It happened! PROTECTOR mode on my Sony STR-V444ES! (1 Viewer)

[KeithH]

Aaron, as a continuation to my last post, I should note that the digital cable box, VCR, and TV are all working normally. In fact, all components in that room (I have my home-theater and main stereo systems in this room) are working fine.

 

[AaronD]

Keith,
It's definetly possible I guess... It's a little rube goldberg'ish, but I could believe it. Could you think of any path to ground? It sure sounds like something got fried, it shouldn't of just stopped working while it was unplugged and off! Have you tried unplugging *everything* from the receiver and turning it on?
Are there any EE's lurking? Would it be possible for a surge to travel from the cable line to his receiver because of the capacitors in the receiver or something?
This is a great mystery.. Let us know what sony says when they get a hold of it.
-Aaron

 

[John Royster]

As an FYI, I have had receiver damage from lightning striking cable service. Similar setup - cable box, VCR, TV linked with coax...audio from one or two of those devices into the receiver.

The only way I know it was the cable service/coax is because I've had problems many times before in this house. Blown coax inputs on TV, VCR (physically melted) and finally a receiver. Maybe your cable service entrance is not grounded well?

You may want to open your receiver and very closely look for any physical damage, maybe a speaker terminal (inside) grounding to the chassis?. Sorry to hear, but it looks like you've isolated everything to just the receiver.

 

[KeithH]

John, thanks for the info. I am not going to pop the cover on the receiver since I don't want to take a chance screwing with the warranty. I will take the receiver to the authorized Sony repair shop, as planned. Should I tell the repair guy to focus on the S-video inputs since they linked the receiver to the S-VHS VCR and TV, which were in turn connected to the cable box?

 

[John Royster]

Tuff call Keith.

Lightning is very funny...hits where you'd least expect it. If its still under warranty, then yeah, stay outta there.

I'm not so sure you should tell the repair place you think lightning did it. Not that you should be dishonest, just don't give 'em a reason to say "not my problem".

Also if you can go over all your gear and listen/operate very carefully. Another lightning hit happened in said house and for ever after my loudness button on an integrated amp had the reverse effect - engaging it almost muted the sound by about 10 db while disengaging it sounded perfectly flat.

Go figure, lightning's a funny creature. err...b@$tard.

 

[KeithH]

John, my thoughts exactly on dealing with the repair shop. I gave the situation some more thought after posting my last message. If I raise the issue of the storm, the repair guy could tell me to take a hike. The issue is that storm damage is not covered under the warranty. What I am hoping is that the repair guy will figure out what is fried, regardless of the cause, and simply replace the part or parts. If he is sharp and determines that a power surge must have damaged the receiver, which is likely I suppose, then I will have to turn to my insurance company. The insurance company likely would not have me mess around with trying to get the receiver repaired. Rather, they would probably just cut me a check to get a new receiver. Of course, I have a deductable to think about, so in that respect, getting the 'V444ES repaired under warranty is more desirable. I honestly don't remember if my deductable is $250 or $500. $500 would be significant given that we are talking about a receiver that retailed for $1000 and that I paid $640 for. Anyway, one thing at a time. I will take the receiver to the repair shop on Saturday and see what happens.

 

[Chip E]

Keith,
I'm definately following this one pal See if you can sign on sometime soon after you take it in... let us know what happens. Good luck with dealing with Sony.

 

[KeithH]

John, one more thing. I appreciate your suggestion that I try out other components to make sure nothing else was fried. As I said, all of my components were unplugged during the storms. Only the receiver, TV, VCR, and DVD player in some way connected through to the cable wall jack. Everything is working fine except for the receiver. All other components were completely isolated.

 

[AaronD]

Keith,

If they were plugged into your receiver at all they may have been affected. If the surge traveled to your receiver in a strange way it could travel to your other components as well...

-Aaron

 

[KeithH]

Aaron, I understand that. As I said, everything seems to be in working order as best as I can tell. I have my main stereo and home-theater systems in this room, and my Sony SCD-C555ES multi-channel SACD player and Technics DVD-A10 DVD-Audio player are connected to both systems for stereo and multi-channel playback. One thing that concerned me is that both components were connected to the receiver through the 5.1-channel inputs. I run cables from the 5.1-channel outputs on both components to Radio Shack switch boxes and cables from the switch boxes to the receiver. I was concerned that I might have fried the 'C555ES and/or 'A10 as a result. I obviously can't test multi-channel playback, but I routed the front left and right cables from the 5.1-channel outputs on both components to my stereo integrated amp and played some CDs. Both components seem to be fine.

