My Sony is a nice receiver, and I love all of it's features and the way it
runs, but it has developed what I can best describe as a cold solder joint
kind of problem. The speakers cut out often with the audible click of a
relay inside, and by pressing on different areas of the front, side, or
wherever (it's not consistent), or even flexing the whole box by sticking
something under one corner of the front, it will work for awhile, or be very
persnickety and not. It's not like it's losing power, the AMP kicks off, the
display doesn't change with what's being played. It's ALL speakers IIRC.
Literally sometimes jumping up and down in front of it can cause it to cut
in and out. When we want to watch a movie, we "get it going" then SLOWLY
walk away.... I've opened it up and reflowed the solder all over the place,
but obviously have not hit the right spot. I know this is a shot in the dark
and a bit vague, but has anyone had a similar experince and fixed it?

Thanks for any input.

In article et, "Toddy" wrote:
My Sony is a nice receiver, and I love all of it's features and the way it
runs, but it has developed what I can best describe as a cold solder joint
kind of problem. The speakers cut out often with the audible click of a
relay inside, and by pressing on different areas of the front, side, or
wherever (it's not consistent), or even flexing the whole box by sticking
something under one corner of the front, it will work for awhile, or be very
persnickety and not. It's not like it's losing power, the AMP kicks off, the
display doesn't change with what's being played. It's ALL speakers IIRC.
Literally sometimes jumping up and down in front of it can cause it to cut
in and out. When we want to watch a movie, we "get it going" then SLOWLY
walk away.... I've opened it up and reflowed the solder all over the place,
but obviously have not hit the right spot. I know this is a shot in the dark
and a bit vague, but has anyone had a similar experince and fixed it?

This problem comes around all the time. Sometimes its very easy to spot
and others times..... Might also be heat cold sensitive which can
be more easily tracked down to areas of boards. Could be relays, switches,
and just about anything. Use little plastic instruments and probe carfully
around. Poke around on the component side first. If the relay sound is the
fault detection releasing, there could also be a fault detect not turning the output
relay on, if there is an output relay. Changes in the adjustment of
pots could also be causing a fault condition. I would first lubricate or
clean any circuit board adjustmentsm allthough try to stay away from the tuner.

greg

On Mon, 15 May 2006 19:41:00 GMT, GregS wrote:
This problem comes around all the time. Sometimes its very easy to spot
and others times..... Might also be heat cold sensitive which can

Also look around for obviously bad engineering such as through lead soldering
with the wires not cut short enough and the back of the circuit board close
enough to the chassis to short. Another favorite cost cut is to eliminate
metal spacers with just a paper insulator shoved between circuit board
and chassis.

Check all connectors. Sony typically uses connectors that can only
be used once, if at all. Any place where a ribbon cable connects to
a circuit board is a trouble spot.

AZ Nomad wrote:
On Mon, 15 May 2006 19:41:00 GMT, GregS wrote:
This problem comes around all the time. Sometimes its very easy to spot
and others times..... Might also be heat cold sensitive which can

Also look around for obviously bad engineering such as through lead soldering
with the wires not cut short enough and the back of the circuit board close
enough to the chassis to short. Another favorite cost cut is to eliminate
metal spacers with just a paper insulator shoved between circuit board
and chassis.

Check all connectors. Sony typically uses connectors that can only
be used once, if at all. Any place where a ribbon cable connects to
a circuit board is a trouble spot.

Ditto all of the above, including (especially) any ribbon connectors.
Carefully remove the cables, wipe clean and reinsert. Also, I've heard
of problems with Sonys which relates to circuit board mounting screws.
Tighten all of those...in fact tighten all machine screws you see
(becareful not to readjust any trimmer controls...turn only mounting
screws).

I'll bet one or the other of the above is your problem.

jak

Don't be afraid of using a magnifier for your visual inspection.

Since the protection relay is keyed, the problem is most likely in the
power amplifier, or the protection circuit itself. Don't overlook a
power supply problem.

Look for discolored areas, especially near components that run hot.
I've seen some very stubborn cold solder joints in these areas. You'll
need to do some heavy cleaning here. I've been known to use some non
approved solder flux in these areas -- be sure to clean the area
thoroughly because there is a reason the flux is not approved. (The
residue conducts electricity.)

Look for transistors on heatsinks that are anchored firmly to the
board. The Japanese forgot to strain relief the leads and eventually
the repeating thermal stress causes trouble. A heat gun or cold spray
can be helpful here. Sometimes gentle strain is very useful.

