Sherwood S-6040CP Repair

antiquekid3 · 12th June 2010, 10:04 PM

Hey guys,

A friend's dad just gave me a Sherwood MOSFET power amp. It's been broken for a while now, as he replaced it several years ago with a Hafler DH-200 amp. Prior to replacing it, he got it serviced from an authorized service center who replaced all of the output MOSFETs in one channel. But now it's toast, apparently...

I would love to get this amp working again, but I have read that the MOSFETs are hard to find. The symptoms are not numerous: all of the outputs have several (between .5V and 3V) volts of offset. Not too good...I haven't checked it's actual capability as far as driving a load, as clearly there is a problem. (and I don't want to risk burning out some speakers!)

Where should I start with this amp? I have plenty of voltmeters, an oscilloscope and a signal generator. I only have one probe, though.

Where can I find a schematic for this beast?

Thanks!

Kyle

jaycee · 12th June 2010, 10:19 PM

The mosfets might not neccesarily be dead... probably best to pull them and check. What kind are they?

Such a small amount of offset would rather point to a problem in the frontend of the amp, or could even be a symptom of dried out electrolytics.

antiquekid3 · 12th June 2010, 10:56 PM

Yeah, I measured the seemingly appropriate rail voltage across them, with 3.029V (or something like that) on each gate. They would "seem" okay, I guess.

Without a schematic, however, I am pretty much hopeless. I see a few pots, but I'm not going to go messing with them until I know what they are.

Also, how much DC bias is too much? My McIntosh MA 6100 has <20mA per channel...is that okay?

Kyle

jaycee · 13th June 2010, 01:15 AM

Yeah, you might be out of luck unless you're prepared to try and trace it out.

Some pictures might be helpful... never know, we might be able to spot something amiss!

Failing all that, theres always the potential to build a replacement amp into the unit?

antiquekid3 · 13th June 2010, 03:13 AM

I wouldn't mind tracing it. However, I am definitely not knowledgeable enough to do it on my own. I wouldn't know where to expect one voltage or another, to be honest. Unless something is getting burning hot, I wouldn't really know what's wrong or not. And it seems as though I don't have a good channel to compare it to!

Could I get a few resistors and use them as dummy loads just to see if the thing even amplifies? Measuring across a dummy load with my 'scope would seem like a good start.

I'll try and get some pictures soon. One thing I do know about this amp: it was NEVER abused, and I got it from the original owner. He takes very good care of all of his equipment, and it really does show! This thing (except for a lot of dust on the inside) is absolutely beautiful!

Kyle

jaycee · 13th June 2010, 05:28 AM

Yep, in fact a dummy load is recommended

You could get some 4.7 ohm power resistors, mount them to a heatsink or even a bit of metal, blow air across em to keep them cool. Mount in series for 8 ohms

ive seen dummy loads built with 4x4.7 ohm 50W resistors, the aluminium clad types, with sockets so you can put them in series and parallel combinations to get 4, 8, 16 etc.

The scope will then show you if the waveform is good. Squirt a sine wave into it and see how it comes out. If it's distorted this can often be a clue as to where the problem is.

albertNL · 31st December 2012, 12:04 AM

Old thread but perhaps someone else will read this in the future.

Service manual is available at hifiengine.com
I just downloaded it.

12th June 2010, 10:04 PM	#1
antiquekid3 diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Alabama	Sherwood S-6040CP Repair Hey guys, A friend's dad just gave me a Sherwood MOSFET power amp. It's been broken for a while now, as he replaced it several years ago with a Hafler DH-200 amp. Prior to replacing it, he got it serviced from an authorized service center who replaced all of the output MOSFETs in one channel. But now it's toast, apparently... I would love to get this amp working again, but I have read that the MOSFETs are hard to find. The symptoms are not numerous: all of the outputs have several (between .5V and 3V) volts of offset. Not too good...I haven't checked it's actual capability as far as driving a load, as clearly there is a problem. (and I don't want to risk burning out some speakers!) Where should I start with this amp? I have plenty of voltmeters, an oscilloscope and a signal generator. I only have one probe, though. Where can I find a schematic for this beast? Thanks! Kyle

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12th June 2010, 10:19 PM	#2
jaycee diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Norwich, UK	The mosfets might not neccesarily be dead... probably best to pull them and check. What kind are they? Such a small amount of offset would rather point to a problem in the frontend of the amp, or could even be a symptom of dried out electrolytics.

12th June 2010, 10:56 PM	#3
antiquekid3 diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Alabama	Yeah, I measured the seemingly appropriate rail voltage across them, with 3.029V (or something like that) on each gate. They would "seem" okay, I guess. Without a schematic, however, I am pretty much hopeless. I see a few pots, but I'm not going to go messing with them until I know what they are. Also, how much DC bias is too much? My McIntosh MA 6100 has <20mA per channel...is that okay? Kyle

13th June 2010, 01:15 AM	#4
jaycee diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Norwich, UK	Yeah, you might be out of luck unless you're prepared to try and trace it out. Some pictures might be helpful... never know, we might be able to spot something amiss! Failing all that, theres always the potential to build a replacement amp into the unit?

13th June 2010, 03:13 AM	#5
antiquekid3 diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Alabama	I wouldn't mind tracing it. However, I am definitely not knowledgeable enough to do it on my own. I wouldn't know where to expect one voltage or another, to be honest. Unless something is getting burning hot, I wouldn't really know what's wrong or not. And it seems as though I don't have a good channel to compare it to! Could I get a few resistors and use them as dummy loads just to see if the thing even amplifies? Measuring across a dummy load with my 'scope would seem like a good start. I'll try and get some pictures soon. One thing I do know about this amp: it was NEVER abused, and I got it from the original owner. He takes very good care of all of his equipment, and it really does show! This thing (except for a lot of dust on the inside) is absolutely beautiful! Kyle

13th June 2010, 05:28 AM	#6
jaycee diyAudio Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Norwich, UK	Yep, in fact a dummy load is recommended You could get some 4.7 ohm power resistors, mount them to a heatsink or even a bit of metal, blow air across em to keep them cool. Mount in series for 8 ohms ive seen dummy loads built with 4x4.7 ohm 50W resistors, the aluminium clad types, with sockets so you can put them in series and parallel combinations to get 4, 8, 16 etc. The scope will then show you if the waveform is good. Squirt a sine wave into it and see how it comes out. If it's distorted this can often be a clue as to where the problem is.

31st December 2012, 12:04 AM	#7
albertNL diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Netherlands & Australia	Old thread but perhaps someone else will read this in the future. Service manual is available at hifiengine.com I just downloaded it.