Did a mouse kill my RCA 199B amp?

[NCTubeLover]

The rebuilt amp in my 63 RCA console stopped playing. After an inspection I found a little mouse poo on the turntable and some around the 199B amp. I unplugged the wiring harness going to the tuner and found moisture inside the molex connector and a few of the pins have turned green. The fuse in the amp was blown, but the heater power to the tubes and the lights on the tuner still worked. The tuning indicator for the radio tuner is out.
I checked the power diodes with a meter and they checked ok. Anyway, I ordered new ones and installed them.
The amp still blows the fuse with a 1 amp glass fuse installed. When I cut the amp on, there is sparking on the small ground bar in the center of the amp. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Greg

 

[tubeactive]

Cat poo and pee can be bad stuff, as can rain/flood. But, pee is acidic and can easily cause some external or internal problems. Arcing occurs at the ground bar, where ? The center of the amp means near the opt tubes, not near the voltage doubler caps ? How old are the voltage dblr caps ? If the power supply caps are still good, plus all coupling capacitors are still good, you might try a 2A fuse. If that blows, then some power supply component or a tube is shorted.

Check DC resistances with amp off and all caps discharged. If there is a short, you will read 0 ohms where you shouldn't....

 

[NCTubeLover]

Hi,
I rebuilt the amp with all new caps, can cap and all 1/2 watt resistors 7 or 8 years ago.
The tuner had a new can cap and most caps were replaced.
I have pics in my album.
The sparking is not near the doubling caps.
There is a little grounding bar riveted on the amp near the 6CG7 tube.

 

[century tek]

Pics of the spot that is arcing.

Make sure the new diodes are correctly orientated.

 

[NCTubeLover]

Pics of the spot that is arcing.

Does this unit have a rectifier tube?

No, it has 2 RCA silicon rectifiers, either RCA IN3194 or IN2862.

 

[gadget73]

Its actually basic, not acidic. White vinegar will neutralize it and the stink, then rinse with water and dry.

Either way it could have rotted a component lead or the buss bar. After getting the nasty out of it, I'd give it all a very close inspection for leads that have corroded and fauled.