Electrical power cord/plug for my amplifier got wet - What to do?

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gene12586

Member
So I had a small amount of flooding in my basement apartment. My Fender Deluxe Reverb Reissue amplifier was elevated on an isolation platform luckily - However half of the electrical power cord/plug that is permanently attached to the amplifier was on the floor and partially submerged in water. The power cord/plug wasn't plugged in; it was just on the floor. See the attached picture below to see the amplifier and its' electrical cord/plug. I have no idea how long it was in the water... could have been minutes or could have been several hours. It's been 24 hours since the flooding... So several questions:
What's the worst case scenario here? Is there any possibility that somehow if the electrical power cord/plug got damaged that this can somehow lead to damage to any of the rest of the amp since it's connected to it? Or worst case scenario it's just the electrical power cord/plug that's damaged? I assume it's the latter, but thought I'd ask just to be 100% sure.
Should I try plugging it in and seeing if it works?
If it doesn't work, I imagine it must be possible to have the electrical power cord/plug replaced without having to get a new amp. So I can just take it into a shop and have it replaced. Am I correct in thinking that?
If it does work, am I in the clear? What if the power cord/plug got partially damaged but it still works? Could this somehow affect the sound or reduce the quality of the sound of the amp? I assume the answer is no. But just wanted to be sure.
Should I just get a new plug regardless of whether it works or not?
Sorry for all the questions. Any answers are greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
 

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First thing is - it's just a power cord, and if it worries you, have it replaced. Mains cables are often different in different countries, so I guess yours in a captive type at the amp end?

It's a 3 conductor plug. From the picture, it also looks moulded. Moulded plugs don't usually have any access points for the water. Wet connectors tend to have two issues, one short term and one longer term. If there is water inside and there is a path between live(line) and neutral, current will flow and whatever protects the circuit will sense the over current and trip off/blow fuse etc. If the path is between live(line) and ground, then the same thing should happen, as the case metalwork could become live. nowadays leakage from live to ground is monitored in modern installs and again, things will trip.

Nothing that happens at the plug end should upset the amp at all - after all, many musicians have been killed when their amp was accidentally live to the case, guitar cable and jack plug. The person dies, the amp works fine.

If it was me - and I like to think I understand the processes involved, first thing would be to look at the plug and cable that got wet. Any holes where water could have got in? Any sign of water leaking out? If your US connectors are things you can buy in a store, then cut it off and fit a new one if you worry about these things. Me? I'd inspect, and if I had a tester - a proper one that can test leakage - I'd use it. That is the correct thing to do, but being honest, if I saw no water, I'd plug it in, switch on the power and see what happened. We shouldn't do that if we don't quite understand how it works.

In reality, mild water immersion can be dried out by leaving somewhere hot overnight. Long term, water can start to corrode copper and aluminium and worse, capillary action means the moisture travels up the copper. It might take years for this to happen.

If you cannot see anywhere an access point for the water - I'd just turn it on, and see what happens. You won't damage the amp.
 
Looks like a molded cord and plug. No way for water to get in there. Roll it out into the sun for a few hours if you are concerned.
 
rob aylestone said:
First thing is - it's just a power cord, and if it worries you, have it replaced. Mains cables are often different in different countries, so I guess yours in a captive type at the amp end?

It's a 3 conductor plug. From the picture, it also looks moulded. Moulded plugs don't usually have any access points for the water. Wet connectors tend to have two issues, one short term and one longer term. If there is water inside and there is a path between live(line) and neutral, current will flow and whatever protects the circuit will sense the over current and trip off/blow fuse etc. If the path is between live(line) and ground, then the same thing should happen, as the case metalwork could become live. nowadays leakage from live to ground is monitored in modern installs and again, things will trip.

Nothing that happens at the plug end should upset the amp at all - after all, many musicians have been killed when their amp was accidentally live to the case, guitar cable and jack plug. The person dies, the amp works fine.

If it was me - and I like to think I understand the processes involved, first thing would be to look at the plug and cable that got wet. Any holes where water could have got in? Any sign of water leaking out? If your US connectors are things you can buy in a store, then cut it off and fit a new one if you worry about these things. Me? I'd inspect, and if I had a tester - a proper one that can test leakage - I'd use it. That is the correct thing to do, but being honest, if I saw no water, I'd plug it in, switch on the power and see what happened. We shouldn't do that if we don't quite understand how it works.

In reality, mild water immersion can be dried out by leaving somewhere hot overnight. Long term, water can start to corrode copper and aluminium and worse, capillary action means the moisture travels up the copper. It might take years for this to happen.

If you cannot see anywhere an access point for the water - I'd just turn it on, and see what happens. You won't damage the amp.
Click to expand...
Thanks! This is extremely helpful!
 
Yeah just let it dry before you plug it in. The worst that could happen is the connectors maybe corroding or oxidizing a little. They are built to be self-cleaning, though, so plugging it in and unplugging it a couple times should clear that up, and frankly the amount of current that amp pulls will just “burn” through a thin layer of oxidation anyway.

