EFraelich82
New Member
Let's just get this out of the way... I have a basic concept of electrical principles however it would be generous to even call me a beginner. I have a powered subwoofer for my home stereo system that is broken and needs to be fixed. Although I guess it is not very common for a transformer to go bad, I really think mine has.
So here is the story so far. I plug plug the subwoofer in and nothing. No power light, nothing. I check the power at my outlet with a standard 120V test light and it is fine. It has power. I take the speaker out and hook it directly up to an amp that I know works and it is fine. Put the speaker back in. I take the electronic board out and find 2(two) 250V 4amp fuses on the board. One of them is blown. WOOOHOOOOO I found my problem. I go to Radio Shack and buy new fuses. Put them in and still nothing. Double checked the fuses and they are both good. From looking at the back of the board I can see that the leads coming into the board from the transformer go directly to these fuses so obviously this is the current's first stop into the board (from the transformer).
The board doesn't show any signs of burning or bad connections so I think the fuse saved the day as it was designed to do. That being said, I don't think the board is the problem. If the fuse on the board was blown, I'm guessing that means the transformer was throwing it too much current.
Let me just preface my next diagnostic stroke of genius by telling you up front that I didn't even know what the transformer was called until I did a google search so bear with me! So I have the transformer completely seperated from the board now and on my coffee table. It has a 2 wire lead coming into one side directly from the standard 120V plug for the wall. The other side has 3 wires, 2 blue and an orange wire. From looking at the back of the board where the fuses are located I can tell that the 2 blue wires are one side of the lead that are only seperated to incorporate a break for the fuses. The other orange wire goes straight past the fuses into the board. So my stroke of genius is: I then take a short piece of speaker wire and connect the blue wires to each end of the speaker wires. Then I twist the free end of the speaker wires together to complete the circuit of the blue wires (like the fuse would do on the board). I take my Radio Shack battery tester and hook one end to the end of the orange wire and the other end to my speaker wire representing the blue wires. Then I plug the transformer into the wall VIA the 2 wires on the opposite side coming directly from the wall plug.
Again, I am not very smart with any of this but since my highest setting on my battery tester is 15 volts, I would think that 250 volts would at least make the needle twitch a LITTLE, if not just destroy my battery tester (small price to pay). I tested the lead going into the transformer from the wall where I spliced my cord with a standard 120V test light and it has power so I know it isn't my power cord or my outlet. The transformer is definately getting power on one end... it just seems like nothing is coming out the other end.
I know that diagnostic test probably should have killed me or at best ruined a perfectly good battery tester but is still seems like it has to be the transformer for me not to even get a twitch on the needle of the battery tester.
Finish laughing at me and with banter aside, please tell me what you think.
So here is the story so far. I plug plug the subwoofer in and nothing. No power light, nothing. I check the power at my outlet with a standard 120V test light and it is fine. It has power. I take the speaker out and hook it directly up to an amp that I know works and it is fine. Put the speaker back in. I take the electronic board out and find 2(two) 250V 4amp fuses on the board. One of them is blown. WOOOHOOOOO I found my problem. I go to Radio Shack and buy new fuses. Put them in and still nothing. Double checked the fuses and they are both good. From looking at the back of the board I can see that the leads coming into the board from the transformer go directly to these fuses so obviously this is the current's first stop into the board (from the transformer).
The board doesn't show any signs of burning or bad connections so I think the fuse saved the day as it was designed to do. That being said, I don't think the board is the problem. If the fuse on the board was blown, I'm guessing that means the transformer was throwing it too much current.
Let me just preface my next diagnostic stroke of genius by telling you up front that I didn't even know what the transformer was called until I did a google search so bear with me! So I have the transformer completely seperated from the board now and on my coffee table. It has a 2 wire lead coming into one side directly from the standard 120V plug for the wall. The other side has 3 wires, 2 blue and an orange wire. From looking at the back of the board where the fuses are located I can tell that the 2 blue wires are one side of the lead that are only seperated to incorporate a break for the fuses. The other orange wire goes straight past the fuses into the board. So my stroke of genius is: I then take a short piece of speaker wire and connect the blue wires to each end of the speaker wires. Then I twist the free end of the speaker wires together to complete the circuit of the blue wires (like the fuse would do on the board). I take my Radio Shack battery tester and hook one end to the end of the orange wire and the other end to my speaker wire representing the blue wires. Then I plug the transformer into the wall VIA the 2 wires on the opposite side coming directly from the wall plug.
Again, I am not very smart with any of this but since my highest setting on my battery tester is 15 volts, I would think that 250 volts would at least make the needle twitch a LITTLE, if not just destroy my battery tester (small price to pay). I tested the lead going into the transformer from the wall where I spliced my cord with a standard 120V test light and it has power so I know it isn't my power cord or my outlet. The transformer is definately getting power on one end... it just seems like nothing is coming out the other end.
I know that diagnostic test probably should have killed me or at best ruined a perfectly good battery tester but is still seems like it has to be the transformer for me not to even get a twitch on the needle of the battery tester.
Finish laughing at me and with banter aside, please tell me what you think.