Think I might be shopping for a new receiver

[Jeff R.]

So I have had some odd issues with a 4 way electrical switch that stopped working in my new house. So it stopped working completely about a week ago I was able to jump it out. Then yesterday I replaced the 4 way switch, that was what an electrician recommended So I did that, and it worked but something was not right. Long story short I had the lighting working off the 4way switch and my stereo running. For several hours I might add. My wife came down stairs and switched one of the 4 way switches switches off from the 4 way circuit. It caused and odd feedback noise over my system and sent my Onk 708 into protection mode, and of course got the burned electrical smell that all know is a bad sign.

So the odd think is my stereo is on a different breaker that the 4 way switch is running on. The breaker in the panel tripped for the 4 way switch and my stereo stayed on then entire time and also did not trip my power switch. I am not sure I understand exactly how 2 separate breakers can affect each other. Or the other thing is just a pure coincidence which just seems like it could not happen.

So I turned the receiver back on and I get no sound from the receiver. I can watch TV with no sound so the HDMI seems to be working but no sound out of either the TV or my stereo speakers whether I use the aux front input or the HDMI's. So what do you guys think am I dead in the water on this thing?

Thanks

Jeff

 

[Adam]

Hi, Jeff. Bummer news, but maybe it's something simple.

For sound out of the Onkyo
1. Check out page 84 of the manual for troubleshooting the issue of not having any sound
2. Do a reset on the Onkyo (also on page 84)

For sound from your TV
You said that you can't even get sound from the TV, and I'm assuming that's from an HDMI cable running from the Onkyo. Make sure that the Onkyo is set up to pass through HDMI audio to the TV by setting the "Audio TV Out" menu item to "On" (page 55).

 

[Rickster71]

Hi Jeff, you mention it was a new house.
If so, I'd call back the original electrician. As you should still be under the new house warranty.
Sounds like you re-wired the switch incorrectly and a hot and neutral got mixed up; it's very common with 3-way and 4-way circuits.

 

[Rickster71]

So the odd think is my stereo is on a different breaker that the 4 way switch is running on. The breaker in the panel tripped for the 4 way switch and my stereo stayed on then entire time and also did not trip my power switch. I am not sure I understand exactly how 2 separate breakers can affect each other. Or the other thing is just a pure coincidence which just seems like it could not happen.

Jeff I just realized there was more to your question.
Sorry to hear about the damage to your receiver.

Did the smell of smoke come from your AVR or a switch?
There are a few possibilities as to how two circuits were affected. One is a shared neutral from the outlet circuit used in the lighting circuit. Then the mis-wired switch introduce a hot wire to the neutral side of both circuits.
Or the two circuits were side by side in the panel or on the neutral bus.

You mentioned it was a new house; did the original 4-way switch work for a few months/years then fail? Or fail right away?
I wouldn't use either circuit until you get the 4-way circuit looked at by an electrician.
Good luck, and be safe out there.

 

[Jeff R.]

Hi, Jeff. Bummer news, but maybe it's something simple.

For sound out of the Onkyo
1. Check out page 84 of the manual for troubleshooting the issue of not having any sound
2. Do a reset on the Onkyo (also on page 84)

For sound from your TV
You said that you can't even get sound from the TV, and I'm assuming that's from an HDMI cable running from the Onkyo. Make sure that the Onkyo is set up to pass through HDMI audio to the TV by setting the "Audio TV Out" menu item to "On" (page 55).

I tried the reset this morning and just hooked up a pair of speakers to the front channels with no luck. I tried several analog inputs off my iPod and had not lock. I have already pulled it out of my system and currently running on my old 805. I will look through the manual. Thanks!!

 

[Jeff R.]

Jeff I just realized there was more to your question.
Sorry to hear about the damage to your receiver.

