Speaker Repair Help - Hissing / Popping / Amp Water damage Sony GTK-XB90

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turn2002tii

Member
Joined 2023
#1
Hi Everyone,

New member here. I have a Sony GTK-XB90 battery-powered Bluetooth speaker, weighs about 35lbs, pretty large.

It was exposed to some moisture, started to sound very static, and then I shut it off and let it dry out for a few days. It works now, BUT whenever it’s on, it has a low level hiss and it pops when the power button is pressed (on and off). I would like to remedy the issue and see it that I have 3 options:

  • I can replace the unit altogether with a used one for about $200 (don’t want to do this)
  • I can replace the “main board” from Sony for about $150+shipping and if it turns out that it’s the power supply board, that’s another $50+shipping
  • I can attempt to repair the board myself, but admittedly don’t know what I am doing

I know how to solder, so if you think that I could potentially remedy the issue by replacing a capacitor or something (again don’t know amplifiers, so not sure what part could be the culprit), I would attempt that. I have seen a Sony manual on the web that had some sort of diagram of the main board if that is needed.

Any advice is greatly appreciated. I would be very satisfied if I could bring the speaker back to full functionality with a few cheap parts and my own hands. Thank you.
 
#6
Agree. Search if between the pins or terminal of the components, appeared a blue-ish or white-ish aspect like a foam. Remove it with care and a soft brush wet in isoprophyl alcohol. It was a recurrent problem in my last job repairing industrial electronics. Let it dry some hours.

Warning: this thing may have lithium batteries, and a shortcircuit, overload, over or under charge may cause it to ignite.
 
#7
Got some 99% IPA. Took the speaker apart and examined the board. There were no signs of corrosion or water damage. A bit of a haze on the bottom side of the board which may have been some sort of residue but I think the culprit was what looked to be a short on the main chip under the heat sink. Looked like it burned up the thermal paste and left some black dusty stuff in the area. I dunked the board in the alcohol for a few minutes and cleaned it up with an old toothbrush.

I cleaned up the power board after because it had a hazy film on the bottom as well.

Both are drying now and I will reassemble with new thermal paste tomorrow night to test. Hopefully the chip is not permanently damaged and what I was experiencing with the hissing was a result of the junk on the board or the film on the bottom potentially shorting something out.
 
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