my amp has stopped working :(

GUITAR08

New member
hi, as im sure you could guess from the title, my amp has stopped working :mad: the amp is an ashdown fallen angel40w combo. its my first valve amp and i dont have a clue whats happened. it was working fine one minute then about half an hour later when it turned it back on it just wouldnt come on, none of the lights or anything. does anybody know why this would be?

thanks.
 
That's happened to me with my Marshall -- it was always the fuse. Then once I replaced it with a fuse that was too short, and it still didn't turn on, and so I thought it was seriously screwed up :o... for a while... :o:o
 
If none of the lights or anything come on, then it should be a fuse. Look for a mains fuse. If there is not an easy to access fuse, then I would call ashdown if it is still under warranty. Some of those Ashdown combos are really hard to get the chassies out of to access the fuses that are on the inside. If you find it is a fuse and a new fuse blows right away or blows pretty quickly again, I would send it in for repairs as there are various other things that could be wrong. If nothing else, send Ashdown an email. There were pretty good for me when I had some questions about internal stuff on a Peacemaker 40.
 
i've only worked on one ashdown and it was real straight forward as you'ld expect with a tube amp... so assuming that its not the fuse and out of warranty then any competent tech shouldn't have any problem...
 
First things first, read your manual and observe all warnings on the amplifier in regards to the dangers lurking inside BEFORE you decide to open the amp. Opening/working on your amplifier can be potentially very dangerous, especially if you do not know what you are doing. It goes without saying that if you have very little knowledge of consumer electronics or things that go zapp in general, take it to a qualified and trustworthy technician. That being said... :D

It sounds like a blown fuse, which also could be an indication of something more serious happening, but hopefully not. You are going to want to replace the fuse and try the amp in a receptacle (outlet) that you know is operating 100% properly. (proper voltage/no wiring issues as in older homes.) If the fuse blows again right away, something more serious is up.

Consult your manual or the proper schematic to make sure you replace it with the correct fuse. DO NOT only go on the one that was in there, unless you bought it new and are absolutely certain that it is the original fuse. Either way it doesn't hurt to consult the manual or schem. If it is a thread-type fuse (it looks like a glass tube with a filament running through the middle) you might be able to tell that is blown upon visual inspection. If it is blown, little pieces of the thread will be scattered throughout the tube. To be positive it is blown, you can check its continuity with a multi-meter, if you have one. Or you can just replace the fuse anyway....they are usually very cheap.

ALSO: it could be that the "on" switch went bad. I just worked on an amp that would not turn on because the rocker switch went bad (and a fuse blew) and needed to be replaced - which is amazing considering they are usually rated at 10,000 uses before failure or something like that :eek:

Good luck and I hope you fix your amp. One of mine was just busted too and I know how much it sucks.
 
First things first, read your manual and observe all warnings on the amplifier in regards to the dangers lurking inside BEFORE you decide to open the amp. Opening/working on your amplifier can be potentially very dangerous, especially if you do not know what you are doing. It goes without saying that if you have very little knowledge of consumer electronics or things that go zapp in general, take it to a qualified and trustworthy technician. That being said... :D

It sounds like a blown fuse, which also could be an indication of something more serious happening, but hopefully not. You are going to want to replace the fuse and try the amp in a receptacle (outlet) that you know is operating 100% properly. (proper voltage/no wiring issues as in older homes.) If the fuse blows again right away, something more serious is up.

Consult your manual or the proper schematic to make sure you replace it with the correct fuse. DO NOT only go on the one that was in there, unless you bought it new and are absolutely certain that it is the original fuse. Either way it doesn't hurt to consult the manual or schem. If it is a thread-type fuse (it looks like a glass tube with a filament running through the middle) you might be able to tell that is blown upon visual inspection. If it is blown, little pieces of the thread will be scattered throughout the tube. To be positive it is blown, you can check its continuity with a multi-meter, if you have one. Or you can just replace the fuse anyway....they are usually very cheap.

ALSO: it could be that the "on" switch went bad. I just worked on an amp that would not turn on because the rocker switch went bad (and a fuse blew) and needed to be replaced - which is amazing considering they are usually rated at 10,000 uses before failure or something like that :eek:

Good luck and I hope you fix your amp. One of mine was just busted too and I know how much it sucks.
^^ what he said.

If you open it up; make sure you keep one hand in your pocket the whole time. Sounds dumb, but it will stop you from becoming part of the circuit if you touch the wrong things (like the filter caps).

Also, if you're poking around in there; use a chopstick or something non metallic to further reduce the chance of shock. I'm not sure with your amp, but you might actually have a bleed resistor setup which drains away any residual power floating around so you may be safe anyway - many amps have this - many amps don't. Don't take my word for it though. Chopsticks and one hand!

This is kinda obvious, but if you replace the fuse and it KEEPS blowing, something else is wrong so don't be tempted to keep trying stronger fuses or anything like that. I've actually seen NAILS (honest to god nails:() used as fuses before; which is completely stupid - fuses are the weakest link for a reason!

Hope you get it sorted. :D
 
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