Troubleshooting a solid state amp...

toad

New member
I have a Line 6 Spider 210 (about 7 years old).

Its always been super dependable but last night, unexplainably, it just died.

I was playing and it essentially went dead in the middle of a song. Power light went out so I think guitar, cable, etc can be eliminated.

I tried all the "basic" stuff...toggled the power off/on, unplugged/replugged into the receptacle, tested the receptable itself, etc.

Any ideas? Other than contacting Line 6?
 
The first order of business is to check the mains fuse. (With some amps you need to make sure the power cord is unplugged when you replace it, so heads up.)

I don't know how much troubleshooting capability you have. If the fuse is not blown, it's possible to have a malfunctioning Power On/Off switch - easy to check with the chassis out, with a voltage meter. Also easy to replace if you have basic soldering skills.

Also, a really basic thing to check is the power cord itself - have you been yanking it out of the wall by the cord, like your daddy always told you not to do? :D

Beyond those things, it's probably time to take it to the amp shop.

Good luck!
 
Zaphod B said:
The first order of business is to check the mains fuse. (With some amps you need to make sure the power cord is unplugged when you replace it, so heads up.)

I don't know how much troubleshooting capability you have. If the fuse is not blown, it's possible to have a malfunctioning Power On/Off switch - easy to check with the chassis out, with a voltage meter. Also easy to replace if you have basic soldering skills.

Also, a really basic thing to check is the power cord itself - have you been yanking it out of the wall by the cord, like your daddy always told you not to do? :D

Beyond those things, it's probably time to take it to the amp shop.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info. The fuse is certainly a good call. This amp hasn't been unplugged from the wall in months so I doubt its the cord.
 
Lights out is a good thing. If you can score a set of schematics that would be very helpful. Some amps have additional fuses inside to protect parts of the power supplies. The main is a good start but there could still be some easily serviceable things to look at inside.

If you have a set of schematics and/or post a link to them, I'd be willing to have a look-see.
 
If the main fuse is blown, then there's a few of things you can check right up front if it blows again upon replacement.

#1 - The Bridge Rectifier. It will either be one of three configurations. A square with four spades on it, a linear package with four leads coming out the bottom of it, or four individual diodes.

#2 - Find a 4560, 4558, 5532, or TL072 opamp (whichever series it uses) and check the voltages. Don't know if the LIne 6 uses +/-12 or 15VDC, but if the regulator for either one of these has blown, then it will kill the main fuse everytime.

#3 - +5V may also be shorted to ground as well. This can be check coming off the power supply or by checking the VCC of an IC.
 
alien said:
If the main fuse is blown, then there's a few of things you can check right up front if it blows again upon replacement.

#2 - Find a 4560, 4558, 5532, or TL072 opamp (whichever series it uses) and check the voltages. Don't know if the LIne 6 uses +/-12 or 15VDC, but if the regulator for either one of these has blown, then it will kill the main fuse everytime.

#3 - +5V may also be shorted to ground as well. This can be check coming off the power supply or by checking the VCC of an IC.

not bad ideas per se... but generally it's easier to just test the regulators... gee but then again it's dead.... awww.... there's a cap after the regs... check to see if they read as shorted... that will tell you which if any are shorted....

if they all look to be good then think about pulling the outputs.... if it wont power with the outputs gone it's in the mains itself... mostlikely the bridge rectfier....
 
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