Red Light Issue?

[rafter_01]

Morning,

My box is not booting up and is showing a red light. Did a bit of searching on this forum and know that i will need to follow one of the 'red light fix' guides.

Is the faulty capacitor the reason for the red light or could the red light appear for other reasons too?

There a few guides out there but which one would you recommend? I got my box from WOS website. Not replaced a capacitor before so not so confident unless someone offers a cheap service to do this for me?

thanks

[cactikid]

normally red light and starting on front is a give away and box around 3-4 years i think they say,local tv repair shop or mentioned phone repairist should be able to do the cap,depends if regulator was damaged also,bad eyesight and shaky hand leave to an expert.:thumbsup:

[rafter_01]

normally red light and starting on front is a give away and box around 3-4 years i think they say,local tv repair shop or mentioned phone repairist should be able to do the cap,depends if regulator was damaged also,bad eyesight and shaky hand leave to an expert.:thumbsup:

thank you for the reply. I'm planning on doing this myself. Is there a video i can follow?

Never altered a board before so needed to be sure that i know how to take off the faulty capacitor

[timofee]

All the information you need is in this thread http://www.world-of-satellite.com/showthread.php?26735

You just snip off the wires to the old capacitor and solder the new capacitor to the old wires sticking up from the motherboard. Avoids having to remove the motherboard.

[rafter_01]

All the information you need is in this thread http://www.world-of-satellite.com/showthread.php?26735

You just snip off the wires to the old capacitor and solder the new capacitor to the old wires sticking up from the motherboard. Avoids having to remove the motherboard.

What tin snips did you use? The space between the capacitor and board is not much

[timofee]

I had some small electrical wire snippers in my tool kit. But the wires are quite thin, should be easy to cut using other methods.

[rafter_01]

All the information you need is in this thread http://www.world-of-satellite.com/showthread.php?26735

You just snip off the wires to the old capacitor and solder the new capacitor to the old wires sticking up from the motherboard. Avoids having to remove the motherboard.

dumb question, when i do this i wont need to use any solder? Connect current legs to the old wire with soldering iron

[Milamber44]

Additional solder should be used to avoid the potential *dry joint*. Regards.

[rafter_01]

Is there a video tutorial for this?

[timofee]

I have never seen a video, but it's simple enough. Helps if you have done some soldering in the past.

[OldSkulRide]

Here is short tutorial with pics: http://www.satnigmo.com/2525/repair-guide-for-vu-duo-red-light-problem/
Its easy enough, I have done same procedure few months ago.

[rafter_01]

TBH, i haven't done any soldering before. My only worry is how to take off the faulty capacitor. I'll be doing the following without removing the board, please tell me if this is the normal procedure:

1) Snip faulty capacitor, which will leave behind two small legs
2) Get some solder onto my soldering iron and stick together the legs of the new capacitor to the old legs left from the old capacitor.

I take it, that's all that is needed?

thanks

[cactikid]

if in doubt get it done by a proffesional and you do know there is a + and - leg?

[rafter_01]

if in doubt get it done by a proffesional and you do know there is a + and - leg?

I do, sorry forgot to mention that..

[OldSkulRide]

TBH, i haven't done any soldering before. My only worry is how to take off the faulty capacitor. I'll be doing the following without removing the board, please tell me if this is the normal procedure:

1) Snip faulty capacitor, which will leave behind two small legs
2) Get some solder onto my soldering iron and stick together the legs of the new capacitor to the old legs left from the old capacitor.

I take it, that's all that is needed?

thanks

YES, that is all

[rafter_01]

any other way i can take off the old capacitor? i cannot locate any snippers :)

[Larry-G]

yes remove the board and unsolder the capacitor but that is a very fiddly job especially if you are not experienced with a soldering iron.

[rafter_01]

yes remove the board and unsolder the capacitor but that is a very fiddly job especially if you are not experienced with a soldering iron.

I was originally planning on removing the board but was worried taking off the board was complex. Is it?

[Larry-G]

Not really, as long as you take your time and remember what goes where.

[rafter_01]

Not really, as long as you take your time and remember what goes where.

Okay, i'd rather prefer to take off the board, can do a neater job. Will decide tonight..

[cactikid]

if you have a camera phone take a picture of board for backup use and in case different length screws:eek:

[rafter_01]

if you have a camera phone take a picture of board for backup use and in case different length screws:eek:

Will do. thanks for the tip

[timofee]

If you have never soldered before taking off the board will be FAR,FAR more difficult than soldering to the old legs. I can't stress this enough - PLEASE do not do it this way.

Please take the advice of the many people who have done this job before and snip off the old capacitor and solder to the old legs.

If you get a good soldered joint between the old legs and the new capacitor that is all that matters, neatess does not make the box work any better!

[nsw9154]

another tip if you have never used a soldering iron before is to do a few test runs soldering some electric cable, or paper clips together as practice makes perfect and it might give you a little bit more confidence when you do it for real :)

[rafter_01]

An update, i tried soldering the legs myself but was absolutely hopeless. So left it and paid a TV repair guy to do it. Cost me £20 and the box is working.

Kind of annoyed that i couldn't do a simple soldering job. Was worried i might end up burning the motherboard with the hot iron. :confused:

[nsw9154]

you did the right thing mate as you where not fully confident that you could do it properly
and for only £20 you have saved yourself a couple of hundred £'s :thumbsup:

[rafter_01]

you did the right thing mate as you where not fully confident that you could do it properly
and for only £20 you have saved yourself a couple of hundred £'s :thumbsup:

True, still slightly annoyed that i couldnt fix it myself. :) Maybe i need to take some soldering lessons :p

[nsw9154]

probably lol it's a handy thing to know how to do I have been using a soldering iron for over 40 years and it has served me well :)

I have actually considered buying a broken Duo with the red light problem to fix myself but you never know if you are buying a clone so I have never bothered

[rafter_01]

probably lol it's a handy thing to know how to do I have been using a soldering iron for over 40 years and it has served me well :)

I have actually considered buying a broken Duo with the red light problem to fix myself but you never know if you are buying a clone so I have never bothered

It would be impossible to know if the red light is caused by just the faulty capacitor or a dodgy motherboard. So buying a broken box might end up costing you more. Risky