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Cary amp fuse blowing 1 advice 2 Bay Area fix?

Hi. Well, starting yesterday, when I turn on my Cary SLI-80, after around one minute, the fuse blows on the left hand side. Tried it twice now.

1. Could this possibly be due to a bad tube? All the tubes appear to light up fine. Is it worth experimenting with swappping tubes, trying to nail down the bad one (I'd hate to put my amp through six more blown fuses while I experiment unless it's likely to find the cause.)

2. I'm always inclined to send a unit back to the manufacturer for repair. That of course takes weeks round trip plus risk of damage or loss. SO, if any of you know someone in the BAY AREA, Northern California, that could fix this, that might be preferable.

Thank you!
Art
artmaltman
artmaltman OP
769 posts
 
I think I'm using a half amp 250 volt fuse.
I'll check with Cary on this.
(IPA ok?)
Thanks,
Art
jburidan
803 posts
 
I wouldn't start rolling fuses. Did you check the bias? When doing so, you have to go back-and-forth between the left and right bias pots until both sides are stable at the recommended bias. At the same time, check for power tubes with glowing plates. It might be a bad power tube. Lastly, call Cary. Don't mess with the fuses.
pehare's avatar
pehare
835 posts
 
Been there done that....for me it was shorted (aging)powertube. I put in a new matched quad & fuse & was good to go. call gerald @ cary & have him troubleshoot it for you if you have doubts. be glad it's fused:)
gundam91
506 posts
 
If all fails, try Nick Gowan in Campbell. His contact info:

408-370-7578
gowan@tsound.com
www.tsound.com

Highly recommended by many of the local audiophiles. Super nice guy and his price is very reasonable as well. But he's just way too busy.....

FrankC
artmaltman OP
769 posts
 
I called Gerald at Cary, and he suggested it probably was the power tube. And to be extremely careful with the bias setting.

I checked the manual and there is an AC fuse (which did not blow) and two "tube fuses" (one of which did blow). The tube fuse is correctly half-amp 250 volt quick blow.

Sounds promising.
I'll update this tomorrow.

Thanks,
Art
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