Fuse burned out in shipping? ?

I have a few moments here to add to my post: I actually did get to remove the top panel (I alluded to that in my previous post) and looked for damage. There was nothing out of the ordinary that I could detect. None of the capacitors look like they are bulging, I didn't notice any loose parts, broken connections, etc. But the real kicker is that the internal fuses were intact. That said, they looked newer (less age accumulated crud) than the back fuses. Also, as I mentioned before, the top of this case has been removed, probably MANY times. It was a hodgepodge of screws of different types and ages.

Still, the fuses aren't blowing when I turn the amp on or anything, there is just no sound. I know this amp is old, but I don't see any VISUAL evidence of a problem. Then again, I'm sure I could be more thorough
As well as more educated about what to look for, so feel free to take that with a bit of skepticism. I build computers a lot, do soldering, etc., so I'm not lost inside an amp case, but I'm just not an expert either.

In any event, I can buy, in theory, that the amp was damaged in transit and that the fuse blew when I turned the amp on. But then why doesn't it blow when I put a new fuse in? That's what bothers me.

I could buy that maybe I shorted the terminal and blew a fuse (in theory, I feel confident I didn't) but then why doesn't a new fuse get things going again?

Finally, I think what bothers me the most is that the channel never made a peep. It wasn't like there was this very brief sounds and the fuse blew cutting the sound out, I mean it was like my speaker was hooked up to nothing. The closest I came to getting sound from this channel was when I jiggled the connection a bit to keep it from sliding off and I got a nasty type of static (and come to think of it I can't recall for sure which channel that was.... Damn my brain).

I specifically asked the seller to package this amp well because I have had an awful run of luck getting electronics lately (this is the 5th item damaged in transit in 3 months). He ignored me completely, at least IMO, and I've got a damaged amp. Nevertheless, I don't want to accuse him of trying to steal if this is a shipping accident. OTOH, if he did send a dud then he can go @&!&$@! himself.

Oh, he told me I should file the insurance claim.... AFAIK, doesn't the sender have to file this? After all, he is the one who purchased the insurance. This just feels like someone trying to send me off on little errands until I either forget or don't care.

PS- I paid with Paypal, so if the seller is trying to scam me he is going to be disappointed.

Sorry, that turned into a little bit of a rant.

Hi guys, this is a fantastic response and I am very appreciative! It is apparent my original post left out some critical information. As I am a bit short of time I will post again, but here's what I have for the moment:

Packaging: the amp was wrapped in one very thin layer of bubble wrap and then put in a box stuffed with shredded paper. Since the box was only a bit larger than the amp itself--about 1" extra on most sides--there wasn't much room for packing material to begin with. Sadly, the shipper didn't even really stuff the box with shredded paper, so the amp could easily moved inside. So it is entirely possible this amp was damaged in shipping.

The box looked like a big ball of tape. I'm not kidding. Every inch was taped, sometimes three, four, five times over. The top of the box had caved in some during shipping, but the massive amount of tape kept it all together, so to speak. I'll take another, closer look later tonite.

As for the amp, I haven't noticed anything that I would call shipping damage. There are plenty of signs of aging, but no bent fins, dented structure, visibly broken internal parts, etc. What I DID find, though, was that is was readily apparent that this amp has had many hands inside it before. It is missing some of the screws for the top case and those that are there are different (and visibly different ages as well).

The fuse- the fuse isn't broken, it is burned. There is a lovely scorch mark in the center of the glass where it is blackened. However, I did not check this before plugging the amp in. Here is what I did:

I happened to have one speaker readily on hand that wasn't already hooked up, so I hooked it up to the left channel. Sounded peachy. Turned the amp off and waited a few seconds. Disconnected the speaker cable and moved it to right channel. Turned amp back on and never heard a peep. Turned amp back off and checked the fuses. Left channel fuse looked fine, albeit a little old. Right channel fuse looked like it had been the main course in a BBQ.

Okeedokee, so I wrote the seller about this. Meanwhile, I went and put the left channel fuse in the right holder and tried turning the amp on again. Still no sound. I went and put the fuse back in the left channel and moved speaker wire back to left to make sure that the fuse was still good. Left channel sounded just fine... Again. So this time I left the left channel fuse and put in my own fuse with same ratings. Nothing. Tried raising volume. Nothing.

One point of note: all the new fuses put into the right channel fuse holder have been fine going in and coming out. The channel isn't blowing fuses AND it isn't making sound.

Could I have crossed some wires? I hate to say never, but I feel very connfident about this. I did all of the attaching and detaching with the amp off and even allowed about 3-5 seconds for drain time. Even so I try to be sure that leads never touch because electricity can remain in the amp well after that short period. That said, I won't pretend to be infallible. What I am sure of is that I didn't check any fuses before turning on the amp. I didn't think of it although I may in the future.

