Repair/Replacement bad PSW202 Amp

[TambourineMan]

Mine immediately blows the (new) fuse with a noticeable popping sound as soon as I plug it in and turn it on (before feeding any sound.

I understand these amps have a problem with the capacitors. Mine look OK They do not swell, although there is a lot of black stuff at various places all over the circuit board, but I think it is glue.

Mine was manufactured in March 2003 and I assume I bought it shortly thereafter as I got it at Best Buy and I am sure their inventory turns over fast, so it is out of warranty.

Is it worth trying to repair or replace this amp? Does Polk fix out of warranty amps?. What is the approximate charge? Does anyone sell an entire replacement amp that does not have the same capacitor problembut which matches the original wooker and box and crossover characteristics?

From my description of what happens when I turn it on, does it seem like it would be bad capacitors? If so where could I get new ones to replace mine?

[F1nut]

Call Polk Customer Service at 1-800-377-7655. They'll be able to answer all your questions.

[dorokusai]

I see a trip to California in your future for that amp, if you get it serviced thru Polk. I would follow the aforementioned guidance and you'll be just fine.

[disneyjoe7]

A fuse that blow right away is must likely a diode shorted, not a bad cap. Sending it back to Polk is what needed here.

[Kenneth Swauger]

Hello,
I'm sorry you're having a problem with the PSW202, you would want to:
1). unplug the AC power cord.
2). look at the rear of the sub-woofer, where you make all of the connections. This is called the input plate and remove the 10 screws that go around the outside of this plate.
3). pull the input plate away from the cabinet and you'll see some circuitry attached to the other side of the plate. There will a red wire and a black wire that goes from this circuitry to the 10" woofer. Follow these wires to the woofer and remove them from the woofer's terminals. The wires have metal clips that come off of the terminals.
4). this completes removing the amplifier, you would want to box the amplifier up and send it to Polk Audio, 2550 Britannia Blvd., Suite A, San Diego, CA. 92154 (assuming you reside in the United States). Please include a short note giving us your name, address and where and when you bought your unit.
The service department will quickly repair and test your amplifier and send it back.
Regards, Ken

[TambourineMan]

My amp made the trip to California and back and it works! Polk sent me a replacement amp with new IC's and capacitors.

Back in my college/young - single days I was a big fan of AR speakers, but that was 40 years ago and now they are now just AR in name only.

But now I have found a new favorite audio company who makes quality products and who stands behind what they sell.

My wife wants to redo our living room, including the audio, and Polk will be at the top of my list for our new sound system, but for now it is nice to have a working sub-woofer.

Thanks for this forum and the help - otherwise my PSW202 would have just continued to sit there like a dead rock as I would not have thought to ship only the amp and shipping the entire sub-woofer would have been a non-starter.

[Refefer]

Glad it worked out! When you're ready to put together a new hometheater system, make a post in the Speaker section of the forum as to your budget and room dimensions and sonic desires and we'll see if we can help you build a great system.