Help, I have fried my Sony 777ES receiver!

[DavidY]

Tonight, I was using a test tone CD to evaluate my dual Mission subs. Then suddenly, half way through, my Sony receiver sparked and started flaming....then it went into protection mode. I am pretty sure that there was a short circuit somewhere. Unhooked everything...except the power plug and turned it on again. Within five seconds, it then goes into protection mode. Shoot! It appears that my Sony 777ES has been fried. Is there anything that I can do....before I take it in for servicing? Will clearing the receiver's memory do anything?

Dave

[John Kotches]

Turn the 777 off.

Disconnect all speaker cables from the 777, including the subwoofer.

Turn the 777 on. Does it go into protection mode then? If it doesn't, it might not be the 777.

Power it off, add the left channel speaker cable. Does it go into protection mode?

Proceed through all the output channels. My guess is that you've got a bad connection somewhere, and disconnecting and reconnecting will solve the problem.

Your Sony doesn't have those god awful spring clips does it? If that's the case, the receiver will go into protection mode quite easily, if you don't keep the cables seperated.

Anyway, as tedious and methodical as this seems, it will help you isolate what is actually causing the system mayhem.

Try it out, and see what you learn.

Regards,




---
Editor, PC/Home Theater
Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity
My Home Theater
NEC LT-150 specific page.

[Lexman]

This statement causes me much concern:

my Sony receiver sparked and started flaming

Now, be specific, was it just a spark from a cable at the back of the unit? Was it a true open flame coming out of the vent area? If the latter, don't plug it back in at all. Either immediately take it to Sony for service, or drop it off a 5 story building. Should you choose the latter, I recommend an upgrade.

There I said it, upgrade. Doesn't that feel good?

Goodluck David with this problem, and please be careful.

Lex

[Andrew Pratt]

ouch If its as bad as you made it seem with the sparks etc. and it goes into protecting mode even with nothing plugged it I'd return it. Even if it seems ok I'd still likely return it since something might have either failed or severely weakened and will fail later (likely after the warrenty ends)

[DavidY]

Yes, there were flames, at least several inches high, coming out the middle vents of the receiver. I am sure that the flames must have melted something....burnt smell everywhere.

I will be contact my local Sony dealer to see what can be done, warranty wise. Hopefully, the warranty will cover the damage done. If not, I will be extremely peeved.

I am not looking forward to going back to old Technics DD/DTS setup. Damn spring clips.

BTW, I was using bananas on the Sony 777ES with fronts bi-wired with 14 gauge wire. There is no way of getting the speaker wire into the Technics. I will have remove the biwiring and the bananas so I can properly connect the speaker cables.

*** One lesson learned the hard way....always check and double and triple check your speaker ends so they don't short circuit your receiver. ***

Dave

[John Kotches]

Ya know, I really have to start reading these Help! posts a little more carefully.

Somehow I missed the words sparking and flaming and got focused on the words protection mode instead!

Hachi Machi!

Flames bad! Return to manufacturer. Do not pass Go! Do not collect $200.

Regards,




---
Editor, PC/Home Theater
Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity
My Home Theater
NEC LT-150 specific page.

[SMiLEY]

In your posts it sounds like you want to get this fixed...

How new is your receiver? If it's at all possible I'd get a replacement. Andrew is right, you don't want that thing failing on you later.

[Ken McDaniel]

Holy smokes. One word: TOAST. You're then second chap I've heard with that problem. If this becomes a problem, lateral transfer or upgrade.




Ken

[DavidY]

Thanks for the replies. Yesterday, my local dealer sent the damaged 777ES receiver back to Sony Canada for repair. Hopefully, the damage will be covered by the 3 year warranty.

As for this receiver, I have had it for just over 7 months. At this time, I have no plans to upgrade it.

To maintain my HT fix, I moved my Technics DD/DTS receiver/decoder from the bedroom. Luckily, I did not sell it. However, I had to change all the bananas to bare wire and disconnect all the bi-wired speaker cables to fit the Technic's clip on speaker terminals.

Dave

[P-Dub]

David, I hope things turn out for you. Flames are bad.




Paul

There are three kinds of people in this world; those that can count, and those that can't.

[Andrew Pratt]

keep us posted on what happens with that receiver.