Did the smell of smoke come from your AVR or a switch?
There are a few possibilities as to how two circuits were affected. One is a shared neutral from the outlet circuit used in the lighting circuit. Then the mis-wired switch introduce a hot wire to the neutral side of both circuits.
Or the two circuits were side by side in the panel or on the neutral bus.

You mentioned it was a new house; did the original 4-way switch work for a few months/years then fail? Or fail right away?
I wouldn't use either circuit until you get the 4-way circuit looked at by an electrician.
Good luck, and be safe out there.

Thanks for the information. It is not a new home just new to me since I moved in a few weeks ago. I think you are on to something about sharing a common ground. There is a shared 3 way light switch box around the corner from the system. There are switches on different breakers in the box 1 being the problematic 4 way switch and another being on the same loop my stereo is on.

I am not an electrician. I did install a new 4 way switch yesterday into the system. I was of the understanding that I would wire it with red across both top terminals and white across the bottom terminals. Does that matter? Could I have hooked up the switch backwards and caused my own problem?

 

[j_garcia]

It can be as simple as some feedback in the wiring that caused it. While they are on separate breakers, that doesn't mean they are 100% isolated from each other, so flicking a light switch, though I would think unlikely, could have been the cause. I think common ground for the circuits is much more likely. And as you already mentioned too, it could easily just be pure coincidence also.

 

[Jeff R.]

I am glad that I did not take out everything in my stack. I was most concerned about the Emo Amp and my new Crown Amp that were all running off the Onkyo. Good news is that I wanted to up upgrade and now I have a solid reason. I just was hoping to move my 708 up to my HT room and retire the 805.

 

[Rickster71]

I am not an electrician. I did install a new 4 way switch yesterday into the system. I was of the understanding that I would wire it with red across both top terminals and white across the bottom terminals. Does that matter?

Yes, it does matter.
Various brand switches may be connected differently internally. It will be embossed on the back of a new switch.
It may say, "in" & "out"
You may need a multi meter to check old switch, if not marked.
Put the hot leads to the "in" and the load to the "out" screws.

Now that I know it's an older home, I'll bet they borrowed power from the outlet circuit for the light.

It's possible the switch may have been ok. Did the old switch use the 'back stabs' instead of the screws?
It may have been a bad connection.
Always use the screws....

Could I have hooked up the switch backwards and caused my own problem?

Absoltivly! It's the most common cause of 3-way & 4-way switch problems.

.... It usually go as follows:
Home owner: "I don't know, my lights just stopped working"
Me: "When did your husband change the switch?"
Home owner: "Oh.... How did you know he just changed the switch?"

 

[Adam]

Absoltivly!

I love learning new non-words.

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks for the information. It is not a new home just new to me since I moved in a few weeks ago. I think you are on to something about sharing a common ground. There is a shared 3 way light switch box around the corner from the system. There are switches on different breakers in the box 1 being the problematic 4 way switch and another being on the same loop my stereo is on.

I am not an electrician. I did install a new 4 way switch yesterday into the system. I was of the understanding that I would wire it with red across both top terminals and white across the bottom terminals. Does that matter? Could I have hooked up the switch backwards and caused my own problem?

I would get a really good electrician in now. We don't know for certain the original wiring now you have installed a new switch. The old switch is almost certainly not working correctly, so you likely will get erroneous data analyzing the old switch.

It sounds to me that when your wife switched that switch a live got corrected to neutral. Most older codes allow sharing of neutrals between circuits. It is amazing the cobbles that I have seen with neutral wiring. A lot of US electrical codes are still inadequate and dangerous.

My guess is that your receiver was fried because of a short of ground to neutral on a shared circuit.

Electrical fires are far too common in this country. In the UK electrical fires are very rare indeed. UK electrical codes are far beyond those in the EEC. They also use the MK AC plug, which adds a huge layer of safety. Europe is also 240 volt which drops the heating in wiring ten fold.

I can tell you in the remodel of this place the electrical code was Carter code, which was way beyond, the prevailing codes.