2226B : crackles when powering on

[pastic]

Hello,
Yesterday I picked up my first Marantz, a 2226B from a second hand store. I payed 65 euros with option to return in five days if I am not satisfied. I love the sound, but am fearing it may be defective. I have never restored vintage electronics, so I wonder if I just ought to return it?

As soon as I power it on, whatever the input selected, there are loud irregular but continuous crackles (somewhat similar to FM noise between stations) although no music is even playing. It sounds like electric disturbance. It dies down after a minute or so, and then I can listen to music for long swathes of time before it returns very occasionally. As soon as I begin to push the power button in order to power off, the crackling begins again.

I had an old amp where this kind of crackling disturbance would arise when moving the volume slider, but now it is tied to the power button (and very seldom just arising during passive listening without touching the amp at all).

Might this be fixable without handing it to a tech restorer? What might be the cause? Or should I just return it?

I'd be happy to answer any questions with more detail.

Best regards,
Pastic

 

[Steven Tate]

Get some Caig Deoxit D5, which is for electrical contact cleaning. It does require removing the case and bottom as well as the knobs and face plate. Then you spray the Deoxit with its red straw attachment into all of the switches and pots while working them over and over (unit unplugged). It flushes out dirt and cleans oxides off of the electrical contact surfaces. I have had very noisy vintage units that sounded great after a good Deoxit cleaning with no other parts replacement. Doesn't mean there aren't other problems, but this is always the starting point.

 

[pastic]

We don't have Deoxit readily available here in Sweden. Only one audiophile online seller who wants around 45 dollars for it. A more readily available alternative seems to be Taerosol PRF 6-68 for cleaning and PRF 7-78 for lubrication. The former contains naphta and is seems to have good reputation on Swedish forums as having been good against oxidation. I'll go out and buy a can of each and make this my Sunday project.

One follow-up question, though : when I power on the 2226B, there is disturbance for 20-70 seconds, which then rapidly dies out (seems to last longer after being powered off for the night) . Sounds like electric noise, crackling fire. This is the main problem as I perceive it. Can this be oxidation (power push switch) or is it more indicative of something else? Or is it impossible to tell?

 

[ben_]

We don't have Deoxit readily available here in Sweden. Only one audiophile online seller who wants around 45 dollars for it. A more readily available alternative seems to be Taerosol PRF 6-68 for cleaning and PRF 7-78 for lubrication. The former contains naphta and is seems to have good reputation on Swedish forums as having been good against oxidation. I'll go out and buy a can of each and make this my Sunday project.

One follow-up question, though : when I power on the 2226B, there is disturbance for 20-70 seconds, which then rapidly dies out (seems to last longer after being powered off for the night) . Sounds like electric noise, crackling fire. This is the main problem as I perceive it. Can this be oxidation (power push switch) or is it more indicative of something else? Or is it impossible to tell?

You can use KF F2 as alternative to deoxit it works great, or lookup at amazon.de or amazon.fr if shipping rates is not too high they have some.
It's a first step, may be the amp has other issues but you will probably need to clean pots and switches anyway, this can be oxidation indeed or a cracked soldering or something else.
It can be a simple and cheap fix if it works !

 

[Steven Tate]

I agree with Ben. I had a 2245 that looked like it had been in barn storage for forty years. When you turned it on, it was 90% noise and 10% audio sound. I did nothing but clean it up thoroughly, and it became 98% audio sound and 2% noise. A recap got rid of the last 2% noise. That's what taught me how much crackly noise dirty controls can cause. Good luck!
Steve

 

[ChrisMarantz]

The Tape/Monitor Switch on the 2226B is often the source of noise. Clean the controls lightly and assess how effective the cleaning is working - Chris

 

[pastic]

(Yikes, this is fun but I can't afford another hobby...)

I cleaned the potmeters for the big knobs (according to instructions in the thread The Idiot's Guide to Using DeOxit) and tried to inject some product in the power-on push switch. I don't know if I am fooling myself but I have the impression the noise is dampened a bit (but still too much of noise). @ChrisMarantz reply had me focus on the Tape Monitor switch, and sure enough, when I jank it around there is a slight increased noise. Actually is it even more apparent in the Loudness switch.

So I will try to give those two a cleaning as well before I give up. It appears I need to get at those two by unscrewing the face plate so I'll try the spoon trick I guess...

20 minutes later: before beginning unscrewing, I just listened to 20 minutes of "undisturbed" Wagner and Bach and I just can't give up on this. The music comes at me so much more as if I am in the concert auditorium. I have never heard plucked cello strings like this in my own home.

 

[petehall347]

sounds like power switch issue to me .. do the lights flicker ?

