Problems after lightning storm, please help! (1 Viewer)

[BryanDO]

Hey guys, after a recent lightning storm, I found my receiver to no longer play any sounds. It's a yamaha HTR-5640. I checked the fuses inside and neither of them are blown. The unit powers on fine and I can control all features, etc.. it's as if just the amp is blown. Any ideas on how to diagnose/fix it or should I just forget it?

I also found that my XBOX no longer powers on.

Both units were plugged into different outlets and there were other things plugged into the same outlets that are perfectly fine (TV, DVD, sub amp etc...)

I'm not the brightest when it comes to electronic situation such as this. any help or ideas would be appreciated, I don't have the money to replace them :frowning:

 

[Alfonso_M]

The same thing happened to a friend last week here in South Florida.

He called Sony for XBox service and they are sending a power cable (for free) that resets the unit -- so they tell him -- if not he'll send that unit back for repairs.(unit wont power up)

His Onkyo receiver's Power supply was fried, and other things too, shop wants 200.00 to fix, so my adviced to him is to get a new unit.

An older regular TV was fixed for $85.00, damaged Power supply.

DVD player some how came back to life, it was not powering up when we first tested..

His problem is that his house doesn't have grounded outlets, so surge protecors are not working properly, he's hiring an electrician to resolve this problem in key outlets, as rewiring the house is an expensive proposition.

Check your house ground, (grounding clamp may be loose) and all outlets servicing electronics should be properly wired with proper ground connection ,get a small tester from Home Depot to test the outlets,

I'd replace the surge protector that was hit with a new one, get a good unit with high Joules rating (1000 or more) -- they can be found online for a moderate price from authorized dealers---- make sure your CATV/DSS cables are properly grounded, make sure the Dish outside is also grounded, if the surge protector has coax cable filters use those too, better surge protectors provide separate connections for CATV and DSS cables, get a surge with enough capacity to cover all your coax connections.

Vendors are now offering UPS/surge units designed for Home theaters, this units include other protections --like voltage regulators-- not available on most surge units, but they are generally more expensive..

 

[BryanDO]

thanks for the grounding advice, I'll definitely look into it, my friends a certified electrician so I'm sure he'll help me out for a couple beer

What I'm more concerned about is why didn't the fuses in the receiver blow and how only the amplifier portion isnt working. I find that bizarre. I plan on replacing the soldered 5 amp fuse in the xbox tommorow and see if that works.

 

[ericks]

You could always call your homeowner's insurance holder and have them buy you a new receiver.

 

[Alfonso_M]

I wish it was that simple, they want a certified estimate for each damaged unit first, -- which you have to pay out of pocket first, -- and original invoices, then they will decide if they'll fix it or replace it, in any case, down here the average home owner carries at least $1000 deductible, (home insurance is very expensive now, and to keep rates down homeowners are force to increase the deductible, as high as 5K)

Then if your insurance doesn't provide 'replacement' coverage (more expensive) you might as well not bother making a claim in the first place, as they will pay you the market value of the used unit,( probably nothing) and even if they pay 'replacement' rates , since electronics are unusually dropping in price the refund will probably be completely upset by the 'deductible'.

Best thing to do to avoid headaches and the expense is to make sure all your home electronics are 100% protected with good quality surge protectors and /or UPS, and make sure your home is properly grounded at only one common point.(by the electrical meter/breaker Box) multiple grounding points (in a home) not properly done are also a source of surges that might ruin your equipment. (through the ground pin)