Help with failed SL3 (in UK)

[Freejon]

Hi,
I have been in love with my SL3's for a few years now. Bought used for £1200 (that is UK, so about $2000). Serial SEHC 424 and 5, which makes them 1996? I don't want to lose them. One of them has stopped making any sound from the panel. So I need to know what to do and have a few questions.
1) Is there any chance of these being economically repairable?
2) I am fairly competent at fixing things and know how to use a soldering iron. Can I swap items between speakers to find out where the problem is, and if so, what items do I swap?
3) Are there instructions anywhere on this site for how to work on these particular speakers?
4) If I have to get them fixed, are there any technicians in the UK who are known to be competent (I am waiting for ML to tell me if there is an official repairer).
Any help you can give me will be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Jon

 

[Gordon Gray]

Jon,

Sounds like the power supply has gone south. Should be able to get replacement from ML. Give customer service a call or e-mail.

Gordon

 

[roberto]

Hola Jon, I think Gordon is right. Sometimes to open the back of the speaker's cabinet is a pain in the ***. You have to take apart everything. Lay the cabinet on its back and pry at the top of the rails (http://www.martinloganowners.com/~td... Washing.pdf) This pdf is for the Model Request, but applies to yours of how to proceed to take the side rails off, and the panels. Once you have done this, remove the 8 screws that are securing the woofer and remove it too. Watch the wires colors and the connectors at the woofer. Stand up the cabinet and remove the 12 screws securing the back opening for the electronics. Sometimes the back is almost glued to the cabinet, so you need to pry with a log and a rubber hammer, in a such way that when inserting the lug, reach a point where there is no electronic parts, just the back opening. Once removed the back, the power supply is attached to this back opening. Be careful with the wires that go to the LED Red at the front and also to the binding posts. Make a drawing of how to connect them again, and watch the polarity of the gray wire that is coming from the biding posts. This gray wire is the sensing start on when signal is present at the biding posts. The wires that are connected to the power supply should be connected as they are. Watch the wire color and put them back again. A diagram will help you with this. Once you have swap the power supplies, you could say if it is the culprit or not. Also write to ML service. You will get all the help that you might need!

 

[Tosh]

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/planars-exotics/210168-ml-sl3-intermittent-bias-supply-problem.html

HTH!

 

[Gordon Gray]

Roberto,

Once correction on your post my friend. Know this because I had the SL3's and I've done this before to replace the woofer.

You don't "pry" off the rails. You take a rubber hammer, or something else that is padded and gently tap downward on the top of the rail. If it doesn't move, tap upward on the bottom of the rail. The rails are "seated" with a "slotted" channel attached to the speaker.

You can then access the inside of the bass module cabinet by removing the screen and then the bass driver. Don't know if you can access what you need with the driver removed but I assume you can. If you do this, you will need some new "double sided" sticky foam when you reattach the screen.

Best,

Gordon

PS: If you can access the bass module by removing the screws on the back side (if memory serves me correctly, I believe you can), that is by far the best option and much easier than what I described above.

 

[roberto]

Thanks Gordon, a semantic problem...pry means hard, right? I have a problem with the meaning of pry...what you do to put a stave on a clear part where there is no electronic component once you have removed the woofer, and hit it with the rubber hammer gentle several times, until the back part is loose. Because of time, the black paint of the cabinet acts like an adhesive, and holds the back as one peace. Please excuse my bad English.
Thanks for your understanding!

 

[Bernard]

If the panel has slipped, the problem could simply be a wire (can't remember if it's red or black) that has come loose from the panel.

The first thing to do is remove the rails and examine the panel.

 

[malcesine]

If it turns out to be the PCB or surrounding resistors then I have a working spare from an Aerius that might work (assuming it is OK on an SL3 ??????
I am based in UK

 

[Freejon]

Thank you

If it turns out to be the PCB or surrounding resistors then I have a working spare from an Aerius that might work (assuming it is OK on an SL3 ??????
I am based in UK

I am just getting into testing, but appreciate the offer. The part number is MLPS-102. Is that what you have?

And thank you to all who have replied. I will let you know the outcome.

Jon

 

[malcesine]

I am just getting into testing, but appreciate the offer. The part number is MLPS-102. Is that what you have?

And thank you to all who have replied. I will let you know the outcome.

Jon

I think it is, can double check over the weekend

 

[Freejon]

Problem solved

I think it is, can double check over the weekend

Thank you again to everyone. I am very happy to say that it turned out to be a detached black wire connection from the panel. So just a re-solder job. Which means that it isn't costing me money I don't have to spare, AND I can listen to music over the holiday period. How does it get any better than that?!

I also want to pay tribute to Scott at ML who sent me all sorts of extra information on how to test the power supply if I needed to. My lifetime loyalty has just been sealed - a company which supports customers owning equipment that is not far off 20 years old, and even when there is no immediate revenue. That is of course as life should be, but often it isn't. Live long and prosper, Martin Logan.

Jon