Mysterious problem

[Mooch]

Ok here is the problem and what I have tried. If I transport my bass amp(hartke HA3500) and my cabs(1-4x10,1-1x15 hartke) and then plug all the gear back in and power it all up and hookup my bass and turn the volume up I instantly get a farty bad connection type sound.
Its hard to describe it in words but its just terrible. So I tried looking at my amp jacks which seem fine, they make no noise when I wiggle the cable and unplugging and plugging back in does nothing.

I looked at the wiring in my cabs and nothing is loose anywhere and the speaker cables make no noise either when messed with.

So I tried unplugging from my bass which when you move the cable in the jack makes no noise as well.

BUT, when I unplug it slow with the volume a little up so it makes that horrific noise we all fear, after the pop and crackle and plug it back in it all then works fine.

Anyone have any idea why this would happen only when I transport my gear? Once I get it to work its good but once I move my gear something goes haywire.

Also I transport my bass every week and don't have this problem just when I move my amp and cabs.

Sorry so long I'm just totally stumped.

Mooch

[billfitzmaurice]

Clean your pots and jacks with tuner cleaner, on both the bass and the amp.

[jazzblade]

Hmmmm.......Have you cleaned all your cable jacks. Thinking that maybe there is corrosion or junk on the jack?

Weird if it only happens when you move it. I had a old good quality mil spec copper guitar cable jack that looked good but I needed to polish it up every once-in -a-while or it would do that to me.

[Mooch]

Thanks for the reply, just a couple of questions on the process.

1. What is tuner cleaner? Is it like contact cleaner? Where do I find tuner cleaner? I have contact cleaner at home if that's the same thing.

2. Are you talking take a cotton swab and spray with cleaner and clean the insides of the jacks?

Just want to be clear on the process before I start. Thanks for your help.

Mooch

[will33]

Tuner control cleaner, contact cleaner, similair names for pretty much the same thing. Do-Oxit is a good brand, there are several others. Some have more or less oil mixed in, you don't want a lot of oil, a little's ok. On knobs you spray it in the pot and turn the knob back and forth several times and let it evaporate before you power it back up. On a jack spray it in there, run the plug in and out a few times, again let it evaporate before you turn it back on.

[jazzblade]

De-Oxit contact cleaner for contacts, jacks, The stuff for pots has a little lube in it. I think De-Oxit makes that too. You can use the lubed stuff for your contacts, I wouldn't use the non-lubed stuff on a pot though.

On Knobs, you need to get to the back of the pots and spray it into that open area where the wires come out to the connections. A little goes a long way. Move the pots back and forth and your done.
Both evaporate quickly.

[Mooch]

This is what I have at home, its called electrical grade CO Contact Cleaner.

I used to dj and used this to clean contact on sticky and bad connecting cross faders.

Its at least 10 years old. Should I get something new or will this do the trick?

[jazzblade]

Originally Posted by Mooch

This is what I have at home, its called electrical grade CO Contact Cleaner.

I used to dj and used this to clean contact on sticky and bad connecting cross faders.

Its at least 10 years old. Should I get something new or will this do the trick?

If it worked without drying out the sliders, sure. The can should say what it is best used for.

You should have some De-oxit around though, stuff is great.

[Mooch]

Ok I'll see if I can find some de-oxit around town here. Thanks for all your help. This has been worrying me as it happen upon setup at our last gig and it was very stressful. I'll keep you posted on the success of the cleaning.