Hifonics HFi1500D

[airforceixi]

Hey all, had an amp repair question and figured this was the best place to ask.

I have a Hifonics HFi1500D that I purchased in February of this year and just today it failed. I was driving, listening at a low volume and the unit went into protect mode just as I started making a turn. I've checked all connections and tried running the amp with nothing but power, remote turn on, and ground and it still goes into protect immediately.

Here's my question: The unit is still under warranty. Do I fix it myself or just have it replaced under warranty? Not sure if it's common for these amps to break, but if it is and I can fix it better than the replacement, I may as well do that.

Sub-question: If I do fix it myself, where do I start looking? Anything in particular that's a common issue? (I'm not dumb when it comes to Electronics, just not sure where to start as I don't normally work on amps)

[ian33]

Check the outputs for shorted transistors

[Perry Babin]

If it's under warranty, I'd suggest that you send it back and let the seller/manufacturer deal with it. If you decide to try to repair it yourself, post a photo of the inside of the amp.

[airforceixi]

Since it is under warranty, I'll go ahead and get it replaced. The place I purchased it from offered to replace it with the next version up (HFi2000D) as long as I cover shipping costs to/from. Not bad.

I did get curious and did as much looking I could without breaking the warranty seals. I was able to get the sides off and peer inside but didn't really see much (nothing worth photographing). I did find some oily fluid on the power side of the unit so I'm assuming a capacitor ruptured. I also saw some corrosion/white deposits on certain solder points on the bottom of the board and on the fuse contacts. Is this typical for higher power amps?

[Perry Babin]

Corrosion isn't normal. If a capacitor leaked or the board got wet, that could have caused the corrosion.