Harman Kardon AVR 230 - Randomly Shuts Itself Off (Ep. 126)

[@knifeswitch5973]

One of my favorite things about your channel is your level of patience. I’m here for the tech of course but it’s not the only thing I learn here.

[@TrevorsBench]

Electronics repair always needs patience. Some times you need to take 5 steps forward and 4 steps backwards before you make any progress

[@steveoszman8746]

Tackled a AVR, awesome Mr Trevor have a cheap Sansui tuner with many same problems. I fixed it mostly and shelved it. I don't have your Job level patience to do electronics professionally.

[@alexismethenitis]

You've said in the past that you don't like AV amps and this one got back at you! Joking aside, thanks for another educational video. Take care.

[@TrevorsBench]

You're right! Thanks again Alexis for watching

[@brianwood5220]

You can't win everyone, Trevor. But you sure gave it your best. Thanks for sharing.

[@mathiaslwolf]

Nice man. Great job on the breakdown. I learned a few things, thanks! Yeah too bad, can’t win ‘em all, but it’s what my HK 247 is doing. Intermittent, so I assume it’s a crack due to wear, and it also shuts down with the slightest surge, and it’s won’t turn on everytime. I think my SWitch or that board is done and my Volume knob does the same thing. The difference with mine and that 230 is I can fault it easily. I just didn’t know what the issue was. Pretty sure it’s that board.

[@craigm.9070]

Sad to hear the patient isn't going to make it. You have a parts stash from it though; thanks for this troubleshooting tour.

[@TrevorsBench]

Thanks again for watching Craig. I promise upcoming videos will have more success stories, lots of cool gear to come

[@roderickloudspeakerservice578]

Good work as always. No can't win them all but at least its parts can be used to repair others like it so they don't all end up in a landfill when the problem is easily fixed.

[@dendkmac]

I have an issue with my HK MODEL 132 it turns on but then goes to standby in 15 seconds no lights on the panel at all ran across your video what a chase on that receiver good stuff.

[@1Rav3n]

Hi Trevor. I have been watching all your videos , and have learned alot from this. For the first time i upgraded my Sony TA - 313 with new electrolytes , and all whent suprizingly smooth. Ty for your videos and please continue posting content. Best regards Ragnar Norway

[@TrevorsBench]

Hi Ragnar, thanks for the kind feedback and thanks for watching. I hope everybody can find my videos entertaining and educational, that's my aim at least. Stay tuned, more to come

[@26Jorgeb]

Thanks again.Very informative!!! Can't win them all.

[@petenamlook18]

That rotary encoder is basically like a mode-select switch on a VCR. In general you would clean with something like acetone, then use contact cleaner (D100) and then finish with dielectric grease to prevent further oxidation.

[@NoferTrunions]

Wish you had taken pics of the cracked solder joints. I have an AVR430 that stopped working. Let it sit for a year, then it worked for a few more years. Then stopped working. I remember reading something about "cracks" but I thought it was PCB cracks, but as you have found, it may be solder joints. I guess that is No Lead solder which is brittle.

[@erikdenhouter]

When you turned off the top light at 5:08, your picture improved a lot. Your top light is at its own as the largest, so it will make harsh shadows that the other lights cannot fill in.

[@TrevorsBench]

I kinda agree with you. My LEDs are harsh and downward facing creating the shadows you see. I can dim them but then I see beat frequencies in the video image. Without them I'm blind because it's so dark in here. I need a super bright light for my aging eyes to work. I will maybe get some side lighting to fill in the shadows, thanks

[@erikdenhouter]

@@TrevorsBench Make a very easy accessible switch and change as you did in the video. When you show and tell things in front of that device you don't need that light to show us, and when you need to work in the device you can turn the big one on, and then I don't think it will bother the picture that much because there are no deep shadows there. I am aware of the light needed when the eyes deteriorate. I use 4.0 glasses over 1.5 to be able to do anything inside.

[@gilpi552]

I have a HK 3390 that shuts off randomly, sometimes it takes about 10 to 15 tries to get it started, it might run for 5 minutes or 5 hours till it shuts off. Gone inside, no loose solder joints or visible bad caps. Very nice sounding receiver, when it's working.

[@erikdenhouter]

You could put a little copper plate on the processor chip, and heat it locally with an iron, and then use some cold spray, to see if it triggers the fault.

[@TrevorsBench]

I didn't try this but then the fault didn't seem to respond to temperature. Sometimes it would shutdown within minutes or it would stay on for days

[@klumpy103]

That is a very common fail mode for any Encoder and generally they can be cleaned up, but it is usually a sign of wear and close to complete failure. I've had moderate success cleaning them, but the best idea is just to replace them ( they are usually relatively cheap ) saves on any comebacks.

[@djdamix5924]

this is the best asmr!

