Fender Hot Rod Deluxe

[Rockinrickie]

I recently replaced the linear taper volume pot on my hot rod deluxe with an audio taper.After I play for about 15 minutes or so it cuts out.No sound.Could a cold solder joint cause this?Any other suggestions?Thanks in advance,Rickie

[Billy R aka DynaFreak]

yes, a bad solder joint associated with your repair work could be the problem. It is also possible that something else got bumped or disturbed as a result of pulling out the pcb to work on it. Before you pull it out to check, I would go ahead and do the "chopstik test" while the amp is powered up, assuming you know how to work on an energized amp safely. Poke components and connections gently with a non-conductive tool (a wooden chopstik) to listen for any change in amp response. Be sure to have the volume turned up a little when you do this. If that does not yield any results, pull the the PCB and look very closely for signs of anything else that might cause a problem. How old is your Deluxe? Are there signs of burning or scorching anywhere? If so be sure to closely inspect those areas. In most cases it is easiest to have your soldering iron ready and just go ahead and touch up any suspicious joints. Good lighting and some magnification will often reveal problems you cannot see unaided.

[plec.22]

Rockinrickie, re-flow the o/p stage round the valves..also recheck the bias voltage setting these amps should be set to 60mv across the 1 ohm resistor... you can see this 10 ohm near the speak jack end. as above push all connections in place then re power back up.

[Rockinrickie]

thanks people.will check your suggestions out and get back.

[Ronsonic]

As always check your work first.

Next, those amps have a history of bad solders on both the tube PCB and the main board in the area of the control panel. You really should have done a blanket reflow while you were in there.

Also, since you dropped the main board for your mod, check the ribbon cables. They are pretty fragile and it is not uncommon for even an experienced tech to lose a connection on those. Usually they break where they join the main board.