Guitar stopped working - Help?

[stormcrow]

Hi
Hopefully this is the right place to ask about this.
I’m a total beginner to all this so please forgive me if I am missing something obvious here.
I have a Fernandes Monterey Elite with sustainer (bought from e-bay few months ago) and the problem is it seems to have stopped working and I think it is a sustainer problem.
As I understand it if there is no battery in the sustainer it won’t work and neither will the other pick up which is a Seymour Duncan.
I was just perfecting the first 10 notes of Samba Pa Ti today :) (which is a huge leap forward from my usual 5 chords!!) when I stopped getting anything through my amp. I initially thought the amp was faulty but I plugged in my Squire and it was working ok. I then noticed that the led at the back was not on which I think indicates a battery problem. I have tried 4 batteries in and still no luck. Does this look like a problem with the sustainer?
Is this the excuse I have been looking for to pop into town tomorrow with Mr. Visa and get myself a new guitar?
Any advice appreciated regarding what the problem could be.

Thanks

[Eric]

Is this the excuse I have been looking for to pop into town tomorrow with Mr. Visa and get myself a new guitar?
Any advice appreciated regarding what the problem could be.

Thanks
If you're getting a new guitar, can I have your Monterey Elite??

I don't know much (or anything, really) about that sustainer pickup, and this is just a guess, but you might have a loose connection, particularly if you bought it used. You could check inside to see if you can find anything obviously loose/wrong with the electronics. If you don't feel comfortable doing that, I'd take it to a shop and have them look it over before going out to buy a new guitar.

[Spudman]

Like Eric say, it might be a loose connection.
One of the most fragile connections and the first place I would start would be the battery leads. The next stop is the output jack. In the case of your guitar the output jack is probably also the on/off for the sustainer circuit. Resolder all the connections you can find on the jack and look for broken wires as well. It's a simple effort but just takes a bit of time and is worth it if it fixes your problem.

Do you have a multimeter?

[stormcrow]

Thanks for the replies, I had a quick check to see if there were any obvious loose leads I'll have a closer look now as I never thought at looking on the input jack. I dont have a multimeter but I can probably get one though, I'll see how thing go with resoldering.
Might still go for the new guitar option though but I need to be quick as VAT goes up on Saturday!! However I'll be keeping the Fernandes as well as I've grown rather fond of it :)

[stormcrow]

Bad news I'm afraid or good news, I suppose depends on how you want to look at it :) it’s fixed.
I tried a different lead in the guitar and it worked so I looked at the (considerably more expensive) lead I'd been using and compared both of the ends. One of these is about 2mm longer than the other and when that end is inserted into the guitar it works if I use the shorter end the LED does not come on and nothing works. And who says size doesn't matter!!!
My dilemma now is do I reveal that it is now working which will totally scupper my plans on getting that Fender Deluxe I had picked out!! or do I wait a while and somehow manage to fix it at a later date :)

[Eric]

Bad news I'm afraid or good news, I suppose depends on how you want to look at it :) it’s fixed.
I tried a different lead in the guitar and it worked so I looked at the (considerably more expensive) lead I'd been using and compared both of the ends. One of these is about 2mm longer than the other and when that end is inserted into the guitar it works if I use the shorter end the LED does not come on and nothing works. And who says size doesn't matter!!!
My dilemma now is do I reveal that it is now working which will totally scupper my plans on getting that Fender Deluxe I had picked out!! or do I wait a while and somehow manage to fix it at a later date :)
Well, I'd consider a working guitar to be a good thing. Glad you could get it resolved.

[stormcrow]

Well, I'd consider a working guitar to be a good thing. Glad you could get it resolved.

Please don't get me wrong I'm very pleased its working it's just the timing could have been better, this time tomorrow I could have had a new unexpected toy now I've got a clash with the good and bad voices in my head saying "buy it!!" "dont buy it!!" :)

[kiteman]

It's your money. :)

[Kazz]

buy it....buy it