Stereo Receiver turns off and on repeatedly when volume increases- is it dead?

[quantum003]

Hi guys,

I know a lot of you are audiophiles and this is "home theater" so I figured it was a good place to ask...

My stereo receiver is a Gerrard, I've had it for many years and it's always been faithful. Since we got a new "big" TV though, the receiver started turning off and then on again repeatedly, especially when the audio is louder. Basically it sounds like it's cutting out during the loud parts, and the power to the device audibly clicks off and then it turns back on, only to turn off again before too much long.

I thought maybe it wasn't getting enough power in the power strip with everything else, so I tried routing the power to the device into a different socket, but the issue is persisting. Has anyone heard of this type of issue with stereo receivers? I am hoping I just have a setting wrong, or that something still may not be quite right with the power situation... I am using red/white composite audio cables throughout the equation, but the TV is big, the speakers are big, and the subwoofer is huge. I do have the bass turned all the way down though.

Thanks for any help!!

 

[lostless]

Sounds like you have a short somewhere. I had the exact same issue when 1 strand of speaker wire on my sub woofer was touching the other wire. So basically the sub woofer was shorted, but that thin wire held enough resistance to not act like a true short and cause the overload circuit on my receiver to trip. But as the volume got loader (more voltage) it caused a true short and shut down the receiver. check all your wires carefully. Maker sure the + isn't touching any -. As i said it may be 1 strand.

 

[quantum003]

Sounds like you have a short somewhere. I had the exact same issue when 1 strand of speaker wire on my sub woofer was touching the other wire. So basically the sub woofer was shorted, but that thin wire held enough resistance to not act like a true short and cause the overload circuit on my receiver to trip. But as the volume got loader (more voltage) it caused a true short and shut down the receiver. check all your wires carefully. Maker sure the + isn't touching any -. As i said it may be 1 strand.

That is a great tip... thanks so much! I'm going to try it right now. I've been reusing the same Monster speaker wire for about 10 years now so there's a very good chance that's exactly what's going on. Thanks again, definitely appreciate the great suggestion.

 

[richardhunt]

If that doesn't solve the problem and you are adventurous enough, you might want to take a quick peek at the power supply inside your receiver for leaking capacitors. Bad Capacitors cause all sorts of problems with electronic equipment. I fixed my Lexicon sound processor by replacing 3 capacitors on the power supply. So about $2.50 in parts fixed a device that cost me $4,500.00 a few years back (well almost a decade now).

 

[quantum003]

Sounds like you have a short somewhere. I had the exact same issue when 1 strand of speaker wire on my sub woofer was touching the other wire. So basically the sub woofer was shorted, but that thin wire held enough resistance to not act like a true short and cause the overload circuit on my receiver to trip. But as the volume got loader (more voltage) it caused a true short and shut down the receiver. check all your wires carefully. Maker sure the + isn't touching any -. As i said it may be 1 strand.

Hi lostless,

It took me a while to get back there and re-wire the whole thing, but YOU WERE TOTALLY CORRECT! The connections were haggard; after I trimmed the wires and re-connected everything it works perfectly again.

Huge relief. You are a stud. Thanks again.