DVD player overheating? (1 Viewer)

[John Gido]

I need some advice from anyone who has experienced a similar problem.
I have a 5 month old JVC XV-S45GD DVD player that recently began "freezing up" about 1/2 way through a movie. I contacted JVC tech support and they informed me that I may have "read a bad disk" and e-mailed me the reset sequence for my player. This solved the problem for about 3 days. I proceeded to bring the unit in for service and JVC repaired a "loose solder joint". This, also, did not solve the problem. After doing some additional research, I came to the conclusion that the player was overheating. It seems that the position the unit occupied in the wall unit (above the Digital Cable Receiver which runs v-e-r-y warm) was causing the player to overheat. I moved the DVD player underneath the Cable Receiver thinking that this may solve my problem, but it did not.
I know that it is not recommended to keep equipment in a wall unit but I have no choice (WAF). What is the best way to add air flow around these units? The front is open, but the rear is enclosed. Should I open up the back or add an exhaust fan. Right now the DVD player is sitting on top of my right front speaker and I'm not happy.
Thanks.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

John,
I had the same situation several years ago with a less-than-two-year-old VCR that was on a shelf above the receiver. Within a few months, it was having numerous bizarre problems.
Obviously the heat from your receiver has affected your DVD player. Unfortunately, the damage has been done; it may not be repairable.
I have an enclosed entertainment center like you, for WAF (well, not totally; I like it too). I have the receiver in the bottom of one cabinet, and amplifiers in the bottom of the other two cabinets. All cabinets have electronics above, and we all know that heat rises.
What I did was install a exhaust fan in the rear wall of each cabinet, immediately above and behind each amplifier, pulling air out of the cabinet (see "My Equipment," below). This way most of the hot air is removed before it has a chance to drift upward. Haven’t had anymore problems.
Do a search on this forum and you will find plenty of information on installing exhaust fans.
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
------------------
My Equipment List
[Edited last by Wayne A. Pflughaupt on November 08, 2001 at 06:37 PM]

 

[John Gido]

Wayne,
Thanks for the info. The fans seem like the way to go. However, would you recommend mounting them so they blow across the equipment or reversing them so that they pull the warm air out?

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Exhuast. The idea is to pull the hot air out before it can drift upwards to the rest of the equipment.
Receivers have a built-in quai-convection cooling system. Perhaps you have noticed there are vents in the bottom of the panel as well as the top? When the interior components build up heat, it escapes through the top vents. This displacement of air causes cool air to be drawn in through the bottom vents. Thus hot air is continually rising out of the receiver’s chassis and being replaced with cool air from below.
If something like an enclosed entertainment center disrupts the receiver’s natural cooling capabilities, installing an exhaust fan can restore the convection system. It will suck out the hot air while pulling cool air into the cabinet.
That’s why I don’t think forced-air cooling (i.e., blowing across the equipment) is a good idea. It doesn’t work with or enhance the convection system, and can actually do more harm than good. In fact, forced air actually slows the convection process and cause undue heat buildup inside the receiver. To see this all you have to do is follow the process.
The hot air rises off the components and encounters the receiver’s cooled top panel. The top panel will slightly cool the air as it reaches the top of the receiver. Above the receiver is even cooler air flowing across the top panel. The cool air is much denser than the hot air and thus hinders the hot air from escaping the chassis. So you have cool, dense air beneath the receiver and cool, dense air above the receiver. Where is the hot air supposed to go? Of course, some of it will escape, but the overall result is that the receiver’s internal temperature is hotter than it would be if the convection system was allowed its natural function.
Forced air will definitely cool the top panel, but as you can see that is a false sense of security.
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
------------------
My Equipment List