AR-4x Level control repair
- Thread starter Andyman
- Start date
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Here's what they look like on the business end. FWIW, I worked on 3 of these yesterday and all had the grilles fastened in a different fashion. First was stapled, second velcro and the last was glued. I used one of those multipurpose painter tools to pry up the grilles on all 3. It's wider than a screwfriver and stronger than a putty knife, so it actually works very well if used carefully.
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Even with the woofer removed, the leads are very short and the cabinet is quite cramped, so I opted to cut the leads close to the terminals and pull the control out. Just remove the nut and toothe washer from the rear and pull her out. Again, on the larger models, there may be enough room to allow you to leave the unit inside the cab.
Here we are, outside and free of wire cutoffs, ready for a bath.
Here we are, outside and free of wire cutoffs, ready for a bath.
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The unit disassembles readily. Even though it has open sides and is quite accesible to a spray cleaner, if you've come this far you really need to split it open and scrub it good. The wire clip pulls right out of the two side holes and the tabs are sized so the unit only can be reassembled one way, so it's quite easy to open and close.
Actually, this one was spotless compared to the first one; it was loaded with green crusty crud.
Actually, this one was spotless compared to the first one; it was loaded with green crusty crud.
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I pincehed the wiper a bit to assure a solid contact with the points and reassembled the unit, snapped on the clip and gave it a shot of DeOxit as a final lube/cleaner. I sprayed it off with canned air prior to assembly, but a little extra never hurts. I then soldered on 2-3" leads to give me a bit more room to work on during the reinstallation.
Resoldering the leads inside that 8" hole in that small cabinet was the most difficult part. Loose wires in cramped spaces and only two hands made it interesting to say the least. Plus the soldered on the removed ends made twisting interesting. I actually wound up snipping them off on the first one to get a better twist. Again, it should be easier on the bigger AR-2 and AR-3 versions.
Resoldering the leads inside that 8" hole in that small cabinet was the most difficult part. Loose wires in cramped spaces and only two hands made it interesting to say the least. Plus the soldered on the removed ends made twisting interesting. I actually wound up snipping them off on the first one to get a better twist. Again, it should be easier on the bigger AR-2 and AR-3 versions.
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Tape up the soldered leads and that's it!
I'll use some fresh plumber's putty to seal the woofers back in and velcro the grilles on both and they are good to go. I've tested both and they work great; no more dropouts or crackle and the nasty sounding Radio Shack woofer is replaced with the OEM unit from the spare I had. I'll post pictures later toady of the finished guys.
Hope this helps anyone out ther who has the same issue. All told it took about 2 hours to do two controls and that includes swapping the tweeter and resoldering the woofers.
I'll use some fresh plumber's putty to seal the woofers back in and velcro the grilles on both and they are good to go. I've tested both and they work great; no more dropouts or crackle and the nasty sounding Radio Shack woofer is replaced with the OEM unit from the spare I had. I'll post pictures later toady of the finished guys.
Hope this helps anyone out ther who has the same issue. All told it took about 2 hours to do two controls and that includes swapping the tweeter and resoldering the woofers.
HomerJSimpson
Addicted Member
I have one that needs this treatment exactly! Thank you for the post, It'll be most helpfull!
mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
Thanks for the step by step photos Andy. The topic (cleaning the AR pots) comes up so often, this'll be a great tutorial.
MarkAnderson
Addicted Member
Nice tutorial, dude. I coulda done it in a hour, though..........okay, I'm kidding. 
- Mark
- Mark
drspiff
Fisher "T" Aficionado
retreatwi said:
Yes and No. Yes you can disassemble a pot and clean it, but no, a normal pot is not constructed to be disassembled and reassembled. The AR L-pads are designed to be maintained.
As a side note, take good care of the L-pads in your AR speakers. You can buy new L-pads from Parts Express, but they are about 2x the size and do not fit into the cabinet without major rework.
fotno
Lunatic Member
MarkAnderson said:Nice tutorial, dude. I coulda done it in a hour, though..........okay, I'm kidding.
Not with me helping you can't! IIRC it takes about a 12 pack and about three hours... Okay, mebbe it's the 12 pack that makes it take 3 hours, I'm not really sure. :scratch2:
MarkAnderson
Addicted Member
fotno said:
:lmao: I stand corrected...
