Help Figuring out what's broken in Fender Vibrolux Custom

[Cheap Trills]

Hello, I'm hoping some of the experts on this forum can help me out.

I recently purchased a used Fender Vibrolux Custom online, y'know the one that came out in the 90s with the white knobs. It was shoddily packaged, and looked like it was manhandled by FedEx on it's way to me. The seller removed the power tubes and secured them in some bubble wrap for shipping. When I unpackaged it, it seemed alright. I plugged it in before realizing the power tubes were removed and turned on power, not the standby switch. The red gem turned on. About 3 seconds later, I realized the power tubes were not in and turned it off. I then installed the powertubes, and turned it back on. The red gem turned on. I let it warm up for maybe five minutes without flipping the standby switch. Then, I turned on the standby switch and, not immediately, but after maybe a second the red gem went out and the amp seems bricked, like nothing turns on or makes noise or anything when flipping the power switch. So, starting from completely off, just flip the power switch not the standby, and no red gem comes on anymore.

I'm no amp tech. I have a phobia of getting electrocuted. I did some research on the internet but am not finding anything clear. I'm pretty confident it's not the power tubes, but as a test, I took two working 6L6s from another amp and tried them and nothing changed. I suspect it might be the fuse? But I have never touched that stuff in an amp. I'm hoping this is fixable because I don't want to go through the refund and shipping process with the seller.

Can anyone here help me sort this out or point me in the right direction?

 

[corliss1]

You can check the fuse - there's always the possibility that a tube went bad in shipping and caused the fuse to blow. If it is blown, replace it with the EXACT same rating or you risk further damage to the amp.

If that doesn't do it, you've already tried all you can do (tube swapping) without getting a tech involved, with your stated skill level.

 

[Cheap Trills]

If it is blown, replace it with the EXACT same rating or you risk further damage to the amp.

Thanks for your insight. Researching, it says the fuse is T3A250V. Checking on Amazon, I see a lot of options here. "Fast-blow" "slow-blow" "time-delay"... Does it matter? Is there a specific version needed for Fender Amps?

 

[corliss1]

Nearly all mains fuses on tube amps are "slow blow" - that allows them to handle the initial higher current draw when you first flip the switch, but still provide protection while things are running.

 

[68goldtop]

Hi!

Hello, I'm hoping some of the experts on this forum can help me out.

... I let it warm up for maybe five minutes without flipping the standby switch. Then, I turned on the standby switch and, not immediately, but after maybe a second the red gem went out and the amp seems bricked, like nothing turns on or makes noise or anything when flipping the power switch...

Yes, sounds like a blown fuse to me!
Replace with the proper model/rating and try again with your known-good tubes.

But - even if it works at the 2nd try, I´d still have a tech look at the amp to see if everything´s running fine.
If the fuse blew, it probably blew for a reason!

I'm hoping this is fixable because I don't want to go through the refund and shipping process with the seller...

Yes, this is (almost) certainly "fixable".
Don´t worry too much, but be "safe" and have the amp looked at

cheers - 68.

 

[Wally]

I would first approach the seller about a refund Or coverage of the cost for a qualified tech to put the amp into proper working order.
Note: there is always the possibility that seller has shipped a known to be non-functioning amp. The shoddy packing job can be a way of covering up such an unethical sale. Yes, I can take a cynical point of view. The old saying is ‘CYA’. Imho, you should not be out any m9ney to get this amp either 1) working properly or 2) shipped back and a refund made to you.

 

[Ten Over]

Thanks for your insight. Researching, it says the fuse is T3A250V. Checking on Amazon, I see a lot of options here. "Fast-blow" "slow-blow" "time-delay"... Does it matter? Is there a specific version needed for Fender Amps?

The "T" in T3A250V means that it is a slow blow type. Unplug the amp from the wall before removing the fuse and installing a new one.

 

[Cheap Trills]

replace it with the EXACT same rating or you risk further damage to the amp

Another newbie question here-- I'm seeing both 5x20mm and 5x30mm size fuses come back for T3A which I thought was the size part of the T3A250V the amps manual says is correct. Any idea what size I need?

 

[schmee]

Make sure the power tubes are rotated properly when inserting. Some will go in wrong! It's not uncommon at all.
You can probably get slow blo fuses locally. Try Ace hardware. Yes it matters. Many amps will blow a normal fuse.
The fuse was a 3 amp on the last one I looked at. They have changed the amps a bit over the years though.

 

[corliss1]

It'll be the 3AG standard, which is 5x30.

 

[Ten Over]

3AG 1.25" x 0.25", 31.75mm x 6.35mm

 

[Ten Over]

It'll be the 3AG standard, which is 5x30.

5 x 30 are the miniature ones. The parts list specifies the big ones.

 

[corliss1]

Metric is hard

 

[Ten Over]

Metric is hard

I messed up. Miniature is 5 x 20.

 

[corliss1]

Oh I was right? I'll take a win today.

 

[Ten Over]

Oh I was right?

Not exactly, it's just that I was wrong.

 

[Cheap Trills]

Man, I cannot find a place to buy this fuse. I see the 5x20mm option a bunch of places, but I can't find the longer one with the right other specs.

I've found also some that have an "L" in the middle, T3AL. I looked it up and supposedly that means "low breaking".. which, of course, I have no idea what that means. =) I looked it up, but don't really understand what breaking capacity means or what the amp would need. Will these work in my amp?

 

[David Barnett]

Do you have Home Depot, Lowe's, or Ace Hardware nearby? Any of them will have a selection of fuses.

 

[Cheap Trills]

I checked the website for lowes and home depot and they don't have in stock at the locations near me. There aren't any ace hardwares here. I called the local mom and pop store and he asked me to bring it in to see if they have it. I will try to drop by after picking up my son from school, but I don't have a lot of confidence they'll have it, but we'll see.

 

[ETMusic777]

Try these guys, they have everything for amps. I've ordered from them many times before and also picked up an order there once when I was in Phoenix.

https://www.tubesandmore.com/search/node/fuse

There are several other leading amp supply part vendors on the web, and it may be a good idea to get familiar with them all for when you need misc parts.