Carvin DCM 1000 protect light issue

[jackietreehorn]

Hey-o, I'm hoping for a little advice. I got a Carvin DCM 1000 today and when I plugged it in, the "protect" light and both "clip" lights glowed steadily. I found the manual online, read that the protect light goes on if the load isn't right, so I hooked it up a cab with an 8 ohm load and... same thing.

So I did some googling, and didn't get much help, but I found out this amp came with a 14 AWG power cord. The guy who sent it to me didn't send it with a power cord, so I plugged it in using one that was laying around my house - which is an 18 AWG.

Before I go buying a new cord, could something like the wire gauge cause this amp to go into protect mode or is it just wishful thinking and I bought a damaged amp and need to deal with sending it back?

 

[mmbongo]

Unless your cable is damaged, a new one won't fix that. i'd say the amp is fried.

 

[agedhorse]

It's NOT the power cord, and it's not the load. There is a fault inside the amp that's causing the protect LED to operate. It's NOT a user repairable cause either.

The challenge is finding a tech to work on it, they are not easy to repair and there is no factory support, no factory parts.

 

[Downunderwonder]

You bought a pup. Good luck getting your money back.

 

[jackietreehorn]

Ugh. Fortunately the guy who sold said up front “it’s guaranteed to work” or he’ll take a return. Thanks for the advice.

 

[agedhorse]

You are very fortunate, and I would let the guy know that you appreciate him being a good guy for this.

 

[byacey]

If the seller has been forthright with you, it's possible something was disturbed during shipping. Perhaps explain the situation to him and see if he's opposed to you getting a tech to have a quick check-over, and if he'll still honor the return policy if it's found to be cooked.

It could be something as simple as a power supply connector that shook loose during shipping.

 

[jackietreehorn]

I reached out to the seller to see how they wanted to proceed. I will make that offer because in the long run, shipping that box twice is more than half of what I paid for the amp. I get the impression from the sellers eBay profile that they’re a fairly high volume operation, and they may just send things out with that blanket return policy instead of taking the time and financial investment it would require to test every piece of gear that comes through. End of the day, I bought it from him because there were three about the same price that “power up, not tested” and they were the only ones with a return policy. He has a lot of good feedback, so I’m sure this will get resolved, plus ultimately I want the amp, so I’ll work with them if they want me to get it looked at. The problem is it was $160, so I don’t know at what point it’s not worth it to the seller to potentially involve an amp tech.

 

[Downunderwonder]

If you paid 160 which included 40 of shipping I think it is already a dead loss to the seller whichever way it gets handled. He might have paid 40 bucks to buy it.

Ship it back and he is out another 40 bucks before it's even looked at.

Getting it looked at is 40 bucks to open the box.

The fixing could be straightforward replugging a lost connection and no further charge, or it could be impossibly fubared.

In other words, in its current condition the amp is worthless. I expect the seller would offer you a full refund to keep it. Then it's over to you to bin it or bodge it.