2. amps-preamps
  3. 129082-75799

Primare A32 front panel-rapidly flashing standby indicator light

Anyone own or owned a Primare A32 power amp and had problems with the front panel standby indicator flashing rapidly?  Over the last few months I've had to manipulate the rear left speaker cable inputs to hear sound out of the left speaker each time I turned it on.  But the unit always powered up and eventually played beautifully.  Now I get nothing.  I've disconnected and then reconnected the power cord, the XLR cables from the preamp, and both speaker cables.  The fuse is in good shape.  But the standby indicator still flashes when I try to power it up. A designer flaw I've found is that the front panel is attached by 6 tiny screws (2 on top, 1 on lower L & R side, & 2 underneath).  For such a massive unit one would think the designers could've used sturdier screws.  The top right screw broke a while back and may have left a fragment in the screw hole (hard to tell it's so small).  The front panel now has a little wiggle room which may be causing some wiring hit and miss inside though I can't see how.  I've never pushed or pulled on the front plate after the unit was set up and it's played many months without problems.  I researched online and found Audio Elite Technician LLC in Lakebay WA.  The website says they offer factory authorized service for Primare gear (along with McIntosh gear).  Anybody ever dealt with these guys?  The A32 weighs 88 pounds and I'm not fond of trying to ship it out of state.  Should I try a local repair shop first?  I really love my system's sound and want the A32 back in the game so I can again lose myself in musical bliss.
mewsickbuff
martyfriedman
21 posts
 
OK mewsickbuff, I am a few steps behind you.

I received my star bits and the T8 worked fine. Opened her up and found, drum roll please, a blown fuse!

The only difference is that my fuses are marked T6.3AL250V. I am baffled by this, as these appear to be slow blow types. That doesn't make sense.

I am sending off a message to our Primare friends to get the scoop. Sure I can replace these with the same number but I want to be super sure. Maybe the previous owner put these in.

I checked two of the four  fuses and they are both T6.3AL250V.

I will keep everybody updated.
martyfriedman
21 posts
 
The plot thickens.

I took all four fuses out and they are T6.3AL250V.

However, on the board where the fuse mounts are, the marking "F6.3 AL" appear. I would say that at some time somebody incorrectly replaced these fuses with slow blow.

Let's see what Vana says. It seems to me that it could not hurt to put in the fast blow. The only negative would be that it would blow too quickly.
mewsickbuff OP
237 posts
 
I received my VANA fuses yesterday and the package says "6.3A Fast Acting."  I'm not going to reopen my amp to put one in.  I'm going to stick with the 6 amp fuse (which is a fast blow) I put in from the hardware store.  When & if any others blow, I'll have the manufacturer's fuses as replacements.  Until that day, I'm going to sit back and enjoy the music.  Glad to hear you're making progress.
martyfriedman
21 posts
 
Here's the reply from Audio Elite in Seattle, the authorized service place:

You are correct about the silkscreening but Primare had customers(and salesmen) who were very enthusiastic with the volume control and kept blowing them so they switched to T type fuses.


mewsickbuff OP
237 posts
 
Funny! I didn't mention it earlier, but that's how I blew mine. Switched from listening to a quiet song, forgot to turn the volume back down, the next song blasted my ears off for a few seconds. Played another song or 2 then turned it off because I couldn't get sound from the left speaker. Next time I fired it up...rapid flashing front panel light. Interesting they changed to a slow acting fuse. Doesn't that run the risk of damaging something? Isn't the fast acting fuse protective for something? Weird VANA would send me fast acting fuses, while the repair guys are recommending slow acting. Oh, well, I'll be a lot more attentive with that volume control  :)
More to discover