£5 Kenwood A-85 Amplifier Separates Hi Fi - Will It Work or Does It Need Fixing?

I was looking at an auction when this Kenwood A-85 stacking system came up. No one was bidding on it as it was spares or repairs so I just took a chance, placed a bid and won it for a fiver. Of course it needed a little bit of work and fixing.
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[@80s_kid.]

i have 2 of these M85 Kenwood, i've been buying them for years. i'd buy one, get bored, sell up, then miss it and buy another, i have the videos of them playing on my channel, i also i have my vintage boombox collection on there as well, i also have videos of my Amstrad HiFi's and the comment section is full of raging crazy people crying trying to tell me how crap they are, it's hilarious that a video of someone else's Amstrad HiFi playing can bother people so bad ha ha..

[@chris-pike]

Great work on fixing the £5 Kenwood HiFi what a bargin Lee another interesting fix to watch as always mate 👍

[@RetroElectronicRepair]

Thanks for commenting mate. I'm glad you enjoyed it. 👍

[@NuzyNuzNuzTV]

Well done! Great feeling when you get a positive outcome!

[@RetroElectronicRepair]

It certainly is. Thanks for watching and commenting. 👍

[@SvenWeko]

Nice video. I own one piece of this A-85 amp and the right main channel has something around 30% less power compared to the left channel. I serviced my unit by myself but I don't have a clue from where to start checking. I know that this unbalanced power out from left to right comes from the preout of the unit, that means the equalizer already receive this issue. If you have any clue, please, let me know.

[@ijabbott63]

I guess the original diode was probably OK before you removed it. The confusing in-circuit reading across the diode was because it was in parallel with the relay coil. The diode is there to short out the reverse polarity voltage spike from the relay coil that occurs when it is de-energized.

[@RetroElectronicRepair]

Yes maybe. Although the old diode read 0.14 and when the new one went in it read 0.3. Thanks for the info I was scratching my head for a little bit trying to understand it. Always best to measure components outside the board though. Thanks for the comment and watching 👍

[@krellft]

The diode also protects the transistor ... the back EMF of the relay will kill it if it's not present or gone open circuit ...

[@Malcarper]

Hi Lee, Another great video, have subscribed.... Please can you advise on the problem with my Kenwood RX-29. The volume control struggles to adjust. I have to turn it several full rotations, to get a very limited response, (The up down volume works fine, on the remote control). Are new replacement volume controls available? Does the control have a standard carbon track with a wiper inside, that can be cleaned with switch cleaner? Cheers.... Mal

[@RetroElectronicRepair]

Thank you. Volume controls that continuously spin are digital. They are very similar to an analogue control but the wiper arm and track are copper. These will definitely be your problem and will be dirty/tarnished. A quick spray of contact cleaner will get it working again but you will need to take the top off to see if there's a gap in the pot you can get the cleaner into.

[@Malcarper]

@@RetroElectronicRepair Thank you for your informative reply. I removed the front panel and pcb, then unsoldered the volume control. It came apart easy, by bending the 4 tabs out. Like you say....... the copper tracks had tarnished. Gave the disc and wiper arms, a light clean with a fiberglass pencil, then applied switch cleaner. All back together now and working ok, well pleased....... 🙂

[@RetroElectronicRepair]

@Malcarper Nice one. It's a very common problem and always an easy fix that many people don't know about.

[@aaykay1545]

Hey Great Video! I have a similar pioneer stack where I just can't get the CD player to work! I've tried all the obvious checks but no luck... would be great if you'd be able to take a look at it 👀

[@RetroElectronicRepair]

What is the problem? Does it have no power at all or won't it play cd's? If it won't play the cd's then it's probably the laser that's gone bad.

[@aaykay1545]

@FixIT for Reselling It powers on. It just doesn't read any CDs, skips to the next CD on the disc changer as if there's no CDs in at all. Initially, I thought it was an issue with the lens being out of place, but that all seems to be fine. If its a laser issue, would it be fixable?

[@RetroElectronicRepair]

@@aaykay1545 it sounds like a laser issue. I'd check to make sure it's not dirty and give it a clean. If you've already done that you would need to see if the laser has an item number on it, most of them do, and search that code in Google to see if there are any replacements for it.

[@RetroYello]

Brother i have a kenwood roxy l5 100v my father’s unit but when i was little kid i broke the volume now the relay keeps clicking and I bought another a85 took its volume + board still no sound and no relay clicks when new volume installed can you help me

[@RetroElectronicRepair]

Sorry I am only a hobbyist and have not seen that problem before. It's impossible to help without being able to check the components and look at the board.

[@RetroYello]

Yea I understand but why the relay keeps clicking is relay gone bad or the stk?

[@peterthebricky]

Moaning about people not letting you fix stuff hugh do you think you are 😂

[@RetroElectronicRepair]

I know, I'm just small fry in the #righttorepair campaign (which is actually a thing). But manufacturers should supply a parts list with there machines so things can be fixed easier rather than going to waste.