pioneer 1014 craped out (1 Viewer)

[Bryan X]

No word yet from Pioneer.

 

[EvanW]

thanks to bryan for keeping my post up, my pioneer has been gone almost 3 months finaly shiped it back to pioneer and they arent doing anything either, last time i buy a receiver.... if there is a code it wont help in my sistuation and i have the funniest feeling that my receiever is all scratched up from all the screwdrivers and shipping it has endured when i had it it got a weekly cleaning from endust and compressed air like the rest of my componants, sad thing is me being so young i cant afford to by another receievr for a long time so if i ever do get mine back im at the mercy of it, im going to call pioneer and see how far in the ranks i can get up, other than that i cant do anything. A real disapointment to me from pioneer :frowning: . o well guys another step back in my audio advancements 60 year old company trying to screw a 14 year old over, i hope they burn guys and the ups sine wave problem only worsens the sistuation, because i cant afford to spend 200$ on a a "cheap" HT UPS. O well there goes my motorcycle to by seperates or another receiver, which really i was gonna do anyway lol. Third receiver that has died from me using it for some reason i got grim reaper hands lol. later guys

 

[Craig W]

Which leads me to believe you have bigger issues with your power quality and it is not a major defect with the 1014.

 

[Bryan X]

I don't know what EvanW's problems with his other receivers are, but to blame this specific problem with the 1014 on the 'power quality' and deny that it is a major defect with the 1014 is absurd. EvanW is not the only person reporting this problem. It seems a bit suspect to me that multiple people have chimed in with 1014 failures from identical circumstances. Even if it's a bad batch or a cruel coincidence, and not a design flaw it's still a defect in the affected receivers.

Craig, if you don't think its a major defect, and you've got a 1014, why don't you plug it in, turn it on, then cut the power to it while it's on? Let's see what happens. If that's all it takes to render the receiver inoperable, that's a major defect. It's not an issue of 'power quality'. Power can be lost due to any number of reasons -- weather, power grid problems, auto accidents, construction digs, etc.

There's not a place on the planet that hasn't unexpectedly lost power at one time or another. A receiver should be able to survive this.

I'm sorry if I sound angry, but I take care of my equipment. I take reasonable precautions to protect it. Yet here I am without a receiver now for over a month because the 1014 couldn't handle losing power while on.

 

[EvanW]

well, 1st receiver lightning fried , threw a surge i might add, 2nd one killed by driving a speaker with a voil coil of about 1ohm (my fault), this one a mans tree fell over knocked the power line down. i dont abuse mystuff all expect for the teac but it was a test receiver, all ym equipment is cleaned with compressed air and endust every week.

 

[EvanW]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16842106125 that or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16842106126, think either would be good enough with a monster power conditioner run threw it to help get rid of noise on the line.

 

[Craig W]

I did some searching and it appears that more people are having this issue so I do believe it is a design defect.

I was able to find the following in an older Pioneer Service Manual (VSXD912) for turning the receiver back on after an AMP ERR.

The power key is disabled and Standby LED blinks.
But be switched on with the following methods.
1 TESTMODE ON (A55F+A55F)
2 When power off, push FRONT ENTER key + ADVANCED SURROUND key continuously 2sec.
(2: When a DC abnormality is detected and the power is shut off.)

Sounds like a typical translation from Japanese to English. Of course though the service manual makes no mention of the TESTMODE other than the section above. I believe it probably is a serial data command that needs to be sent to the unit.

Evan, Bryan,
Was your receiver displaying AMP ERR as well?

Bryan, I have the 1015. I am going to Best Buy to see if pulling the power cord will send the unit into this state.

 

[Bryan X]

Craig,

No, my 1014 didn't display AMP ERR. The entire display was blank. Just the MCACC light was flashing on and off continuously.

Good idea about going to Best Buy, Craig. I'd do that myself except the closest Best Buy to me is 60 minutes away. I'm anxious to hear what happens.

 

[Jarett]

this is baaaad new folks, i wanna buy a 1015 but now i'm feeling nervous...are there any reports of this happening on a 1015? thanks

J

 

[Craig W]

Bryan,

I believe the AMP ERR will only show at the initial failure at least according to the flowchart regarding this error. The flowchart does have a self recovery branch, but if the error occurs for more than 3s it then goes into the lockout mode. The firmware that initiates this error condition is probably a litte flaky and the self recovery could be improved. After that the unit goes into a mode where the Standby light flashes and the power button is disabled.

