Help....My Receiver Keeps Turning Off  

Have you had to disconnect any speakers from it recently, and then hooked it back up? If so, check the speaker wire connection for that/those speakers, to make sure that one single strand of it's wire isn't touching something it shouldn't.

Normally I would think that it might be a speaker wire that might be shorting out but it is not shutting off right way all the time.  If there was a speaker wire that was shorting out because a wire was touching, then it would do it right away all the time.  To me this sounds like an internal problem that will most likely require the unit being serivced.  But it can not help to check your speaker wires to make sure you do not have a short going on. 

Now here is another thing to think about before spending money to have any potential problem fixed?  

Do you have or are you planning on getting a Bluray player?  If you have a bluray player that decodes everything you could get by with this reciever.  Heck I am getting by with a Yamaha RX-V995 that is only a 5.1 and for now it does a decent job even though I have to run the HDMI to the TV and use both multi channel analog audio and a digital cable depending on the audio format used.  This could be a good excuse to upgrade your receiver to one with HDMI, more component video inputs, Audyssey MultEQ for Room Correction, the ability to upscale non HD sources, running one HDMI to your TV and the ability to decode DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby True HD from a Bluray that can bitstream those audio codex.

The discontinued Onkyo TX-SR805 can be had online for under $600 and the thing is a beast, just give it enough ventelation as it runs hot.  Just ask yourself if you can live with your receiver and is it worth investing money into it to get it repaired?  If not I would get a new receiver that will give you all the flexability for HD sources as well as the gear you have now.  I do not blame you I would go nuts if my Yamaha 995 took a dump on me, that would suck!

Sorry, but I disagree. Ive seen too many times, where people were having this problem, but only at loud volumes, and it turned out to be a speaker wire touching something. They said they could listen at lower volumes, and nothing happened. But as soon as they crank the volume up above normal listening setting, it would shut down. I guess at lower volumes, there's not as much of a load on the receiver?

1) Overheating in a case like this is a matter of internal temperature and how susceptible certain components are to heat.  Touching the outside of the unit generally won't let you confirm or rule out heating as an issue.  It simply doesn't give you any reliably relevant information.

2)  I agree with Ed on the idea that a stray wire may not be having an effect until enough of a load is placed on the system (or enough current run through the wire.)   It isn't a always a simple short per se that would trip an internal breaker the second you turn the thing on.  You're looking for something subtler here.

With this kind of spontaneous shut-down, there are basically three possible culprits:  Heat, power or a defective/failing component.  The only two you can really check for are heat and power.  (The other would involve removing pieces and either testing them with professional gear or swapping them out one by one with known good parts until you find the source of the problem - which is another way of saying, "take it into the shop.")

I'd visually inspect and maybe reseat all the connections, then pop the hood and make sure no stray bits of chewing gum wrapper or other unexpected visitors found its way inside.  (You'd be surprised at some of the crap I've pulled out of PCs over the years.) 

That should either fix the problem or eliminate power as the culprit. 

While I had it open, I'd also blow out the dust and make sure the fan and power supply aren't packed with it.  The cooling fan sucks air through the receiver and over its circuits to lower the temperature, but at the same time the moving dust can pick up a static charge and thus adhere to objects inside the case.  Just a good blanket of dust can add to a heating problem, not to mention what happens when it starts to affect the operation of the fan.  (I once saw a PC power supply litterally shoot flames because it was so packed with dust that either the sheer heat or a static spark caused the whole mass of dust inside it to catch fire.) 

Regards,

Joe

 

Edited by danmarston - 12/28/10 at 7:29pm

OK , now the plot thickens ....  i removed the wires from all three front speakers tested them with an ohm meter and no movement . I am now trying the disconnect one speaker at a time method  

thanks for the advice , it really helps . 

 

dan

 

 

Dan, we prefer that people keep the discussion in a single thread. I've moved all responses to the other thread where you've asked these questions, and I'm closing this one:

 

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/304859/receiver-keeps-shutting-down