Dead Vu+Duo repair guide

[ford]

Hi guys.

At the Admins request, here is a small tutorial regarding possible fix for a dead Vu+duo.
The normal symptom of the problem being a non starting box, showing only the red standby LED on the top left of the display.

When removing the cover, you will see in the first pic, the cable connecting the power supply to the motherboard.

BE AWARE!!!

Be careful to avoid touching the power supply components, as the switch mode capacitor can give you quite a shock, even when disconnected from the mains suppy.

You have been warned20130225_095044.jpg

With the box switched on, measure the supply as illustrated on each pin out of the power supply, in respect to ground.
You can attach the ground cable of your multimeter the the metal chassis of the box.
Is much easier this way.
Do not disconnect any cables whilst doing this, or the power supply will shut down!!

The connector to the left in the pic is the 5 and 12 volt power to the HDD.

If you hear the drive spooling up on power up, and the box is dead, it's a reasonable indication that the power supply itself may be ok!

If all the voltages are ok, proceed to the next step.

I have made the next step easier for newbies, but some basic soldering skills are required.

If in doubt at this point, please seek professional advice.

PM me, and i'll do my very best to help you all.

Please see attached pic. 20130225_095053.jpg

I have used some fine wire cutters to cut the old capacitor out, so if you are quick enough, as you can see in the pic, you can very neatly tack the new capacitor to the motherboard without removing the board itself!
If you are not so slick with the soldering iron, you may cause the remaining pins from the capacitor, to the motherboard to become unstable and dry jointed.

If you feel confident enough, remove the motherboard, and do it correctly.

As I said, the reason I did it this way, was because you can do a good enough job without removing the board, providing you are quick, and careful!

Try to use a 220 to 330 mfd 25, or 35 volt capacitor, although 16 volt will suffice.

NOTE THE POLARITY OF THE CAPACITOR!!

The negative pin, is as you can see on the left!!!

The capacitor to replace is C807 as written on the motherboard.


I did the whole thing in under 15 minutes.

This capacitor serves as part of the motherboard DC-DC converter operation.

[Larry-G]

Much appreciated, Made this a sticky post.

[ford]

Cheers bud.

It's my first sticky, lol

Really appreciate that.

I modified it a bit tho to cover everything.

[echosat]

Amazing cheers bro 45p for the cap from maplins and about an hour to strip and rebuild now works a treat again, saved me buying a new receiver
Thanks
Echo

[maschi]

Two weeks ago I ended up with a dead box, just showing the "red light" and found this description here. Everything seemed like I have exactly this problem, so I decided to give it a shot. So I ordered a 220 mfd capacitor, decided to go for the 25v version as recommended above and connected it today - without removing the motherboard. Bang!! It works again. Thank you so much for this description here!

Let me add a small observation for analysis purposes: my box did not die suddenly, from one moment to the other. Instead when turning it off completely (via the switch on the back) it seemed to take some seconds longer until it finally "decided" to start. In the end, before it finally died completely, I was still able to start it by being patient enough to wait 5 minutes or so. Many greetings, and thanks again!

[Rob van der Does]

Let me add a small observation for analysis purposes: my box did not die suddenly, from one moment to the other. Instead when turning it off completely (via the switch on the back) it seemed to take some seconds longer until it finally "decided" to start. In the end, before it finally died completely, I was still able to start it by being patient enough to wait 5 minutes or so.

That's the way it goes usually.
But observing these symptoms it's best not to use the box anymore, to prevent extended damage (to an IC).

[cactikid]

very helpfull as i can see that been used time and time again,but curious if anybody used surge protection that might have saved box and caps from damage?

[Larry-G]

The damage to the caps is not from surge damage but prolonged exposure to heat which has dried them out.

[ford]

Hiya mate.
Good to be back.
Yeah. Wet Electrolytics drying out.
Same old, same old

The damage to the caps is not from surge damage but prolonged exposure to heat which has dried them out.

[Jimdefruit]

I have tried this procedure but still not working.

I tested the voltages and all were ok. I replaced the C807 capacitor together with the two adjacent 220uF capacitors but still no good and stuck on red LED.

My duo is a genuine box. Are there any more suggestions?

Before packing up completely, my tuners were playing up and the box was freezing and rebooting frequently.

[pacha2]

On my box the fan stopped which cause it to overheat. So you can check that is running ok.

Alternatively it could be the power supply.

[Guy]

My box has been crashing a lot recently, several reflashes and still not working. Had lots of horizontal lines on the picture today and the remote control was unresponsive. Power cycled the box and it worked ok for 30mins then the picture would freeze but the sound carried on as normal, after 5 minutes it turned itself off and back on again. Removed the duo from my AV cabinet, Opened up the duo and plugged it into the wall only to get a red light with no display.

Decided to strip the box down and cut the capacitor off the board. it measures out at 56uf on my digital multimeter.

Also noticed this mark on top of U801 - looks like the casing of the chip has burnt?

[mcquaim]

Also noticed this mark on top of U801 - looks like the casing of the chip has burnt?

Yes, looks fried alright...

Reckon you need C807 and U801 replaced and maybe more... My U801 was gone but it didn't look anything near as bad as that!!

[Guy]

Yes, looks fried alright...

Reckon you need C807 and U801 replaced and maybe more... My U801 was gone but it didn't look anything near as bad as that!!

New U801 from ebay for 12 quid sorted it.
Had the 3 220uf caps replaced and they had to replace the smaller ones either side due to signs of failing. 105degree good quality japenese caps installed to replace the chinese ones.

[sillyprice]

Hi guys
just wanted to say thank you for this wonderful post. It worked saving me a fortune.
Thank you again