Guitar Gear Forum

Alright, so here's another one from an amateur.

I've got an old Epiphone Triggerman 100h that's been lying around in my house for quite some time. Hasn't worked since the move I made from California, and would like to try and get it up and running (if it's worth the money) so I can sell it or just keep it around as a spare. Not my favorite head, but still would like it working.

Turns on fine. Seems as though knobs are responsive. Pulled it out of the housing yesterday. None of the wires look in bad condition. When I crank the volume knob around, I get some crackling but that's about it. Checked out the fuses and they don't looked burnt out? So i'm wondering if it's just the input jack or something? Any thoughts on where to start?

Definitely start by cleaning the input jacks, fx loop jacks (if it has an fx loop) and the output jacks.

While it's open, give the knobs a shot of Rheostat Cleaner (aka, Pot Cleaner).
A dirty knob could be the problem.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Public Service Warning!
Be sure you drain the capacitors or, you can get a big shock. I you don't know how to drain the caps, take it to a tech.
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lozkT1zrIU[/video]

The most common problem with low cost solid state amps is broken solder joints on the input jacks. I've repaired a bunch and all of them had that exact issue. The jacks and pots are pcb mounted and the act of plugging and unplugging into pcb mounted jacks stresses the solder joints and in time they crack and develop shorts. The first sign is a crackly jack that you have to wiggle the plug in to make contact. Eventually they stop working all together. The solution is simple, re-flow the jack's pcb connections with a soldering iron and some solder. Getting to the part is sometimes a big pain in the ass. You start by removing all of the knobs and mounting nuts from the pots and jacks so you can remove it from the chassis. The solder connections are usually on the bottom side. This is the kind of thing you will be dealing with. The top side where the jack is will look something like this:



The bottom where you re-flow the joints will look something like this:



In this case the tech is replacing a broken jack. The last one I did was a Fender FM212R Frontman and there was quite a bit of disassembly involved to get the pcb out. I replaced 2 broken jacks and re-flowed the rest in that. If you find you have a broken one you can buy replacements here: https://www.tubesandmore.com/products/jacks_plugs Good luck!

Riffraff wrote:The most common problem..........

nice answer - I was going to suggest he throw it away!

Well there's that too.

Hahaha, I considered just tossing it but at least I can get a little repair and troubleshooting practice with it. And maybe make a few bucks if I can sell it.

But yeah that's some pretty solid help, I appreciate it! As soon as I can get some time I will get to work on it and see what happens!