anyone know about internal trip circuits on audiobahn amps, got 3 that are shot 2-a8002t and 1- a2002t they are new but past the warranty, took me awhile to get around to installing them. for more info see: she's a fadin but ya gotta love her.any help would be appreciated! thanks all, i'm really digging now....anyone heard any good or bad on ultra linear amplifiers?
Replies (13)
cplkittle on 04/10/2007 11:42:14
I would take the back off of it and take a peek. Sometimes the problem will be obvious like a burned out diode, resistor or transistor. If you can still see the color coding on the resistor or the numbers on the transistor, they can be replaced.
I have seen alot of audiobahn amplifiers bite the dust. If you can't fix it yourself, there should be a repair shop in your area. Sometimes you can find CB radio repairmen that know enough about electronics to repair an amplifier. Or you can contact Audiobahn and ask them what it would cost to refurbish yours. Sometimes it depends on the parts, sometimes it is a flat fee.
swez on 04/10/2007 12:02:17
I listed a few resources for you to look at and see if you may find technical input on what repairs are common to these amps. You'll find the details under the original posting.
I gotta believe this is a common problem that others have faced and have figured out how to repair them. Bahn is notorious for this kind of amp failure and even though they created a stop-gap circuit to limit internal damage to expensive components, it still puts the consumer at their mercy or on a hunt to figure out what devices/steps are needed to correct this issue.
Here's one possible solution, even if you had to pay a modest fee for the correct fix:
http://www.justanswer.com/Advice.aspx?r=gagen
Swez
cplkittle on 04/10/2007 12:10:35
I had a problem with a customer's bahn amp once. It had all kinds of feedback when mounted in the car, and zero on the bench.
I took the back off several times, sent it off for repair and it came back "no problem present".
I had it connected in the car and it was playing fine. I left it on while I screwed it back to the box, and it started with the feedback again. One more look and I found that one of the screws that held the back plate on was just long enough to touch the signal wire lead where the RCA plugged in. A little grinding on the screw and all was well (3 months and $45 worth shipping for the initial repair attempt).
swez on 04/10/2007 12:30:52
That sounds like a rare bird assembly problem Brian. Assembly peeps ran out of the proper hardware and used what was on hand or wrong parts in the assy bin.
Good catch to be sure, but in this case, the problem is a chronic one for those who use Bahn gear in ways that the amp was not designed to take. Bahn does have a measure to protect the expensive circuits, but what is it and how does one restore the amp to working conditions? That's what we are trying to figure out now. THINK
Swez
MrBrownstone on 04/10/2007 12:57:12
ultra linear is Anaba group...MA Audio.
they both basically have a PC chip (capacitor) that can be reset by grounding it to a 6V (or 12V) neg bat terminal. Amazingly, it holds charge unless you do that...which prevents the amp from completing the circuit and turning back on.
I've done ye ole 'Defibulator paddles' a few times myself.
swez on 04/10/2007 13:06:37
If I recall our many conversations of the past, you did the same type of thing with some Bahn amps sold in the old days at HVACMN. Care to expand on that subject?
What was the process used when reviving these ol puppies from the ol Protect Mode demons?
Swez
trunkisloud on 04/10/2007 15:56:10
speakin of protect mode, i got a lanzar opti 2 3204 and for some reason one day it went into protect mode and its stuck there. i took it apart and found no burnt components.....in fact it was spotless and the guts were very well built...any idea what caused it and how to fix it?
cplkittle on 04/10/2007 16:25:10
I remember now that the guy that taught me car audio at my first job showed me that trick.
He had an amp that was stuck in protect mode, he disconnected the power and the remote wire and left the ground connected. He then used a jumper wire and grounded the remote terminal and the power terminal. He reconnected the wires and it worked fine. Seems like it was an old hexfet pioneer amp.
louisypher on 04/10/2007 16:33:37
k now i will sound dumb, but do i ground from the ground on the amp,and both wires at the same time?
swez on 04/10/2007 16:41:56
That would make sense if there is a capacitor based protection circuit in the system. Discharge the cap and all resets go back to normal operation mode.
Sypher, try one at a time and see if that helps. If not, ground them both at the same time and pray the amps come back to life.
Note: If you note a small spark while doing this grounding stuff, it is indeed a cap discharging its stored voltage. Larger amps use large storage caps too. So, use insulated tools and wiring to do this step. If not, you may get a little poke.
Swez
trunkisloud on 04/10/2007 18:33:21
ok so i can run active ground to remote and power or do i jump the remote to the power while grounded?...im a little slow on this one
louisypher on 04/10/2007 21:41:26
from what i gather you momentarilly ground either remote or hot with a jumper to the ground thereby releasing any stored energy ,hopefully opening the circuit, or both if the first does not do the trick...welll... at least that is what i think i am reading... i gotta say this realy is the coolest site tho, i mean , try getting this info from most dealers without paying thru the nose.no doubt you will se a little more in the kittie when i get some spare flow...lord know when that will be but it is definately on the list!!!!!!!!!!
swez on 04/11/2007 06:18:40
That's the spirit... pay the Piper his due if he removed the rats from your buggy.