 

[pastic]

sounds like power switch issue to me .. do the lights flicker ?

Yes! Well, not really flicker, but unstable light intensity while the noise is occurring during power-on, and at the same moment as the noise disappears the lights gain full intensity and stay stable. Also as soon as I depress the power switch to turn off the noise appears - note that this is as soon as I start to push it, before it gets fully depressed and clicks and moves out.

Cleaning the power switch I found a bit of a challenge, no real hole to spray in. What could lie in store? Cleaning or replacing the power switch?

 

[petehall347]

either replace or move the wires if it has spare connections . it could be stripped down for inspection and cleaning if still serviceable . spraying anything inside it wont fix it for long if at all .

 

[pastic]

I have not yet taken any action on the power switch, but I wanted to address a big 'thank you' to everyone who participated in this thread. All music destroying crackles seem to be gone after the cleaning of the pots, I have listened for at last four hours today and not heard a single crack. On the contrary, my second-hand vinyl collection has come to new life. Operas suffering from what I thought was wear and inner groove distortion appear almost like new!! Admittedly, I have only listened to a few but my impression is: HOLY MOLY!

I don't want to get carried away and attack the power switch immediately, risking to mess something up. As it is, I still hear the buzzing electronoise when I power on and off, but once it dies down, and lights are stable and bright, all that is left is a low hum that can't be heard through the music (I hope I am not jinxing anything by saying that). I'll want to address the hum in the future (I saw @petehall347 posting elsewhere a solution to a humming 2226B, so when I have some time I'll open the receiver and try to understand what/where "the main filters" are) and also the power switch, but right now I'll take a step back and weigh my options carefully, perhaps proceeding with a cosmetic lamp upgrade first of all (half of the tuner band is dark).

And I'll enjoy the music from my new amp.

Thanks everyone! I'll be back...

 

[rBuckner]

I'd fix that power switch before anything else as it's a safety issue.

 

[I LIKE MUSIC]

Yes, it can be a safety issue, and each time it is used more damage is done to the switch contacts.

It will only get worse, it will never get better.

The switch should be the first thing taken care of, not lamps or cosmetics.

Below is a generic picture of switch contacts. New on the left, not so new on the right. Even after your switch "settles down" the contact is compromised. There can be continued arcing even after it "settles down".



When the receiver is turned on, during time the switch is "settling down" the arcing may produce high voltage spikes that may damage other parts in the receiver.

At a minimum, you should use a switched outlet strip to control the power to the receiver, but this will still leave the compromised switch in circuit.

 

[pastic]

[post deleted]
contained incorrect assumptions as basis for question

 

[pastic]

I'd fix that power switch before anything else as it's a safety issue.

Yes, it can be a safety issue, and each time it is used more damage is done to the switch contacts.

You have convinced me to address the power switch. I looked at a few youtube videos and it is definitely arcing noise that I hear, which then settles after a short while.

I have the European model (N-type of S001) so it has a different power switch than the US version, and comes with two caps attached.

Apparently my switch can't be picked apart for cleaning so it needs changing. But, I am not quite sure how to proceed.

1. De-solder / re-solder all wires and the two caps to see if it was a compromised connection?
2. Change the entire switch, to the green one in the picture below, but keep the old caps and resolder them to the new switch?
3. Keep the switch but change the oil paper caps?
   
4. Change the entire switch as well as the two caps?

My switch looks like the top one in the picture below. Also see my actual switch inside the chassis for the two caps attached.

View media item 12650View media item 12649

 

[Mike Sweeney]

I'm a bit late to this party but I would offer this about the power switch. I don't think it will apply so much to yours ( very different than the US version). In the bad old days of telecom, we had a crap ton of relays to deal with. 24 volts and a bunch of amps. And they cost too much to pull and throw away from a bit of arcing. We had burnishing tools which were just thin flat pieces of metal with a very fine finish like a file. They would be used to clean the ( burnish) the contacts of troublesome relays that had carboned up but had not pitted or had very minor pits. The abrasive effect was mild enough to scrub the contacts but not to strip off the plating used.
I used this on my own 2226B power switch which pretty easy to open up, flush with DeOxit and the burnishing tool then clean up with contact cleaner. ( Marantz power switches on the 2226B are dry in the inside, relying on the plastic nubs to self lube). I considered some dielectric grease grease and I still may go back and add some. The grease is the same basic stuff we used on points in cars. Good for high temp, high voltage and reasonable lubication. I think it will hold up fine in the power switch if you don't put in gobs of the stuff. The only question I have right now is how well it holds up over time. The stuff can dry out a bit.