I see absolutely no problems with any components that were connected to the receiver during the storms. It seems as though the energy "landed" in the receiver, which dissipated it, but fried it in the process. My question, and this is probably difficult to answer a priori, is how extensive could the damage be to the receiver? Is it likely that just a certain part or section was fried, or could the whole receiver be toast? I guess if it were the latter, the receiver wouldn't even turn on and display the protector message. In the design of the receiver and in the interest of safety, to prevent a total meltdown and potential fire, I imagine it doesn't take much damage to cause the protector mode to engage.

 

[AaronD]

Keith, I was sure you were aware of the possibilities... But I know that when something of mine goes on the fritz and I can't use it I get all frustrated and discombobulated.
Good luck with the repairs though, I hope sony is quick about it.
As for the damage inside, your guess is probably as good as mine. But i'd say it's entirely possible that it's something small.
-Aaron

 

[JackS]

Keith- Just a thought and if its already been mentioned, sorry. IF the receiver is the first component in the chain, and the cable took a hit, it could be that the 444 became a surge protector after the primary, which protected all of your other eqiupment. Grabbing for straws here, but there has to be some logical explaination.

 

[KeithH]

Jack,
That is exactly what I am thinking. As I said (I think I said it in an earlier post ), the energy could have landed in the receiver and been dissipated there, in essence protecting the other components.
Chip,
Thanks. I will keep you guys informed. Once I know something, you will know something.
Aaron,
I too hope Sony is quick here. They sure weren't with the minidisc player.

 

[Hank_P]

Keith -- do exactly as you stated earlier... just take it to the repair shop and just tell them it came up into PROTECTOR mode... that you checked everything out and couldn't figure it out. I bet you anything it just a board or two that needs to be replace and will be %100 covered under warranty. *only speaking from experience*

Here.. if I tell the shop it "may" have been hit.. it's a $40 charge to diagnose the damage, then $$$ for parts & labor. If you weren't there to see it, then you really don't know what happened and it could have just failed it's start-up test when you turned it on. I took a hit and it only damaged my phone, alarm clock.... and the 444... the 444 was the only thing that "survived" after a little visit to the shop.

 

[Mike Loiterman]

Keith:

Sorry to hear about your problems. That is certainly a strange situation. I think I like your guess as to what happened; the signal going through the coax cable. Its the only one that makes any sense.

Anyway, here's to a quick and cheap repair process.

 

[KeithH]

Hank,

I absolutely agree with you. That's the best course of action. The 'V444ES goes to the repair shop tomorrow.


Mike,

Thanks. I'm hopeful the repair shop will readily diagnose the problem and fix it under the warranty. I'll issue a report here when I get some information.

 

[KeithH]

Well, we had very bad thunderstorms where I live last night. I had both of my stereo systems turned on when all he%% broke loose. You can bet I was running around the house to turn everything off and unplug everything from the outlets. I even removed the coax cable running from the cable wall jack to the cable box. I might have lucked out here. Within ten minutes of my unplugging everything, the power went out. The power came back on after a minute or two, then went out again a few minutes later, then came back after a minute or two. With all those surges, I'm glad I had everything unplugged.

 

[AaronD]

I think mother nature has something in for you... Glad to hear that everything is all right.
-Aaron

 

[John Royster]

I'm glad I had everything unplugged

smart man

 

[KeithH]

Aaron,

I think you are right. The funny thing is that last night's storm was by far the worst one I had experienced since I moved in a year ago. As I said, when the receiver, phone, and surge protector were damaged last weekend, I was on vacation. A year ago, my previous Dell desktop computer was fried in a storm while I was in England on business. So, I was beginning to think that these things could only happen while was out of town! However, had I left my components and computer plugged in last night, I probably would have lost something when the power went out.


John,

Thanks.


All,

I brought the receiver to the authorized Sony repair shop today. The guy I spoke with said that the protector problem is not uncommon, and he said he should be able to fix it. Of course, he hasn't looked under the hood yet.