Taramps Smart3 Bass .5ohm Power Supply Melt Down and Repair

[@Johnellenberger1]

You saved me from pulling out my hair on that 4.7 ohm resistor, r150. Couldn't figure out why my audio would cut in half and fans premeturely cut on. Replaced and all is well! Thanks

[@ellensburgamplifier]

Nice! They are sneaky resistors that can send someone on a wild chase. Thank you for the channel support!

[@1ohmwrecker]

I had a nasty whine for the first 30 seconds after I turned on my original smart 3. I asked bare vids what it was, and he said the winding on the coil thing was probably loose. Seeing as how the amp was in spare tire compartment under my box, it was deff a possibility. I re-secured the winding with some more hot glue, and boom... problem solved. He saved me a headache, and I love watching your guys' videos! If I ever have a problem, I'm sending it to you if possible lol.

[@ellensburgamplifier]

Excellent! Nothing like some coil whine. I am always open for repairs.

[@joerojas1396]

Nice cleanup of the board Todd

[@ellensburgamplifier]

Thank you Joe!

[@grady.stu.8300]

I took out 2 smart bass 3ks and installed a smart 8 bass. Changed nothing except having to set the gain. 2.5v preouts, charging at 15.6v, clipped at 135v but i set the gain to 126v. Sounded great but started to smell. I assumed it was the subs but they were cool n so was the amp. Went to demo again and the amp was off. Not sure what happened. Subs are fine. Its under warranty so im returning it through Amazon. Getting a replacement. I think the amp was dropped in shipping. Shipped only in the taramps box. The corner was smashed. Amp seemed ok till i turned it on. The snell was strong. No visible smoke though

[@ellensburgamplifier]

I will bet a power supply failure based on the information provided.

[@grady.stu.8300]

​@@ellensburgamplifierunfortunately I'm too nervous to run another Taramps. Going back to Korean board. Figured I'd give Taramps a shot but with the 2 smart bass 3s one had the fans go out, and you know what happened to the 8k., I just can't risk the rest of my equipment. 2 out of 3 amps having issues isn't a good sign. Appreciate the quick reply.

[@ellensburgamplifier]

@@grady.stu.8300 Agreed! Brazilian boards are not for all builds as they can be too picky.

[@got2getit204]

They upgraded since then because I been going ham on my bass 3k not that version! And I had it for a year!

[@ellensburgamplifier]

They have been making some positive changes as they always strive to make amplifiers better.

[@cartycartyamplifiersalesrepair]

Wow another great video Todd you can now fix all of these taramps with your eyes closed

[@ellensburgamplifier]

I laughed as you are correct. Well not with my eyes closed but I do so many that I have a lot of typical fault areas memorized. Thank you for the support!

[@cartycartyamplifiersalesrepair]

@@ellensburgamplifier No problem sir I really appreciate your videos I don't think that am going to have any problem from now on repairing any of those Taramps and I still didn't get time to watch all of your videos but am trying to educate myself as best as I can from your videos I hope and pray that you live long enough so I can fill my brain up with enough information to last me a lifetime God bless you keep up the good work sir

[@zoonthabeat6869]

My Smart Bass 3 won’t play audio but the clip light coms on when u turn the gain even tho no audio is coming through. Subs aren’t blown either

[@ellensburgamplifier]

There is a fault in the output section. www.ellensburgamplifier.com/request-a-quote if you are interested in getting it repaired.

[@FREEAIR_1973]

how much does a repair like this cost? these amps are not expensive so I don't know if it's worth it.

[@ellensburgamplifier]

It is always worth it in the eyes of Ellensburg Amplifier to keep e-waste down. The repair for a power supply failure is under $100. I don't like to put my repair prices here as costs do change over time.

[@jorgecano9678]

I have a hd 3000 battery got disconnected while the amp was on now when i power it on it goes into production how can i have it send to you and a ruff estimate please

[@ellensburgamplifier]

Hello, sorry I don't post up cost figures as these numbers can change like the stock market. www.ellensburgamplifier.com/FAQS and if you want information to send it in www.ellensburgamplifier.com/request-a-quote

[@gregorysager2377]

I accidentally put my ground in my power slot today. Do they use fuses that I can change and fix or is it toast

[@ellensburgamplifier]

Not toast at all most likely but it may need to have the power supply rebuilt. There are no internal fuses in this.

