Cap upgrades (bear with me)
- Thread starter adamct
- Start date
So.......there is good news, and there is bad news.
The good news is that I am almost certain that I know what the problem is.
The other piece of good news is that it wasn't due to me having any bad solder joints. ;D
The bad news is....I think one of my very expensive caps is broken. :'(
When I desoldered the caps to allow me to remove the chassis from the frame, I noticed that one of the leads to one of the caps was, for lack of a better word, limp. The ClarityCaps have fairly stiff solid core copper leads, but one of them was limp. I think the solid core of the lead broke within the insulation sleeving, very, very, VERY close to the cap itself (although the insulation is still intact). This is a real problem. If it were further from the cap, I would just cut the lead where broken and solder a new fly lead to the remaining piece of good lead on the cap. But the break in the lead on the cap is so close to the cap, that I suspect there is hardly anything left for me to solder a new lead onto, and I'm worried that the heat from the solder iron would damage the cap even if I tried.
That basically means I have no option but to try and return the cap, but I have doubts that they will accept a return where the tips of the leads show evidence of having been soldered. That probably means I spent $90 for a paperweight.
Since the lead is still in the insulation, which itself is intact, I think that when I turned the Crack over, the broken lead moved a bit within the insulation. Just enough to make contact. But when I turned it over and started playing music, after 10-20 minutes, the lead or cap would settle just enough to lose contact again. The cap would slowly discharge, which would explain why the sound would gradually fade out, rather than being a sharp break. Every time I turned the Crack over to try and diagnose the problem, the lead and/or cap would shift again, just enough to make contact. Then the cycle would start again: I turn on the amp, listen to music in both channels, but then the lead/cap settles in and contact is lost again. Etc., etc.
Grrrrrrrr.....I really hope Madisound stands behind their goods and sends me a replacement....
The good news is that I am almost certain that I know what the problem is.
The other piece of good news is that it wasn't due to me having any bad solder joints. ;D
The bad news is....I think one of my very expensive caps is broken. :'(
When I desoldered the caps to allow me to remove the chassis from the frame, I noticed that one of the leads to one of the caps was, for lack of a better word, limp. The ClarityCaps have fairly stiff solid core copper leads, but one of them was limp. I think the solid core of the lead broke within the insulation sleeving, very, very, VERY close to the cap itself (although the insulation is still intact). This is a real problem. If it were further from the cap, I would just cut the lead where broken and solder a new fly lead to the remaining piece of good lead on the cap. But the break in the lead on the cap is so close to the cap, that I suspect there is hardly anything left for me to solder a new lead onto, and I'm worried that the heat from the solder iron would damage the cap even if I tried.
That basically means I have no option but to try and return the cap, but I have doubts that they will accept a return where the tips of the leads show evidence of having been soldered. That probably means I spent $90 for a paperweight.
Since the lead is still in the insulation, which itself is intact, I think that when I turned the Crack over, the broken lead moved a bit within the insulation. Just enough to make contact. But when I turned it over and started playing music, after 10-20 minutes, the lead or cap would settle just enough to lose contact again. The cap would slowly discharge, which would explain why the sound would gradually fade out, rather than being a sharp break. Every time I turned the Crack over to try and diagnose the problem, the lead and/or cap would shift again, just enough to make contact. Then the cycle would start again: I turn on the amp, listen to music in both channels, but then the lead/cap settles in and contact is lost again. Etc., etc.
Grrrrrrrr.....I really hope Madisound stands behind their goods and sends me a replacement....
Grainger49
New member
You can't know that the cap is bad till you have it in the circuit. You might have a chance with a return.
THHN, IIRC, has thicker strands than SJO. The smaller the strand the more flexible the wire. At Alcoa and K-C we ran multi-conductor cables of THHN. So it pulls well and terminates easily in an industrial situation. As Paul points out larger stranded wire is a booger to get into a small terminal strip hole.
THHN, IIRC, has thicker strands than SJO. The smaller the strand the more flexible the wire. At Alcoa and K-C we ran multi-conductor cables of THHN. So it pulls well and terminates easily in an industrial situation. As Paul points out larger stranded wire is a booger to get into a small terminal strip hole.
BIG props to Madisound! I just called them and they agreed to send me a new cap without any hassle whatsoever. Nice to get good service like that. The guy I spoke to (also named Adam) was very friendly.
I think the lead must have been damaged/weakened in transit. It was EXTREMELY cold last week, and I suspect that the leads became brittle, then got jostled enough in transit to create a problem.
Anyway, I can't wait to get the new cap and finally be able to enjoy the Crack again. I took the opportunity to also order a 2.2uf ESA ClarityCap, so I can bypass the last transformer cap, too.
Thanks to everyone who has been patiently helping me diagnose this problem!
Best,
Adam
I think the lead must have been damaged/weakened in transit. It was EXTREMELY cold last week, and I suspect that the leads became brittle, then got jostled enough in transit to create a problem.
Anyway, I can't wait to get the new cap and finally be able to enjoy the Crack again. I took the opportunity to also order a 2.2uf ESA ClarityCap, so I can bypass the last transformer cap, too.
Thanks to everyone who has been patiently helping me diagnose this problem!
Best,
Adam
This is how I mounted my caps the top plate. I used a glued a PVC end cap to a wire tie holder. As you can see from the picture I drilled a hole in the PVC end cap so that I could use a wire to secure the cap. In the past a I had a big motor run cap with a Russian Teflon bypass cap on this holder.
This way the caps clear everything and I can still get under the hood.
