I have a Sony TA-F555ES integrated amplifier that had the dreaded Red Light so it wouldn't power up. The power board was recapped by an audio repairman who had some problems with the power board which apparently has really thin and easily separating copper on the circuit board.
So it now works, i.e. it seems to play fine although I haven't used it for long, but the volume control does not turn green but is rapidly blinking (I assume between green and red so the red looks kind of orangish) and there is a humming noise in the the area of the volume control inside which is of course where the rapid blinking is occurring. The repair guy only charge a minimal amount because he didn't know what the problem was and said he couldn't put any more time into it as he was very busy.
Can anyone tell me: 1. I don't have the owners manual so I don't know what the rapidly changing blinking light means as the amp plays really nicely.
2. What might be causing the problem.
Keep in mind I'm competent with a soldering iron and building speakers and long ago assembling Dynaco kits, but don't really know much about electronics.
Thanks for any assistance.
So it now works, i.e. it seems to play fine although I haven't used it for long, but the volume control does not turn green but is rapidly blinking (I assume between green and red so the red looks kind of orangish) and there is a humming noise in the the area of the volume control inside which is of course where the rapid blinking is occurring. The repair guy only charge a minimal amount because he didn't know what the problem was and said he couldn't put any more time into it as he was very busy.
Can anyone tell me: 1. I don't have the owners manual so I don't know what the rapidly changing blinking light means as the amp plays really nicely.
2. What might be causing the problem.
Keep in mind I'm competent with a soldering iron and building speakers and long ago assembling Dynaco kits, but don't really know much about electronics.
Thanks for any assistance.
1. Download the owners manual, it should be available for free on the web. If not, there is a service manual at hifiengine.com (free registration required for download) with most of the owners manual reprinted in it.
2. Since a GREEn light menas normal operation, what you are seeing is NOT normal operation. It is the protection circuit switching on and off rapidly. This coulod be for many reasons, usually a problem with the power amp, but also likely a problem with the protection circuit itself, in particular the mains voltage detect circuit.
3. Do not ever go to that tech again, the man is an idiot. What he did is the equivalent of replacing the complete car engine when the 'check engine' light comes on without actually checking the engine at all, then complain it took him a long time and can't be bothered to do any more work.
4. The PCB is just fine, but it has a number of components that can get very hot and even damage the pads on the PCB where they are soldered. Anyone worthy of being called a tech would check this first. Then come the various electrolytic caps this amp is 25 years+ old, again it's a typical problem.
In other words, please do find a decent tech who knows how and is willing to do the work. Also keep in mind that at this age the amp may require a substantial re-build, however, after that it will perform like new so it can be a worthwhile investment - they don't make them as they used to!
2. Since a GREEn light menas normal operation, what you are seeing is NOT normal operation. It is the protection circuit switching on and off rapidly. This coulod be for many reasons, usually a problem with the power amp, but also likely a problem with the protection circuit itself, in particular the mains voltage detect circuit.
3. Do not ever go to that tech again, the man is an idiot. What he did is the equivalent of replacing the complete car engine when the 'check engine' light comes on without actually checking the engine at all, then complain it took him a long time and can't be bothered to do any more work.
4. The PCB is just fine, but it has a number of components that can get very hot and even damage the pads on the PCB where they are soldered. Anyone worthy of being called a tech would check this first. Then come the various electrolytic caps this amp is 25 years+ old, again it's a typical problem.
In other words, please do find a decent tech who knows how and is willing to do the work. Also keep in mind that at this age the amp may require a substantial re-build, however, after that it will perform like new so it can be a worthwhile investment - they don't make them as they used to!
Sounds like the 'repair guy' is spending all his time fighting off unhappy customers. If the pcboard was unserviceable, Sony would not produce it!
Of course you are correct about the repairman and I have certainly not gone back to him. We have really limited access to any electronic repair people here but I did take it to another person who thought it would be about $180 to repair. I wasn't convinced the amp is worth that much to repair and was wondering about this persons ability to repair it either. I have the service manual but really am not competent to go further.
Thanks for your advice though. I don't think it is the power amps as it plays very well and ran it for several hours without the amp shutting down. I assume it is in the PCB and just took a chance that someone might be able to tell me where to look. Trying to save my old equipment.
Thanks for your advice though. I don't think it is the power amps as it plays very well and ran it for several hours without the amp shutting down. I assume it is in the PCB and just took a chance that someone might be able to tell me where to look. Trying to save my old equipment.
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The main PCB holds a lot of electronics, not just the power amp. In particular the power supplies and the protection circuit. The latter is where I would be looking at. The buzzing sound could be relays not being driven by sufficiently smoother rectified voltage, which suggests a failed electrolytic cap (usually a small one) in the circuit itself.
I'm sorry but there are no shortcuts here, you have to know what you are doing, this is not a simple amplifier, in fact for a while until the larger ones came out, it was the top model in the series.
I'm sorry but there are no shortcuts here, you have to know what you are doing, this is not a simple amplifier, in fact for a while until the larger ones came out, it was the top model in the series.
Thanks. I understand the problem, so maybe I should ask if it might be worth $180 to fix this integrated and or where would be a reliable repair place to send it? I live in Eastern Washington, but go to Seattle reasonably often.
I've seen you have posted the same question on Audiokarma, perhaps that is the better place to ask where to find a competent tech. Not sure about the quote you were given for fixing the amp. Mending the problem with the buzz should be fairly simple, doing a proper rebuild (which gets you a near new amp) is a whole different proposition, though. I bought, rebuilt and slightly upgraded this amp for a friend, and to my ears it was a really good amp, so well worth it for me.
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