5050 Type 2 problems

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5150too
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5050 Type 2 problems

Post by 5150too » Tue Nov 03, 2020 3:31 am

I bought this amp new about 20 years ago. It probably only has 10 hours use on it. It has been stored indoors covered with a cloth cover. I cleaned it up and it looks great. I fired it up and I heard some static in the volume knob. I am assuming that I just need to clean the pots. My question is should I do any thing else to it after it sitting so long.

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Pappy B
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Re: 5050 Type 2 problems

Post by Pappy B » Tue Nov 03, 2020 5:09 pm

I would clean the pots, jacks, connectors. reverb cable plugs and jacks (if it has any) with a good contact cleaner. Then play it frequently for a while. Capacitors that haven't been energized over a period of time don't always perform well but they are self healing to a degree.

Being used for 20 minutes or more a day may getting it sounding better pretty quick. And routine cleaning, if done properly, is a good thing.
The more I learn the more I realize how much I don't know.

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Enzo
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Re: 5050 Type 2 problems

Post by Enzo » Tue Nov 03, 2020 7:45 pm

And frankly, I'd try just turning each control up and down a few times, they often clean themselves.

5150too
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Re: 5050 Type 2 problems

Post by 5150too » Wed Sep 01, 2021 11:33 pm

I found the problem, and it is a weird one. The amp always worked perfect, I bought it new at Brook Mays music in Dallas Texas close to 1999. I played it about 3 or 4 months and it went into storage. One odd thing was when I picked it up new there was no nut around the jack you plug the guitar into. I never thought much about that. I called Peavey they told me it should have a nut and I bought one with a few parts I needed for another amp. I installed the nut while the 5150 was in storage.

Fast forward to me bringing the 5150 out to use. I noticed that I had some crackling and I only heard it when I turned the "pre" knob next to the input jack. I noticed if I put a little side pressure on the "pre" knob the static increased. So the solution seemed clear, clean the "pre" pot. I cleaned it, and cleaned it again, this went on and on. I probably cleaned 6 times reassembled it and it still had the same problem. Now the solution seemed clear again, replace the pot.

So I ordered an exact original pot, carefully replaced it then reassembled it. The problem was still there, I was pretty lost. I had a better looking nut for the input jack so I pulled the nut off, and went to get the other nut and got sidetracked. A few days later I decided ti get back into it, I fired the amp up and it was perfect. The static sound was totally gone. I noticed the nut wasn't on the input jack, so I put the new nut on. I played it again, and the static was back. I took the new nut off, and put it back on multiple times the problem was consistent when the nut was on it had static, when the nut was off it was perfect.

Now my mind was really blown, so I thought about it for a few days. I disassembled the head again, and checked it out. This time I found the real problem. There was a cold solder joint on the input jack where it was soldered to the board. When the nut was on the input jack the tension on the jack stressed the solder joint enough where the cold solder problem showed up. It wasn't an ordinary cold solder joint because it looked good, the solder had appeared to flow out and it really looked like a good solder joint. It had a line across it that you could barely see, and you couldn't feel the line at all. It looked like some rosin floated on the solder and stopped at a certain point, the surface was smooth. I reheated the solder and let it flow, the line was gone. I assembled it and the problem was gone. The solder joint looked so good before I heated it that I didn't think it would help. Lesson learned cold solder joints don't always look like cold solder joints. The Amp is presently 100% perfect badazz solid, I forgot how powerful it was driving a 4 X 12" cabinet. And now I finally know why Brook Mays music took the nut off of the new amp and sold it that way. I paid 1K for an amp with a known problem, that blows.

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