You need a Dim Bulb Tester for this -- put a incandescent light bulb in series with the hot side of the power plug. Unlike a Variac (which reduces the voltage) the light bulb will limit the current, allowing you to troubleshoot without frying anything.
The lamp should go bright as the filter capacitors charge, then go fairly to very dim with no inputs and the volume all the way down. if it stays bright or only slightly dims, you have a short somewhere. Electrolytic capacitors have a defined life, and a Philco console is what, 55 or so years old now, or older? All the electrolytic caps need to be replaced -- as they dry out they become resistors (or worse, shorts) and not only do not do what they are supposed to but can actually cause current drains or damage transistors. I just revived my 1980 Kenwood KA-80 this year, at long last, had several blown zener diodes and a shorted Darlington Power Pak output module. Couple of the transistors driving the output module were bad too, and I still have issues with the phono pre-amp I will need an oscilloscope figure out. If you don't have good electronics skills, best to have a professional work on it. A lot of those transistors (especially germanium ones) are no longer around, even on eBay and the dark recesses of old parts supply places. It would be a shame to fry something by accident that's unobtanium, rendering the console useless. _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
