Problem with black spirit 200 head

So my black spirit amp I posted about the other day making a slight electrical noise .
I posted it to the FB group to see if it was an issue anyone else was aware of and noticed some stuff similar about the amp going off and dead apart from a chirping sound .
Stone me I came to use it this morning and it’s dead and making a chirping sound .
I have rang the U.K. distributor as I was told there was a known fault on the head (Reported here also ) and am awaiting a call back as to next steps . I bought the amp only a couple of weeks ago and was told it was about 18 month old but never used. I got it at a good price and went and bought the carry case for it. Hoping this is not a big repair job . ???

I'm not sure of what is causing this Marky. It seems to be a reported issue but no ideas have been suggested as to why it happens. The best thing is to wait until you can get a reply back and post what they say here. We can see if it sheds any light on the problem. (It has the hint of a switched mode power supply problem to me but I'm no deep expert in that area.)

Just looked back over my old posts on this topic. I found this:

Me! wrote:Hughes & Kettner: Hi Albert. Well, unfortunately this will be a case of the amp having to go to the tech. If the amp had simply fused, it would no longer be making the chirping sound, which is totally normal, by the way, and is explained in the manual here:-----
Heads up: Black Spirit 200 Floor comes with a universal power supply that works reliably at any mains voltage worldwide and maintains the sound quality wherever you go. When the amp is connected to a mains outlet, it will consume a tiny amount of power – less than 0.5 watts – even when it is switched off. Every seven seconds or so, it will issue a soft chirping sound that is only audible in a very quiet environment. This does not constitute a material defect that can or needs to be repaired. If this sound bothers you, we recommend that you plug the amp into a switchable extension socket so you can flip its switch to cut off the power supply to the amp.-----
This specific case is most certainly another issue, possibly the power amp, but possibly not. We realise it'll be a trek to the tech, but maybe the store where he got the amp would pay postage charges to ship the amp to them? This will then be looked at under warranty. We hope this helps, and please tell your group member we're sorry there's no more immediate/DIY solution here!
All the best,
Team H&K

They have already advised that the regular chirping is not an issue so something is staying connected to the mains at all times.

Really sorry I seem to be replying to two similar threads a guy from Germany gave me a service number for a repairman but it’s a long way from my house I was hoping to take it to a local guy with a good reputation . The guy from Germany told me from what he thought he would look as the problem being the condenser . I have never heard of a condenser in an amp but I’m not in that field . It will go on this week to either there guy or mine and I will report back on cost and severity of repair as explained to me hoping to assist anybody else in the future with the same issue. I really like the amp especially the cleans and heavy gain lightvgain not so much so it’s worth persevering with .

Hello very sorry I’m replying across similar topics here out of stupidity lol . Henceforth will just use this one. Thanks for the help and replies by the way .
I will continue through this one only to simplify you wrote
“ I think he may have said "a" condenser Marky. A condenser is an old fashioned word for a capacitor, they mean the same thing in electronics terms. There are very many inside your amp. Usually tech types think of the power supply capacitors as "the" caps. In your amp there is a switched mode power supply rather than a standard transformer/diode/capacitor type of circuit. This relies on a number of them some of which run at high voltages and he may have been referring to one of them.
Very interesting information he just simply said . ( I won’t name the chap in case if any repercussions, you never know )
“ This error may be caused by a defective condenser, if so, this is an easy fix…”
100% I will keep people posted in case there are learnings to be had .

Germany sent me the fault sheet for the switched on but now dead amp . Hope this is useful to someone. i.E. make sure this is tried 1st before your tech tells you he had to replace the power amp . Mains supply etc . Mine is in now I will confirm that this was the required solution to this common fault when my tech confirms it’s worked.  I have read other stuff from guys on FB and other forums where they have been charged for a new power supply and new pre and power amp . The tech told me with this fault it goes dead and won’t switch on but still chirps  99% of the time it’s this . They did expect a lot of this would be done under warranty but obviously like myself I’m not the original owner although the amp was never used other than 1 session by the original owner . 
To be honest if you have this amp and it has not been sorted and you gig I would be tempted to go in and get the capacitor removed because Sod’s Law says it will fail (and apparently it will) just as you turn it on at a gig. 
A personal opinion is that they should have been recalled (but that’s costly to do) and until the size of the problem was known and probably thought to be unnecessary . I’m sure there being a complete lack of danger was part of that decision . 
The fact they gave this fault sheet for the engineers shows the size of the problem .

