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Post subject: Smelly Blues Jr. III
Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 1:04 pm
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Hi. New here in the Fender forums.

I've had a Blues Jr. III for a few months, but haven't played it much (I have several other amps), though I've used it more lately. Every time I power up this BJ3 the smell of warm oil wafts to my nose within about 15 minutes and continues throughout my practice session.

Do you think this is anything to worry about? The smell isn't overwhelming and disappears shortly after powering down the amp. I have a background in electronics repair work and this smell reminds me of the smell of warm oil in a leaky transformer.

Maybe the smell will eventually go away? Do many new BJ3s (or other new Fender amps) have this smell when new? My last new Fender amp was a '76 Silverface Vibro Champ (that I rebuilt & upgraded about two years ago -- the tone is amazing!) -- no smell there.

Thanks.

-Dan


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Post subject: Re: Smelly Blues Jr. III
Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 1:25 pm
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It sounds suspiciously like a bad filter or bypass cap boiling away its electrolytic fluid to me. I would disassemble the amp and inspect the chassis for any signs of oil bleed. Any bulging cap(s) should be replaced, and soon.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: Smelly Blues Jr. III
Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 6:44 pm
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Retroverbial wrote:
It sounds suspiciously like a bad filter or bypass cap boiling away its electrolytic fluid to me. I would disassemble the amp and inspect the chassis for any signs of oil bleed. Any bulging cap(s) should be replaced, and soon.

Arjay


Thanks for that!

-Dan


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Post subject: Re: Smelly Blues Jr. III
Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 7:38 pm
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It might only be the glue or covering on the back panel getting hot, due to the heat from the output tubes. Mine is ten years old and it still gives off some of that smell when warmed up, and I've lowered my idle current from stock.

As Retroverbial suggested, it is still a good idea to make sure that everything inside is good.

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.


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Post subject: Re: Smelly Blues Jr. III
Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 10:05 pm
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I would too. It's easy to take a quick look. Just don't touch anything. The electrolytic capacitors aren't the best quality. One of mine blew in mr Hrdlx after about four months.

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Post subject: Re: Smelly Blues Jr. III
Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2014 10:59 pm
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63supro wrote:
I would too. It's easy to take a quick look. Just don't touch anything. The electrolytic capacitors aren't the best quality. One of mine blew in mr Hrdlx after about four months.


FIRE IN THE HOLE......!

Image

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY


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Post subject: Re: Smelly Blues Jr. III
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2014 6:16 am
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Retroverbial wrote:
63supro wrote:
I would too. It's easy to take a quick look. Just don't touch anything. The electrolytic capacitors aren't the best quality. One of mine blew in mr Hrdlx after about four months.


FIRE IN THE HOLE......!

Image

:mrgreen:

Arjay


:lol: :lol: :lol: Illinois Capacitors aren't manufactured in Illinois, they're made in Taiwan.

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Post subject: Re: Smelly Blues Jr. III
Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2014 7:04 pm
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Mine was the same. I let it heat up for 5 hours with the window open and after that the issue went away. Some speculated that it was the clemicals they use to clean the board needed to burn off.


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Post subject: Re: Smelly Blues Jr. III
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 3:19 pm
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63supro wrote:
Retroverbial wrote:
63supro wrote:
I would too. It's easy to take a quick look. Just don't touch anything. The electrolytic capacitors aren't the best quality. One of mine blew in mr Hrdlx after about four months.


FIRE IN THE HOLE......!

Image

:mrgreen:

Arjay


:lol: :lol: :lol: Illinois Capacitors aren't manufactured in Illinois, they're made in Taiwan.


I'm thinking operator error, looks like someone forgot to check the polarity, the first cap (looks to me like) it is installed $@! backwards.


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Post subject: Re: Smelly Blues Jr. III
Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 9:48 pm
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Good eye Snowy, that doesn't happen from leaking. :wink:

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Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.


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