Psw 110 on the fritz.

Dupagirl

Okay, not so happy with my Sub woofer now, 3 years down the track. Recently it started making a moaning sound and if I stomped my foot on the floor it would stop. Then it seemed to not be doing it but occasionally it would make a popping sound. The other night the power went out and then came back on an hour later and after about 5 mins it started making crazy noises. It won't stop until I unplug the power and then when i plug it back in, it starts right up again. I tried to attach a video of the sounds but it wouldn't allow it. I did email tech support and was able to attach the vids. Does anyone have these same dramas? Thanks, Lindy.

[Deleted User]

Hello,
In all likelihood there's a problem with the bass amplifier. The best thing to do is to continue working with Polk's CS department either as you have been via email or telephone them at 1-800-377-7655. If you're close to three years owning it have the date and place of purchase handy when you contact them, also the serial number.
They'll help you out.
Regards, Ken

Dupagirl

Thanks Ken. I appreciate your help. If it is the base amp, do you think its something I can remove and replace myself?

[Deleted User]

Hello,
Yes, the Polk guys will give you instructions on removing the bass amplifier and where to send it. It goes pretty smoothly with their help.
Cheers, Ken

Dupagirl

Gary Bivens Jr has contacted me and said it sounds like bad IC Resistors and will extend my warranty for 6 months and send me a replacement bar. Awesome!!!! Thats great customer service.

vmaxer

Polk is great!!

Dupagirl

Ken Swauger, I got a shipping notice today.


Item Part Quantity
Number Description Shipped UM

RF1137-2|5 AMP PSW110 1 EA
110V

I'm hoping that there will be instructions on replacing this, if not would you be able to send me some?

[Deleted User]

Hi,
No problem, I'll be happy to help. With the subwoofer's AC power cord unplugged use a phillips screwdriver to remove the screws that go around the circumference of the amplifier's input plate. Use a putty knife to gently loosen the input plate from the wooden enclosure, making sure to place some cardboard or heavy paper under the putty knife's blade. Once the input plate is loose pull it away from the enclosure and the complete amp will come away with the input plate. There should be a red wire and a black wire that run from the amplifier to the woofer's terminals. At the woofer itself remove the two wires from the woofer's terminals. They will have metal fasteners, called Fastons, on the ends of the wires and if you wiggle them and pull the Fastons will come off of the woofer's terminals.
Them just reverse the process, attach the new amplifier's red and black wires to the woofer's terminals and place the input plate on the enclosure and replace the screws.
If you are unsure about anything let us know.
Cheers, Ken

Dupagirl

Thanks so much Ken, I'll let you know how it goes. Should arrive about the 23 June approx. I'm looking forward to fixing it.

Dupagirl

Took me longer to get all 14 screws out and put them back in again than it did to swap out the amp. Looks and sounds like it works just fine. Played an action scene from Edge of Tomorrow and it rumbled just fine. I would say it is fixed. Thanks for your help and support. Much appreciated.

[Deleted User]

Excellent, I'm glad things are back functioning correctly again! Thanks for letting us know.

Dupagirl

I must say I am impressed with the service. Thanks.

Nightfall

@Dupagirl , what platform are you playing ESO on?

Dupagirl

@Nightfall XBox One GT Ozbeava.

Dupagirl

I got a good deal on a PSW505 from New Egg and grabbed it 11/26/2015. It has been awesome for almost a year and now it's acting like the previous subwoofer (110). I treat my gear respectfully, I don't crank up the volume to crazy levels, I watch TV, movies and play games and listen to music. I have sent an email to customer service. sigh....

[Deleted User]

Don't worry you should be covered under Polk's warranty. They'll take good care of you.

Dupagirl

Thanks Ken, I got confirmation from Customer service that my part has been shipped. I love their great customer service. Lets get this badboy fixed!!!

Dupagirl

Done, New amp came, woofer fixed, sounds awesome.!

[Deleted User]

That's good to hear, glad things are back correctly!

nexcorp

two for two on bad amps and you all think that is great? Even if CSis great, the product is failing at alarming rates. this place and AMazon and youtube are full of people having problems with polk powered subs. the ones out of warranty are getting the the screws put to em, turning thier $200 or more brick into an eventual $300 or more brick. What is going on? When is polk gonna admit they sold a complete faulty product and recall it? Ok, so its not burning down houses or hurting anybody, but the number of failures seem to confirm that an entire model number psw110 is bound to fail. Of course many will just shrug it oof if out of warranty and go buy domething different. This whole psw110 failure thing is absurd.

Viking64

nguyendot

nexcorp wrote: »

two for two on bad amps and you all think that is great? Even if CSis great, the product is failing at alarming rates. this place and AMazon and youtube are full of people having problems with polk powered subs. the ones out of warranty are getting the the screws put to em, turning thier $200 or more brick into an eventual $300 or more brick. What is going on? When is polk gonna admit they sold a complete faulty product and recall it? Ok, so its not burning down houses or hurting anybody, but the number of failures seem to confirm that an entire model number psw110 is bound to fail. Of course many will just shrug it oof if out of warranty and go buy domething different. This whole psw110 failure thing is absurd.