[@gregorysager2377]

@@ellensburgamplifier dude thank god. But would that be something I can do at home. I just have no idea about any of this stuff I’m sorry

[@ellensburgamplifier]

@@gregorysager2377 If you are familiar with repairing Brazilian boards then you bet but if you don't have the equipment or parts then it will be tough to accomplish.

[@gregorysager2377]

@@ellensburgamplifier sheeesh. Ok well appreciate my guy fr

[@gregorysager2377]

@@ellensburgamplifier I know this is super irritating for you my guy I’m sorry but, what would I have to do to fix it. Like what do I need

[@idnez2302]

My friend i have a taramps bass 3k that is missing the drive IC I can find the number to buy a replacement. Can you help me ?

[@ellensburgamplifier]

The output drive IC is the IRS20957 and the power supply drive IC is the UCC27524

[@idnez2302]

@@ellensburgamplifier thank u 🙏🏼

[@bigstone5124]

Hey smoky barbecue here😁. Excellent service Todd great job 👍

[@ellensburgamplifier]

Thank you! I try to do only the best work.

[@shastriroopchand1245]

hey what's in your opinion the better of the Brazilian amplifiers

[@ellensburgamplifier]

I would have to say the Powerus amplifiers due to construction, but Taramps is still my pick for power per sq inch.

[@shastriroopchand1245]

@@ellensburgamplifiergood to know and thank you for the response 👍.

[@FrankStPeter]

Full Bridge technology has been around for a long time the reason why it was not used prior was the fact that it is unreliable even with today's updates and Technology it is still unreliable(( fullbridge amps Brazilian circuit design)) they are disposable amplifiers they are not meant to last , my personal opinion

[@ellensburgamplifier]

Agreed, it is a topology that is continually seeing improvements.

[@loaked3000]

Just dropped my Smart 5k to the post office to ship it to you for warranty repair. Mine went up in a huge cloud of smoke while driving with the volume on zero... Very interested to see what happened to it. Kind of regretting getting one of these amps seeing so many youtube vids(not just yours) of them burned up in various ways.

[@ellensburgamplifier]

I will get it done! There are many reasons for failure. At the same time, I know of competition rigs that use stacks of these with no issues. We as a repair community work together to help understand these failures and how to prevent them. This does take time but there is one thing for sure, Taramps will take care of you, not like other manufacturers who brush off the consumer.

[@loaked3000]

@@ellensburgamplifier Glad to hear they stand by their products, at least only have to pay shipping one way lol. Hopefully it was a fluke and it will last me a while.

[@ellensburgamplifier]

@@loaked3000 I will do my best to get yours on video and we can go over what happened with possible causes.

[@loaked3000]

@@ellensburgamplifier Sweet yea that would be awesome!

[@Bigislandguy]

Hello, I’m new to the channel. 👋 What do you think cause that melt down? 🤔 do you see this often with taramps? What would a repair like this cost someone?

[@ellensburgamplifier]

Hi David. Thank you for the channel support. I see this a lot across all types of amplifiers. This may have been a driver IC failure but no definitive answer as to the cause of the failure. If this was a private repair it may be around $75 to repair. Taramps are excellent boards, some have their downsides but are easily addressed when they come in.

[@FrankStPeter]

Also I'm not taking a stab you my friend I'm just saying I watch a lot of you guys repair amplifiers other channels i and 90% of the amplifiers being repaired are Brazilian fullbridge design or copies there are still a lot of Korean amplifiers being sold out there of the half bridge design and that makes up the other 10% of repairs I see

[@ellensburgamplifier]

That is true. You can't wire the Brazilian amps down to .33 with any form of life expectancy. To the day, I still tell people who want to have a demo or comp rig to use Korean boards due to versatility. You can use Brazilian boards, but one has to have a completely different mindset to do so.

[@zacharycofer3791]

How fuckin lazy do you really have to be to repair a amp from the top lol and especially a small amp like the bass 3k. They must have not had the extra 5 minutes needed to pull the PCB out of the heatsink smh

[@ellensburgamplifier]

And when pulling the board is a perfect time to replace the thermal paste. Just makes a better job.