help - amp busted

NateS · #1 11-15-2010, 01:19 PM

hi all!

here's the wall of text:

so, what happened was, i was donig sound/providing bass cabinet for a friend's band's gig on saturday - outside, for the richmond marathon, play as they run past yadda yadda yadda. Ran on a generator. It actually ended up using nothing but my Ampeg b4-r into an 810e, with bass through one half and miced guitar/vocals in the other half as a 4x10 pa, and sounded good. powered the mixer and the amp off of the generator. everything ran fine, no power shortages, etc. Packing up, i stacked the mixer and amp on top of the 8x10 and roll them all back to my car in one trip, yay! take the mixer off to put it in the car, and the weight shifts, the amp falls off the 8x10

It's in a road case. It's solid state.

It doesnt' work now.

me and my buddy TS have notice that the fuse switch ont he back is white/black, i noticed it was like the saturday. i had never noticed how it was before, but like i said, it was working saturday with no problems at all. Is the fuse blown? Could the drop have broken it? Is it not fused related?

It's a little push fuse indicator, it's out and you can push it in but it just shifts back out. Black switch, the area you can see when it's out is white, you know what i mean?

So...anybody know what's up? I'm decent with electronics, and if it's like a normal tube fuse or whatever i can replace it myself..don't really have the money for a repair bill.

So much for this band practice. V_V

throbbinnut · #2 11-15-2010, 01:48 PM

Well, that's a circuit breaker - not a fuse. You could have physically broken the circuit breaker mechanism. Are you pushing it in when the amp isn't plugged in? If so, and it pops back out even when the amp is unplugged, then the circuit breaker is broken. If it's popping back out when you plug the amp into the wall, then something internal is shorted out.

Chris

anderbass · #3 11-15-2010, 04:07 PM

I agree^

Quote from the manual: http://www.ampeg.com/pdf/B4R.PDF

23. CIRCUIT BREAKER: The B4R employs an AC line circuit
breaker to help protect against damage due to excessive current
demands. If the amplifier stops working, check the circuit
breaker. If it has opened, the button will be protruding and
showing a contrasting color. You can reset the circuit breaker
by pushing it in until it latches. The breaker must cool down for
a short time before the button will latch. If the circuit breaker
opens repeatedly, have the amplifier checked by a qualified
service person.

craig.p · #4 11-15-2010, 04:13 PM

Open it up and look around inside. Could be something really obvious.

KramerBassFan · #5 11-15-2010, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by craig.p

Open it up and look around inside. Could be something really obvious.

Don't.

Unless you know what you are doing, this could be a very bad route.

Unless you are savvy with electronics, more often than not, you won't even know if something is "bad" or broken.

Take it to a tech.

RickenBoogie · #6 11-15-2010, 05:53 PM

+1 take it in to amp tech. It's not worth a)risking your life, or b) causing further damage.

NateS · #7 11-16-2010, 10:01 PM

yay. a repair bill that i cant' afford.

exactly what i need... V_V

thanks for the help, guys - at least i know

anderbass · #8 11-17-2010, 06:10 AM

You never answered throbbinnut's questions from post #2, this could be the difference between a easy fix or not.

NateS · #9 11-17-2010, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anderbass

You never answered throbbinnut's questions from post #2, this could be the difference between a easy fix or not.

oh, yea - i forgot it was there cause i read the replies a day before i posted again. I don't have my amp with me right now but i seem to remember the breaker switch never staying in. I'll text my bandmate for confirmation, but i'm pretty positive it never stayed in.

KramerBassFan · #10 11-17-2010, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassk81976

yay. a repair bill that i cant' afford.

exactly what i need... V_V

thanks for the help, guys - at least i know

Would you prefer:

A. A tech repair bill you can't afford

B. Damage to life and or limbs, and the following hospital bill, all caused by electricity being in places it shouldn't be, such as the human body.

Best of luck... and shock's aren't fun. Even if its grabbing the speaker cable on an Ungrounded and incorrectly polarized Ampeg V4 that is already running funky due to insufficient wall current for it... oh, and the amp was "supposed" to be off...

throbbinnut · #11 11-17-2010, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassk81976

oh, yea - i forgot it was there cause i read the replies a day before i posted again. I don't have my amp with me right now but i seem to remember the breaker switch never staying in. I'll text my bandmate for confirmation, but i'm pretty positive it never stayed in.

If the breaker won't reset even when the amp is unplugged from the wall, then you probably just have a broken circuit breaker. You'll want to get an exact replacement so you can just disconnect the old one, pop it out, pop in the new one, and reconnect the wires. >>>IF<<< that's all that's wrong with it...

And of course don't go inside the amp unless you know what you're doing. You'll void the amp's warranty, and you may void your own.

Chris

NateS · #12 11-17-2010, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by throbbinnut

If the breaker won't reset even when the amp is unplugged from the wall, then you probably just have a broken circuit breaker. You'll want to get an exact replacement so you can just disconnect the old one, pop it out, pop in the new one, and reconnect the wires. >>>IF<<< that's all that's wrong with it...

And of course don't go inside the amp unless you know what you're doing. You'll void the amp's warranty, and you may void your own.

Chris

ok, cool - so it shouldn't take much to get it repaired, you think?

bought the amp used here on TB< so no warranty, but i'm only decent with effect peals, not amps...might open it up and look at it though.

christw · #13 11-17-2010, 03:14 PM

If it's the circuit breaker it's less than 10 minutes of work. A lot of shops have a minimum bench fee of $40 or so around here, but if it's just that, then you'll be in and out quickly.

BassmanPaul · #14 11-17-2010, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassk81976

ok,might open it up and look at it though.

And if something IS wrong would you be able to identify the problem? Techs really don't like working on an amp that some owner or his/her buddy has tried to repair before. Usually the repair bill reflects this dislike.

You are dealing with mains voltages here. Take the amp to a tech unopened. His bill will be far far less than your life is worth!!!!

NateS · #15 11-17-2010, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

And if something IS wrong would you be able to identify the problem? Techs really don't like working on an amp that some owner or his/her buddy has tried to repair before. Usually the repair bill reflects this dislike.

You are dealing with mains voltages here. Take the amp to a tech unopened. His bill will be far far less than your life is worth!!!!

I think I could recognize a broken component or 2, if that's what it is. Notice I never mentioned actually repairing anything. I meant, literally *look* around in there.

KramerBassFan · #16 11-17-2010, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

And if something IS wrong would you be able to identify the problem? Techs really don't like working on an amp that some owner or his/her buddy has tried to repair before. Usually the repair bill reflects this dislike.

You are dealing with mains voltages here. Take the amp to a tech unopened. His bill will be far far less than your life is worth!!!!

Or perhaps its a problem you can't really even identify on sight alone, such as a shorted out transistor....

throbbinnut · #17 11-17-2010, 08:14 PM

If the circuit breaker is just plain "busted" from the drop, and you have enough smarts to make sure it's unplugged before you open it up, you probably can open it up and replace it and live to tell about it. If it's more than that, you're screwed. So, find the exact replacement part online, order it, replace it with the amp unplugged, and if it trips on the next plug-in or powerup, then take it to a tech because it's more than just a busted circuit breaker.

Chris