Hartke Amp and Speaker issues.....need help!!

[LowEndLumerian]

Hello!!
I bit the bullet and bought some Hartke gear, it was used, but it all worked and sounded great when I got it.
I was enjoying the set up for a few months but one day after playing with my mates, when moving my gear back into my van, I made the mistake of pushing the speaker with the amp on top. The speaker wheels caught on a gap in the cement and my amp went flying and hit the pavement pretty hard.

Since then, I have been experiencing issues with the sounds cutting out, loud popping and whatnot, which is fixed temporarily by a hardy bang on the top of the amp.
I then noticed a few weeks later that only two out of the four of my 4x10 speakers were actually pushing air.

I think its obvious the amp needs to have the connections looked at....but could the speaker issue be related as well? I have no idea what I am doing with fixing these amps beyond trying to look up youtube videos on it. I plan to open up the amp and tinker but I am hoping for some advice, thank you in advance


Gear: Hartke LH1000 amp and HD410 HyDrive speakers.

 

[agedhorse]

This would be a good time to contact a QUALIFIED, EXPERIENCED service tech… not somebody who learned on the internet.

 

[Al Kraft]

My advice is to always start with the obvious things in troubleshooting. You identified three things I would focus on.

First , your amp fell from the top of a 410 cab onto pavement...it needs to be looked at.

Second, you noticed that only 2 of 4 speakers in the cab are working...that cab needs to be looked at.

Third, you recognize that you are in over your head here...congratulations on having self-awareness, many folks struggle with that and make what could have been an easy to fix issue a lot worse. Youtube is not the place to learn how to repair amplifiers (or many other things IMO). Both issues will be most expeditiously and economically addressed by finding a qualified technician who preferably has experience with Hartke gear. While Hartke experience is not absolutely essential, it often helps if a tech has familiarity with a brand's designs, their peculiarities/unique issues, and access to factory service information and parts.

That is a really nice bass rig and hopefully a good tech can get you up and operating again.

 

[Zooberwerx]

There is some light at the end of this tunnel: the fact the amp returns to full (?) function with "manipulation" shows some promise as equipment that is truly broken does not repair itself. Suck-up the bench fees and turn it over to a qualified tech for diagnostics and repair. The enclosure is another story and the deficits cited may be purely coincidental but can be subjected to some basic eval with a 1/4" speaker cable (if compatible) and 9v battery without fear of electrocution or extended damage. How we proceed depends on the outcome.

Riis

 

[PNW Tony]

Hello!!
I bit the bullet and bought some Hartke gear, it was used, but it all worked and sounded great when I got it.
I was enjoying the set up for a few months but one day after playing with my mates, when moving my gear back into my van, I made the mistake of pushing the speaker with the amp on top. The speaker wheels caught on a gap in the cement and my amp went flying and hit the pavement pretty hard.

Since then, I have been experiencing issues with the sounds cutting out, loud popping and whatnot, which is fixed temporarily by a hardy bang on the top of the amp.
I then noticed a few weeks later that only two out of the four of my 4x10 speakers were actually pushing air.

I think its obvious the amp needs to have the connections looked at....but could the speaker issue be related as well? I have no idea what I am doing with fixing these amps beyond trying to look up youtube videos on it. I plan to open up the amp and tinker but I am hoping for some advice, thank you in advance


Gear: Hartke LH1000 amp and HD410 HyDrive speakers.

Please let us know how it works out. I have the same head and similar Hartke 410 cab. Mine are working great now, but you never know....

 

[LowEndLumerian]

Thanks for the responses!

This would be a good time to contact a QUALIFIED, EXPERIENCED service tech… not somebody who learned on the internet.

My advice is to always start with the obvious things in troubleshooting. You identified three things I would focus on.

First , your amp fell from the top of a 410 cab onto pavement...it needs to be looked at.

Second, you noticed that only 2 of 4 speakers in the cab are working...that cab needs to be looked at.

