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Post by arussell on Feb 7, 2006 17:02:33 GMT -7
I just bought a used Ghia 12" combo on ebay, and when I started it up it blew a fuse after a few minutes of use. I replaced the fuse (1 amp slow blow, 250 volts) and it blew again in a matter of minutes.
The previous owner seems baffled by this, and he seems trustworthy to me. Does anyone know what might have been damaged in shipping that would cause this effect? The rectifier?
Here's what I can tell so far: When I turn on the amp, there's a visible "spark" in the rectifier. I can also hear a very high ringing sound, which I think is in the vicinity of the rectifier. I noticed this sound just before the fuse blew the first time and was wondering where it was coming from when the amp all of a sudden died. I have not previously owned an amp with a tube rectifier, so I'm not sure how they normally behave.
Thanks! Aaron
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Post by arussell on Feb 7, 2006 17:15:39 GMT -7
The only other odd thing about the amp when I got it is that when I started it up it was making a lot of rattling sounds. I tracked this down to one of the transformers (the big black one, don't know if it's output or input) - the screws holding it in were coming loose, so I tightened them up, which got rid of the rattle. Don't see how this could be related, but I thought I might mention it.
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Post by Bill on Feb 7, 2006 17:50:58 GMT -7
Same thing happened to my old Ghia. Replaced the rectifier and all was well from then on.
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Post by zane on Feb 7, 2006 20:07:56 GMT -7
Yeah I had a "bad" rectifier in mine ,& it went to blowin' fuses...changed it out and "it's all good"
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Post by arussell on Feb 7, 2006 20:23:02 GMT -7
Thanks for the info. I'll just pick up another rectifier tomorrow. I bet this one got shaken the wrong way or something when it was getting shipped.
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cliff
New Member
Posts: 3
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Post by cliff on Feb 7, 2006 23:19:14 GMT -7
My Ghia started blowing fuses (at a gig...bummer) and replacing tubes didn't help. I shipped it to Z last week, but no word yet on the problem. If you're seeing the rectifier tube spark, I think replacing it is a reasonable decision. Good luck.
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Post by arussell on Feb 8, 2006 22:23:04 GMT -7
Replaced the rectifier and the amp worked like a charm all day and at band practice tonight. Thanks to everyone who answered!
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Post by jonesyfried on Apr 1, 2006 18:17:37 GMT -7
Hey there I just had a fuse blow on Ghia. It was infact the rectifier, I know it was going bad but get this, it heated up the grid bias resistor so much that it desoldered from the cap and shorted out. Ugggh! I got it fixed though. One thing though man, and I learned this the hard way if you ever see any "arcing" in a tube immediatly shut it off, yo are lucky that is all it did. The rectifier tube controls voltage and essentially your tube was making power surges.
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Post by myles on Apr 1, 2006 20:24:14 GMT -7
If the rectifier is bad it will blow fuses almost immediately. In an amp with a standby switch with a bad rectifier, when the amp is switched off of standby it will blow at that moment.
Your output tubes should be replaced. Even if they were new there could have been shipping damage.
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