Lost left side sound in PG Octane-R 5.0 4

rkelly_83543 · Post by **rkelly_83543** » Mon May 10, 2010 7:04 pm

So a few weeks ago my FL speakers started shorting out. I thought it was a wiring issue until the other day my RL speaker did the same thing. I played with the gains and other adjustments on the amp to see if anything changed and it didn't make a difference. On to the cave man troubleshooting... I gave the amp a couple pats with my hand and the channel cut in and out. Does anyone know whats going on here??? I am wondering if I can fix it myself or move on. The PG repair prices suggest that if I cannot fix it myself then I should just buy another amp. $127.00 is a little much to repair an amp that I paid $150.00 for!
Thanks for your help!

str3atwarrior · Post by **str3atwarrior** » Mon May 10, 2010 7:07 pm

If you have some knowledge with soldering, your best bet would be to open the amp and look for loose soldering on the PCB board. I've seen alot of theses, and i'd say 9/10 it's an easy problem to fix.

Post by **ttocs** » Mon May 10, 2010 7:52 pm

technical taps, you didn't hit it, you did't pat, you gave it a techinal tap.

You need to make sure that it isn't a loose wire going into the amp. Start to jiggle/wiggle, tug/pull gently on all the wires going to the amp.

rkelly_83543 · Post by **rkelly_83543** » Mon May 10, 2010 8:32 pm

Technical tap!!! That's great!
I have fully dissected the amp and looked over the solders closely a few different times and I haven't really found anything out of the ordinary.
Is there a particular part of the board I should look more closely at?
I checked out all the wires before removing it from the car including switching the RCA's with no change.
FYI this amp was at the top of my ill advised amp rack in the rear of my hatchback with the sun beating down on it so I'm sure it has gotten hot! I know...BAD IDEA!!!

rkelly_83543 · Post by **rkelly_83543** » Sun May 16, 2010 7:32 pm

After inspecting the amp, I put it back together and plugged it back into the car in hopes that maybe it had fixed itself...nope! Ugh!
While it was in the car I managed to check out a few more things with it.
1. I was able to get signal to the left for a split second by adjusting the xover selector for the front/rear channels (BY\BY or HP\BY for example) then nothing.
2. I also got signal for a split second by wiggling the RCA connectors.

As things stand right now I have no idea what it wrong with it because these parts do not look servicable.
Any ideas people????
Thanks to those who have already given me a few ideas!

str3atwarrior · Post by **str3atwarrior** » Sun May 16, 2010 7:51 pm

Still sound like an loose solder to me. I used to do microsoldering (if that's the name in english) when playing with bell expressvu/dish network in united states, with 6xxx receivers and even if spots look well soldered, i learned that doesn't mean anything.

Try with a beeping multimeter to see if connection is good. Since you said you signal for a split second while wiggling the rca connector, i'm pretty sure it's weither a bad solder or a bad connector. If you feel like it, either pm me or try to find someone in your place that can troubleshoot it. I'm willing to look at it for free, just pay the shipping fees.