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Thanks for the diagnosis but we feel like you might have been interrupted from being over in a corner somewhere cringing...

Put a heat sink on it... Done

I put a small CPU fan with a shroud around big Chip because it was cutting out and clicking also the sound became very trebley no matter the adjustment my line 6 is a spider 2 150x2. Same layout boards. Since I installed CPU fan it stays cool and no more issues Watkins Glen NY waving 🤘

Mine has no sound what so ever does anybody have any fix

DSP chip is overheating because the electrolytic capacitors have lost their properties and do not filter the voltage, even polymer capacitors need to be replaced, and if that does not help, voltage regulators. Alternatively, you can still reflow the chip. On graphics cards, bga graphics processors (gpu) and ram memory are replaced, this dsp chip here will be replaced by an experienced electrician in a few minutes. I don't know why the author of the recording keeps repeating "don't do it at home" after all, even for an amateur who has a soldering iron, it's nothing extraordinary.

Can anyone give me a hint ? My Line 6 micro spider chugs (tok tok tok tok, you may call it also rattle) permanently.. I tested with 3 cables , same problem. It should be calm without using a guitar , tok tok toktok... I looked inside hmm ,all elkos look good, no smoke no apparently sign of board damage. With or without batteries , same symptom persisting. Thanks folks !

You can put a heat sink on the chip like you do for a computer chip and install a small fan, run it off the power switch.

My brother died recently, his wife gave me this model and it has the same problem...My worry is it is obviously a poor quality board ,so replacement with another will not solve it ... Would love to keep it but it has only come on once...

Mine just squeals when I turn it on. Do you know what could be causing it? Any help would be great!

Where can I order a replacement main board ?

Would a passive aluminum heat sync fix it, Or stop it from happening with the new chip?

My 15 watt line 6 spider won’t even turn on. Haven’t used it for a few months and came back to try it and it won’t even turn. No idea what’s going on? Any thoughts?

How about the volume drop issue? I've reset the head to factory NUMEROUS times, yet as soon as I switch between channels, the volume drops completely out. You then have to turn vol to zero and back up for sound. ANY tips? TY!

He could buy another one used for like 150 lol

Could you operate the power amp section from the fx loop if this DSP fail happens?

My fix was bonding an aluminum block about 1 inch square let it set up . Haven’t had a problem since . Thanks for the video it helped tremendously :)

Put a heatsink on it

Could you not just put a heat sink on it with some thermal paist?

Is there any fix for line 6 spider iv 75w blackbox syndrome?

You could for sure just put a heat sink on there along with some thermal paste.

Why cant we fuse a heatsink into this processor? You know, like on the motherboard of a pc? Please Answer

Why dont yo try a heat sink with some thermal paste like in a cpu?

I just took a soldering iron and gently heated up the chip; somehow it worked for me.

if you dont have a heat gun and some solder paste and flux it should be okey.I wonder if this just need a heatsink on the dsp .it get,s to varm and goes in protect mode?

Here e go again. So how does a heat sink cool the chips 10 degrees BELOW ambient temperature. It CAN’T. Heat sinks AND a fan were initially tried and they did nothing but in colder ambient temperatures below 70 degrees simply delay the chips warming up and failing. When the ambient temperature was 90 degrees and the chips fails at 80 degrees a heat sink will KEEP the chip at 90 degrees where they fail right at turn on. It’s very simple physics. Heat sinks so NOT cool semiconductors below the ambient temperature.

This guy is completely wrong, get a 20X20X10mm heatsink for the main chip and some smaller ones for the 3 aluminum towers in the back, some heatsink glue and glue them all on, problem solved, to go a step further you can install a computer fan, a small 60X60X20mm brushless will do the job perfect. I've done this to my own amps and is the fix for this problem.

This is basically an smd reflow repair first and replace the chip if it still does not stay cool. Obviously some thermal paste with a decent heat sink should make it work. The smd resistors and caps need also some reflow. This happens to hot boards that have poor cooling lol ask any Mac Book Pro user lmao and their $800 repairs for a 2 cent smd cap 😂

But i know what not to touch

Hi Dave. Thanks for the video. Well received. I have a similar problem as, Fabrice GABRINI, with a Low Down (LD)150 bass amp. The sound just cuts after playing for a few minutes. All the controls respond normally, but no sound, even from the headphone plug. Who is Freescale"? Since I have been told that my amp is obsolete, where can I get a new mother board or DPS board? But now I read;" Line 6 says,"Any repair shop could change it". Line 6 is so very wrong. I have people here with incredible equipment trying to replace it and it is almost impossible to change out. They want to sell us a new board for $160 which is in the price range of a used amp. I'm very disappointed in the way they stand (they don't) behind their product". Yes, I agree, those type chips require specialized equipment. With that said, who can fix my amp for under the cost of the motherboard? I don't think I will ever buy an amp from this company again.

