# JL 500/1 Repair



## mayhem

Received a free JL 500/1 amp from my nephew. He was fool enough to mount it in a sealed box in the trunk of his 3 series and predictably it overheated. Pics attached of the damamge, from the looks of it I've got some transformer replacement ahead of me...no obvious physical damage to other components (or smell from other locations), but of course thats meaningless. It got hot enough on the first transformer that it looks to have desoldered itself from the board. Second one is blackened, but its possible its undamaged and just got smoky.

I've heard JL does flat rate repairs on amps but I'll be damned if I can get their attention...I've sent e-mails and phone calls to the JL contact info as well as my nearest dealer (a 1 hour drive away) without any replies, so I'm in it alone I suppose.

Got through to a couple repair shops that are generalists, but they all want $170-200 to do the job, plus shipping, which exceeds the value of the amp so why bother?

I'm a competent solderer, have the tools I need, but the sticker is I have no idea where to get parts from in order to repair this thing, nor how to determine the part numbers of whats gone up in smoke and burned off any markings.

Any ideas?

Thanks.


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## wrcrs24

If i remember correctly jl's flat rate was around 180 to repair that amp and they want you to take it to an authorized dealer to ship to them. I called them today about a sub and got through no problem. This is the number I called in case it is different from the one you used. 954-443-1100


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## sonikaccord

You probably have to rewind it yourself. The schematics would help here unless you know what the rail voltage is. Then you can pretty much calculate it yourself.


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## Oliver

You have a snowballs chance of bringing something back to spec  if you ain't got no experience  can't figure out the numbers, etc..,


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## JAX

PM me if you want another repair option. I dont do it but my contact may be cheaper than that to fix. I honestly dont know what he charges per hour, he just fixes my stuff and tells me how much. so far been more than reasonable.

if you like pm me


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## sonikaccord

He can't break an already broken amp.  Plus it was free so now is a good time to learn.


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## JAX

sonikaccord said:


> He can't break an already broken amp.  Plus it was free so now is a good time to learn.



or not and have it fixed so that its not just a dead paperweight. find a pyramid or jensen to learn with...why ruin a somewhat highly liked amp?


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## erod20

I would test the output FETs for shorts. They seem to go first.


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## 700whpfocus

i know my output fet went , but i was unable to track another one down. anyone know where i can get one? please pm me


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## blazerpounds

All you need is a smoke refill kit, p/n 5318008


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## farfromovin

blazerpounds said:


> All you need is a smoke refill kit, p/n 5318008


That's funny :laugh:


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## envisionelec

blazerpounds said:


> All you need is a smoke refill kit, p/n 5318008


Boobies!


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## envisionelec

mayhem said:


> Received a free JL 500/1 amp from my nephew. He was fool enough to mount it in a sealed box in the trunk of his 3 series and predictably it overheated. Pics attached of the damamge, from the looks of it I've got some transformer replacement ahead of me...no obvious physical damage to other components (or smell from other locations), but of course thats meaningless. It got hot enough on the first transformer that it looks to have desoldered itself from the board. Second one is blackened, but its possible its undamaged and just got smoky.
> 
> I've heard JL does flat rate repairs on amps but I'll be damned if I can get their attention...I've sent e-mails and phone calls to the JL contact info as well as my nearest dealer (a 1 hour drive away) without any replies, so I'm in it alone I suppose.
> 
> Got through to a couple repair shops that are generalists, but they all want $170-200 to do the job, plus shipping, which exceeds the value of the amp so why bother?
> 
> I'm a competent solderer, have the tools I need, but the sticker is I have no idea where to get parts from in order to repair this thing, nor how to determine the part numbers of whats gone up in smoke and burned off any markings.
> 
> Any ideas?
> 
> Thanks.


First, the JL repair route is the most fair.

Second, that yellow block is an inductor. If it is out of spec, it can be rewound, but getting them apart is best left to experts. It appears the output filter is in shambles. The big film caps are melted into goo. There are some overheated caps in another area. All fixable...for a price. I think the quotes you have received are fair given the amount of damage done.

I'm frankly very surprised the amplifier was allowed to operate at such extreme temperatures. :thumbsdown:


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## Stück

I personally wouldn't recommend sending anything back to JL for repair, in or out of warranty. I sent my 450/4v2 back (JUST outside warranty) had to pay $225 for the flat rate repair with shipping up front, and its been over 3 months since it shipped out. Also had to drive it to an authorized dealer to have it shipped as aparently John Q Public can't handle such a task.

The dealer nor JL have been able to tell me where my amp is or when/if to expect to see it again.


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## Wiliis2014

Any way i can get ur contact info? I have a JL Audio 500/1 V2 i need repaired. Greatly appreciated!


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## Wiliis2014

Need my jl audio 500 repaired. Pleeeeeze help.


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