Kenwood VR 506 Turns Off - Overheat?

[futung.cheng]

Hi,

I have a kenwood vr 506 and it seems to turn off when I put the volume at a certain level or at least after a while at a higher level it will shut off. The little red power light then blinks and I hit power once it turns steady red and again and the amp turns itself back on.

My only thought is that the unit is over heating and turning itself off - does that sound right? Are there safety devices in amp that will turn the amp off if it reaches a certain temperature?

I put a little temperature weather station on top and it is showing 34.8 celcius.

I did have the amp serviced at about the 2 year mark where they re-soldered the IR to allow the remote to start work again.

Thank You,

Fu-Tung

 

[snappy_snoopy]

Hi,

I have a kenwood vr 506 and it seems to turn off when I put the volume at a certain level or at least after a while at a higher level it will shut off. The little red power light then blinks and I hit power once it turns steady red and again and the amp turns itself back on.

My only thought is that the unit is over heating and turning itself off - does that sound right? Are there safety devices in amp that will turn the amp off if it reaches a certain temperature?

I put a little temperature weather station on top and it is showing 34.8 celcius.

I did have the amp serviced at about the 2 year mark where they re-soldered the IR to allow the remote to start work again.

Thank You,

Fu-Tung

Yes amps are safe guarded, dont know about the specifics on your one but they in general are to protect the speaker buffer stage from over heating and causing permanent damage.

Have you got a new pair of speakers with a smaller impedance which is causing your receiver to overheat?

Some receivers have got a digital setting or a manual setting allowing for various speaker impedance options. Give the manual a try maybe there is something in there., Specify more details and i see if i can help further.

 

[futung.cheng]

Hmm I had a look at the manual and it has the condition I was describing listed as "Speaker cords are short circuited". I am not sure how this is possible though and I am not sure that matches the symptoms when it turns off only after a while and more frequently at higher volumes.

What other details would you like?

Currently I only have the front left, right and center speakers hooked up. The speakers are the original ones that I bought at the same time as the amp. I have an in wall installation using 12g speaker wire.

I have noticed this "shortcircuiting" before however when the speakers were just hooked up with direct wires.

The amp says 8-16 ohms. The speakers all say 8 ohms.

Thank you for the reply,

Fu-Tung

Yes amps are safe guarded, dont know about the specifics on your one but they in general are to protect the speaker buffer stage from over heating and causing permanent damage.

Have you got a new pair of speakers with a smaller impedance which is causing your receiver to overheat?

Some receivers have got a digital setting or a manual setting allowing for various speaker impedance options. Give the manual a try maybe there is something in there., Specify more details and i see if i can help further.

 

[Crunchie]

Is this a new problem, or have you always had this issue at high listening levels? Many amplifiers have a thermal shut-down circuit that stops you from running the amplifier into damaging overheating. There will be some delay for it to turn the amplifier off because of time it takes for the heat sink to warm. There will be some delay for the amplifier to become available again, because the heat sink has to cool. Just like your home thermostat, there is a temperature sensor that can turn it on and off.

If this is a new problem, you may have a problem with the amplifier. Or you could have a problem with a damaged voice coil short circuit/rubbing in your speakers as a new issue. Speakers can get shorted turns in the voice coil from playing them louder than intended. They can seem to work okay with a shorted turn or rubbing, but the impedance drops and causes the amplifier to overheat.

I suggest your try one half of the system at a time. See if the issue relates to left or right channel amplifier or the related speaker. If the problem is only with one side, you will know if the speaker or amplifier requires repairs.

If it has always been this way, you may be expecting more sound level than the equipment is intended for.

 

[futung.cheng]

Thank You for the response.

I thought more about it and came to a similar conclusion about seeing if it was limited to a particular speaker and it appears that the center speaker is causing the issue.

So either the speaker is at fault, the speaker connection or the wire or faceplates in the wall. I'll work on determining which of those are the problem.

If it is the speaker, can it be fixed or do I pretty much need to buy a new speaker? Same question for amp.

Thanks,

Fu-Tung

 

[Rickster71]

Need more details.
Sounds like you've had the amp for a few years; how long have you had this problem?
Do you have the receiver confined in a cabinet?
34.8 Celsius is 95 degrees, that is hot.
At 8.8kg or 19lbs that is a light for a receiver.
So if you're giving it enough ventilation, and all your speakers are 8 ohm, and no wires are shorted.
Could the center channel voice coil be shorted? Remove that speaker and see if you still have the problem.
It sounds like that receiver can't work at high volumes.

 

[Crunchie]

Thank You for the response.

I thought more about it and came to a similar conclusion about seeing if it was limited to a particular speaker and it appears that the center speaker is causing the issue.

So either the speaker is at fault, the speaker connection or the wire or faceplates in the wall. I'll work on determining which of those are the problem.

If it is the speaker, can it be fixed or do I pretty much need to buy a new speaker? Same question for amp.

Thanks,

Fu-Tung

You could temporarily connect your left speaker to the center channel and leave the left disconnected. That would help you sort out if you have a short in the speaker or the wiring.

I think you're on track to double check your wiring. Use a magnifying glass to look for loose wire strands. Or better yet, disconnect the wires, tin them with solder to prevent loose "wiskers" and connect it back. If you have wires wrapped around binding posts on the front of the plate, install banana plugs. They don't short out and they are easily disconnected.

If the speaker is damaged, there are specialty shops who repair speakers. There aren't many though, so that could be a problem. Around here, I know of only one who could do this work and he is expensive. You can also mail order a replacement driver and repair it yourself. You would have to try to match up the specs. That can be tricky. The entire design of a speaker, it's enclosure and crossover is an integrated design.

To have an amplifier repaired, you would want to look for support from the manufacturer. If it's older or lesser known, you might have luck if you find a ham or electronics enthusiast to work on it.