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I've owned and used a Crown Macro Reference power amplifier (now call Studio Reference) for at least 10 years; maybe more, it's hard to remember. It has performed perfectly, except for a little turn-on pop, in all that time, but starting a few months ago, once every 5-8 times I turn it on, the amp trips a 20-amp circuit breaker. Big pain. After resetting the breaker, it turns on ok and performs perfectly after that. It's never had any turn-off problems.
I finally got sick of resetting the circuit breaker and brought the amp to a Crown authorized repair center. After replacing a capacitor and a couple other parts and turning it off and on 30-40 times without incident, the amp was declared to be normal. I get it home and for a few days it operates just fine, but then it trips the breaker again - not fixed!
So - back to the repair place I go, but the technician can find nothing wrong with the amp. Everything is within spec. He believes that because my system is plugged into the same circuit (because of hum problems) as the amp and because the amp has a heavy current draw on turn-on causes the circuit breaker to trip. I just don't see it. The amp has only been tripping breakers for a few months. While my equipment content changes once in a while, I've always had approximently the same number of components. None of the components other than the amp has a heavy current draw (no other amps). A similarly rated QSC SRA 3622 power amp that I had been using in place of the Crown (but just sold) had no turn-on problems on the same circuit.
The technician suggests that I may have a faulty breaker (the service is only a few years old). Or, if it's not faulty, that I install something called a "Motor Start Breaker". I have no idea what this is but I might try it. I still believe that something is wrong with the amp, but I'm not an electronic genius and can't suggest what it might be. All I know is that tripping circuit breakers ain't normal.
Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?
I finally got sick of resetting the circuit breaker and brought the amp to a Crown authorized repair center. After replacing a capacitor and a couple other parts and turning it off and on 30-40 times without incident, the amp was declared to be normal. I get it home and for a few days it operates just fine, but then it trips the breaker again - not fixed!
So - back to the repair place I go, but the technician can find nothing wrong with the amp. Everything is within spec. He believes that because my system is plugged into the same circuit (because of hum problems) as the amp and because the amp has a heavy current draw on turn-on causes the circuit breaker to trip. I just don't see it. The amp has only been tripping breakers for a few months. While my equipment content changes once in a while, I've always had approximently the same number of components. None of the components other than the amp has a heavy current draw (no other amps). A similarly rated QSC SRA 3622 power amp that I had been using in place of the Crown (but just sold) had no turn-on problems on the same circuit.
The technician suggests that I may have a faulty breaker (the service is only a few years old). Or, if it's not faulty, that I install something called a "Motor Start Breaker". I have no idea what this is but I might try it. I still believe that something is wrong with the amp, but I'm not an electronic genius and can't suggest what it might be. All I know is that tripping circuit breakers ain't normal.
Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?