Silverface Champ blowing my GFCI outlet breaker…why?

General discussion area for tube amps.

Moderators: pompeiisneaks, Colossal

User avatar
NickC
Posts: 1814
Joined: Fri May 14, 2010 1:05 pm
Location: Upstate New York

Re: Silverface Champ blowing my GFCI outlet breaker…why?

Post by NickC »

frenster wrote:Which is this death cap I must clip?

schematic link:
http://ampwares.com/schematics/champ_aa764.pdf

See page 1 (schematic) .... lower right .... the "death cap" is the .047uF 600V cap tied to the 1 amp slo-blo fuse .

Your amp has 3-prong power cord (good), there will be an additional ground wire to the chassis.

If the "death cap" is there, clip it out. Save it (you may be able to use it in a future build ... or, they make great presents to give to amp-builders).
Last edited by NickC on Wed Jun 20, 2012 5:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
ToneMerc
Posts: 3480
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:55 pm
Location: East Coast

Re: Silverface Champ blowing my GFCI outlet breaker…why?

Post by ToneMerc »

frenster wrote:Which is this death cap I must clip?
A picture is worth a thousand words. Yep Nick's got it.

TM
User avatar
frenster
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:51 am
Location: Los Angeles
Contact:

Re: Silverface Champ blowing my GFCI outlet breaker…why?

Post by frenster »

I'm assuming the Death Cap, which apparently isn't needed, is the big blue cap from the fuse to the chassis. I should remove that?
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
--
Frenster
User avatar
NickC
Posts: 1814
Joined: Fri May 14, 2010 1:05 pm
Location: Upstate New York

Re: Silverface Champ blowing my GFCI outlet breaker…why?

Post by NickC »

frenster wrote:I'm assuming the Death Cap, which apparently isn't needed, is the big blue cap from the fuse to the chassis. I should remove that?


That's the one ...... connects from the fuse holder to ground. If it fails, it makes the amp dangerous to operate. Best to remove it.

Be careful working inside the chassis. The electrolytic (power supply) caps can hold lethal charge for months after the amp was unplugged from wall power. You might already have known that, but best to repeat it just in case you didn't.

Snipping out the death-cap shouldn't be dangerous as long as you're careful to avoid those eCaps.
User avatar
ToneMerc
Posts: 3480
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2009 3:55 pm
Location: East Coast

Re: Silverface Champ blowing my GFCI outlet breaker…why?

Post by ToneMerc »

frenster wrote:I'm assuming the Death Cap, which apparently isn't needed, is the big blue cap from the fuse to the chassis. I should remove that?
Yep, that blue ITW cap or you could just snip it at the fuse holder terminal for grins just to see if it's resolved and then clip the chassis side once verified.

TM
User avatar
frenster
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:51 am
Location: Los Angeles
Contact:

Re: Silverface Champ blowing my GFCI outlet breaker…why?

Post by frenster »

Unsoldered it from the fuse and put shrink tubing around it. No more Kablewie! Thanks for the info.
--
Frenster
Post Reply