AR-3a level controls - check color coding, please

[genek]

As I have previously self-described myself as schematically challenged, can someone who knows wtf they're doing inside an AR-3a please check this diagram I've been saving since forever and verify that the wire colors on the level controls are correct? Thanks.

[RoyC]

As I have previously self-described myself as schematically challenged, can someone who knows wtf they're doing inside an AR-3a please check this diagram I've been saving since forever and verify that the wire colors on the level controls are correct? Thanks.

Hi Gene,

I drew that one...and just took a photo of a 3a crossover for comparison. It is hard to make out in the photo, but they are the same.

Roy

[genek]

I drew that one...and just took a photo of a 3a crossover for comparison. It is hard to make out in the photo, but they are the same.

Thanks Roy. The previous owner of my new project removed the original pots and installed a pair of L-pads on the outside of the cabs. I've removed the L-pads, marking the wires to indicate which pad terminal each was attached to, and am hoping he tied the new wires (all the same color, arrrrgh!!!) into the original wires.

Can you tell me, going from left to right in your photo, which coil is which? Thanks again.

[RoyC]

Can you tell me, going from left to right in your photo, which coil is which? Thanks again.

They are #4, #1, and #7 or #9 (depending on the version). Feel free to contact me through the forum message feature if I can be of assistance. I have restored many of these.

Roy

[genek]

They are #4, #1, and #7 or #9 (depending on the version). Feel free to contact me through the forum message feature if I can be of assistance. I have restored many of these.

Thanks Roy. I have the woofers off and once I go out and get myself some gloves and disposable coveralls I'll be ready to go digging out the fiberglass to see what's in there.

[genek]

Got the fiberglass out (ick), and here's what I have inside:

Appears to be the same as Roy's. Someone at AR was even nice enough to mark the coils.

It appears that the previous owner didn't tinker with the crossovers themselves, and was smart enough to mark the leads to his ratshack L-pads (the white tags markd hi-1 to hi-3 and m-1 to m-3, the blue are my tags attached when I removed the external L-pads), so I have intact crossovers and know which ones go to which level control terminals (I'll double-check against the wiring diagram, of course). But he used the same color wire for all the pigtails (red), so I'm planning on using Larry Lagace's kit method of soldering correct color pigtails onto the controls before they go in. Wire-to-wire soldering should be a lot easier inside the boxes than trying to reconnect the original leads directly to the controls.

[genek]

No matter how long I stared at this crossover, all I got was a headache. I think the previous "retired engineer" owner's use of multiple wire extensions all the same color was just messing with my eyes and brain. So I went in there and cleaned things out, and this is much simpler and easier to understand. Three leads coming down from the mid/high terminal block (black, green, yellow), three leads coming up from the LC board (black, green, yellow). The physical finally begins to resemble the diagram.