Repairing my amplifier

abhijithvarma · 4th February 2011, 13:57

Hi,

I have a Pioneer GMX-944 Amp installed in my SX4. I have been using this amp for quite some years. Yesterday one of the channel on my amp started playing a bit weird. By weird I mean the sound keeps flickering and goes blank and at times it gives a balrring sound. Not sure what this is ?

Can anyone tell me what might be the possible issue ? (Assuming you guys might have come across this issue)

Thanks

DerAlte · 4th February 2011, 15:08

Take the amp to a Pioneer service center, or a competent electronics technician. This is due to either a solder joint gone/going loose, or a component (probably a capacitor or a potentiometer) saying final prayers.

abhijithvarma · 4th February 2011, 15:28

Thanks DerAlte for your quick response.

Found a technician in Mumbai. Said He is gonna take a look at it. His intial diagnosis was also the Soldering going loose. I have dropped the amp with him. He is gonna get back to me by tomorrow. Have my fingers crossed.

GTO · 4th February 2011, 16:56

Hi Abhijith,

It's a known issue with Pioneer 944s; I had one myself, which suffered from the same problem after 6 years of use. The capacitor had gone bad. I don't know whether it was repaired or replaced, but Bharat Auto charged me 600 bucks for the same. However, note that after a while the problem resurfaced in another channel. So maybe, it's a good idea to have all of them checked up while it's at your mechanics.

jatinpatel · 4th February 2011, 17:25

Hey abhijith,

I also use the same GMX-944 amp in my tiny its 8.5years old.

I had two issues with the amp
1. Solder going dry which got sorted but resurfaced again.
2.Mosffets went bust on the front channel so decided to replace all this sorted out my 1st issue too.

The total repair cost was 1200rs Got it repaired from my installer FM drive in santacruz.
PM me if you need the contact details for the same.

Its better to replace the mosffets and have peace of mind for a long time, and after the new mosffets the output has become good and even more clean.

abhijithvarma · 5th February 2011, 17:59

It was the Solder going dry. Got i re-soldered. Its working fine now. I have also been facing some issues around my equalizer. I will post a new thread for that.

Thank you Ol Man,GTO and Jatin.

spirits999 · 26th June 2019, 15:55

Hi All,
In another thread I talked about regarding a leakage through the sunroof drains on my BMW 3 GT. Water landed on the amplifier area and the amplifier has fried. Buying a new one will cost me about 70k upwards.
I wanted to look at options that I want to take your opinions on. Its a Lear amp.
1. Repair the amp - Im really looking for this option. Do you have anyone/trusted/tested repair guy in Pune/Mumbai who can repair amps. I don't think its too much of rocket science and Im sure there must be someone out there who does it.
2. Buy a new one from Germany/US. I have a few friends who can get one from there if it makes sense. Will it be compatible, etc etc.
3. Buy a upgrade/alternative that is compatible. Suggest all alternatives that could be at least cheaper and provide the same output.
4. Is there any second hand market for this amp.
5. All alternate solutions are welcome.

spirits999 · 29th June 2019, 15:34

Dear mods,
I don’t know why my thread was attached to this thread. There are a lot more other concerns I’ve raised that has nothing to do with this thread. The views have gone down and haven’t received even one view after the thread came under this. Obviously it’s not helping any.
Could you please move it out under the main topic car entertainment.

navin · 1st July 2019, 14:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by spirits999

1. Repair the amp - Im really looking for this option. Do you have anyone/trusted/tested repair guy in Pune/Mumbai who can repair amps. I don't think its too much of rocket science and Im sure there must be someone out there who does it.
2. Buy a new one from Germany/US. I have a few friends who can get one from there if it makes sense. Will it be compatible, etc etc.
3. Buy a upgrade/alternative that is compatible. Suggest all alternatives that could be at least cheaper and provide the same output.
4. Is there any second hand market for this amp.
5. All alternate solutions are welcome.

I assume this is an OEM amplifier from BMW. The one person who might be able to help you get this amp repaired in Mumbai is member Bass and Trouble. He has repaired my Steg amplifiers when they got flooded.

Since this is an OEM amplifier I cannot give you any suggestions about a replacement as there might be some DSP built into the amplifier specific for the BMW GT3.

For this same reason only another GT3 customer would be able to use this amplifier hence the second hand market for this is amplifier is pretty limited.

Quote:

Originally Posted by spirits999

Dear mods,
I don’t know why my thread was attached to this thread.

Your post was moved into a thread for amplifier repair. This way any other members looking for amplifier repairs would have only one thread to search.

spirits999 · 1st July 2019, 15:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by navin

I assume this is an OEM amplifier from BMW. The one person who might be able to help you get this amp repaired in Mumbai is member Bass and Trouble. He has repaired my Steg amplifiers when they got flooded.

Since this is an OEM amplifier I cannot give you any suggestions about a replacement as there might be some DSP built into the amplifier specific for the BMW GT3.

For this same reason only another GT3 customer would be able to use this amplifier hence the second hand market for this is amplifier is pretty limited.