Hope this works out for you guys and yes, Sypher has the correct idea. It may not work in all cases though. But worth a try.
Swez
Replies (13)
cplkittle on 04/10/2007 11:42:14
I would take the back off of it and take a peek. Sometimes the problem will be obvious like a burned out diode, resistor or transistor. If you can still see the color coding on the resistor or the numbers on the transistor, they can be replaced.
I have seen alot of audiobahn amplifiers bite the dust. If you can't fix it yourself, there should be a repair shop in your area. Sometimes you can find CB radio repairmen that know enough about electronics to repair an amplifier. Or you can contact Audiobahn and ask them what it would cost to refurbish yours. Sometimes it depends on the parts, sometimes it is a flat fee.
swez on 04/10/2007 12:02:17
I listed a few resources for you to look at and see if you may find technical input on what repairs are common to these amps. You'll find the details under the original posting.
I gotta believe this is a common problem that others have faced and have figured out how to repair them. Bahn is notorious for this kind of amp failure and even though they created a stop-gap circuit to limit internal damage to expensive components, it still puts the consumer at their mercy or on a hunt to figure out what devices/steps are needed to correct this issue.
Here's one possible solution, even if you had to pay a modest fee for the correct fix:
http://www.justanswer.com/Advice.aspx?r=gagen
Swez
cplkittle on 04/10/2007 12:10:35
I had a problem with a customer's bahn amp once. It had all kinds of feedback when mounted in the car, and zero on the bench.
I took the back off several times, sent it off for repair and it came back "no problem present".
I had it connected in the car and it was playing fine. I left it on while I screwed it back to the box, and it started with the feedback again. One more look and I found that one of the screws that held the back plate on was just long enough to touch the signal wire lead where the RCA plugged in. A little grinding on the screw and all was well (3 months and $45 worth shipping for the initial repair attempt).
swez on 04/10/2007 12:30:52
That sounds like a rare bird assembly problem Brian. Assembly peeps ran out of the proper hardware and used what was on hand or wrong parts in the assy bin.
Good catch to be sure, but in this case, the problem is a chronic one for those who use Bahn gear in ways that the amp was not designed to take. Bahn does have a measure to protect the expensive circuits, but what is it and how does one restore the amp to working conditions? That's what we are trying to figure out now. THINK
Swez
MrBrownstone on 04/10/2007 12:57:12
ultra linear is Anaba group...MA Audio.
they both basically have a PC chip (capacitor) that can be reset by grounding it to a 6V (or 12V) neg bat terminal. Amazingly, it holds charge unless you do that...which prevents the amp from completing the circuit and turning back on.
I've done ye ole 'Defibulator paddles' a few times myself.
swez on 04/10/2007 13:06:37
If I recall our many conversations of the past, you did the same type of thing with some Bahn amps sold in the old days at HVACMN. Care to expand on that subject?
What was the process used when reviving these ol puppies from the ol Protect Mode demons?
Swez
trunkisloud on 04/10/2007 15:56:10
speakin of protect mode, i got a lanzar opti 2 3204 and for some reason one day it went into protect mode and its stuck there. i took it apart and found no burnt components.....in fact it was spotless and the guts were very well built...any idea what caused it and how to fix it?
cplkittle on 04/10/2007 16:25:10
I remember now that the guy that taught me car audio at my first job showed me that trick.
He had an amp that was stuck in protect mode, he disconnected the power and the remote wire and left the ground connected. He then used a jumper wire and grounded the remote terminal and the power terminal. He reconnected the wires and it worked fine. Seems like it was an old hexfet pioneer amp.
louisypher on 04/10/2007 16:33:37
k now i will sound dumb, but do i ground from the ground on the amp,and both wires at the same time?
swez on 04/10/2007 16:41:56
That would make sense if there is a capacitor based protection circuit in the system. Discharge the cap and all resets go back to normal operation mode.
Sypher, try one at a time and see if that helps. If not, ground them both at the same time and pray the amps come back to life.
Note: If you note a small spark while doing this grounding stuff, it is indeed a cap discharging its stored voltage. Larger amps use large storage caps too. So, use insulated tools and wiring to do this step. If not, you may get a little poke.
Swez
trunkisloud on 04/10/2007 18:33:21
ok so i can run active ground to remote and power or do i jump the remote to the power while grounded?...im a little slow on this one
louisypher on 04/10/2007 21:41:26
from what i gather you momentarilly ground either remote or hot with a jumper to the ground thereby releasing any stored energy ,hopefully opening the circuit, or both if the first does not do the trick...welll... at least that is what i think i am reading... i gotta say this realy is the coolest site tho, i mean , try getting this info from most dealers without paying thru the nose.no doubt you will se a little more in the kittie when i get some spare flow...lord know when that will be but it is definately on the list!!!!!!!!!!
swez on 04/11/2007 06:18:40
That's the spirit... pay the Piper his due if he removed the rats from your buggy.
Hope this works out for you guys and yes, Sypher has the correct idea. It may not work in all cases though. But worth a try.
Swez
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