Fender solid state amp cutting out

[dougdnh]

I have an old Fender Deluxe 900 solid state amp. Nice little amp with some good effects. I have this frustrating problem with it. After about an hour or so of use, it cuts out and I get clicking noises. I suspect it's coming from the effects/tuner board, which is on the right side of the panel, a separate board from the main one If I wack the right side of the amp, the problem will sometimes go away for a few minutes. If I open it up, unplug and replug the 3 ribbon wires that go on this board, it's fine for another hour or so. I've sprayed electronics cleaner on the pins for these plugs, but i still get the problem. I don't know if thee is anything else I can do without either bringing it into a shop, or just junking it.

[The Dude]

Try jumpering the effects send to return. You could have an intermittent switching jack.

[Jazz P Bass]

Yes.
That!

[glebert]

I had a Fender Ultimate Chorus DSP that had cracked solder joints on the ribbon cable that went over to the DSP board,

[g1]

I had a Fender Ultimate Chorus DSP that had cracked solder joints on the ribbon cable that went over to the DSP board,

I think this is a good candidate. He mentioned that reseating those connectors was a temporary fix. Perhaps it's wiggling the solder joints enough to make contact for a while.
dougdnh If the patch cord from FX send to return doesn't help, try resoldering those connectors on the dsp board. If you don't do soldering, even removing that dsp board and taking it to a tech to have the connectors re-soldered will save you some shop time.

[Jon Snell]

A common issue is the input jack. It has an extra pair of contacts that release the mute function and if dirty will mute the amplifier without warning.

[dougdnh]

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm not sure if I know where the send & receive spots are on the FX board, but I'll take a very close look at all the connections where the ribbon wires plug in.