Your post was moved into a thread for amplifier repair. This way any other members looking for amplifier repairs would have only one thread to search.

Thanks for your reply Navin.
May be ill get in touch with Bass and Trouble.

Secondly, yes I understand, it moved because of Amplifier repair. While my queries is not limited to only repair and hence the audience is going to be lesser. If i post a separate question of just an Upgrade, a lot more audience is going to look at it and give their suggestions. Right now it is completely limiting the audience to only people who are looking for a amplifier repair.

navin · 1st July 2019, 15:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by spirits999

If i post a separate question of just an Upgrade, a lot more audience is going to look at it and give their suggestions. Right now it is completely limiting the audience to only people who are looking for a amplifier repair.

OEM equipment rarely has an equivalent. This is because the OEM amplifiers and head units have built in DSP processing that the specific for that ONE model of car it was designed for.

If you were looking for a upgrade you would have to consider a system that includes a DSP and an amplifier.

4th February 2011, 13:57	#1
abhijithvarma Newbie Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4 Thanked: 0 Times	Repairing my amplifier Hi, I have a Pioneer GMX-944 Amp installed in my SX4. I have been using this amp for quite some years. Yesterday one of the channel on my amp started playing a bit weird. By weird I mean the sound keeps flickering and goes blank and at times it gives a balrring sound. Not sure what this is ? Can anyone tell me what might be the possible issue ? (Assuming you guys might have come across this issue) Thanks
	() Thanks

4th February 2011, 15:08	#2
DerAlte Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 8,069 Thanked: 2,919 Times	re: Repairing my amplifier Take the amp to a Pioneer service center, or a competent electronics technician. This is due to either a solder joint gone/going loose, or a component (probably a capacitor or a potentiometer) saying final prayers.
	() Thanks

4th February 2011, 15:28	#3
abhijithvarma Newbie Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4 Thanked: 0 Times	re: Repairing my amplifier Thanks DerAlte for your quick response. Found a technician in Mumbai. Said He is gonna take a look at it. His intial diagnosis was also the Soldering going loose. I have dropped the amp with him. He is gonna get back to me by tomorrow. Have my fingers crossed.
	() Thanks

4th February 2011, 16:56	#4
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,519 Thanked: 300,709 Times View My Garage	re: Repairing my amplifier Hi Abhijith, It's a known issue with Pioneer 944s; I had one myself, which suffered from the same problem after 6 years of use. The capacitor had gone bad. I don't know whether it was repaired or replaced, but Bharat Auto charged me 600 bucks for the same. However, note that after a while the problem resurfaced in another channel. So maybe, it's a good idea to have all of them checked up while it's at your mechanics.
	() Thanks

4th February 2011, 17:25	#5
jatinpatel BHPian Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Mumbai Posts: 610 Thanked: 196 Times View My Garage	re: Repairing my amplifier Hey abhijith, I also use the same GMX-944 amp in my tiny its 8.5years old. I had two issues with the amp 1. Solder going dry which got sorted but resurfaced again. 2.Mosffets went bust on the front channel so decided to replace all this sorted out my 1st issue too. The total repair cost was 1200rs Got it repaired from my installer FM drive in santacruz. PM me if you need the contact details for the same. Its better to replace the mosffets and have peace of mind for a long time, and after the new mosffets the output has become good and even more clean.
	() Thanks

5th February 2011, 17:59	#6
abhijithvarma Newbie Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4 Thanked: 0 Times	re: Repairing my amplifier It was the Solder going dry. Got i re-soldered. Its working fine now. I have also been facing some issues around my equalizer. I will post a new thread for that. Thank you Ol Man,GTO and Jatin.
	() Thanks

26th June 2019, 15:55	#7
spirits999 Newbie Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 20 Thanked: 22 Times	BMW 3 GT - Amplifier Repair anyone? Hi All, In another thread I talked about regarding a leakage through the sunroof drains on my BMW 3 GT. Water landed on the amplifier area and the amplifier has fried. Buying a new one will cost me about 70k upwards. I wanted to look at options that I want to take your opinions on. Its a Lear amp. 1. Repair the amp - Im really looking for this option. Do you have anyone/trusted/tested repair guy in Pune/Mumbai who can repair amps. I don't think its too much of rocket science and Im sure there must be someone out there who does it. 2. Buy a new one from Germany/US. I have a few friends who can get one from there if it makes sense. Will it be compatible, etc etc. 3. Buy a upgrade/alternative that is compatible. Suggest all alternatives that could be at least cheaper and provide the same output. 4. Is there any second hand market for this amp. 5. All alternate solutions are welcome.
	() Thanks

29th June 2019, 15:34	#8
spirits999 Newbie Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Pune Posts: 20 Thanked: 22 Times	Re: Repairing my amplifier Dear mods, I don’t know why my thread was attached to this thread. There are a lot more other concerns I’ve raised that has nothing to do with this thread. The views have gone down and haven’t received even one view after the thread came under this. Obviously it’s not helping any. Could you please move it out under the main topic car entertainment.
	() Thanks