Brand New Rotel 1090, keeps tripping my breaker??? (1 Viewer)

[Jeremy Hegna]

I'm writing this in total dismay, hoping there is an easy fixed that I may have overlooked.

I ordered a Rotel 1090 a couple of weeks ago, it came in today. I just installed it, switched it on, and it tripped the breaker. Thinking I may have screwed up my wiring, I re-checked it all, tried it again, same thing.

I am bi-wiring my mains...so I switched ends of my speaker wire...from the spade end (previously on the speaeker) to the banana plug end (previously on the amp). I even went so far as to strip my banana plug connectors off, hook up bare wire to the speaker posts and the spades to the amp. Every time I throw the switch, it automatically blows the breaker. There is nothing else on this circuit...and I've tried another just to verify that this circuit wasn't a dud.

I've been running a Rotel 1080 for the past month as an audition (and to tide me over til the 1090's arrival) with no problems.

Trouble shooting in the manual only suggests the obvious... bad ventilation, overheating, speaker wire shorts, or a bad amplifier. Could I have gotten a bad amp? Have I overlooked the obvious?

I am using unbalanced connections from a receiver to the amp. It is switched to unbalanced...and I think that is all I can do...PLEASE HELP!!!!

Jeremy

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

I just unplugged everything, the inputs and speakers. Turned it on and once again, it blew the breaker. This must be a bad amplifier.

I am very much a newbie at seperate amplification, so if others have any suggestions, I'm all ears.

Thanks,

Jeremy

 

[DaleV]

Jeremy, its possible a lack of power feeding the 1090 is the problem. The 1080 you were using only needed 550 watts to operate. The new 1090 needs more than twice that amount(1200 watts power consumption). Move the 1090 to an outlet that has nothing at all on it,plug it in and see if that also triggers the breaker. If it doesn't you may have to have a dedicated outlet installed for the 1090. Hope this helps.

 

[Darrel McBane]

Sorry to hear this Jeremy.

Try unhooking the amp from the receiver and turn on just the amp. You may also try using another outlet to see if it trips other outlets. Are you using a line cleaner or conditioner? You may want to leave the amp off for a few minutes if it trips just to let the amp clear power. If all else fails take it to the dealer and try it at the store.

Good luck to you.

 

[gene avallon]

do you have a ground fault breaker on that circut,some times they do funny things.
gene

 

[John Morris]

Jeremy: If the breaker blows immediately upon turn on, IMO, it could mean one of two things: either the amp has a problem like an internal short, or the power needed to charge the amps caps exceed the circuit breakers max. I'd try what has been already suggested, turn on the amp first making sure that it is the only component on that circuit. If the breaker doesn't blow, then you need a dedicated circuit for the amp. Until then, you may be able to turn the amp on first, let the caps charge, and then plug in and turn on a couple of other components on that same circuit. Usually, the most power that an amp is gonna demand occurs immediately upon turn on.

 

[Russ_K]

Jeremy,

Hope these suggestions help you get back on track. Your best bet may be to fork up the bones and get a 20-amp circuit anyway. When I move into my next place in the next few months, that will be a priority.

Though I understand that it's a pain in the a@# when you haven't budgeted that in and you're anxious to hear the new beast.

Please let us know how it sounds when you're up and running.

I'm about to go for a 1080 and 1075 combo. How much should I expect my dealer to discount these puppies combined with 4 additional B&W CDM's? Is 11% too much to ask? (thinking sales tax of 6% plus 5% on top) I have already purchased a Sunfire sub from these guys.

Thanks,

Russ

 

[Max Knight]

When I got my Marantz SR-7000 it had a tendency to trip my breaker as well (and the amps in that receiver don't need as much juice as yours does). I got a Monster Power 2500 and that totally fixed my problem.

You should check things out like people stated above to make sure you don't have a defective amp, but in the case that your amp is fine, you just need more power.

A 20 amp line or a power conditioner (or both) might be a solution.

