John O. Barton

PROTECTOR (FAN) on Sony STR-DA50ES receiver

Hi:
Do you know what to do about this? My Sony STR-DA50ES receiver, bought in Feb 1999, stops all sound and flashes something like PROTECTOR (FAN).

I opened the case, turned the receiver off and on and the fan wasn't running but the blades rotated easily. I disconnected the internal fan wire, and temporarily blew a room fan directly into it. It stayed on longer, but then the same thing happened.

If it's just a matter of installing a new fan, I can do that myself, but if it's more than that, should I scrap it? Thanks,
John

Jerome Grate

Sounds like to me you found half the problem. Sounds like something on the board heat related may need replacing. That fact that it's on the board, well that's a whole different monster. 1999 is not a terribly long time for a receiver this might require some outside service and diagnostics.

Listen Up People.., Rack Em and Pack Em.., We're Phantoms in 15.

John O. Barton

You're right. I connected the fan to a 12VDC source and it worked. I also tested the leads going to the fan from the circuit board to see if there was any voltage being sent to the fan with the receiver on and cooled down, before the protector flashed on. I got no voltage read out. So it is the board. I don't know if it's worth getting fixed only to have something else go later. I'll have to think about it. Thanks.
John

Jerome Grate

My take on the whole deal, here's your opportunity, shop, get something (with in budget) that has a great deal of flexibility. DPLIIX (Dolby Prologic IIx) creates 7 channels I believe, and now you have receivers with upconverting capabilities for video. Tough call since we don't know where we stand on HD-DVD and HDMI but certainly some issues to weigh in for your next purchase.

Listen Up People.., Rack Em and Pack Em.., We're Phantoms in 15.

Carlo Medina

My STR-DA555ES flashed the same warning and wouldn't turn on (or would, but wouldn't stay on for long) a year or so ago. Luckily it was 4 months before the famed ES 5 year warranty ran out. I brought it in to a local authorized repair shop (with the receipt) and they fixed it for free. Turns out they put a new power supply or something in there [I remember the repair receipt clearly said "Power [something]" I just can't remember if it was a supply or not. So that error we got may be more serious than just a fan problem. My receiver has worked flawlessly since. I have relegated it to the bedroom (NAD for the main HT) but am glad that I now have a fully functioning AVR for the bedroom set.

Is yours out of warranty? You say it is a 1999 model, but did you buy it in 1999 or 2000? Perhaps you're still within your 5 year period? If so, have an authorized center check it out.

John O. Barton

I bought it Feb 1999, so it's out of warranty. I'll shop for a new one as Jerome suggested. Thanks to all.
John