Fender blues junior mk3 240v conversion

Kitto

This question has been asked before but I was confused by the image (it was not as I expected) see previous post http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/29814/fender-blues-junior-230-to-240-conversion
I opened up my amp to do the same and was not 100% sure. Instructions in link http://www.ratvalveamps.com/fbj-lifesaver
Am i to swap the white with black stripe wire I think s28 on the power switch with the black wire on the PCB at p6? Please see image in link. Thank you

Google does not make it easy to share an image but I have given it a go to share an image of my board prior to changing anything

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DmY-BY36QnQ7Vizp9PRy2kFRClLjB-1pVw/view?usp=drivesdk

https://plus.google.com/+AshleyKitto/posts/YciKoZapkA9

ecc83

No doubt ICBM will be along with the real dope presently? In the meantime, the wire combination that gives the highest DC resistance will be for 240V. This needs care to test as the resistances will be low and the difference small.

I assume you have a meter? No one should ever be poking in amps etc WITHOUT a test meter!!

N.B. If you do adjust the tapping you MUST get the amp PAT tested before you sell it. I am in general unhappy about persons of unknown ability messing with mains side wiring!

Dave.

ICBM

Kitto said:

This question has been asked before but I was confused by the image (it was not as I expected) see previous post http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/29814/fender-blues-junior-230-to-240-conversion
I opened up my amp to do the same and was not 100% sure. Instructions in link http://www.ratvalveamps.com/fbj-lifesaver
Am i to swap the white with black stripe wire I think s28 on the power switch with the black wire on the PCB at p6? 

Yes, that's correct.

For what it's worth the warnings in that Rat Amps link are too extreme. The amp does run hot, but it's not in danger of burning out the valves in two hours. Thousands of people use these amps without correcting the voltage and they just run a bit hot and shorten the valve life a bit, nothing more than that.

ecc83 said:

N.B. If you do adjust the tapping you MUST get the amp PAT tested before you sell it. I am in general unhappy about persons of unknown ability messing with mains side wiring!

I agree up to a point. In fact it's really a good idea to have anything mains-powered that you're going to sell checked.

The problem is that you can't always trust the tester! I've had two amps through recently which had been recently 'repaired' by other supposed professionals, which had the mains plugs incorrectly fitted and that had not been noticed, let alone fixed. In one case the earth wire was broken because of it, although it appeared to be connected.

Kitto

ecc83 said:

No doubt ICBM will be along with the real dope presently? In the meantime, the wire combination that gives the highest DC resistance will be for 240V. This needs care to test as the resistances will be low and the difference small.

I assume you have a meter? No one should ever be poking in amps etc WITHOUT a test meter!!

N.B. If you do adjust the tapping you MUST get the amp PAT tested before you sell it. I am in general unhappy about persons of unknown ability messing with mains side wiring!

Dave.

Yes I have got myself a meter and have learnt how to use it. Also watched a couple of videos on billm site on how if the tubes are warmed up then the capacitors will discharge quite quickly (although my amp has been off for 48 hours and nothing is showing on my meter as holding a charge ). I am teaching myself so I am not confident. I used to be able to go through this no problem 25 years ago. I looked up the schematics and could kind of follow them again when I was 20 I could have done this no problem. I do agree that I would rather hand this to someone but this is my amp and I can surely swap 2 jumper leads, I just need to know that what I have read and what I am looking at on the schematics is correct.

 I suppose to be fully sure I need to be measuring voltage before and after ( something I am a not happy doing without someone qualified ) or seeing a 

Kitto

I really appreciate the feedback. I was going to do this by myself because it is so simple. I do not currently intend on selling the amp as I have only just brought it.  I think a good video would really help me but I will take it to an electronics engineer at a local shop there should be a few in Cardiff. Thank you

Kitto

I contacted a local amp shop who said as my amp is in warranty ( I bought it 3 weeks ago ) they would not touch it and advised that I contact fender directly. so off to fender I go.

ICBM

Kitto said:

I contacted a local amp shop who said as my amp is in warranty ( I bought it 3 weeks ago ) they would not touch it and advised that I contact fender directly. so off to fender I go.