An interesting problem is "yellow glue". Many manufacturers used a
yellow glue to anchor things. It seemed like a great idea at the time.
Wires and large capacitors were coated with the stuff, probably to
immobilize them during shipping and to keep things neat. Unfortunately,
after ten to fifteen years, the yellow glue turns brown or black and
becomes conductive. If I see any of this stuff in a position that can
cause leakage, I remove it, then start troubleshooting if necessary
(usually the unit is working after the glue is removed).

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Toddy,

SOME Sony receivers have a problem with bad grounds caused by loose
screws that make circuit board grounds to the chassis. Often these
screws are near the heat sink for the output transistors. Try
tightening the screws, but don't get too aggressive, as you can crack a
board or strip the hole.

In some models, I've made this ground a soldered connection by scraping
away some of the solder mast at the ground, grinding some plating off
the chassis (so that it can be soldered to) and getting a good pool of
solder there. Because the chassis will act as a heat sink, you need a
large gun (mine is 240 watts) to develop enough heat. You also must be
careful to vacuum or blow out the metal filings you've ground off out of
the chassis. If you don't feel confident doing this, just tighten the
screws! I'd suggest just the tightening first anyway, to make sure this
is the problem.

Regards,
Tim Schwartz
Bristol Electronics






Toddy wrote:
My Sony is a nice receiver, and I love all of it's features and the way it
runs, but it has developed what I can best describe as a cold solder joint
kind of problem. The speakers cut out often with the audible click of a
relay inside, and by pressing on different areas of the front, side, or
wherever (it's not consistent), or even flexing the whole box by sticking
something under one corner of the front, it will work for awhile, or be very
persnickety and not. It's not like it's losing power, the AMP kicks off, the
display doesn't change with what's being played. It's ALL speakers IIRC.
Literally sometimes jumping up and down in front of it can cause it to cut
in and out. When we want to watch a movie, we "get it going" then SLOWLY
walk away.... I've opened it up and reflowed the solder all over the place,
but obviously have not hit the right spot. I know this is a shot in the dark
and a bit vague, but has anyone had a similar experince and fixed it?

Thanks for any input.

This model has a common problem with this. The speaker control switch on the
front panel is mounted on a small circuit board which is connected to the
front main board by connectors which develop broken solder connections.
Resolder them and you're done. Of course check the connections at the switch
itself, and in the general area as well.

Mark Z.


"Toddy" wrote in message
nk.net...
My Sony is a nice receiver, and I love all of it's features and the way it
runs, but it has developed what I can best describe as a cold solder joint
kind of problem. The speakers cut out often with the audible click of a
relay inside, and by pressing on different areas of the front, side, or
wherever (it's not consistent), or even flexing the whole box by sticking
something under one corner of the front, it will work for awhile, or be
very persnickety and not. It's not like it's losing power, the AMP kicks
off, the display doesn't change with what's being played. It's ALL
speakers IIRC. Literally sometimes jumping up and down in front of it can
cause it to cut in and out. When we want to watch a movie, we "get it
going" then SLOWLY walk away.... I've opened it up and reflowed the solder
all over the place, but obviously have not hit the right spot. I know this
is a shot in the dark and a bit vague, but has anyone had a similar
experince and fixed it?

Thanks for any input.

THIS NAILED IT! There's a few thousand points to look at, but given this
advice, I immediately saw the cold solder break. Reflowed and it's back to
being stable. Thanks a LOT Mark Z. for the specifics, and to everyone else
for guiding me along.

Toddy


"Mark D. Zacharias" wrote in message
. net...
This model has a common problem with this. The speaker control switch on
the front panel is mounted on a small circuit board which is connected to
the front main board by connectors which develop broken solder
connections. Resolder them and you're done. Of course check the
connections at the switch itself, and in the general area as well.

Mark Z.


"Toddy" wrote in message
nk.net...
My Sony is a nice receiver, and I love all of it's features and the way
it runs, but it has developed what I can best describe as a cold solder
joint kind of problem. The speakers cut out often with the audible click
of a relay inside, and by pressing on different areas of the front, side,
or wherever (it's not consistent), or even flexing the whole box by
sticking something under one corner of the front, it will work for
awhile, or be very persnickety and not. It's not like it's losing power,
the AMP kicks off, the display doesn't change with what's being played.
It's ALL speakers IIRC. Literally sometimes jumping up and down in front
of it can cause it to cut in and out. When we want to watch a movie, we
"get it going" then SLOWLY walk away.... I've opened it up and reflowed
the solder all over the place, but obviously have not hit the right spot.
I know this is a shot in the dark and a bit vague, but has anyone had a
similar experince and fixed it?

Thanks for any input.