This is almost a year old. How do you equate that to "two for two"? You don't think
multiple amps can fail during an 11 month period? Or do you have some sort of statistic that we aren't aware of?

mdaudioguy

nguyendot wrote: »

nexcorp wrote: »

two for two on bad amps and you all think that is great? Even if CSis great, the product is failing at alarming rates. this place and AMazon and youtube are full of people having problems with polk powered subs. the ones out of warranty are getting the the screws put to em, turning thier $200 or more brick into an eventual $300 or more brick. What is going on? When is polk gonna admit they sold a complete faulty product and recall it? Ok, so its not burning down houses or hurting anybody, but the number of failures seem to confirm that an entire model number psw110 is bound to fail. Of course many will just shrug it oof if out of warranty and go buy domething different. This whole psw110 failure thing is absurd.

This is almost a year old. How do you equate that to "two for two"? You don't think
multiple amps can fail during an 11 month period? Or do you have some sort of statistic that we aren't aware of?

If you read thru, the OP had the same issue with two different subs...

Evermore

I can confirm the failure on this. Luckily mine fail at about the 2 year 11 month mark so warranty still applies... Have had two amps go out on me now for the PSW110. First one was easy, they sent a replacement to cover because 3 years hadn't passed. Second one I had to negotiate a bit more... convince them that the warranty should restart with the new piece. If I still have this sub in 2 years 9 months, I expect to have to contact CS again...

Crazy thing is that I don't 'rock' the system at all. Watch TV maybe 4 hours a week, listen to music at volume reasonable enough for a 3 year old kid... Just a completely faulty part.

stevekenney

KennethSwauger wrote: »

Hi,
No problem, I'll be happy to help. With the subwoofer's AC power cord unplugged use a phillips screwdriver to remove the screws that go around the circumference of the amplifier's input plate. Use a putty knife to gently loosen the input plate from the wooden enclosure, making sure to place some cardboard or heavy paper under the putty knife's blade. Once the input plate is loose pull it away from the enclosure and the complete amp will come away with the input plate. There should be a red wire and a black wire that run from the amplifier to the woofer's terminals. At the woofer itself remove the two wires from the woofer's terminals. They will have metal fasteners, called Fastons, on the ends of the wires and if you wiggle them and pull the Fastons will come off of the woofer's terminals.
Them just reverse the process, attach the new amplifier's red and black wires to the woofer's terminals and place the input plate on the enclosure and replace the screws.
If you are unsure about anything let us know.
Cheers, Ken

Hi Ken,

I'm having very similar problems as Lindy was with her PSW110 ... Although mine is a bit older I believe ... sticker on the back says 'DOM: 04 10' ... So I'm assuming April 2010. Anyways, I've got the board off can get the red wire off of it, but I can't get the black wire off for the life of me... I also can't get my large arms inside to remove them from the speaker... is there a trick to removing the black wire, and does the coloration of mine in the picture look normal ? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Steve

[Deleted User]

Hi Steve,
I'm sorry you're having a problem with your sub. The brown goo is a sealing material that's applied during manufacture, it's just to prevent things from rattling. It might be a good idea to remove the grille cover and take out the screws that go around the woofer,then use a putty knife to loosen the woofer from the cabinet (kind of like how a paint can lid is pried up). Once the woofer is out of the cabinet you should be able to take off the red and black wires.
Let us know how it goes.
Cheers, Ken

stevekenney

Thanks Ken. So since I can't get the wire off, the goo is doing it's job then !! I didn't want to have to take the woofer out, but seems like that's the way to go. It may be a while till I get back at it and until I can get a new board. Which I think is what I want to do. Aesthetically, I love the 'Cherry box' and don't want to get a different one.

Thanks again, Steve

[Deleted User]

No problem, I'm glad the information was helpful.

stevekenney

KennethSwauger wrote: »

No problem, I'm glad the information was helpful.

Ken, I actual found a video on youtube of the exact noise it's making .. take a listen if you will , but at low volume .. it's excruciating to hear ...

https://youtu.be/RUuZFi-lirw

Thanks, Steve

[Deleted User]

Hi Steve,
That certainly sounds bad. The amplifier needs to be replaced, that's for sure. How's the removal going?
Regards, Ken

stevekenney

KennethSwauger wrote: »

Hi Steve,
That certainly sounds bad. The amplifier needs to be replaced, that's for sure. How's the removal going?
Regards, Ken

Hi Ken,

Well, it kinda took a back seat for a while .. .no more effort yet in trying to remove the woofer. Just other things in life including some car repairs that jumped up to the front of the line ! It may be awhile ....

Thanks again