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

Sorry guys,
I thought I made it clear in my first posts. Before I installed any of my gear in the dedicated room, I put in 4 dedicated 20 amp circuits. The 1090 has its very own circuit...and I've tried it on the other 3 as well. I've unplugged everything from the amp and tried to power it up on its own...to no avail.
I will call the dealer this morning when they open. I do have a Monster Power conditioner for my other stuff...it won't work with that either. It breaks the circuit IMMEDIATELY upon power up...there is no delay. There must be a short inside the amp to make this happen. Nothing like taking the time and effort to heft a 100 pound amp into your rack only to not have it work:frowning:
Any other suggestions?
Jeremy

 

[John Morris]

Jeremy: I know you probably have done this already, a few times, but make sure you very carefully check the back of the amp and make sure no strands of copper are crossing the + and - connections. Sometimes when you use bare wire, a few strands can come off and if they touch both the + and - outputs, pop goes the breaker. Other than that, looks like you're gonna be returning this amp for a new one.

 

[Sean D]

Bring it back.

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

John,

A wire short would be irrelevant without anything plugged in, wouldn't it? Shouldn't the amp be able to power up with nothing connected? I've disconnected everything, Except the power cord....speaker terminals and RCA inputs are clear, but the circuit continues to trip!

Jeremy

 

[John Morris]

Jeremy: Sounds like it is return time. Hope you bought it locally in AK?

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

"I'm about to go for a 1080 and 1075 combo. How much should I expect my dealer to discount these puppies combined with 4 additional B&W CDM's? Is 11% too much to ask? (thinking sales tax of 6% plus 5% on top) I have already purchased a Sunfire sub from these guys."

Russ,

It's pretty tough to get discounts on B&W...unless you are looking at the 600 series right now. Most B&Ms probably have a surplus of the series 2 speakers and are looking to move them out to make space for the series 3s. With Rotel gear, there are some discounts to be found...but not too deep. In Alaska we have no sales tax...so it is hard to gauge whether or not B&Ms traditionally eliminate the tax for a "discount" scenario.

If you are buying the CDMs and the Rotels from the same dealer, I would try asking for 10-15%...never hurts to ask.

Jeremy

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

"Hope you bought it locally in AK?"
Yep, from an authorized ROTEL dealer It has finally paid off! Paying retail prices at local B&Ms definitely provides "peace of mind" but more importantly, an immediate place to go for help and exchange
Thanks Mark,
I am done trying I think. Again, no washers, no dryers, nothing sharing these circuits. I know I've got enough electricity in that room for any upgrade I will ever want to do. 4 circuits (20 amp/120 volt)...no problems there.
The local shop will open in an hour. The only problem is that I had to special order this one, so it'll probably be another couple of weeks before I get a new one.
Jeremy

 

[Darrel McBane]

It took me two tries to get a 1090 that works. I still think it's a great amp. But......patience is a virtue in my case.

Good luck at the dealer.

 

[John Morris]

If it were tripping the breaker at high output levels then it would make sense but tripping it on power up is not right.

Mark: I thought that the power needed to charge the amp's capacitors upon power up easily requires more power than the extra draw an amp may need to keep its' reserves full while meeting transients... not true? As for an amp blowing a 15 amp circuit upon start up, I used to do it myself with my ATI 2505s before I upgraded my power to provide dedicated 20 amp circuits for each amp.

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

Just got off the phone with my B&M. It's time to go pack it up and bring it down so they can put it on the bench. I'll keep you gents up to date. He believes it has a bad transformer...

Jeremy

 

[Max Knight]

Sorry to hear that you got a bum unit Jeremy. I hope your dealer can get another one in quickly. If they find out exactly what the problem was, let us know (I for one am interested in Rotel amplification).

-Max

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

Unreal, Fellas!

My 1090 is fine, it's the Circuit breaker that is the BUM unit...

I brought the Rotel in to the shop, they went through everything, pulling the power supply and transformers. They couldn't find anything funky and it powered up just fine. I brought it back home, gave it power from the same outlets I was trying before and it again tripped the breaker. I plugged it into a pre-existing circuit (one in the house before I moved in) and everything worked fine! I used a voltage tester on the circuits I wired in and everything is correct...

Our engineer at work told me I need to check the in-surge rating on the new breakers....apparently some are rated lower than others. They are 20 amp switched breakers by the same brand that my others are....but for some reason they pop when I power up the 1090. I've had no other problems with ANY other equipment on these circuits...so now I am puzzeled.

Any suggestions???

I will probably start another thread on this problem in the "Building a HT" section.

Jeremy