Honestly, even if the whole amp got wet, it’d probably be fine after fully dried. One might want to rinse it with good clean water first. The speakers would probably be fucked and the woodwork would maybe go weird, but the electronics don’t much care as long as their not wet when you crank it up.
 
Yes, just place the cable in a warm dry space for a few days, then give it a try.
That's what I do with any electronics that gets wet.
You're not going to die, because the earth connection is still there.
Only last week I accidentally knocked my TV remote off the couch arm, with the Lithium battery end falling straight into a cup of coffee.
It works fine.
 
If it is just the electrical cord section of the amp was submerged, I wouldn't worry about it. You're talking 3 conductors. Ground / Positive / Neutral. At least 2 are individually insulated. The chances of water conducting / shorting out from this type of damage is close to zero. If the power cable is the usual IEC type 3 prong, just go out and buy another one. I throw them out because I accumulate so many. Might cost $10. If it is not detachable, plug it in wearing gloves if you are concerned it might short out.
 
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I hate tea, always drink coffee. However, this of course is very different coffee to the stuff I thought was coffee in America. I guess we both like different tastes. I just discovered Americans have no idea what blackcurrant tastes like as it’s not used at all.

many of our kids drinks and sweets (candy) are blackcurrant based. We don’t have grape flavour here, that colour is blackcurrant and we have that as standard. Children get blackcurrant drinks almost from birth for vitamin C, and move on to vimto, the most popular brand. I know it’s off topic, but it’s an important U.K./US difference.
 
In this particular case, because the mains plug seems sealed there is no problem in letting it dry for a day or so then plugging in. If the cable did absorb some moisture AND you have an RCD in you fuse board that might trip out in which case you will need the cable changed by a tech.

However, in the GENERAL case of liquid spills into electronic equipment, NEVER NEVER! Just "turn it on to see if it is OK"!!

That will almost certainly bugger it beyond repair. In the case of a small device such as the aforementioned remote, blot off the excess liquid and if clean water, place in warm place to dry. Any kind of 'solution' coffee,tea,beer, Lucazade is the WORST! Get it to a tech (for an RC almost certainly cheaper to get one from Zon)

Rescuing larger gear from spills, TVs, mixers etc needs the ministrations of a tech experienced in dealing with such matters and there is never any guarantee of success.

Moral? Don't mix pissed!

Dave.
 
A former friend came to me to check out his keyboard, after a nursing home resident deliberately threw a full cup of coffee (yes, coffee) over it.
Curiously, not much of the coffee made it to the electronics.
Circuit boards usually have a waterproof coating sprayed all over them.
Telephone cables have air pumped down them, to keep any moisture out.
P.S. I'll only drink tea when there's no coffee left.
 
Slouching Raymond said:
A former friend came to me to check out his keyboard, after a nursing home resident deliberately threw a full cup of coffee (yes, coffee) over it.
Curiously, not much of the coffee made it to the electronics.
Circuit boards usually have a waterproof coating sprayed all over them.
Telephone cables have air pumped down them, to keep any moisture out.
P.S. I'll only drink tea when there's no coffee left.
Click to expand...
Yes, electronic devices CAN be made 'water resistant' but it is very costly to do with anything large and complex like a TV or guitar amp!
Paradoxically, despite the much higher voltages involved, old valve gear often survives better than new stuff even if the amp was on when the beer was thrown! So long as you bang it off smartly and get it looked at it can usually be saved.

With sstate stuff and especially anything with a CPU in it (and WTF don't these days!) the liquid tends to get under and between the pins and the only fix it to remove the chip, wash and dry the PCB very well then fit and new chip. Lot of labour cost. Sometimes you can wash the PCB with hot running water then rinse with de-ionized water and leave to dry for a week. Again, lot of work, may not fix it.

Dave.
 
My Peavey Classic 30 was in water about 10 inches deep. Even the speaker was wet. I took the reverb tank out and dried it, let things dry out for about a week, put some glue on the covering, put it together and fired it up. No problem That was almost 15 years ago, and it still works.

Heck, my computer tower (a honking 486/64) was in the water, and I rinsed the motherboard with distilled water to get any residue off, let it dry for a week or so, and IT fired up. Luckily the tape drive and floppy drives were up high (yeah, it's got both 5 1/4 and 3 1/2 drives!). It still runs to this day,

The Peavey is in the back right corner, the computer tower is behind the guitar case.

basement water.jpg


I wouldn't even think twice about the power cord being wet!
 
Slouching Raymond said:
There is hardly anything in a modern TV. Tiddly little circuit board, with everything on one big chip.
Click to expand...
Well, I last took a 32" FSTV apart about 5 years ago and there was more than that. The fault was a SMPSU about 4"x3" which had failed for want of a bit of insulation between its PCB and the chassis.

NO idea how the fekkers work now!

Dave.
 
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