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Last week I started having problems with my BDRI. It'll be fine for the first 15 minutes or so of playing but after that it just cuts out and won't make sound until I wait a bit and try again. It seems like it is overheating but it's never had that problem before and I can't find any information on the internet.
-I bought the amp new in September 2012.
-Last month I replaced the stock speaker with an Eminence Cannabis Rex.
-In doing so I had a hard time returning the circuitboard to its place since it is made to fit very tightly in the frame. Some of the conductive tape on one side was peeled off and got folded over in the process. This is the only thing I could think of that might be the problem.
Any help?
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02-23-2015 08:30 PM
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You might have shorted something.
I would recommend you unplug the amp, take the circuit board out and reinstall carefully.
Put everything back to its orignal location.
Look for picture of the same amp on internet to get a reference how it should be.
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Probably a cracked solder joint on the PCB. When things heat up, the crack expands and opens making the amp cut out.
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If it plays fine the first 15 minutes and problems start after that, it seems like a heat related problem.
My first guess would be a cold solder joint somewhere: that usually means a cracked solder connection (the cracks are usually very characteristicly O-shaped), like this:
Removing and reinstalling the circuit board could very well have caused a cracked solder joint if too much force was applied somewhere.....
Suspected areas are around all components directly soldered to the board: pots, switches and tube feet. In the original Blues Deluxe series this happened almost always around the two big white ceramic resistors: they get fairly hot. To discover the culprit a looking glass is handy, but even then it can be difficult to spot. There's no harm in carefully lifting the circuit board again and just touching (reflow it) every suspicious looking solder joint with an iron. Chances are your problem is gone then.
(Actually you can find a lot of information on this problem on the internet, as it happened a lot in the original Blues Deluxe amps, so leave out the 'reissue' in your search. It happened too mine too
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Forgot to write back and thank you guys for all the help. The amp was fine since I posted this a month and a half ago but the problem has started again and after taking the back off and considering checking the solder connections, I realized there is no possible way I could take the circuitboard off myself to check the solder joints. I'm not sure what to do. I need to take it to an amp tech I guess but I don't know how long that'll take and I have a big gig coming up next month.
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Originally Posted by McJazzer
If you have a gig you don't have much of a choice fix it now, or buy, rent, borrow for your gig. Don't want to use an unreliable amp on a gig.
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Find someone who is handy with a soldering iron and reflow all connections. Taking out the board is cumbersome, but no rocket science, I do it all the time (I modded my Blues Deluxe to great extent).
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Okay, so it's not a cold solder joint. I took it to a technician and he said he couldn't find anything wrong with it. In fact, the amp worked perfectly while it was there but 5 minutes into playing it at home and it's broken again.
Two ideas...
1) Could I switch to the external speaker jack on the inside of the amp and see if that works any better or is there a problem with that?
2) Could this be a faulty speaker?
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Unfortunately 1) I hear this often on new fender blues (jr, deluxe etc) amps. 2) it still sounds like a crack in the solder joint or the board.. leave it with your tech. Tell him to turn it on in the morning and test it an hour later (take it out of the cab first)
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Take it to a different amp tech.
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Oh boy, I've heard this too many times. Initially I took my BDLX also to a tech and he couldn't find anything nor could he reproduce the problem. It needs to be left on and working for quite some time. Mine could be fine a whole gig or start acting up in the first 5 minutes and then be fine, but it got worse and worse. So I ended up with a handy friend with some basic knowledge who left it on playing an audio signal thru it for an entire afternoon and only then the problem occurred again. He was clever enough to suspect a solder joint but we couldn't find it either, until we pulled out a magnifying glass and then we discovered several bad ones.
I'll still bet my money on a cracked solder joint. If you can't find it: reflow everything, just touch it with a hot iron. It’s only 10 minutes work.
I can’t help but thinking your tech turned on the amp, heard it playing fine, looked at the print and everything looks dandy. Leaves it on for some 15 minutes, still everything’s fine, so he’s thinking it must have been something else you did, since it's a mighty hassle to get out the print anyway.... too bad.
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External speaker jack? Why? I think that is a 4 ohm jack where the amp needs 8, not a big problem, but still a mis-match that is not optimal and puts stress on your output transformer. Speaker jacks can get corroded, but usually introduce noise then. If you suspect a corroded speaker jack, just plug it in and out a couple of times. That usually cleans it up sufficiently. Originally Posted by McJazzer
Faulty speaker: I don't think so. A speaker either stops working completely or will continue working but with a bad distorted sound.
