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-   -   JL Audio Fathom f113 repair (https://www.audioaficionado.org/showthread.php?t=43298)

jdandy 07-02-2018 11:02 PM

JL Audio Fathom f113 repair
 
My Fathom f113 failed to turn on about two months ago. It has been sitting on its Sound Anchor stand in the living room looking nice but doing nothing. I have procrastinated packing this 130 lbs. beast, 147 lbs. in its shipping carton, because it is more than I can physically handle these days. In addition, my living room is upstairs. This means that after I get it in the shipping carton I then must get it to ground level and to the garage for freight pickup. Ugh!

I talked to Randy Wagner, JL Audio's tech support guy, and asked about just shipping the amp to JL Audio. He said that could be done. He also gave me a great tip for getting the amp broken away from the cabinet seal by using 2" machine thread screws slightly larger than the counter sunk holes in the aluminum heat sink. They self tap in the aluminum and as they are screwed in they draw the amp heat sink out of the cabinet recess. It worked like a charm, and after disconnecting several quick connect plug sockets the amplifier came right out. I checked the weight, 33 lbs. Now, if I decide to ship the amplifier to JL Audio it will be a much easier and less expensive proposition than having to freight the entire subwoofer.

I have done a fair amount of research on the f113 amplifier failures and discovered quite a few people experiencing all sorts of issues, not turning on at all, loud hum even when off, pulsing hum, and high frequency squeal before dying. Several people have made repairs themselves and I found some useful information that I am going to take advantage of in an attempt to repair my failure to turn on problem. I am relatively confident it is a capacitor issue in the stand-by power supply. Tonight I ordered 2 different capacitors from Mouser Electronics with a higher temperature rating than the two capacitors I suspect are the culprits. When they arrive I will install them in place of the ones currently installed on the board. Hopefully this will solve my turn on problem and get my Fathom f113 back in service. If not, then the amp will get shipped to JL Audio.

Here are a few photos of the amplifier out of the subwoofer.


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1830/...e08cdbc4_o.jpg



https://farm1.staticflickr.com/845/4...9035241b_o.jpg



https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1804/...4088df35_o.jpg



https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1804/...72fcdbe1_o.jpg

sircharles 07-02-2018 11:44 PM

JL Audio Fathom f113 repair
 
ing
Quote:

Originally Posted by jdandy (Post 921519)
My Fathom f113 failed to turn on about two months ago. It has been sitting on its Sound Anchor stand in the living room looking nice but doing nothing. I have procrastinated packing this 130 lbs. beast, 147 lbs. in its shipping carton, because it is more than I can physically handle these days. In addition, my living room is upstairs. This means that after I get it in the shipping carton I then must get it to ground level and to the garage for freight pickup. Ugg!

I talked to Randy Wagner, JL Audio's tech support guy, and asked about just shipping the amp to JL Audio. He said that could be done. He also gave me a great tip for getting the amp broken from the cabinet seal by using 2" machine thread screws slightly larger than the counter sunk holes in the aluminum heat sink. They self tap in the aluminum and as they are screwed in they draw the amp heat sink out of the cabinet recess. It worked like a charm, and after disconnecting several quick connect plug sockets the amplifier came right out. I checked the weight, 33 lbs. Now, if I decide to ship the amplifier to JL Audio it will be a much easier and less expensive proposition than having to freight the entire subwoofer.

I have done a fair amount of research on the f113 amplifier failures and discovered quite a few people experiencing all sorts of issues, not turning on at all, loud hum even when off, pulsing hum, and high frequency squeal before dying. Several people have made repairs themselves and I found some useful information that I am going to take advantage of in an attempt to repair my failure to turn on problem. I am relatively confident it is a capacitor issue in the stand-by power supply. Tonight I ordered 2 different capacitors from Mouser Electronics with a higher temperature rating than the two capacitors I suspect are the culprits. When they arrive I will install them in place of the ones currently installed on the board. Hopefully this will solve my turn on problem and get my Fathom f113 back in service. If not, then the amp will get shipped to JL Audio.



Jdandy, good to know you finally tackled the job!

My F113v2 amp arrives back from JL Audio tomorrow. It took a total of 3 weeks for the turn around (including shipping). Not bad.

Cohibaman 07-03-2018 12:16 AM

Bad caps cause a host of issues! Crossing my fingers for you Dan.

jdandy 07-03-2018 12:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cohibaman (Post 921528)
Bad caps cause a host of issues! Crossing my fingers for you Dan.

Mike.......Thanks. A bit of positive energy never hurts.

My research has turned up several people's f113's that have been successfully restored by replacing the 100uf/35volt/85C cap (red arrow) with a 100uf/35volt/105C cap. I may also replace the 33uf/400volt/85c cap (yellow arrow) with a 33uf/400volt/105C cap. I should have the two capacitors by Friday. I hope this solves my issue of the subwoofer not powering up. If not then the amp will get shipped to JL Audio for repair. I did find a fuse on the circuit board. It checked good. Shipping a 33 lb amp will be much easier and cheaper than shipping a 147 lb factory carton by freight.


https://farm1.staticflickr.com/840/2...49690609_o.jpg

jdandy 07-03-2018 12:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sircharles (Post 921525)
Jdandy, good to know you finally tackled the job!

My F113v2 amp arrives back from JL Audio tomorrow. It took a total of 3 weeks for the turn around (including shipping). Not bad.

sircharles.......What failed with your Fathom f113V2?

Pyro 07-03-2018 03:54 AM

Good luck with the repairs Dan. :yes::yes::yes:

Mr. Big 07-03-2018 04:31 AM

Good to know the amps can be removed for shipping. I have two f110 V1s and I understand that JL even admits the capacitors are prone to failure.

nicoff 07-03-2018 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdandy (Post 921530)
Mike.......Thanks. A bit of positive energy never hurts.

My research has turned up several people's f113's that have been successfully restored by replacing the 100uf/35volt/85C cap (red arrow) with a 100uf/35volt/105C cap. I may also replace the 33uf/400volt/85c cap (yellow arrow) with a 33uf/400volt/105C cap. I should have the two capacitors by Friday. I hope this solves my issue of the subwoofer not powering up. If not then the amp will get shipped to JL Audio for repair. I did find a fuse on the circuit board. It checked good. Shipping a 33 lb amp will be much easier and cheaper than shipping a 147 lb factory carton by freight.


https://farm1.staticflickr.com/840/2...49690609_o.jpg



Valuable information here. Will keep for future reference as I might need it! Thanks!!

tweet 07-03-2018 09:02 AM

Dan,
Ugh, indeed. I'm sure you'll have a lot people following your journey. There's certainly a lot of discussion about this issue. Hope your F113 is back in your system making music in short order. Good luck!

sircharles 07-03-2018 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdandy (Post 921531)
sircharles.......What failed with your Fathom f113V2?

When i received word that the Amp was fixed via email, I called JL Audio to ask for specifics but they haven't gotten back to me. i can let you know as soon as i hear back from them.

Btw... if you get to the point of shipping to JL audio and need a box with padding/foam i can send you the one i received from JL Audio. The shape of the amp plate is odd making it awkward to pack. JL Audio sent back the repaired amp in a box that protects the amp quite well.


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