major boogie malfunction

[ValveHeavyTone]

help i need help fast!!! i put some kt-77s and gz34 recto tubes in my recto and now all it will do is blow fuse after fuse i tried puting old tubes back in but it still blows fuses i have tried every thing i could think of but no dice please help fellas.

 

[tiger roach]

When I was blowing fuses it was because a tube was not fully seated. Specifically, the rectifier tube. It was a booger to get fully in there for some reason, but once it was in, no more blown fuses.

 

[Micah]

I had the same problem when I first recieved my Triple Recto in the mail after I bought it on Ebay--but I also made sure the Rectifier tubes were seated and the problem stopped. :wink:

 

[ValveHeavyTone]

well mesa told me to put it in solid state recto mode and put a pair in at a time and the **** thing still will not fire up huh.

 

[NoGlassNoClass]

I'm gonna guess rec tube. My Triple did this once and it was a bad GZ34.

Try putting the old tubes back, pull all the rectifier tubes out, set to ss rec and try it. If it works, put the KT77's in and try again. Still working? leave it in ss rec, and put the rec tubes in one at a time with the amp running (not standby). If that doesnt pop the fuse, switch to tube rec (watch the tubes while you do this). The offending tube should rear its ugly head pretty fast.

I think rectifier tubes probably dont get as rigorous a testing like pre/power tubes do, and bad ones do slip through. Your dealer should replace it without much hassle.

 

[ValveHeavyTone]

well i have already done that process i even started with no tubes and its still popping.

 

[disassembled]

It could be a bad power tube. Possibly damage has already been done to some components. Firstly, go back to the old power tubes. I am not sure if you had mentioned this yet. Be sure to set the Bias switch accordingly. Which fuse is getting blown? the one for the main power? If the amp blows fuses still, then run the amp without any Recto or Power tubes. Do not run this for long, just testing, and if it works then you should start installing tubes one by one. When installing tubes I always recommend turning the power off. If a tube were to break in your hand somehow that could a good 600 volt joystick, minus the joy. Seriously, I really hope you DO NOT have the power running when changing tubes. The thing that I am worried about is your screen resistors for each power tube. I hope they weren't damaged or you will have a dead tube in that socket(s). You may want to take the chassis out to make sure everything is ok looking inside(no burnt or broken/open components, gum wrappers lying around etc(you would be surprised at some of the things that can find their way into your amp). For now, we will focus on getting your amp to stop blowing fuses and then make sure everything else is ok.

Tubes can be bad right off of the shelf or even after a nice ride from Oregon to your living room. I know if you ordered from Bob he will help in anyway he can.

 

[Brewski]

If you've fired it up with no tubes, and in diode rectifier mode, and it's still popping tubes, I'm thinking that it might be a blown cap. This is only a guess, and I think that you may be at a point to take it in to a qualified tech, just to make sure. It sounds like you've covered your bases on the usual causes for fuses popping.

Don't take any chances on hurting yourself or your amp further by opening it up, if your not familiar with doing so. You can get a shock that could kill you, even if it's not plugged in.

 

[RR]

I have any idea to this solution ...

BRING IT TO THE REPAIR SHOP! :?

 

[disassembled]

Not all amp repair shops are created equal. I would rather see a post asking how to troubleshoot rather than "Why did the tech take two weeks to tell me my power tube was bad and then charge $XXX to fix it?" Some techs are well worth their going rate but many are not especially for tube amp repairs. Plus, I am sure the user would like to exhaust as many test measures as possible before throwing in the towel.

I believe the user should know how to perform simple tests on how to pinpoint problems. Don't rag on him for reaching out and asking for advice.

 

[Brewski]

I think that most of the debugging has been done, however, here's a debugging page that may be of some use...

http://guitar.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.geofex.com%2Fampdbug%2Fampdebug.htm

At some point, a tech is going to need to be brought in.

If I'm reading this thread right:

Tubes were switched back to originals. The fuse pops. You may want to pick up a fresh set of Mesa power tubes to be sure. You might also want to double check your preamp tubes.

Amp was powered on without tubes, and fuse popped.

Amp was switched to diode rectifier and fuse pops.

This may sound stupid, but check to make sure that the right fuse is being use. I'm just trying to cover the basics.

The speaker is plugged in, so the amp is being switched on with a load.

A fuse popping is a symptom of another problem and if the all of the tubes have been systematically switched, then it must be something else. After that, I'm not sure what else can be done for home debugging.

I hope this helps a little.