Why does nobody talk about that tiny capacitor on Pioneer amp boards

I spent 3 hours yesterday chasing a dead channel on a Pioneer SA-8800 at my bench in Houston, swapping everything I could think of. Turned out it was a single 10uf cap that looked fine but read open on my meter. Has anyone else wasted a whole afternoon on one stupid part that looked perfect?

3 comments

3 Comments

davis.olivia1d ago

Blew a whole Saturday on a Pioneer SX-780 over a single 4.7uf cap that tested fine on my meter but was completely dead under load.

green.noah23h ago

Tbh that cap just wanted a little spotlight. It was like "Oh yeah I test fine on the meter, watch this" and then just flatlines the second you give it real work. Classic.

lee68921h ago

and it always seems to be the little ones that cause the biggest headaches too. a 4.7uf in a signal path can make the whole thing sound like garbage if it's bad even when the meter says it's fine. i've learned to just replace small electrolytics on sight in any vintage gear, test fine or not. saves you the headache of chasing a ghost problem for hours.