Blown Amp?

[marob]

First off, I am a complete beginner. I dont know what I'm doing.
I'm guessing I don't have a chance at fixing this, but, what the hell, I'll thow it out there and anyone that wants to can reply.

I’ve got a problem with a nice old Pioneer receiver I have.
It’s an SX-636 in really nice cosmetic condition, virtually flawless.
I don’t think there’s justification to take it in for repair as I could probably get a working replacement for less than $50 shipped off ebay, and then swap out any blemished parts.

Here are the symptoms:
It is limited to the left channel only, both A and B section, the right side A/B works fine.
There is a lot of crackling/static/noise along with an intermittent 60Hz hum.
It is also present in the headphone out, again left side only.
After the power is turned off, it continues for a bit.
The audio signal(music) cuts in and out along with the crackling and static.
At times, the speaker hooked up to the left channel flexes in and out randomly and sometimes is stuck all the way in.

I know this is a really dumb noob question, but is there anything at all I could do to try to fix it, or is it necessary for someone who knows what they’re doing to look at it? I have very limited background in electronics, but I can tell very generically the difference between components.

Any ideas? (please be gentle)

[anatech]

Hi marob,
I have a couple comments to make. I am trying to be helpful here.

I don�t think there�s justification to take it in for repair as I could probably get a working replacement for less than $50 shipped off ebay, and then swap out any blemished parts.

Most everything that comes off Eeekbay in the way of equipment has issues. Your problems are age related for the most part, and guess what? All those other sets are just as old as yours and may have had a harder life. So on average you will lose with that thinking.

Okay, so how about simply buying a new set? Good plan? Not really. they cost a lot more. The performance is normally worse unless you are talking about cheap sets. If you had a "Candle" (stop laughing you old guys!), a new set would perform better.

So, sounds like you need a new speaker relay for starters. This requires some skill at soldering. Next you need to clean all your controls and switches. Chemicals are like tools, you need to use the right stuff. Tuner cleaner is not useful, proper control cleaner is along with a non-residue cleaner for follow up with on some switches.

Once you have had this done, you can go further and figure out what else you need to do. Give the set a break! It's over 20 years old and needs some maintenance. If you are unsure about your own ability, let someone who has the skills work on it for you. It is possible that you may need to replace some capacitors to get it going. To have it operate as it did new, you certainly do need to replace parts. That is up to you.

-Chris