Blown Capacitors (I think) - Need Help

[RonnieD]

I bought an EL8A used on Craigslist. I brought it to my local stereo shop to have it installed, left the car there and got a call shortly after that the tube didn't work.

Since it wasn't installed when I bought it, I had no way of testing to see if it worked or not.

Anyhow, the guy at the shop said it was likely the capacitors.

I did enough research to figure out what a capacitor was and how to find them. I looked inside and good enough 3 capacitors seemed to be blown (the tops were open and there was dried gooey stuff around the base).

I pulled off the capacitors and brought them to radio shack but they didn't have the replacements.

I don't really know what to do or whether its even worth it.

If it's not worth fixing the amplifier, can an active tube be used as a passive?

Any help would be sincerely appreciated.

[heavyduty]

Originally Posted by RonnieD

I bought an EL8A used on Craigslist. I brought it to my local stereo shop to have it installed, left the car there and got a call shortly after that the tube didn't work.

Since it wasn't installed when I bought it, I had no way of testing to see if it worked or not.

Anyhow, the guy at the shop said it was likely the capacitors.

I did enough research to figure out what a capacitor was and how to find them. I looked inside and good enough 3 capacitors seemed to be blown (the tops were open and there was dried gooey stuff around the base).

I pulled off the capacitors and brought them to radio shack but they didn't have the replacements.

I don't really know what to do or whether its even worth it.

If it's not worth fixing the amplifier, can an active tube be used as a passive?

Any help would be sincerely appreciated.

If you are handy with a soldering iron, trying a repair will be an inexpensive. You will ned to find replacement capacitors at a electronics shop that has a larger inventory. Try an online site for the biggest inventory and best price (Parts Express or Mouser).

If you decide to make the unit passive you will need to measure the resistance of the driver to match with an amplifier. Do not use a amplifier with an output over 100 watts.

You can also call Customer Service and inquire about a replacement amplifier, which will be significantly cheaper versus using the unit as a passive unit.