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The sad part is it was a certified Fender technician. I took it to Mannella Guitars in Verona, PA.
Jay, your description fits my situation perfectly.
They told me they ran the amp on standby for 8 hours straight one day and didn't have a problem. I told them there needed to be actual signal coming through the amp so he said he played it for 15 minutes and there was no problems. I said it had to be longer than that but he refused and told me to drive there so I could personally replicate the problem because they had wasted too much time on the amp to warrant looking further into an issue that was apparently not there.
I drove all the way there and back and when I got home it broke within 5 minutes.
I asked if he checked the solder joints, he said he didn't see anything but dodged the question when I asked if he actually took the control board off and looked. He told me people on forums don't know what they're talking about.
Keep in mind I wasted 5 hours driving and an entire tank of gas to have nothing done. Clearly I won't be back.
I'll be persistent with the cold solder joint issue next time I go somewhere else.
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Man, I can feel your agony! I hope you find a good technician that solves it!
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Thanks Jay. Hopefully I can get this resolved soon.
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Man, four of those six joints are obviously bad. That's really bad quality control there. Originally Posted by Little Jay
If it plays fine the first 15 minutes and problems start after that, it seems like a heat related problem.
My first guess would be a cold solder joint somewhere: that usually means a cracked solder connection (the cracks are usually very characteristicly O-shaped), like this:
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It's a random picture from the web Cunamara, just to illustrate a cracked solder joint ;-)
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**Same amp same problem and is working again**
I have been dealing with the same problem with my Fender Blues Deluxe amp... and i believe my amp is finally back after almost a year of being in and out of shops. I believe that all you need to do is have someone put a new Resistor on the amp. the shop said they ran it for 3 hours after replacing it and it didn't cut out. Today i got it back and played it for a half hour and it never messed up. Other shops tried messing with the tubes, resolder the power supply, cleaning the nobs, messing with fuses. I was told that the power at my practice space was to blame but none of this fixed the problem.
let me know if this fixes your amp too!
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Man, intermittent problems are the bane of electronics techs; sometime, the darn thing will just refuse to exhibit any problems while on the bench. It may well not be an indication of any incompetence on the part of the tech. If I couldn't spot any circuit board problems, my next step was heating things up with a hair dryer, and/or lightly tapping around with the back end of a tweaker (small screw driver). I recently had a problem with a Lectrosonics wireless transmitter. Being old and lazy, I sent it off to the tech recommended by Lectrosonics (they don't work on non-current models at the factory - they refer everyone to the same repair shop). No doubt, the tech is a real pro; handling a high volume of Lectro wireless gear. When I got it back and fired it up (the day before a recording job, of course) - nothing. I finally tracked the problem to a seemingly bad solder joint on a multi-pin connector (pretty common). I never could really see any fault - it seems to work fine now, but still makes me very nervous.
It's so much easier when a piece of gear stops working entirely...
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Maybe is tube ?
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Had probs with my Princeton. Tech says cracked solder joints a typical Fender PCB problem.
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I live in Pittsburgh and Dave is well known in the area. Verona is just outside the city limits. I am not sure how you got it to Dave since you are from Reading, but Pittsburgh Guitars have a very good amp tech also John Wagner. Originally Posted by McJazzer
Also, I know you don't want to hear this, but its one of the reasons to consider point to point versus PCB. Amp makers like Rivera do use military grade PCB.
Pittsburgh Guitars Expert Amp Repair
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Put a new resistor on it cause it fixed the same problem on the same model amp.. Don't hit it with a screw driver...?
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Instead of a screwdriver (with metal), get some wood chopsticks. the screwdriver could short components or short the components to you. Wood chopsticks are much safer. You don't need to whack the components, just a light prod or tap and look for movement or listen for crackles and scratches.
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I think what every tech should do when someone brings in an amp with intermittent problems is to reflow all suspicious looking solder joints. 99% chance the problem will be solved. (You can't endlessly reflow solder joints, at some point you need to suck away the old solder and re-solder).
Since I am aware of this problem and annually inspect my Blues Deluxe and reflow suspicious joints I haven't had any problems anymore. I do prefer turret or eyelet boards btw, but modern production amps hardly come with those anymore.
The Fender '65 and '68 RI series are a little better in the sense that tube feet and jack-sockets are not soldered directly to the PCB.Last edited by Little Jay; 11-18-2016 at 06:17 AM.
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