channels cutting in and out

[cgibsong002]

My denon dra-35v has developed cutting in and out syndrome. randomly one channel will cut out, then the other channel, sometimes both, sometimes none. the other day i took the cover off and basically just sprayed the whole thing down with contact cleaner, focusing mainly on the pots. worked a bit better for a bit but still cuts in and out. a light hit on the side of the unit will pop the channels back in when they cut out.

whats the likely culprit here? did i not clean well enough? or is there likely a bad solder joint somewhere? i'd also like to point out that this isn't input related as it does the same for two separate inputs that i have (cd player, cpu aux in).

[swan24]

Sounds like a dirty volume or balance pot... Try working either or both back and forth for awhile and see what happens...

[cgibsong002]

Sounds like a dirty volume or balance pot... Try working either or both back and forth for awhile and see what happens...

like i said, i already cleaned out the pots. maybe not well enough.. i dunno. the pots were weird, there didn't appear to be an easy opening to spray cleaner inside.

[basite]

if a channel really cuts out because of dirt, it's really dirty, and thus needs a really good cleaning.

Since you say that "if you give it a hit", it'll work again, I suspect a bad contact point though...
give the pots a really good spray again (turn them just after you sprayed them (20 or 30 times, more doesn't hurt)), and spray contacts too, and check for bad solder joints...

Keep them spinning,
Bert

[Nasir]

Sounds like a bad solder contact, but its funny for it do on both channels. If you don´t have pets or little ones, you could leave the cover off and gently tap various parts of the circuit board and components with a wooden spoon. At least this way you can narrow down the area of interest. Good luck and keep us posted.

[cgibsong002]

bad solder contact... where? on the pots? or where?

i'll pull it back apart and try to check for loose connections and re-clean.

[mikemorrow]

could be your RCA connections in back of the unit. How old are they? They get dirty too. Unplug them and clean them up. Might even wany to tighten them up.

[pixelthis]

could be your RCA connections in back of the unit. How old are they? They get dirty too. Unplug them and clean them up. Might even wany to tighten them up.

WHERE you should have went first. Wouldn't hurt to check the speaker wires.
Always get the outside shipshape before you pop the unit open.

[cgibsong002]

could be your RCA connections in back of the unit. How old are they? They get dirty too. Unplug them and clean them up. Might even wany to tighten them up.

Like I said, I have two sets of RCA connectors coming into the receiver. Both inputs have the same problem.. so I kind of eliminated that right away. Speaker wires I also eliminated due to the fact that the channels consistently come back in as soon as I give the unit a bit of a slap.

[mikemorrow]

I dont know your receiver, But if it has a slide balance control you could see if sliding it makes a differance. They are very prone to get dirty. Also in your cleaning make sure that you work the knob alot. Spraying alone will not clean the connections.

[mikemorrow]

also try taking the knobs off the front of your receiver. Unscrew the nuts and try getting to them that way. Some of the cleaner might be able to get inside. Work the knobs alot.

[Nasir]

Could you please post some photos of the inside of the unit?
As I said, for the amp to do it on the 2 speakers, it should be something which common to both channels. So tapping the pots, volume control, power supply etc is a good place to start. Just remember, do NOT tap with anything metallic as we will loose you!!

[cgibsong002]

Could you please post some photos of the inside of the unit?
As I said, for the amp to do it on the 2 speakers, it should be something which common to both channels. So tapping the pots, volume control, power supply etc is a good place to start. Just remember, do NOT tap with anything metallic as we will loose you!!

no problem. i'll try to get the time to take it back apart later this afternoon and get some pics up.

[pixelthis]

Some "pots" are meant to be replaced, notl lubed. MIGHT be those.
Usually, if its hard to get into, I WOULDNT TRY TO GET INTO IT.

[cgibsong002]

I'll look into it. I have a few extra pots laying around, I'll see what value it is.

And today I actually got the channel to cut back in by turning the master volume. It didn't like immediately as soon as I touched it, but the fact that it did come back after turning it for a few seconds would lead me to believe that's the problem (or coincidence).

I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to mess with it again yet. I've got a guitar, a guitar pedal, an amp, and a few other things taken apart at the moment, lol. I've got so many projects building up that I need to just start finishing them one at a time so I have room in here again.

[cgibsong002]

Ok, I'm still having the same problem and still can't figure it out. I did figure something else out though. When I'm listening to music, it's on the channel 'cd'. When hitting the cd button, it takes about a second or so to 'switch' channels before producing sound. Every time I hit the button, its random whether or not sound will be produced from each speaker. Sometimes it'll come back full sound, sometimes left only, sometimes right only, sometimes neither. But it almost always changes every time I hit the button.

Additionally, I've found the master volume does bring the channels back as well. But here's the weird thing. No amount of working the volume back and forth will bring the channels back. Rather, both channels immediately come back as soon as I turn the knob past about 10 o'clock (which is fairly loud). But it's not that they will knock back out if I turn it back down past that point.

So what could be relating these two things? It seems as if its like a power surge or something that brings the channels back: turning the volume up loud, or the surge from switching the channels. Does this make sense? Any ideas? I have the thing open and couldn't get anything going on by tapping around.. though i didn't try too many places.

[cgibsong002]

Sounds like I'm better off getting something new, huh?

[pixelthis]

Sounds like I'm better off getting something new, huh?

Probably, I NEED LESS REASON FOR A NEW TOY.
But with your new info, it sounds like the input selector.
BUT if your set is more than a few years old, I would replace it.
IF ITS FOR TWO CHANNEL, try a decent integrated.

[cgibsong002]

Probably, I NEED LESS REASON FOR A NEW TOY.
But with your new info, it sounds like the input selector.
BUT if your set is more than a few years old, I would replace it.
IF ITS FOR TWO CHANNEL, try a decent integrated.

You would replace the receiver or the input selector? I'm assuming you mean the earlier. Only problem is I can't quite afford a receiver much better than this unless I can sell this thing for anything. Think it would go for at least 20 or 30 bucks on eBay?

[pixelthis]

You would replace the receiver or the input selector? I'm assuming you mean the earlier. Only problem is I can't quite afford a receiver much better than this unless I can sell this thing for anything. Think it would go for at least 20 or 30 bucks on eBay?

Either.
I DON'T know how old your receiver is, but after a few years I have found it is better
to write it off as a bad job and get on with your life.
Sometimes theres' a gremlin, or several. THESE things are so complicated these
days, they just aren't worth the trouble to fix, really.
I HAVE TRIED both routes and found it a happier experience to just get a new one,
and give away the old one.
If you have something like a rotary input selector(a single device) instead of a row of buttons
that increases the odds that its whats bad, but it might be worth a try if you're
short on funds and its a simple switch that causes a circuit to cycle through inputs.
IF its a series of buttons you need to check each one. USED to be simple to fix, but
nowadays a lot of times a switch is sending a signal to an IC.
Anyway, good luck. USUALLY something fails about 6 months to a year after its been
fixed, thats why every things cheap and disposable.
Good luck, anyway.

[pixelthis]

On a side note, its really spectacular how reliable everything is these days.
Out of all of the electronics I bought over the last twenty years, not counting TOSHIBA,
I have had two SONY devices fail(one a burnt out laser) and a YAMAHA
receiver. EVERYTHING I have bought TOSHIBA has broke...everything.
Not a bad track record, really. HATE to see TOSHIBA try and build a receiver!
OR A BOAT...or airplane.