I'll write more a little later, I've got to put the kids to sleep right now. Thank you all very much!

Aaron

Hey guys, thanks again for the replies. To be frank, I'm not into the amp for much money. I think it is $120 or so. Even damaged the DH220 has some value, so absolutely worst case scenario is that I overpaid for a fixer upper amp. If that was what I was buying I'd be fine, but I asked about the working status of the amp and was told it was in perfect working order.

For me these things are a matter of principle: the amp was a good deal, in theory, so if he is honest and telling the truth then I don't want to be a d$ck. Otoh, if he is trying to swindle me, even if for a few bucks, then I take a completely different attitude. As you've all noted, it won't take any
effort to file a Paypal claim and I will be doing so later tonight or tomorrow seeing as he has stopped communicating with me now. Moreover, if I don't say anything then he is all the more likely to try this on other people. I don't pretend to be some world policeman, I just don't like this crap.

Anyway, I took another look at the amp and there is really nothing to call outside physical damage. There are scratches and whatnot, but frankly the casing of this amp is in decent shape. I've seen some Hafler that look like Rocky in round 15.

I also took another look around inside and I'll be damned if I could find anything in there that looked out of the ordinary. The ONLY thing that caught my attention was the state of the the 5th internal fuse or 7th overall fuse. The DH220 has a total of 7 fuses, 3 per channel: 1 external fuse and 2 internal fuses protecting each channel for a total of six and a seventh fuse that seems linked to the power button in some way. This fuse has staining inside. I've always associated this staining with a fuse that has repeatedly come VERY close to burning but didn't quite blow. This is a weird fuse tho. It doesnt have one Just one thin filament; it also has a filament that sort of spirals around the glass. I've never seen anything like this before, so I don't know if my description does this justice.

Jea, yes, I did power the left speaker first, so it is possible that the right channel fuse burnt while I was listening to the left channel. That would explain a few things. I'm a little puzzled by your description of a shorted component and clearing itself. It isn't that I disagree or anything, I merely don't think I understand. Would you mind elaborating?

Would this explain why the right channel might burn a fuse and then the
subsequent fuses would be okay? I guess this is where I am stuck. With some kbservable damage I am having a difficult time buying shipping damage. However, it is a 30 year old (plus) amp that was poorly packed in glorified confetti, so I can imagine a relatively modest event damaging something. But if I understand what you're saying--that a temporary short killed the fuse but then resolved itself--why does the channel not function? What I mean is, if the short is the problem, and it resolves, then it should play, right? Am I being WAY too simplistic here?

Anyway, I appreciate everyone's feedback. This has been informative above and beyond just resolving this minor little shipping issue.

All the best, Aaron

Ray, Zman: thanks for your responses. The Halfer DH220 is an early MOSFET SS amp. However, having never owned a tube amp, I have to admit that I've never even heard that you must have a speaker connected to all of the terminals in order to turn on a tube amp. I can't see how not presenting a load to drive would affect a SS amp, but I suppose tubes really are a different beast.

I have a quasi-ending to this. I ended up filing with paypal and offered the seller a compromise. I would keep the amp and he would refund $50 of the $120 purchase price. Given that I was already out the $20 for shipping and I'd have to pay another $20 to send it back it seemed more cost effective to end up paying $70 and still have the amp and maybe fix it instead of going to the trouble of packing it up and sending it back to get a net $80. Essentially I figured it was a choice between being out $40 and have nothing to show for my trouble or be out $70 and I can use the Hafler to practice my "why won't this work" skillset. There ya go.

In the end the seller wrote back and accepted my offer, so now I am the proud owner of half of a Hafler DH220. The seller has been adamant that the amp was sent in working condition. He has no reason to lie at this point and I'm not going to argue--I think it is very likely the amp was damaged somehow in shipping. Now I am hoping to figure out what happened and try to fix it. This will likely be more difficult than I hoped at first since I have not found any outward signs that the amp isn't functioning save for a burnt fuse and no sound.

So that's where I am at right now. A few people have mentioned that I might have blown the fuse when I turned it on. I suppose this is possible. If the amp was damaged it is possible that the fuse blew when it was turned in. I have what is perhaps a naive question. It has been quite some time since I have blown a fuse--in fact I've only ever done it once and that was almost 15 years ago--but doesn't a fuse blowing make a little sound? Or am I just off my rocker? (the answer to that question is probably yes, but you know what I mean). I ask because I never heard any sort of noise. The channel was always dead silent, I never heard what I would have thought was that sound of a fuse dying, and even the cooling fins on the right side don't heat up (on the left they get toasty).

As usual, any feedback is appreciated.

Thanks, Aaron