Ampeg VH-140c not working of course...

[EffigyForgotten]

So I finally got my cab today, I put the speaker cables where the guy told me too and there's no sound coming from the amp other than buzz, so I take out the cable going to my pedals and just put the new cable I just bought straight through to my guitar, now I get sound but only on the clean channel with chorus, then I take out the chorus jack and try the gain channel and it doesn't work until out of nowhere I get a screaming sound, I turn the volume down and it works for like 2 minutes until I switch to the clean channel which didn't work, then I switch back to the gain channel which now only makes a sound from my guitar for like 1 second out of nowhere every 20 seconds or so...

Of course i'm fucking PISSED but can someone aid me on this problem? I've never owned an amp/cab setup and I've never read problems like this on the internet anywhere. I read on the back of the amp that its suppose to be 8 ohms OR 4 ohms minimum, the guy who made the cab gave me the option of 8 or 16 ohms for whatever reason and I read somewhere that the VH-140c could be used with 4, nowhere did I read it was SUPPOSE to be 8.

The sound I did get was complete shit at low volume but when turned up loud the amp started sounding good, i'm sure it would of sounded much better with an OD and/or my EQ pedal.

 

[ratsapprentice]

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/13342996/Ampeg VH-140c.zip

 

[EffigyForgotten]

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/13342996/Ampeg VH-140c.zip

Not really helpful at all. I want to know why my amp is not working

 

[sprack]

You're fine running it into an 8 or 16 Ohm cab.

Check the pots and see if any of them have gone bad by doing the full rotate (not full on volume). I had to replace 2 on my combo, Ampeg was super easy to work with getting parts.

Next try playing in through the return on the effects loop with the pre down. That'll at least tell you which side to look at. I've still got the body on mine out of the shell until I get time to finish tolexing the new shell so let me know need help finding stuff from schematic to board.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Not really helpful at all. I want to know why my amp is not working

And I gave you the manual and schematics, it's hardly going to hinder you.

It would be good manners to thank someone trying to help you, rather than just waving them on. Regardless of the result of their efforts.


Mine was completely devoid of any power supply, and the reverb doesn't work and some of the pots are pretty dodgy.
It's safe to say that most of them are going to have some issues, just because of their age. But they are fairly hardy amps so you should be able to sort it fairly easily.

 

[Sloan]

1. I'm not digging to deep into this, but i recall this is a solid state amp. If so, you don't really need to worry about your cab situation. 4ohm into 8/16ohm is OK.
2. You have confirmed that one channel works OK, so that means your power section is good.
3. Your problem is most likely in the preamp of the gain channel.
4. Shake/Tap/Jiggle things around and see if you can invoke a 'change of state' - some sort of noticeable, repeatable difference.

 

[EffigyForgotten]

1. I'm not digging to deep into this, but i recall this is a solid state amp. If so, you don't really need to worry about your cab situation. 4ohm into 8/16ohm is OK.
2. You have confirmed that one channel works OK, so that means your power section is good.
3. Your problem is most likely in the preamp of the gain channel.
4. Shake/Tap/Jiggle things around and see if you can invoke a 'change of state' - some sort of noticeable, repeatable difference.

It seems to work 30 seconds-2minutes than the sound fades out, after this happens if I tap the far left side of the top of the amp it seems to make a difference.

 

[EffigyForgotten]

Alright me and my dad just spent hours trying to make it work and have come to the conclusion, return it. Almost every part of the amp is fucking shit and if I could I would love to shove it up the sellers asshole for selling me it when its obviously the most fucked up piece of shit amplifier in the world.

 

[fredmlocke]

I had this problem with my VH-140C, as well. What I did to fix mine, oddly enough, was to disconnect to two RCA cables that run down from the reverb unit. This might not work in all cases, but it's worth a shot.

 

[john jagoditsh]

I did the same with disconnecting the reverb leads and it started working again. Then I read some article that said maybe the loop jacks were hosed and it could be tested simply by running a patch cord between the send and return on the effects loop. That seems to have solved it though I have yet to replace the actuAl jacks.