Cambridge 540R v2 not working, advice needed

clear and blue

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Hi,

Just bought a 540R v2 from eBay on the basis of the favourable reviews it gets sound quality wise. Paid slightly over the odds but it is still fairly new and they are getting increasingly hard to find.

The thing is, having had it delivered this morning I have spent all day trying to get it to work. It keeps shutting down after saying "overload protect". Now I have already done a search on this and every thread seemed to end unanswered. For the life of me I can't figure out what is wrong. .

I have checked all of the inputs and speaker connections (even though I was so careful connecting it all up to start with. I can't see how anything can be shorting, short of a short inside the (short) chassis. It isn't overheating and has plenty of ventilation.

The speakers I tested with are 8 Ohm Kef Cresta 3 floorstanders. I even turned off all unused speaker connections via the OSD before playing anything as if it had output transformers that could blow (shouldn't be a problem with a solid state amplifier).


In the few years since the last "overheating" thread, has anyone figured out what is causing this? Or is this why you can no longer buy these amps from Richer Sounds - almost every one of them has been returned as faulty?

Please, if anyone can think of something I may be doing wrong, let me know.

Cheers
 
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It turns out that the "Overload Protect" message only comes the first time the amp has been turned on at the back or at the wall. This puts it into standby. Pushing the power button on the front to come on from standby doesn't give the message (allows you to operate functions) but sound will not output.
 
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Just to update: when the working day started yesterday I called Richer Sounds service team (very helpful and honest!) who in a nutshell told me that the amp was knackered and beyond economical repair, so I returned the amp to seller for refund.

I apologise for making this useless thread as a little patience would have answered my question. The one useful thing I can add to the forum for those with the "Overload Protect" problem is that this warning is used for any kind of fault. e.g. Short circuit in the speaker wiring, faulty input jack etc. If anything is wrong with the amp at all it will tell you "Overload Protect".

This means that if you are still getting this message with no speakers or sources connected, the problem is inside your amp.

Again, apologies for the thread. I was besides myself after the excitement of it arriving and then the frustration of finally having it there only for it to just sit silent.
 

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