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Cary V-12 blowing capacitors

Hi,

I have a pair of Cary V12 monoblocks one of which is blowing capacitors. It was initially sent in to cary as it was the 3 Amp fuses. They initially replace the capacitors and sent it back. It worked briefly and then started blowing fuses again. It went back to Carrie and this time they replaced both transformers. It did work for a couple of weeks but yesterday when I turn it on and was in the standby mode I heard a crackling noise from inside the amp and 3 amp fuse blew again. There was a large puddle of oil in the back of the amp which is from the capacitor. So it seems like something is still not repaired correctly which is causing the capacitors to blow which maybe is why the fuses are blowing. With it being to cary twice and they are not really sure what's happening has anyone else had this issue?
whataboutbob1
arcticdeth's avatar
arcticdeth
1,572 posts
 
Cary needs a talking too. That’s friggin gross. How old is carry? How old are the capacitors?

   Loved the title of your post!,

put a smile on my face.

  Thanks, needed it!

🍻
Post removed 
boomerbillone
402 posts
 
Hello "whataboutbob 1".  Do you have a "multiple voltage" version of the amp?  Is there a switch or dial on the back/bottom of the amp that lets the used select what the input voltage from the power lines is? Some products designed for International Sale have a switch so that the user in Japan or Europe can use the same product. It will have something like "100/110/120/220 volts" printed near the switch/knob/selector. Japan uses 100 volt mains and other parts of the world use 220 volt power lines. In the USA, our power is somewhere in the 110 - 120 range. At my California home, it is often 125 volts. If the input voltage selector got accidentally switched to 100, and the amp was plugged into USA power, the problem you describe would surely happen. It is worth a check. Has the amp been modified or upgraded recently? A well meaning technician might have accidently moved a switch or rewired the power transformer primary. Wishing you the best possible outcome. Boomer Bill
Post removed 
gs5556
1,275 posts
 
The problem is most likely a manufacturing lemon. Somewhere in that amp either a tiny section of insulation has been damaged, a small piece of wire or lead clipping lodged in a very inconvenient spot, or the wrong value passive component has been installed.

Repairing amps is like fixing cars -- throwing parts at the problem without identifying it is almost always a waste of money. The easiest route to take is to replace parts because if the parts are okay they just put them on the shelf and it costs next to nothing to essentially make a trade. Cary has to take that amp apart and find the bug. But that is a very expensive labor cost, which is why they are trying to fix it on the cheap. You have to tell them to find the problem instead of proposing which parts to change.
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