I really need your help guys! (Amp trouble)

[Jackal_Strain]

My brand new bugera 333XL got delivered today and my first impression of it out of the box was wow! A beautiful amp! Sure the logo was made of plastic and the knobs felt kinda cheap, but everything else looked solid and well built.
So I took it down to the rehearsal space for a test run and a jam with the drummer in my band and that was when the trouble started.
I made sure that everything was connected properly before I turned the power on. I noticed after 5 or 6 seconds that the clean channel light blinked on both the amp and the foot switch, and I remember that I thought that was funny, but I thought that it would maybe stop once I turned the standby off. Before I got to that however a popping and screeching kinda noise emitted from the speakers (the standby was still on and the master set to zero).
By now I had started to worry that something was wrong with the amp, and I decided to turn the standby off and gently raise the master volume while strumming the strings.
No sound. Then suddenly it came alive and then the sound went away again. By now I was really pissed and that was when the amp went dead. Both power and standby lights died out.
I unplugged the power cable and checked that the tubes was connected properly, but I couldn't find anything wrong with them. I replaced the fuse and the amp turned on again, but since it was a slightly different fuse that what the amp came with I took it out again soon after.

What I know: Something is wrong with the amp and it caused the fuse to blow. I can't remember seeing the power tubes emitting any kind of light or glow and i believe they're supposed to glow visibly?

I really hope there's a simple solution to this problem since I bought the amp from Germany and I live in Norway. I don't really know much about amps, tubes and such (other than playing them and dialing in sweet tones) so I really hope you guys can help me!

Sigurd.

 

[Ashgarth]

May be a bad power tube, happened something similar to me with my peavey windsor, took it to the tech service and got 2 tubes replaced.
Return it so they give you a new one. I suppose you bought it on thomann or musicstore, if it's musicstore, they are kinda nice, once bought there and something was broken, so they send UPS to pick it up and sent a new one, took 3 or 4 weeks.

 

[Jackal_Strain]

Yeah I bought it from musicstore. i still have the 30 days money back guarantee as well as warranty, but I really hoped to avoid having to send it back. I might just try to replace the power tubes and see if that solves anything, but the blinking channel light is what worries me. Will I have to rebias the amp if I switch to electroharmonix tubes instead of the stock bugera ones?

 

[Jackal_Strain]

I hate to bump my own thread, but I'd like some more input on this if possible.
And I forgot to say than you Ashgarth

 

[Pot]

return it ASAP...mail them for instructions on returning it and do it now...

if u wanna try another set of tubes at your risk do it...but th eflickering light surely is a bad contact inside...save youreslf the trouble and return it

 

[Jackal_Strain]

I was afraid of that. I guess I just wanted to hear someone tell me there was an easy fix for this. thanks guys. I guess I'll have to contact musicstore tomorrow then.

 

[Sloan]

THESE AMPS HAVE A KNOWN ISSUE WITH A MOLEX CONNECTOR THAT MELTS/BURNs.
Very easy fix, you cut the connector off and solder the wires straight to the board. I bought mine for $200, fixed it, used it 20min later at rehearsal, and it's my gigging amp i use every weekend in a cover band. love the hell out of it. No problems EVER.

This is common anywhere your sending high voltage/current through a molex, it's just not a good idea. Your best bet is to cut off the connector, unsolder the pins from the board and solder the wires in their respective places on the board. Be careful, all the heat generated when the molex failed can cause the tracings on the board to lift up a bit.

Here's a pic of a Bugera 333xl I just did this too, looks sloppier than it is.

 

[Pot]

yeah i didn´t remember that ... but since he bought it now i though those problems were fixed by bugera on the new batches.
Maybe u´ve got one of the earlier ones that had this problem!?

 

[Jackal_Strain]

Update. I opened mine up and checked the Molex connector to see if that was the issue with mine as well. It wasn't fried like sloans and a lot of other peoples amps I've seen pictures of, but one of the cables was loose. I talked to a tech and he said that that was probably the reason. I'm gonna take it to him on Monday and get it checked out.
Wish me luck guys!

 

[Forceps]

Sounds like you found the bug! Those connectors can get loose during transport.... I had it once with a Roland synth module (no sound, but all the lights on the unit worked perfectly) and in rehearsal with my guitarists Marshall JMP-1 (no sound, nothing at all). Replugged the connector and everything worked again!

Good luck with your 333, I'm really thinking of picking one up myself, as my Windsor doesn't seem able to deliver me the brootalz as I like them...