AR9LS crossover removal

[Markir]

Hi all,

I want to recap the crossover in my AR9LS speakers but can't figure out how to remove it from the speaker cabinet as it seems to be glued in place. Does anyone know how to safely remove the crossover?

Thanks for your help!

Mark

[DavidR]

Do it in place.

The hot melt glue holding the caps down can be made pliable by dribbling a small amount of isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) on it. Loosen caps with a small putty knife or screw driver. Work slowly and smart.

[cd0nc]

+1 for in place. Try not to burn yourself on the iron too much ?

[DavidR]

3 hours ago, cd0nc said:

+1 for in place. Try not to burn yourself on the iron too much ?

Been there, done that. While doing my 91's but it was not a bad burn.

What will alleviate 'issues' is to work slowly, methodically and have zero expectations of how much work/progress you expect to make. I also had a good LED light inside the speaker.

[AR surround]

+2 for doing it in place.   And don't forget to use best practices for soldering electronics such as using heat sinks, flux (not acid), tinning, etc.

[harry398]

helps if you put speaker on a bench so your not  bending over it for hours.

smaller table......etc

 

I prefer removing boards if possible.

[Markir]

Thanks everyone for your input, looks like I'll end up inside the box for a fair few hours :-)

Has anyone done the recap and upgrade to LSI? Atm the bass and mid sound great but the top end is certainly lacking.

[lARrybody]

I am getting ready to replace some AR58S boards with rebuilt AR91 boards. I am not particularly interested in protecting the caps and resisters, just the inductors.  I wonder if using a heat gun would soften up the hot melt glue better than injecting alcohol around the perimeter. 

[AR surround]

4 hours ago, lARrybody said:

I am getting ready to replace some AR58S boards with rebuilt AR91 boards. I am not particularly interested in protecting the caps and resisters, just the inductors.  I wonder if using a heat gun would soften up the hot melt glue better than injecting alcohol around the perimeter. 

Or perhaps using a soldering gun...i.e. Weller 140 W...and prying up the caps a little bit at at time.

[DavidR]

Using a soldering iron will create lots of smoke and who knows what they used to make that old hot melt. It's a bit different than today's hot melt.

[AR surround]

1 hour ago, DavidR said:

Using a soldering iron will create lots of smoke and who knows what they used to make that old hot melt. It's a bit different than today's hot melt.

I wouldn't put it ON the glue, just close enough to get some softening.   This will drive you crazy, David, but what I did was simply pry the things off with an chiseling blade in an X-acto knife.   If it took off a tad of the board with it, then so be it.

[DavidR]

[RTally]

Most times the glue in vintage speakers is easily lifted with a putty knife. At least, that is all I needed for dozens of speakers. I use the edge of the putty knife (a steel one, not plastic) to get under an edge of the glue and pry up. If the glue is hard, it cracks and comes away in pieces. Or if it is a bit soft, it pries up in on big piece. 

The alternative is to leave the glued parts in place and cut the leads. I solder new caps either to the left over leads or to their terminating point, depending upon which has easier access. 

[DavidR]

But you have to remove the staples first and that can be a time consuming PITA