Thunder 1 not working

Derr5151

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So i came home to visit my dad this weekend and went to plug in the thunder 1 amp. Last time i remember it working was prob 10 years ago. Its been at his house ever since. I have no clue how to trouble shoot this thing. Plugs in and doesn't light up. power cord is the orig and doesnt look freyed. Its a 2 prong. Any tips guys?

Thanks
Derrick
 

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Check the fuse. 1 or 2 amp slow blow should do it. Remember, the neon light takes forever to come on, so be patient. ;-)
 

Aristocrater

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Amp Not Working

Agree with the above that you may have popped a fuse. Unplug the amp from the wall and then check the fuse(s). There should be a very fine wire running from end to end with no breaks in it. Being that the amp has sat for 10 years, the electrolytic capacitors have probably gone bad. They made be able to be reformed with a variac, a decent amp tech should be able to perform this for you. If it doesn't pass after bringing it up on a variac, the caps will need to be replaced. Shouldn't be too expensive. Less than $100. Caps have a useful life of about 10-15 years and if these are the original caps from the 1960s they're due to be replaced. Probably would be a good thing to have it checked out if you planning on playing it regularly. Have the pots cleaned (don't use WD-40), check the power cord (I think it best to replace it with a modern three wire cord) and look for any bad solder joints that could use a touch up. If you are going to play at loud volumes, I would recommend getting a new speaker and put it in. The new speaker will be able to handle the power better and you won't blow the original. Keep the original speaker in the box that the new speaker came in and case you want to sell the amp, you'll be able to sell it as all original. Same with the caps and tubes if they end up getting replaced. Good luck.
 
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JHJ

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I have a Thunder 1 as well. The speaker on my unit plugs into the chassis. Once in a while it will fall out. Just plug it back in.
 

Aristocrater

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For 5151 and JHJ, if your speaker connection falls out, somehow rig it so it can't come out. You have the possibility of damaging your Output Transformer if the amp is operated without a speaker connected to it.
 
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