Third, you recognize that you are in over your head here...congratulations on having self-awareness, many folks struggle with that and make what could have been an easy to fix issue a lot worse. Youtube is not the place to learn how to repair amplifiers (or many other things IMO). Both issues will be most expeditiously and economically addressed by finding a qualified technician who preferably has experience with Hartke gear. While Hartke experience is not absolutely essential, it often helps if a tech has familiarity with a brand's designs, their peculiarities/unique issues, and access to factory service information and parts.

That is a really nice bass rig and hopefully a good tech can get you up and operating again.

There is some light at the end of this tunnel: the fact the amp returns to full (?) function with "manipulation" shows some promise as equipment that is truly broken does not repair itself. Suck-up the bench fees and turn it over to a qualified tech for diagnostics and repair. The enclosure is another story and the deficits cited may be purely coincidental but can be subjected to some basic eval with a 1/4" speaker cable (if compatible) and 9v battery without fear of electrocution or extended damage. How we proceed depends on the outcome.

Riis

Please let us know how it works out. I have the same head and similar Hartke 410 cab. Mine are working great now, but you never know....

Thanks all!! I have tried to find a tech, but will search harder. I live in relatively small town. I will report back.

 

[Al Kraft]

Thanks all!! I have tried to find a tech, but will search harder. I live in relatively small town. I will report back.

Even if you need to drive a few hours, it will be worth it in the long run.

Some simple troubleshooting on the cab to see if speakers are bad and/or wiring is bad can be done pretty easily and very safely. Zooberwerx shared a technique that works well and is very simple to do. That could save you some time and money without the potential of introducing a new problem.

 

[agedhorse]

Often, the damage to speakers from a fall is hidden (not visible).

The general rule is when troubleshooting, is not to break it worse. It see a lot of gear that WAS relatively straightforward to repair before somebody unqualified got into it.

 

[abarson]

Reach out to Hartke for a listing of their closest repair shop.

Contact Us | Hartke

www.hartke.com

 

[-Stingray]

Don't open up the Amp. Don't tinker.

As a matter of fact I wouldn't even play through an amp I needed to beat on to get working.

As the others said, take it to a qualified repair shop. Do it now before you make it worse.

 

[groooooove]

It see a lot of gear that WAS relatively straightforward to repair before somebody unqualified got into it.

this is pretty much always true. the amount of dogs i've trained that would've been 2-3 session clients had they called before trying to fix it themselves, that end up being 16+ sessions + a lifetime of management for the dog.

not that amps and dogs are that much alike, but this is just always the case.

 

[LowEndLumerian]

roger that, I will not tinker!! I found a shop that hopefully can look at my gear, closed today so I will report when I have more news, thank you all!

 

[Spectre Gunner]

"... I have no idea what I am doing with fixing these amps beyond trying to look up youtube videos on it. I plan to open up the amp and tinker but I am hoping for some advice, thank you in advance "

My advice is to leave it alone and take it to someone qualified. There are certain components that can hold a high voltage charge for some time after it's been unplugged and you risk getting electrocuted.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

As a matter of fact I wouldn't even play through an amp I needed to beat on to get working.

Ditto... One of the beatings may cause the loose component or connection to make contact elsewhere and do a lot more damage. It's not going to heal itself.

 

[agedhorse]

this is pretty much always true. the amount of dogs i've trained that would've been 2-3 session clients had they called before trying to fix it themselves, that end up being 16+ sessions + a lifetime of management for the dog.

not that amps and dogs are that much alike, but this is just always the case.

Exactly the same thing applies to horses.

 

[jthisdell]

No direct experience but several years back I was looking for a new amp and came across a lot of posts talking about Harte LM 500-1000 and issues with connections within the amp.

 

[Thumpin6string]

Everyone knows that the only one who should smack an amp is a qualified tech, since smacking it is a pretty technical way of repairing amps.

 

[Drredplate]

Exactly the same thing applies to horses.

This also applies to plumbing and wiring quite spooky really

 

[LowEndLumerian]

update: Drove it over to a shop I found about an hr away, turns out the owner designs and makes his own guitar amps.
I am hopeful, will update again when I hear back!

 

[Mike Caldwell]

I would not be surprised that the magnets and or pole pieces have shifted and pinched the voice coils on the two speakers that are not working.
No real fix for that.