This error condition occurs after it senses a continuous DC condition. I highly doubt that anything needs to be replaced. The firmware is probably branching to a location that sets an error bit that can't be cleared without some sort of service reset.

I believe on newer models its the MCACC light that flashes instead of the standby light.

Its too bad that the service manuals for the 1014 and 1015 are $70 and $170 respectively. Pioneer better be forthcoming if there is an easy reset procedure.

Also, I wonder if the TESTMODE ON code above is an IR command.

 

[EvanW]

no amp error, can someone tell me about those UPS, i gave in and bought another receiver.

 

[Craig W]

I headed over to BB today after work and did some stress testing on the 1015. I was not able to reproduce the error on the store unit even with multiple fast disconnecting and reconnecting of the power while the unit was on.

Does this mean the 1015 is not affected by the same issue? I don't know. The unit at BB is not connected to any loads meaning that the amps were not pushing current when the power was disconnected.

 

[Bryan X]

Thanks for taking the time to do that, Craig. I'm glad it didn't seem to affect the receiver, but it makes the situation with the 1014 a little more perplexing.

 

[SteveMetcalf]

Okay, Guys! Here's the real deal. Some pioneer amps have this mcacc deal as a protection feature. In the event of an electrical surge, the machine goes into this mode. It's a protection mode and the idea is that if full voltage was allowed into the amp it might cause further damage. Pioneer has added this feature in order to ensure your safety. Depending on which machine you own, there are different procedures to perform a reset. The reset is to be done by a technician ONLY after the internals have been checked for faults.
Because of this reason, I can't give out the codes for the 1014, or any other amp. I'm sorry about that, but in a world run by legal issues like liability and the like, I might get in trouble.
What you should do, is tell your tech at the local service department about this and see if he will check and reset your machine.
I didn't mean to get your hope up, so I'm sorry if I did, but from the sounds of things there are some out there in service dept's that aren't yet aware of this. Perhaps the information I have given you can help to speed things up for you.

Cheers!

 

[Vader]

Sounds more like damage control to me... Why would Pioneer require the consumer to take the unit in to a tech when this occurance is relatively common? Every amp I have ever had has detailed the system reset in the user guide. Not to mention, the fact that the unit is this sensitive to minor power fluctuations makes it suspect. Now, then, lets think about this for a sec.... THX certification ($$$), MCACC, relatively low retail.... could they have cut any corners to get that price...? Sure, if you compare specs, it seems to be a de-badged Elite. But it is also real cheap to put features on an IC chip; now if the IC chip itself is substandard.... Then there is the customer service (or lack thereof) from Pioneer. I honestly hope I'm wrong (there is no excuse for the lack of service, however). Hope all works out, though!

 

[Bryan X]

No offense Steve, but I'll believe there's a code when Pioneer tells me there is. And so far I can't find anyone at Pioneer who knows of such a code.

I just don't buy that Pioneer would deliberately build the receiver so that you need a service visit to reset the receiver after a power outage.

For me, that's two 100 mile round trips to a service center.

 

[Craig W]

In my post above regarding the D912 there most certainly is code for that unit. So it is most likely that there is a code for the 1014 as well. The protection modes sound very similar.

SteveM is right regarding the liability issue, but Derek is right also this being damage control.

IMHO, Pioneer has or had an issue with some FW versions that enter this mode protection mode to easily.

The flowchart in the D912 service manual shows no branch to exit the protection mode once its entered other than the procedure listed which includes a parameter that is not mentioned anywhere else in the service manual.

Properly designed FW should be able to recheck to see if an error condition still exists that set the protection mode. If the condition is no longer present then clear the error bit and exit the protection mode.

This is starting to sound like a check engine light where the light will come on for something as simple as a misfire and will stay set until you pay a service shop $100 to read and clear the code.

 

[Bryan X]

Well, you and Steve no doubt know more about this stuff than I do, so I'll take both of your word for it that there is a code.

I'm on the phone with Pioneer now. They are telling me that the part won't be available until SEPTEMBER 2005!!!! They are offering me a refurbished unit. I am balking right now and am on hold......

I've only had the unit 6 months and am not thrilled about a refurb after purchasing the unit so recently..... OK off the phone... Here's the deal:

They are probably giving me a line of bullsh!t, but they tell me that they have a bunch of refurbs and one new one. They are willing to send me the new one, BUT the paperwork takes 7-10 business days. If someone else orders it before it gets 'assigned' to me then I could end up with a refurbed one.

Damn!t this pisses me off.

 

[John S]

I'd take what they give you and sell it.

 

[EvanW]

i hope they dont tell me this.