replace the battery myself tomorrow



KURZWEIL
Operational Tech Support

Hello Kathleen
Thank you for your support of the Kurzweil family of musical instruments and pro audio electronics.
It may require service but try the following first (proper reset steps below):
1_Turn the unit off.
2_Hold down buttons 1, 2, and 3 (on the keypad on the far right)
3_turn the unit back on.
4_Wait about a quarter of a second and release the three buttons.
5_You should now see 2 options: HARD RESET and DIAGS –
6_Select “Hard Reset” to reset your unit to factory default settings.

If this fails to revive things, or if you cannot even enter this menu, then unit will need service. If you need help locating an authorized KMS service facility (in N. America), please visit our on-line service center look up database:

http://kurzweil.com/service_centers/

Just a hunch, but this may be due to a dead/dying internal battery. The Pc88 uses a standardized CR2032, 3V lithium battery to back up its internal user memory. Like all batteries, the one used in the PC88 has a finite life (usually @7 years or so). When the battery voltage starts to drop to levels where it will no longer do its job, the unit itself is programmed to warn you ahead of time so that you can get the battery replaced before memory failure and/or other problems arise. From the time the warning message first appears you have roughly 3 months of battery life left.

The battery replacement is not a user serviceable item but the service center should be able to look at this and determine if it is part of the problem here.

Please let me know if you need further assistance.

Best Regards,
--
Jean Robert Bellefeuille
Manager of Technical & Customer Support
Kurzweil Music Systems
M-F 8a-5p PST
(310) 355-8052
(e-mail address removed)
www.kurzweil.com
 
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Kurzweil tech support is world class. Jean is the best .... On the PC3 model (which I own) the battery is now user serviceable. I would agree that it sounds like a battery to me. Your battery is probably so dead that the keyboard probably does not give you the 'low battery' message anymore. Unfortunately when you do the 'hard reset' process all user created programs are erased. Unless your grandfather stored these user created programs onto some media that you could reload any user programs he created will be permanently lost. Not sure if you have the user manual or not, but it can be found here as well as the PC88 'made easy' guide:

http://kurzweil.com/product/pc88-mx/downloads/
 
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Well I eplaced the battery and everything is the same

Ugg

Any other suggestions
I live North of Boston and know no where to bring it
 
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I believe the kurzweil product development lab is in boston (waltham?) Perhaps they can help. Check your chamber of commerce in boston and maybe you can track them down. Also, i believe jean left you his phone number for a reason so use it. Keep in mind that the pc88 is a 20 year old product so parts will be difficult to find.
Also, check to see if the contrast is set correctly on the display. There should be a dial somewhere to adjust the contrast. Or perhaps the display is just bad and the keyboard is actually functional.
 
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The issue is probably with the internal power components. If the LCD display shows a solid line of boxes (also called a black line), then more than likely the issue is related to the bridge rectifier (first component that converts the power supply voltage to the proper voltage) or the large 10,000 uF capacitor (C28).

I have posted a video on YouTube that shows how I fixed my PC88MX.
 

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