Check SP Wires? Help!

[highfigh]

Thanks, Peter. Appreciate your help.

Are you suggesting I should not twist the wires after removing the required insultation? I've always done that to ensure there are no haywire ends, plus it's easier to fit into the tight spaces on the terminal.

Again, the exact same spear wire preparation worked fine with my RX-V800. I don't recall the RX-V800 ever cutting out in the same way (over the 8 or so years I had it), so that's what lead me to believe the 3900 was more discriminating.

EDIT: Oh, wait, I think you mean all it would take in the situation you described would be the wire physically twisting causing the two inches of exposed wire to turn and touch each other. I see what you're saying.

2" of exposed wire?

Since whiskers were mentioned, I was going ot ask if you have a cat or dog. Young ones like to chew on wires.

 

[highfigh]

Alright. I stopped by The Source on my way home and picked up a multi-meter. After getting a defective unit (jeez) I came home and ran continuity checks on my speaker wire. No issues.

For fun I stuck the taps into the speakers I'm using and the audible alarm sounded. I assume that's fine as there's probably some way for a signal to make it through the speaker. Am I correct in assuming that? I tried it on 3 of the 5 and they all did the same thing. Then I went and tested an old speaker and it did the same.

So now I'm currently updating to firmware 1.08 in the hopes it's some glitch but I'm not holding my breath that will solve the problem.

As it stands I've tested the wires, re-cut and reconnected them, and STILL it won't stay on longer than a few seconds under load.

EDIT: Update is done and still no go. It stayed on a little longer than normal but as soon as it got loud the unit cut out. BUT, it seems as though it will work if I keep the volume relatively low. Right now I only have one speaker hooked up but a movie has been playing for about 5 minutes now with no issue.

Am I dealing with a defective unit?

The meter will make the continuity tone as long as it's within a certain range. You need to check the speaker wires, too. Disconnect them from the speaker AND the receiver and connect the probes to the meter's leads. You need to set the meter to the lowest range (often 200 Ohms) and once the + is on one lead and the - is on the other, you should see OL on the meter If you see anything when the meter is on the lowest range, you have a short. This could be from a table or chair sitting on the wire, pets, exposed wire at the ends (1/2" maximum), one strand touching from one side to the other or if the wires were hidden in the walls before the drywall went up, a nail or screw.

You would only need a problem on one speaker cable to cause the warning. If you can run it with one speaker at all normal volume levels, that one is fine but the others may have problems. Isolate each speaker and run it. If it works on all but one, that one needs to be repaired or replaced.

What numbers did you see when you connected directly to the speakers? Write them down for your reference. If your speakers show less than 4 Ohms, the receiver may not work with that load. What speakers are you using?

If you have a way to measure the AC voltage, do that, too. Low electrical service voltage will cause all kinds of problems.

 

[Wayne Gohl]

Sorry for the necro guys on an old thread but I need some advice please.

I was asked to test the ONKYO TX-NR636 and without connecting anything except the power cable, I get the "check sp wire" error message for a second on the screen. In reading this old thread thread it seems it is a problem with speaker wires, now being as this is a returned item, is it possible the previous owner had this issue and returned it but why am I still getting this message on the screen without me plugging anything in? Is the "damage" recorded in the memory of the machine or is the problem actually inside the machine as it stands here now?

I am a noob when it comes to this fancy items so be gentle, please.

cheers and thanks in advance.

 

[TLS Guy]

Sorry for the necro guys on an old thread but I need some advice please.

I was asked to test the ONKYO TX-NR636 and without connecting anything except the power cable, I get the "check sp wire" error message for a second on the screen. In reading this old thread thread it seems it is a problem with speaker wires, now being as this is a returned item, is it possible the previous owner had this issue and returned it but why am I still getting this message on the screen without me plugging anything in? Is the "damage" recorded in the memory of the machine or is the problem actually inside the machine as it stands here now?

I am a noob when it comes to this fancy items so be gentle, please.

cheers and thanks in advance.

I would proceed and see if it works on all channels.

It is hard to know why you get that message. At a guess I would say there is something in the output stage of at least one of the amps, that is drawing excessive current momentarily and then stabilizing. It is impossible to say if this will turn into a bigger problem down the road. It certainly could, but also could not.

 

[Wayne Gohl]

Many thanks TLS Guy, will have another look.

 

[Krush9]

I recently experienced this error, and it was due to a wiring error on my part. The First indication for me was when running speaker calibration with Audessy, the Left Surround was at a noticeably low volume compared to all of the others. I ran calibration again, and the unit shut down with the chk sp wire error. After checking my wiring, I found that I'd left some wire from the Left surround connection exposed where it was touching other wire BEHIND MY WALL PLATE. I'd used Banana Plugs for the connection outside of the wall on the plate, and to the receiver, but raw wires behind the wall... when I pushed the wall plate flush, the wires were apparently touching. Major lesson learned.... never set the receiver up at 3:00am when you are tired enough to cut corners.

 

[TheRegime]

Whats up guys? I've been getting the same "check SP wires" issue on my Yamaha. I've narrowed it down to the rear speakers. I tried plugging in some other speakers to the rear speaker terminal on the back of the receiver and they worked with out getting the "check SP wires" messege. What does this mean?

 

[TLS Guy]

Whats up guys? I've been getting the same "check SP wires" issue on my Yamaha. I've narrowed it down to the rear speakers. I tried plugging in some other speakers to the rear speaker terminal on the back of the receiver and they worked with out getting the "check SP wires" messege. What does this mean?

It means you have bad wiring to one or both rear speakers, or a damaged rear speaker.

The first thing to do is run new wiring to the rear speakers first ot one and then the other. Then if you find one wire set that when replaced solves the problem, you will have to replace the wiring to that speaker. If you have in wall wiring nor in conduit, you will have to open up your walls.