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

Showing 13 responses by martyfriedman

OK just to let you know I have the same unit with the same problem. I am in touch with the folks in WA and they mentioned that there is an internal fuse which may have blown. If you look in the service manual you'll see where it tells you how to get the error code. If it is a blown fuse then it should be a relatively simple repair. FYI when I saw the rates to ship and insure the unit from the east coast to WA my head exploded. Good luck and keep us informed of  your progress.
Well I have a local guy who I have decided is competent to repair the unit, but he can't look at it for a few weeks. I have to say it would kill me to find that the problem is only a blown fuse. I have had this problem before with an admittedly cheaper amplifier and the fuse was quite obvious once I opened up the unit. I don't see what harm there could be to simply open the unit and look - power is off of course (for a few hours). And if I see a blown fuse, remove it, replace it, put the cover back on, and try it then, what harm?
One last thing, just fyi. There is an external fuse right above the power connector. You can pry the little plastic cover off and the fuse pops out. This is very simple to do. It is unlikely that this is the problem since power is getting to the unit. But you never know and this can be checked without opening the case.
This is great. I have not yet opened mine but it looks like we are making progress. I googled 250VP and saw something about 'pulsating' current. There were some for sale. I am thinking - take it to an electrical supply house and have them match it up. Good job sir, you have made my day!
mewsickbuff, sorry to get that wrong.

Anyway can you tell me what kind of screwdriver bit you used to remove those tiny screws that appear to be holding the cover on? Did you have to remove all of those tiny screws on the top and sides as well as the somewhat larger ones on the bottom? Thanks.
mewsickbuff, I am so happy for  you. Great job. I have to get the proper screwdriver and waiting for my bit set to come in from Amazon. Then, off to the races. Thanks for paving the way. Happy listening!
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.
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.
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.


Doesn't that run the risk of damaging something?

Yes that is what concerns me and so I am going to go back to the fast blow types for now. Hopefully when my fuse blew nothing got damaged.





All is working now. Thanks for your support!

Now I need to reconfigure and upgrade the rest of my system.