Okay guys well i bought a new amp and i dont like it. My infinity 1211a went on me and today (a day after i got my new amp) i figured out what was wrong with my 1211a. It seems a capacitor in the amp that says 200v 10uf 85c (m), Blew up in the amp. It seems this piece only cost a couple bucks and im going to try to see if i can find someone that will replace it for a reasonable price. Does anyone have any idea why something like this would happen? Heres a picture of it. Its the blue capacitor with the brown paper looking stuff under it. It literally seems to have exploded..Hmm, anyone want to buy an infinity Kappa One brand new for 250? lol http://yfrog.com/550000708qj
They're known to fail over time due to electrolyte evaporation & degradation and temperature fluctuations. It'd be easy enough to replace yourself if you want to give it a try.
Would i be able to replace it without taking the whole board out and soldering from the top?. Also there is a bunch of black rubberish type material around all of the capacitors on the board, is that stuff just made to hold them in place? Im just a little scared because i ruined my pioneer headunit trying to solder over the pico fuse to fix it instead of wrapping wire around the plugs to ground them =(.
generally speaking....a capacitor gives out for one reason or two...old age.....and excessive voltage. Im gunnA say it aint old age like me.... If a cap is blown..then you also have other issues....starting in the power supply of said amp.... just my 2 cents which aint worth 1 cent on anything but the half off sale at the flea market of free love and sexual healing....or something like that... lets rock!!!!! to hell with caps and to hell with amps.....lets make it LIVE! and Acousstical!!!! HELL YA!!!! no more amps! NO MORE AMPS! NO MORE AMPS! NO MORE AMPS!!!! LOL!!!! tryin to ge et a theme goin heree!!!
If you're going to replace it, you should remove the board and desolder the legs of the original & solder the new one in place. It might be a good idea to check the other components on the board near it, too, since as The Viking noted, something else could be wrong that caused it to fail. I doubt failure was due to excess voltage since the cap is rated at 200V. The brown stuff could be electrolyte or could just be the adhesive used to secure them, but electrolyte is typically brown so that's my guess. Electrolyte is corrosive, so I'd get around to taking it off sooner rather than later before it causes more damage.
Thanks for all the help guys, i got a guy that will solder this on for me for free, i just have to find the cap which is oviously easier said then done. From what the label says, again its 200v 10uf 85c NON POLAR (u1e). If anyone can provide me a link to where i can order a replacement that would be great because theres so many different kinds it blows my mind!. Thanks again! -Greg
The uF non polar part is whats important. As is the voltage, BUT the voltage can be higher, NOT lower. Might check online at allied electronics or mouser electronics, just a few off the top of my head
is it a new NEW amp or a new used amp to you? if its new new then why not take it back for warranty? i had to have a cap replaced in my 5ch amp this year. it wasn't just the cap either. so unless you can have it looked over by someone that repairs them im not sure just replacing the cap would fix it. mine was just from component failure. just a bad cap. it does happen.
This amp is over 2 years old pushing 3 12's every day @ 2ohms. Shes been a champ and im not letting go easy. I already bought another amp but i want to get this one going again if i can. The only place i can take it to wants 30-40 bucks JUST to look at it. So if i can change the cap and all is well, Good game. If not then ill consider getting it looked at. -P.S Thank you Viking, ill order one today.
Do you know where the capacitors that you are looking at are made? I've never replaced a capacitor, but when I build PCs, I buy motherboards that mainly use Japanese capacitors. All the cheap motherboards that die after a few months always are the cheap branded manufacturers( ECS, Jetway, Biostar) that use crap non-japanese capacitors.
Heat is usually the culprit that causes bad capacitors. Running the amp at lower impedances produces more heat. Get the same value capacitor but one with a higher temperature rating (that's the 85c part. C= Celsius). Make sure you get the same physical dimension and lead configuration (some caps have leads out each end). You will probably not be able to replace it without getting to the solder side and you need to make sure to replace it the correct way because electrolytic capacitors have a positive and a negative lead.
