ENGL making sparking noises

[spirit7]

Hi all,

I've had my Powerball 6 months or so, very happy with it so far.

Today, however, after (stupidly) leaving it on and off standby for 10 mins or so with a guitar cable attached but no guitar, it's started making these 'popping' noises (intermittently, but especially when first switched on). Sounds like it's coming from the transformer. It doesn't seem to affect the sound and otherwise works fine. Volume doesn't affect it, either.

Can anyone shed some light on this? Many thanks...

 

[gorath23]

Not having a guitar plugged in shouldn't make any difference at all. Did you have it plugged into a Cab? Is the popping coming through the speakers, or can you hear it actually within the chassis of the amp? If its through the speakers it sounds as if you may have a bad preamp tube.

 

[Torniojaws]

Do you mean the lightbulb sort of clicking and popping? It happens on my Powerball too, but only when I turn it off completely. It'll do it for 5 minutes or so randomly, less than 10 times in total. Haven't heard it while on standby though...

Edit:
Oh and it also happens once or twice when I turn the amp on, after 20 seconds or so. I think it might be related to the tubes themselves, since that 20 seconds is what the manual tells you to wait before starting to play.

 

[gorath23]

Yeah the clicking sound is just the tubes cooling on shutdown. It shouldn't be that audible though. Spirit7 how long you been giving the warmup and standby times? On warmup I'd recommend at least 1 minute and at least 10 mins on standby before shutoff. Your tubes will last a lot longer if you do.

 

[spirit7]

Thanks for the replies so far.

It sounds like a 'sparking' or a lightbulb type electrical clicking noise. Definitely coming from the inside of the amp. I always give it the 1 min warmup before playing...

I'm just worrying that it's a major problem that might result in either damage to the amp or an electrical fire :/

 

[gorath23]

Well, if you are noticing it that much it tends to suggest its not just the tubes warming up and down. Normally tube clicks are pretty quiet. I'd take it to a tech just to be sure.