Fender probably won't do it. EU regulations specify 230V as the supply voltage, even though it's incorrect.

Kitto

Fender asked me to send in my query by email and they said they would get back to me asap. I post the reply on here for future FBJ mk3 owners

Kitto

Fender were really good and very helpful but ultimately they said that changing anything may impact the warranty, they would not commit to doing it would definitely. They also said it's not something they would change. So I think I will stick with it the way it is I have had a number of hours playing on the amp and the valves look fine. I believe that it has a 33k resistor put in so the bias is better on the mk3. If you are reading this I don't really know what I am talking about so double check that, I have just been told that. Thanks again for the replies

ICBM

It's easy to do it for yourself. It won't affect the warranty if you remember to put it back to stock if it ever becomes an issue .

By a curious coincidence I've got a job incoming tomorrow which is a Blues Junior (older version) which has "fried itself"…

bandmaster188

My blues jnr had to go back for a warranty repair after I did the 240v mod. I think a valve had shorted and taken a resistor out. I put it back to 230v  and made sure it all looked tidy before sending it back. The repair was done with no quibbles and sent back within a couple of weeks.
if you do decide to do it, might be worth taking a couple of pics of the wiring as it is now in case it had to go back for any reason.

noisepolluter

I did the 240v connector swap on my mk2 which now runs a bit cooler and with less noticeable background noise. I've not replaced the power valves since doing the swap so I don't know if a fresh set would be quieter still, though it's had a full service with a few solder joints re-done recently. 

Kitto

I just spoke to western power and asked them what voltage I can expect from my wall socket. The reply was 

Should be between 216v and 253v

Not sure if that helps anyone.

ICBM

No. That's simply the legal variance range. The actual voltage will almost certainly be in the upper half of that range anywhere in the UK. If it's above 230V, the amp should really be set to 240V if the tap is available.

Kitto

Again thank you to all that have replied.

gfeeney21

Hi folks im new to this forum and finding the info on this thread more than useful .

I too have a brand new blues junior 3 that fender have replaced for me as my last new one was redplating also. (Even after being sent away for repair)

I want to do this mod switching the wires to convert to 240v but i have bot the confidence yet to do so. Is it simply just a matter of switching the wires around?

Will there be any noticeable difference in the tone of the amp?

Apart from warranty issues, are there any other negative outcomes of doing this mod?

Just need the reassurrance to switch the wires and know the amp isnt going to blow into a ball of dust when i switch it on.

ICBM

gfeeney21 said:

I want to do this mod switching the wires to convert to 240v but i have bot the confidence yet to do so. Is it simply just a matter of switching the wires around?

Yes. As long as you make sure it's those exact wires and you swap them to the same points it is as simple as that.

gfeeney21 said:

Will there be any noticeable difference in the tone of the amp?

It will get a little cleaner and less middy, but not a lot.

gfeeney21 said:

Apart from warranty issues, are there any other negative outcomes of doing this mod?

Absolutely not, it's better for the amp all round.

gfeeney21

Thanks for the info . I will switch the wires tonight and hopefully it will solve the problems i have been having and restore my confidence in these amps.

gfeeney21

Has anyone any tips on removong the p6 connector, it is hampered by wires above it . Also i do not want to pull at it too much and damage the pcb as it seems to be pretty tight on? 

Thanks

ICBM

You may need to pull it off with pliers - don't worry too much about the board, they're quite strong. The odd thing is that pulling with pliers, they don't feel quite as tight on as with fingers somehow.

If it's really too tight for that, try to get some sort of tool under the bottom end of it - I have a purposely bent small screwdriver exactly for this sort of thing, to use like a miniature crowbar.

gfeeney21

So i wont break the  solder connection or the board. Maybe im being too gentle due to nerves as its really quite daunting poking around in there.

Is there any other wires that can be removed to make accessing p6 any easier. ?

I could easily get to it by removong the clear glass fuse next to it but not sure if temporarily removing the fuse may screw anything up.


Thanks