Redlight of Death Repair

[reverend]

Does anyone know any repairer in the UK that has the skills/equipment to replace the regulator? I've been searching for one without much success. I found one place on Tottenham Court road, but they want £50 just to replace the regulator (with me supplying the regulator myself)

[adm]

In various electronic boxes the capacitors that fail are usually on the outputs of switched mode power supplies. These usually need to be a better specification than the general purpose capacitors that Maplin sell. Note: Maplin often fail to give a full specification on their capacitors.

Ideally you need a capacitor with a 105C temperature rating and with a low ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance) or Low Z (low impedance). To save pennies the manufacturers of equipment will fit something about just fit for purpose and this is why they often fail within 3 or 4 years. When you replace a capacitor yourself you can fit something better as the difference in price for a one off between the worst and best specification is a matter of 10s of pence, especially when you factor in postage.

Myself I would buy a reputable brand such as Rubycon, Panasonic etc. from CPC/Farnell(Element14) or RS in the UK. Farnell/Element14 operate in may countries but you may find minimum order/minimum handling charges excessive for one off components

http://cpc.farnell.com/rubycon/16yxf220my0811/capacitor-low-z-16v-220uf/dp/CA00167

http://cpc.farnell.com/rubycon/25yxf220my0811/capacitor-low-z-25v-220uf/dp/CA05102

Rapid Electronics in the UK do a 220uf 16V low Z capacitor from another manufacturer.

http://www.rapidonline.com/Electronic-Components/220-F-20-16V-105-C-Low-Impedance-Radial-Aluminium-Electrolytic-Capacitor-11-3916

It may be worth considering that if one capacitor in a box is failing then capacitors of the same type in power supplies also may not be long for this world.

[abu baniaz]

Does anyone know any repairer in the UK that has the skills/equipment to replace the regulator? I've been searching for one without much success. I found one place on Tottenham Court road, but they want £50 just to replace the regulator (with me supplying the regulator myself)

Mobile phone/TV repair shops should be able to do it for you. Don't pay that much.

Even DIY enthusiasts.

[reverend]

Thanks for the advice abu baniaz. My box is now in the local computer repair shop, which is so full of kit there is barely room for a soldering iron in there.
Fingers crossed.

[reverend]

All,

I am happy to report that my local computer repair shop was able to replace the regulator chip in my Vu+, and it is now enjoying a new lease of life.

Thanks for your help.

[johnspeedster]

Hi All. I have what may be a slightly different version of the red light story. Last year I was away overseas for two months and had left the Vu Duo switched on and recording programmes. When I arrived home, the red light was glowing brightly. Someone (who shall remain nameless but who followed me overseas a week later) had placed several drink coasters over the top vents on the box. I replaced the capacitor (Maplin recommended one) and all was well after a re-flash, and discovered the HDD (internal 2Tb) was full. I wondered which had caused the problem - covered vent or full HDD. This year, came home the other day after the two month trip to the Grandchildren in London, and lo.... red light again. Coincidence....???? I'm guessing HDD is full - but should I replace that capacitor again - I did get three last year!! Could the full HDD cause the red light problem as I haven't been able to find anything on-line. Thanks. I will flash it tonight to see how I get on and report back.

[johnspeedster]

Ah well, it was worth a try, but no cigar! I hear the drive spin up, then nothing - just a big red light staring at me. Hopefully I'll have time to get the soldering iron out tomorrow evening and report back. Any ideas still welcome though of course.

[pz8l8t]

Its worth checking the voltage at the suspect capacitor if you have a multimeter and are comfortable checking voltages. Just check the + end to see if you have a good voltage ready (think its about 3 voltages). If so then its unlikely the capacitor has failed.

[cactikid]

that happened me last week red light and starting on front so i powered box off at rear and left box alone until following day and lucky enough box came back.all my settings got changed and my internal 1tb hdd showed as usb and usb as hdd,also epg going to internal flash.
make sure fan is switched on as reflashing defaults to off.

[johnspeedster]

Thanks pz818t and cactikid. Had a more important job to do yesterday - the coffee machine stopped working! The start capacitor.... and an arcing pressurestat replaced so back in business. Whew. Anyway, no luck with your ideas thanks cactikid - but I didn't know about the fan being turned off - good call! Unplugged the HDD and still no go. Tested positive leg on the capacitor and pushing 5.2 volts pz818t. Oh dear. Does that mean I have to rethink the problem. Looking at the voltages/diagram in post 35 (thanks) I tested the other two caps and both 5.2v. Pin 7 (to earth) on both U801 and U802 seem to show no input - does that sound bad? Any ideas appreciated thanks. May need to be a trip to the TV repair shop next....

[johnspeedster]

Well i got the replacement kit from e-bay and took the regulator and set to a computer repair outfit in Hamilton (NZ) and they did the job promptly for $50 - not out of the way I thought. Anyway, the bad news.... still no go. Same sounds when turned on - sound of hard drive starting to spin, no fan. I replaced 807 - no different. Replaced 808... Now more noise like the drive spinning up properly and then a click (not traced) which gave me hope. Changed the third cap, and no further progress. Disconnected hard drive and no noises upon power up. tried to flash from usb stick, no joy. From reading all the associated posts, I think the power supply is still good, but should I replace those 4 x1500 cap? I'm afraid my next step is to buy a local commercial box and go with the crowds. If so, I'll bring the old box back to London next year and put it on e-bay - along with my other spare parts. Any other ideas welcome of course.

[TK4|2|1]

Take the top off, get a hair dryer and heat the power board up. Apply power cable and see if it starts up. If it does, change all electrolytic capacitors on the power board.
Old TV repair trick we used to use.

[cactikid]

ok i take it hard drive is duff,big question is did you use a good brand of usb to flash box kingston,cruzer,integral of max 8gb.
many have faltered in not doing this??

[WEC]

Thanks to all on this thread; I had this problem today, one trip to Maplin and a 59p capacitor later, problem solved!

Cheers!

[johnspeedster]

Thanks TK and Cacti. Tried the hair drier trick - heated until heat sinks were too hot to touch but no go. I used three usb drives to flash - one cruzer and two unknowns. No go. BUT... none of the drives light up as they should - ?? no power at the usb ports - I tried all three. The hard drive still spins up so I used a gizmo I bought a couple of years back to plug it directly into my linux laptop - and lo and behold, I can access everything on the drive. So that is good and the fact that it is spinning up suggests the power board is good.... or does it?? Any ideas? U801 at pin 7 is showing 5v... I'm stuck but it seems so close..... I have done this testing at the dining room table with the Vu duo not connected to the TV or any other cables - does that make a difference? Wouldn't have thought so - just get the red LED. Thanks again for your input!