Peavey Ultra Plus blew up again - need help

[Deadrodent]

Hey everyone, it's been ages since I've posted anything on this site. Just been really busy with school. I got a pretty nasty problem right now regarding my Peavey Ultra Plus head. A while ago my bassist in my band was playing through it before a show when the amp just suddenly turned off. We found out that 2 fuses had been blown and it appeared like a tube had been damaged (the top was a cloudy milky white while the others' were a metallic silver and the glass was clear) Today I replaced those fuses with new ones and replaced the first tube pair with the second tube pair (the amp can run on 4 or 2 at 120 watts or 60 watts). The amp seemed like it was fixed - it turned on. But there was no sound at all. One tube lit up but the second had no sign of power at all. Then after about a minute and a half of being on there was a loud pop and a large amount of smoke exited the amp. I traced the smoke back to one of the recently replaced fuses. Unfortunetly, I was quite stupid and touched one of the fuses while the amp was plugged in (it was not on luckily) and suffered a pretty nasty shock. So all in all it has left me with a very disconcerting situation and I would like to fix it. If anyone could help with this problem it would be greatly appreciated. I saved a long time to get this amp and it's getting absolutely no use. I'm just glad there's a forum like this to turn to with problems like these! Thanks in advance!!

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Peavey Ultra Plus blew up again - need help

I'd first buy a whole new set of JJ 6L6's and 3 good preamp tubes. Also put the correct value of fuses in it. Turn it on with the guitar plugged in. If in 20 seconds there's no problem, it may be solved. When you turn it on, make sure you're observing the tubes the whole time. At the first sign of any tube flaring up or overheating, turn the amp off, and have a tech test it.....with crappy tubes preferably, so you don't burn up the new ones. Most likely it's a tube problem. If not, there could be a burned component that leads to the power tubes. Pay to have it fixed.

 

[Artie]

Re: Peavey Ultra Plus blew up again - need help

If there was a loud pop, followed by a lot of smoke, I would respectfully disagree with everything GJ said . . . except this part. :laugh2:

Pay to have it fixed.

Artie

 

[Deadrodent]

Re: Peavey Ultra Plus blew up again - need help

hmm...any other opinions?

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Peavey Ultra Plus blew up again - need help

hmm...any other opinions?

can you define "Blew up"...does it still power on?
Do the tubes light up at all (heaters)?
Does it blowe fuses or not?
We need more info...

 

[Imp]

Re: Peavey Ultra Plus blew up again - need help

my bet's on one of the transformers, probably Output..

GJ is bang on, this needs to be looked at by a pro

 

[Jag513]

Re: Peavey Ultra Plus blew up again - need help

It's probably either the OT or an incorrect fuse value. Or a combination of both (the OT blew as a result of an incorrect fuse value). Unless you're very experienced, though, GJ's suggestion is best. Be ready to shell out cash though--the OT's probably the most expensive component in the amp.

 

[Deadrodent]

Re: Peavey Ultra Plus blew up again - need help

can you define "Blew up"...does it still power on?
Do the tubes light up at all (heaters)?
Does it blowe fuses or not?
We need more info...

All you have to do is reread my post. It has all that information.

 

[Wattage]

Re: Peavey Ultra Plus blew up again - need help

Could be the tranny, could be the bias grid. Get it to a tech.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Peavey Ultra Plus blew up again - need help

Since he said there's a white cloudy appearance in one of the dead tubes, it indicates to me that a tube blew. It's always good to keep old spare tubes around, so you can replace them, before paying a tech to do the same thing. If all the tubes are OK, and it blows another fuse.....definitely shut the amp off and take it to someone authorized to work on Peaveys. Best case scenario, the bass signal overwhelmed the tube, causing it to blow. Worst case scenario, the output tranny is fried.
But, when that happens the output tranny smells like burned plastic. If the amp smells, that's NOT a good sign. If the amp stopped smelling after the fuse's smoke disappeared, it's a positive sign.

 

[Deadrodent]

Re: Peavey Ultra Plus blew up again - need help

hmm..While the amp was on I could smell a metallic burning smell....that doesn't sound good...Well, I'll be contacting amp techs in my area and see what can be done. Hopefully it won't cost too much money right? As in around 100 bucks or less?

 

[bloodswords]

Re: Peavey Ultra Plus blew up again - need help

bro- My Ultra Plus died on me only once. only a blown fuse, nothing serious. i did change my pre-amp tubes prior to this incident but the tech assured me that it had nothing to do with that.

FYI- currently using JJ/ Tesla ECC83 instead of 12AX7 :burnout: