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Elation Dartz 360 troubleshooting
The Elation Dartz 360 problems live-event techs bring to Ask Roadie most (also called Dartz). Pick your symptom, or describe your own in plain words, and get the likeliest fix first, with the manual page when there is one.
Common Dartz 360 errors & problems
What techs run into most, and what's usually behind it. The step-by-step fix for your exact unit is in Ask Roadie.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
Display shows CMY error / color or effect wheel error after reset
Likely cause: All effect wheels home against a magnetic index at reset; a wheel that cannot confirm its zero flags the error just like pan/tilt.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
Display shows PAN error (or Err PAN) after power-up / reset; head does not find home on pan
Likely cause: Reset homing relies on the magnetic index sensor telling the processor the head is at the zero position; a missing magnet, dead sensor, or dead motor driver means the head never confirms home and the fixture flags the error.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
Display shows TILT error (Err TILT) after reset; head does not find home on tilt
Likely cause: Tilt homing uses the same magnetic index scheme as pan; if the head cannot confirm the default tilt position after reset the fixture reports the error.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
Fixture will not update / firmware upload will not start
Likely cause: The Dartz uses Elation's dedicated uploader rather than DMX/RDM flashing; without the C-Loader device the bootloader never enters update mode.
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Fixtures lose sACN / Art-Net after a few minutes on a network switch; head flashes its address and stops responding
Likely cause: sACN uses IP multicast; a switch with IGMP snooping on but no querier starts pruning the multicast group and stops forwarding it to the fixtures, and EEE powers ports down mid-stream — both show up as fixtures that connect then drop.
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Head runs hot / thermal shutdown or fan running full and noisy
Likely cause: The fixture ramps fans and will protect itself on over-temp; blocked vents or a dead fan raise junction temp and trigger the response.
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How to read what went wrong / check running hours and temperature
Likely cause: The onboard diagnostics store recent faults and live fan/temp data, so the menu is the fastest triage before opening a ticket.
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Multiple units drift out of sync on pan/tilt when running the same cue
Likely cause: The sync bug was a firmware timing issue; matching all units to the fixed build removes the per-unit timing difference.
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No response to console / wrong personality behavior
Likely cause: A profile/mode mismatch shifts every parameter off by the channel offset, so the fixture appears to ignore or mis-execute commands; aligning mode and address restores correct mapping.
- Step-by-step fixGet the fix →
Visible LED flicker on camera / video
Likely cause: Flicker on camera is a beat between the LED PWM frequency and the camera shutter; raising PWM above the shutter rate removes the visible beat.
Not on the list? Describe it your way, or paste the error code off the display. Ask Roadie works the problem with you until it's fixed or you have a clear next move.
How Ask Roadie helps with the Dartz 360
- 1. Pick the Elation Dartz 360. It's already in the list.
- 2. Describe what you're seeing. In your own words, or the error code off the screen.
- 3. Get the likeliest fix first. Steps in order, the manual page when there is one, and a note when other techs have confirmed it.
- 4. Still broken? Tap 👎 and it keeps going from where you left off.