Crack failed voltage test [resolved]

Cowwe · 3436

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Offline Cowwe

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on: August 05, 2023, 10:37:55 AM
I'm a first time builder of a Crack kit, and everything seemed to have gone smoothly until now, which is when I did my last voltage check after finishing the assembly. The resistance checks went fine, but my voltages read like this:
1) 90      6) 0
2) 226    7) 150
3) 150    8 ) 150
4) 226    9) 150
5) 90     10) 0

My voltage is 240VAC.

The tubes seem to be glowing correctly, as do the leds.
I also read 150v when measuring the steel chassis with red multimeter lead touching it, and black lead touching 12. Is it supposed to be like this?
I have checked for wires touching each others but for now I can't see anything weird, and honestly I don't know which points to focus on. Please  help me figure this out.
« Last Edit: August 07, 2023, 06:16:57 AM by Paul Birkeland »



Offline Doc B.

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Reply #1 on: August 05, 2023, 02:00:53 PM
You need to unplug that amp and do not touch the chassis. It is most likely that you have either miswired a wire that carries voltage to a ground terminal or you have a hot wire touching the chassis. Do a very careful visual inspection to verify that your connections are all correct and no bare wire touches anything it shouldn't. Then redo your resistance measurements before proceeding to redo voltage measurements.

Dan "Doc B." Schmalle
President For Life
Bottlehead Corp.


Offline Cowwe

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Reply #2 on: August 05, 2023, 11:58:55 PM
I have unplugged the amp and have been looking for miswirings for quite a while now, but I haven't found any clear mistake. I have gone through every passage and I can't find anything that's connected where it shouldn't.
Testing with the multimeter (and amp still unplugged) I find there's connection between the chassis and the green wires going from the transformer through the tube sockets. Is this okay or is this maybe a hint to where my problem lies?
I'm honestly running out of places to look at. Please give me any ideas you come up with.
« Last Edit: August 06, 2023, 01:35:40 AM by Cowwe »



Offline Cowwe

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Reply #3 on: August 06, 2023, 01:29:25 AM
I don't know how useful they might be but I have uploaded some pictures of my kit, just in case someone might notice something wrong with it.




Offline Cowwe

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Reply #4 on: August 06, 2023, 01:30:26 AM
attaching a couple at a time, otherwise I receive an error



Offline Cowwe

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Reply #5 on: August 06, 2023, 02:42:21 AM
I have noticed that in my octal socket, which has two holes for each lug, I have only soldered the holes where a wire is passing. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be soldering both, including the empty ones.



Offline Cowwe

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Reply #6 on: August 06, 2023, 02:55:35 AM
Two more pictures.



Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #7 on: August 06, 2023, 05:23:00 AM
B4 doesn't look well soldered.

I would be willing to bet that the lug on the headphone jack where the black wires meet has one black wire that's not captured by solder.

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man


Offline Cowwe

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Reply #8 on: August 06, 2023, 07:06:58 AM
I have resoldered B4 and checked the wirings on the headphone jack.
I also noticed the solder joint at B5 was slightly loose so I resoldered it, but I don't think the problem is fixed.
Any other ideas or parts I should be inspecting closer?
Also, using my multimeter with the amplifier unplugged I can read a connection between the chassis and 12U. Is this normal or can I keep using this test to check if my wiring is fixed? (before I plug the amp in and check voltage)
« Last Edit: August 06, 2023, 07:28:35 AM by Cowwe »



Offline Paul Birkeland

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Reply #9 on: August 06, 2023, 07:26:48 AM
Assuming you have your black meter probe on terminal 12, you are measuring 150V on terminal 3.  Terminal 12 and terminal 3 are connected by a chain of black wires.  If they are connected by black wires, there can't be a 150V difference between these terminals, therefore you are either missing a black wire or you have a bad solder joint not properly bonding these wires.

Since you do not appear to be missing any of these wires, you have a bad solder joint along the chain of black wires that connect terminal 12 to terminal 3. 

I am not 100% convinced that you don't have a loose black wire at the headphone jack.  I would reflow that joint and crank up your soldering iron to maximum heat.  If you are using lead free solder, consider switching to leaded solder if possible.

Paul "PB" Birkeland

Bottlehead Grunt & The Repro Man


Offline Cowwe

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Reply #10 on: August 07, 2023, 06:00:52 AM
Thank you so much! After resoldering those joints and trimming the tips of a couple wires I hadn't noticed, I have checked both resistances and voltages and now they sit perfectly in the listed values on the guide. I have been listening to music for a good while and forgot to update my thread, sorry.
I hope I won't need to open another thread when I eventually decide to install the Speedball upgrade, but until then thank you again.