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Replacing a power switch on Exposure XV (super)

stackowax

pfm Member
Has anybody replaced one of these before and, if you have, do you have any advice?

I've got the switch and took a peek inside. My initial questions are:

(a) is it common practice to solder these in or am I going to get lucky and discover that there are push connections?

(b) what's the best strategy for removing the old switch and installing the new one? Not sure what the best plan attack would be. So if you have any pointers, I'd appreciate it.

A couple of pics:

50405776757_4fdea7ed3b_k.jpg


50405776797_01ed81d244_k.jpg
 
On some models, the wires are soldered and on others they are with a female connector. You have to pull off a small portion of the black jacket to see.
I usually cut and remove these black jackets and replace with shrink sleeves after the job is done.
If they are soldered, you will need an iron to heat it up while pulling the wire to remove once the lead is liquid.
If they are with a female connector, you will have to pull it out gently to make sure not to break a tab.
To remove the switch from the facing, you will have to push down the metal tabs that are holding the switch in place with a small flat screwdriver towards the switch one at a time while pulling out the body of the switch from the facing of the amplifier. There are some tabs on top and underneath the switch usually.
You may have to do one corner of the switch at a time and repeat a few times all around the switch as it may not want to come off in one shot.
These switches (probably a Micoswitch brand) were easy to install just by pushing them in place in a fraction of a second but they are sometimes tricky to pull off.
Sometimes, when I know I won’t reuse the switch, I simply cut the metal tabs before pulling the switch off.
Hope this helps.
 
You have a new one there already, well done
Cut those shiny silver dogs in the picture, actually black plastic and you should be able to push the switch out easily
Push the black rubber covers back, bet the contacts are soldered as there is not much room in there
Take a picture to make sure you orientate the new switch and wires correctly otherwise the led on the switch won't work
I usually put a heatsink on the base of the tab (croc clip will do) when soldering to reduce the heat going into the switch
 
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Pull the leads through the panel and solder them to the switch, it should be easer.
Mind the soldering iron on the panel.

Pete
 
Thanks for all the helpful comments. I plunged forward before seeing cobbers comment about cutting the wire ties--that would have made things infinitely easier!. Nevertheless the new switch is in and working. I wasn't able to get the insulating material over the metal tabs of the switch after soldering (it wasn't really heat shrink tubing but sort of stretchy stuff), so they are just naked right now. Wish I had had some heat shrink tubing on hand. I would have used that instead. Is there any problem with just wrapping the soldered connections with electrical tape? Or, even better, can I just leave it alone until this switch needs to be replaced?

btw, I could be making this up but I think the amp sounds much better with the new switch in. The old one was getting pretty wonky, which is why I had to replace it. Maybe it was causing some issues that impacted the sound?
 
As per today’s electricity codes, there should be a shrink tubing or a sleeve over the connectors for safety reasons.
Nevertheless, this won’t make a difference on the fact the amplifier is working well.
If the contacts of the previous switch were corroded and going on and off intermittently then yes it may degrade the sound quality as the main capacitors were not full charge all the time but it’s rather rare.
 


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