Infinity power issue !

[madmac]

Hey all,

My older Infinity sub (circa 2003) usually turns itself to an off/standby position when it has not received a signal for a period of time. Last night I noticed that it was basically not doing that and is stuck into a permanent 'ON' position. I tried turning it off for the night but when I turn it back on, it basically stays on. It still works fine however.

Could be worse right? It could be stuck into the Off/ standby position and not work at all!! So other than the power consumption issue, I am going to leave well enough alone unless someone here has an idea for an easy fix??!!

[wkhanna]

i am guessing.....maybe the relay or a component in the voltage sensing circuit?

did you try cycling the power by plugging & unplugging from wall outlet?

[madmac]

i am guessing.....maybe the relay or a component in the voltage sensing circuit?

did you try cycling the power by plugging & unplugging from wall outlet?

Thanks Bill.......I'll try that and get back to you.

[madmac]

I got home from work yesterday and the sub was making some continuous low level pink noise sound. I turned it off and unplugged it. This morning, I plugged it in again and it's making some humming noise but it still works. When I switch it from line in to speaker driven it kinda' makes some popping noises as well as when I switch other controls on the back.

I'm thinking that I will pop off the back control panel and to a clean up inside there. It sounds to me like typical stuff that would happen to older, dirty electronics.

What do you think ?

[madmac]

Update!!!

Well, I popped of the back panel where all the electronics, crossovers, and sub amp was located and blasted everything with compressed air and then with contact cleaner. I reassembled and left it overnight to dry out.

Unfortunately, the problem still persists. The sub stays continuously on (Which I think is because the pink noise rumble is making the sub think there is a signal). The unit is also quite hot as well. I tried disconnecting the RCA line in, which makes the rumble quieter but not gone. I also tried switching the sub to run off the speaker wires rather than the line in but the rumble is still there but less so.

However, at the end of the day, the sub still works and from my listening position, I cannot hear the rumble. So other than any ideas you guys can give me, I think I'm just going to live with it and turn the sub off when I'm not listening to it.

Any ideas or feedback is welcome !!??

[Alaric]

Well, since you tried both inputs there is no need for me to suspect your receiver. Did you inspect the capacitors while it was apart? If not, it's worth a shot. You're looking for bulged tops and/or leakage from them. I am not an EE, but I wonder if it is a filtering problem. My gut says check the caps. Then again my gut is enjoying Newcastle Brown Ale at the moment. LOL. I tend to look at caps for three reasons #1) They cause all manner of poor behavior when they go bad. #2) They go bad. #3) They are something I've found easy to replace, allowing me self congratulatory back patting. That last part is optional, but if you fix something you should get that perk.

[madmac]

Well, since you tried both inputs there is no need for me to suspect your receiver. Did you inspect the capacitors while it was apart? If not, it's worth a shot. You're looking for bulged tops and/or leakage from them. I am not an EE, but I wonder if it is a filtering problem. My gut says check the caps. Then again my gut is enjoying Newcastle Brown Ale at the moment. LOL. I tend to look at caps for three reasons #1) They cause all manner of poor behavior when they go bad. #2) They go bad. #3) They are something I've found easy to replace, allowing me self congratulatory back patting. That last part is optional, but if you fix something you should get that perk.

Thanks Lee but if a cap has gone bad wouldn't the unit stop working altogether?

I couldn't believe how complicated the electronics are inside this speaker. I really wouldn't know where to look to be honest. I was rather impressed at how much technology went into this speaker. To be clear, these Infinity's are powered towers. The subs are built into the bottom of the towers. Infinity Interlude towers IL50. So that being the case, when I pop the back panel, I'm looking at the speaker's crossover, the amp for the sub and all the electronics for that amp as well as all the various switches etc. It's super complicated!

[Alaric]

Ahh. I see! That does sound like a nest of "What the heck is that?" You won't necessarily lose everything from one (or more) capacitors failing, or starting to fail, but I completely understand not wanting to start taking apart something like that. The smart guy is the one who knows when to say 'when'. :T

[madmac]

Ahh. I see! That does sound like a nest of "What the heck is that?" You won't necessarily lose everything from one (or more) capacitors failing, or starting to fail, but I completely understand not wanting to start taking apart something like that. The smart guy is the one who knows when to say 'when'. :T

And the old saying......"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" saying. The sub works so I'm not going to mess with it!!

[madmac]

UPDATE!!

Ok.......Now the sub has failed completely! No power....no light....no sound (I checked the fuse and it's fine). That being said, I'm perplexed as to whether to have it fixed or to just buy another sub. The amp itself could be toast!! The other sub in my right tower still works fine and as I stated earlier, I'm shocked at how little difference the lack of the left sub makes to the overall LF/LFE sound performance.

The tower weighs 80 pounds so I'm reluctant to bring the entire thing in for repair and I am thinking that I could just bring in the back control pannel, which houses the amp, crossover etc for the entire speaker. Could that work? Who could do that is another question??!!

OR.......I could just buy another.....better.....bigger sub. I'm figuring it would cost in the $200+ bucks to have it fixed right?

What are your thoughts my HTG friends??..........HELP??!!

[Kevin P]

Well, if you're good with electronics you could troubleshoot the thing, replace the failed component(s) and be back up and running with a minimum of expense... but it sounds like maybe you're not like that. If the capacitors are going, they can cause issues and as they get worse, it could stress another component and cause it to fail.

Another common issue with modern electronics are the solder joints, with the lead-free solder being used now they're a lot more prone to failing. They can generally be fixed with a soldering iron or a hot air station.

But, if you're not someone who can handle fixing it yourself, perhaps a call to Infinity to see if you can either (a) send the module in for repair or (b) purchase a replacement to install into your speaker.

[madmac]

Well, if you're good with electronics you could troubleshoot the thing, replace the failed component(s) and be back up and running with a minimum of expense... but it sounds like maybe you're not like that. If the capacitors are going, they can cause issues and as they get worse, it could stress another component and cause it to fail.

Another common issue with modern electronics are the solder joints, with the lead-free solder being used now they're a lot more prone to failing. They can generally be fixed with a soldering iron or a hot air station.

But, if you're not someone who can handle fixing it yourself, perhaps a call to Infinity to see if you can either (a) send the module in for repair or (b) purchase a replacement to install into your speaker.

Thanks for your input Kevin. I did pop off the back panel and it's quite complicated as it houses the crossover for the speaker, the amp for the sub and various other electrical stuff for the other sub options etc. I am pretty good with a soldering iron but I really wouldn't know where to being to look for the problem.

[madmac]

Well......I contacted Infinity and they have offered to look at it and possibly fix it. They have also offered the option of bringing in Just the electronics only so I don't have to lug in the whole damn speaker (80lbs!).

The most it will cost me is $45 bucks if they can't fix it so I'm going to go for it !

Wish me luck!!?