Clicking sound from amp

[spiwak2005]

We have an old Crown amp (that I didn't even know existed in our facility) feeding a single center speaker in our aud. Came in today and heard a loud clicking sound coming from it (that's how I found it...hidden behind the stage in a completely blocked, almost non-accessible rack). Sure enough when I powered up the mixer in the booth there was no sound coming from that speaker. Turned the amp off and back on and the clicking noise was back and still no audio. Is that clicking noise a sign the amp is dead?

 

[coldnorth57]

it could mean one of two things 1st the out put from the amp is shorted or the amp is dead. try7 this remove the speaker wires and then trun on the amp and if the clicking gose away then it is with the speaker or wiring if not it is the amp Good Luck

 

[Chris15]

I presume that the clicking was emanating from the speaker, if the amp was making noise, you have a sure sign of things not good.

Try yanking the XLR from the amp's input. That should tell you if the fault is in the amp or further upstream.

 

[museav]

The usual comments regarding providing more information and trying some logical troubleshooting steps. For example, is the clicking coming from the amp itself or from the attached speaker? Do you have a model number for the amp? Are there any lights on on the front panel? Do the filters on the front where the air enters for cooling look totally blocked? Do you hear the colling fan running? Did you leave the amp off for a period of time before turning it back on? Has anything else changed recently?

 

[headcrab]

It could be the circuit breaker clicking as it breaks a fault. Look for the fault indicators if there are any.

 

[spiwak2005]

Clicking was definitely coming from the amp. All the usual lights are on on the front panel - I don't see any fault indicator lights. Filters don't look blocked. It has been off for 24 hours now...I will go turn it back on to see what happens.

It's a Crown PS-200.

Turned it back on and still clicking. Clicking is so loud I can't tell if cooling fan is running.

 

[DimmerDotCom]

Clicking was definitely coming from the amp. All the usual lights are on on the front panel - I don't see any fault indicator lights. Filters don't look blocked. It has been off for 24 hours now...I will go turn it back on to see what happens.

It's a Crown PS-200.

Turned it back on and still clicking. Clicking is so loud I can't tell if cooling fan is running.

That clicking sound is most likely the the time delay relay. Does the clikcing sound cycle every 4 seconds or so? If yes, then that's what it is. Either there's a fault in that circuit or there's DC at the line inputs (below 5HZ).

I don't have any direct experience with the ps-200 but it is the small brother of the ps-400 and the difference *should* only be in the output amp stage. YMMV

Maurice Garcia
dimmer.com Home Page
Save My CD-80 Home Page

 

[wavemaster447]

I have the same problem - it's a Crown 8 channel amp (unsure of model number). The front panel indicator lights ALL come on (green yellow red for all 8 channels) when it clicks, then they slowly come down in order. The amp will then work for about 30 seconds before clicking again and going dead. (Thank goodness it's just an auxiliary amp for the lecture halls/wings. (not in use). The amp manual indicated this is a wiring fault. We removed all wires from the amp and it still clicks - in process of RTM'ing it, looks like they'll give us a new one. It's gonna be a pain in the ass to install, though. our rack is kinda cornered and it's hard to get to the back.