[@Poppinwheeeeellllllieeeeez]

I went to BBuy yesterday and the had 5 amps. All entry level. If you own and enjoy a early mid 2000s amp its good to try and keep it going. RXV yamahas 800, 1000, 1500's are all solid. AvR's can be a serious PITA.

[@TrevorsBench]

Haven't been to a best buy in years but I'm willing to bet the gear the sell today will have all the features I don't want and the features I do want won't be there. One mistake a lot of manufacturers made (IMO) was they followed the trend and built gear for the home theater, leaving the traditional designs behind (mostly but not always). I do have a H/K AVR set up in my bedroom and it's used for our nightly TV watching but it's not for any serious listening

[@collinwood60]

Even the master can miss a connector once in awhile! Understandable since the unit was torn all the way down. Bummer you did all that work and the receiver is still faulty. Nice looking unit. Hopefully you can find a replacement chip.

[@mdzacharias]

I deleted one comment because later in the video you addressed that stuff but I have seen a diode open up or be intermittent to a front panel microprocessor on a similar model. In normal operation it drops 5.6 volts down to 5 but when it opens up... also did you re-solder the standby transformer? I've seen solder cracks on those that were almost invisible to the naked eye.

[@williamwong5627]

I have a HK AVR that goes haywire with the volume control. It would suddenly go full volume without warning. This set also use encoding control. Looks like the microprocessor is faulty. Now it is collecting dust.

[@antoniob5718]

Hi! I have a Harman Kardon AVR154 with low ouput volume . It appears that almost all audio video receivers regardless of brand wiil have this failure over time . Maybe some bad caps who knows but checking in forums in internet the problem almost añways happen when the AVR is not used for some time.THX

[@TrevorsBench]

A common fault for all of these old stereos is the speaker protect relay. From periods of no use the contacts can oxidize and prevent full current from passing. Dirty/oxidized contacts can cause low volume, heavy distortion and dropping channels. One way to tell is crank up the volume. If the sound comes back, that's probably the cause

[@antoniob5718]

@@TrevorsBench Thanks a lot Trevor . I think you hit the nail.

[@leosarma]

I have the same unit on my home theater setup since 2004. But it's been a few years since I've lost the Front Left Channel. Only static and noise coming from it. Any clues of what should I check? I'm not sure but I think sometimes there is sound then the noise qnd static come up.

[@tyty2240]

Hi Trevor, I have an AVR 230 myself that I've had for at keast 20 years now and the right channel has lost all of its amplification. I opened it up and didn't find any obvious signs of individual component failure. Any tips on where to start for troubleshooting?

[@AKStrategy]

I have a Harman Kardon AVR 230 the 300 Watts, but for some reason is not loud enough it is working but not loud enough something blown may be?? Can you give me some suggestions Trevor's Bench?????? and I have the same issue with a Yamaha RX V1600 7.1 Channel 500W Home Theater Receiver.

[@DIRTTRIKER]

I can't find the memory battery on mine AVR 2650

[@coryjohn4057]

I have the same amp. Doesn't have sound on rear channels and right side very quiet

[@Santaji55]

Maybe reballing the micro will solve it? Or heating it somehow to reflow the bga soldering

[@TrevorsBench]

I checked the controller and the soldering is good, it's not a BGA. Thanks

[@TurntableGuy]

AV amps have such little value (unless they're the flagships) that it's just not worth the time and effort. Although, I find some of the old Pro-Logic receivers can be great finds because they don't have as much digital crap in them.

[@kelleyhagan960]

Enjoy your channel.

[@TrevorsBench]

Thanks Kelly

[@stefanegger]

wow, those settings were pretty off, how did that happen

[@PradeepKumar-ox8cs]

Avr141/230 Power switch On blue light glow and no other functions anybody can help?

[@TrevorsBench]

If you have the tools & ability, check all the power supplies to make sure they are present. A service manual can be found on HiFiEngine

[@Luke-12V]

Very nice!Thanx👍💯

[@roberttumidalski4713]

👍👏🏻 Nurnberg.

[@wallyhandyman]

Has anyone figured out what it was that caused the random shut down or the random mode changing?

[@mihaibalint8183]

hi, I have the same issue on avr-505 limited edition from 2003, it is the same everything like avr130 and looks like it does not like beeing shut down.after a while it works just fine. so I'm thinking ther is a very dry cap that has to be... found!

[@roberttumidalski4713]

Remont kaufe gern ?

[@williamchow1624]

The HK AV receivers don't sound that great, hash/tinny sounding. You can probably sell the remote for $20+ and you are still ahead.

[@naghamdi]

found 1 for 25 $ today with the remote

[@CesarVillalvabeltran-xu2ht]

Quiero idioma español

[@malindakumara7364]

Harman avr 5550 bord

[@Petrica-lo6zx]

Harman kardon has no power I have an amplifier Pioneer vsa d802s 55watts per channel is much more powerful than harman Kardon avr 360

[@MrAntonissifnos]

Harman Kardon quality check is garbage. Too many units suffer from a failure.