*Now I know why people hate this piece of shit product now, I couldn't understand why. I only ever used it a few times, the other day tried using a effects box* *and it toasted this use once and throw away product from the U.S of A.*

Hmm thx for the info . . I love my L6 Spider Classic . . awesome for a very small amp . . my problem is when trying to update and install software for the MK 2 Express I possible deleted the firmware and no sound with the guitar input but have sound if I plug into the mp3/cd input but not much gain ??? Can anyone help?

Got this problem with my spider valve 112. It's been so incredibly frustrating. Thank you so much for the actual diagnosis, although it's a real bummer that it can't be something simple like replacing tubes or something like I'd hoped...

Hi Dave. Thanks for this interesting video. I have a similar problem with a Ld150 bass amp. I couldn't find exactly where the problem comes from for the moment. The sound just cuts after playing for a few minutes. All the controls respond normally, but no sound, even from the headphone plug.

Very interesting Dave. Thx for the demo. Was wondering if the malfunction on my line6 micro spider could be related to overheating too. I note that the control panel is the same so likely the same board in behind. My Sweep echo/Tape echo/Reverb knob is adding all kinds of weird noises it shouldn’t be, ranging from spaced out sounds to high volume white noise scratch hiss (in reverb mode). Just wondering if you’ve come across this phenomenon?

i simply said don’t do this at home. it takes equipment that most people don’t have at home. This was fixed under a microscope and reflow machine. Most people cannot and should not do this. in fact most people should not even open up the amplifier. i’m not sure what you are arguing about. this is simply common sense.

stick some thermal compound and a heat sink on that thing i say

bullshit - i'm s certified repair tech - please don't tell me not to service it .. who do you think the people working in such facilites are? gods?

Hi everybody. I have a Spider IV 30w and had the same problem here in my studio, in Brazil. Even being turned on, the amp suddenly cuts the signal and... no sound ... with all the lights working... Could it be the same overheating problem? Tks in advance for any suggestion.

I think line 6 charges over $100 for the board. There is probably a 1 hour minimum labor charge if you have a shop fix it. I worked for a major electronics company and that is the only reason I had the equipment to replace the DSP itself. It's probably worth getting a different amp IMHO. BTW, on further investigation the chip had the be cooled to about 65 degrees F for it to start working. No amount of heat sinking or cooling fans would have made this amp reliable. Other people may have chips that cut out at a higher temperature. In that case a Dan "might" help.

Where do you get the board???

Actually Cannot argue with that.

No, when your Line 6 get this problem just put it in the trash and get a real amp.

just install a fan problem solved

Hi Dave. I own a Spider III 15 watt amp. I was playing my amp. And it just turn off , the power switch still on position. My Amp Clean Crunch Metal Insane are push buttons over the control knobs. It may have been out for 3 to 5 seconds. I turn it off then on. No power. then it just came on. On the back says " Time Delay Fuse" . Too my amp wasn't very load only on , the volume 2 1/2 . any suggestions.

No that is absolutely not true. You are absolutely wrong. Installing a heat sink will not cool the chip since the air around the chip is hotter than the temperature that the chip has it's fault. I've keep saying this. It is a simple concept. If the chip has a problem above 65 degrees F, then a heat sink cannot help if the ambient air is above 65 degrees F. In fact the heat sink may help warm the chip up further. The chip generates VERY LITTLE heat. The problem is when the chips are bad, they fail at room temperature (76 degrees F) or even a little lower. Nothing you can do besides installing a solid state refrigeration unit like a thermoelectric cooler using the Peltier effect. What I demonstrated is cooling the chip BELOW room temperature using the evaporation of alcohol.

you don't need to change the chip or the main board.All that you need to do is to install a heat sink in top of it. Use arctic paste for better fit and that;s it.This is the most common problem for Line 6. They didn't get it.

Why not simply lift the board and place some thermal tape on the under side turning the metal frame into a heatsink...

This video is a good hearing test. If you can't hear the very annoying highpitched noise during the video, you've got hearing damage

I'll say this one more time. this DSP has to be cooled BELOW ambient temperature to work. There is absolutely no way, even with a CPU cooler fan that you can cool the DSP below ambient temperature. Maybe other people have DSPs that cut out at higher temperatures but this one cuts out at room temperature. The alcohol I used does cool the DSP below the ambient temperature. Clearly many of the responders do not understand this.

If your amp went back to working then your DSP was fried, not just from overheating