Hi Marky.  That's great news.  The cap being close to the AES switch means it is probably part of that circuitry.  Remember, in your other thread I mentioned that as a possible area for consideration.  Looks like the issue has a sensible cause and H&K are onto it now.  That being a Service Bulletin means they are acknowledging the problem exists and is not just a one off oddity, and they are warning all their repair shops to be aware of it.

That could mean that the repair  should be covered under the guise of there being an original design flaw which they have a responsibility to correct for you.  The cap costs about 1p but the time to dismantle, remove, and rebuild will not be a minute or two.  Have they mentioned costs to you yet?

Incidentally, why are there so many pics posted in your last post?  They aren't all necessary are they? (I've removed the duplicate copies for you, hope there wasn't anything important in the extras?)

Oh bugger I only just read this after I deleted ( it was about 4 in the morning will sort now )

Regarding the cost . Because I am not the original purchaser the uk distributor polar will not cover it . In fairness the cost of transport to and from them would cost more than the repair. The local tech has a minimum £35 charge I’m hoping that covers the work as there are no components looking at the sheet it just needs taking out of line .

So here is the low down on the actual repair. For those following, the amp dies after switching on.
I received a call off the repair guy this morning to basically tell me that although it’s just a capacitor that needs taking out this was time consuming because he’s basically having to disassemble a lot of the amp to get at the C105 capacitor that has caused a number of the users trouble and is a known fault .
Not only did he have to take our most of the boards when he got there the capacitor was behind a square shield that would also need to be disassembled in order to access it .
2.5 hours later I received a call telling me I could pick it up the cap was removed and the part taken out obviously the amp needed rebuilding in order to see if it was now firing up . It took the engineer Gee electronics ( Barry ) around 1.5 -2
hours of work to do it a princely cost to me of £60 all Labour which I’m grateful to pay because if I had listened to some stories it would need major components replaced and I would need to sell my Grandmother to pay for new circuit boards etc. Now the shocker ! the component he took out its Tiny, tiny, see pic. The fact that something less than 1/4 the size of a match head is in the amp and serves no purpose is just so wrong .
My advise to anyone is write to your h&k distributer give them the serial number and ask if it needs to be done whilst it’s under warranty . It is more than likely it needs the job doing don’t wait for your three year warranty to expire before getting it fixed. It will fail on you just as you power it up for that major gig you have booked . if not under warranty as you are second owner or outside the three years get it into your local repair shop it will fail you just don’t know when so get it done . .
For reference on the pic This is the smallest British coin the 20p piece and the capacitor causing all the trouble with this fine amp is the silver thing that looks like a dot of dust in the right. Now lost forever in my rug !

That removed cap is absolutely what I was expecting. It looks to be a 1206 sized surface mount component. These are absolutely the norm in today's electronics. There is nothing weak or underpowered in that tiny component, it is components like that which allow amps the size of the H&Ks to be built. I have thousands of them here in my work area.

Markyb wrote:The fact that something less than 1/4 the size of a match head is in the amp and serves no purpose is just so wrong .

That's not true Marky, it does serve a purpose. It's just that the amp can function without it. ABS on cars is there for a good purpose but car brakes would work perfectly well without it. They did for many years. Under some circumstances the ABS comes into its own. Don't see the cap as serving no purpose, it will definitely be there as part of a design, it just failed under stress.

Being in the AES area of the circuit it could well be under mains stress all the time the amp is plugged in and the mains is on. Many people leave their amps plugged in and powered permanently though switched off at teh amp mains switch. This is one reason not to! It is conceivable that parts of perhaps the AES may still be powered when it is left like that. Depending on the mains quality in your area, how much industrial equipment shares the same branch as yourself for example, there could well be some very large spikes occurring regularly and that component could be taking them all. That is very normal for domestic mains. It's a weakness that H&K have only discovered after the amp has been released. These things do happen. I'm not sticking up for them in any way, I personally feel they should have replaced it for you at no cost, but for it to happen is understandable.

Thankfully the tech has taken a very supportive position, all credit to him. With that out of the way the amp should give you many years of great service. If it were me, I would write to H&K Support and complain about being charged for it. You are unlikely to get a refund but it will certainly make you feel better.

I’m ok actually at least I have a fully functioning amp and it’s not a dud. My comment on it serves no purpose is related to the fact there is no replacement for it it’s just taken out had it needed a replacement or different cap I would think otherwise . I would encourage anyone anyone with the head to check if it’s vulnerable and get it fixed before it fails under warranty or otherwise . You will get let down at some point if you do not. The cap is part of the power suppply circuit by the way