Monster Power HTS 5100MKII Anormal Voltage, Help Please!

[Mayrel2015]

Greetings to all, I would like you to help me solve this problem, I have this Monster POWER that was working perfectly, I went to adjust the front brightness to stronger because it was very dim and when I increased the intensity, the Monster Power turned off, it starts to the blue CLEAN POWER ON light flashes and after three seconds the red ABNORMAL VOLTAGE light activates, it flashes for about 3 seconds and the CLEAN POWER ON option is activated again, thus remaining in a loop, three seconds in this option, it goes to the other for three seconds, any idea what's happening? Could you help me solve this problem? Thank you for reading.

 

[lovinthehd]

Why use it at all?

 

[Eppie]

Unplug all of the components from the back. Then unplug the Monster Power for a couple of minutes to let any capacitors drain and then plug it in again and turn it on with nothing attached to see if the problem persists. If it still cycles with nothing attached then it needs servicing or replacing. If it powers on ok, plug your components back in one at a time to see if one of your components is the issue. There are no user-serviceable parts in these units.

 

[TLS Guy]

Greetings to all, I would like you to help me solve this problem, I have this Monster POWER that was working perfectly, I went to adjust the front brightness to stronger because it was very dim and when I increased the intensity, the Monster Power turned off, it starts to the blue CLEAN POWER ON light flashes and after three seconds the red ABNORMAL VOLTAGE light activates, it flashes for about 3 seconds and the CLEAN POWER ON option is activated again, thus remaining in a loop, three seconds in this option, it goes to the other for three seconds, any idea what's happening? Could you help me solve this problem? Thank you for reading.

That is a 20 year old design. Those units are apparently known for failure of the transformers on the power board.

To be honest, those type of units add about zero benefit. A whole house surge protector at entry and may be one at the panel, is far more effective.

You have to understand that your power under most circumstances is clean. Voltage tolerances and distortion are mandated by Federal law, and power companies are held to these high standards. So there is a strong element of 'snakeoil' BS about these type of units.

It is however true that there can be transient issues with power from time to time, and these are almost always associated with adverse weather.

The sub stations and your local transformer closest to your house will be fitted with a high quality voltage regulators. In fact almost certainly higher quality than that Monster unit. Monster are known for a lot of bogus substandard gear anyway.

If you want more protection than high quality surge protection, then you need a UPS unit that contains batteries. These monitor the power and switch to battery in the event of power interruptions and and voltage abnormalities. I use UPS units from APC.

This has been a long winded way, of saying, good surge protection is job one. If you want more then you need a UPS and not so called power conditioners.

 

[Tankini]

AH has been getting hit with a bunch of spam post lately. Many come on here with claims, I have this and this happens. Or they list a bunch of links to other online order sites. I been looking at these or I have this, would this be better than what I have now. Start listing stuff for gear, basically just to sell gear or promote sales. Notice how in OP post, all caps for Monster power, clean power. Reeks of advertisement disguised as a post. Just my opinion.

 

[TLS Guy]

AH has been getting hit with a bunch of spam post lately. Many come on here with claims, I have this and this happens. Or they list a bunch of links to other online order sites. I been looking at these or I have this, would this be better than what I have now. Start listing stuff for gear, basically just to sell gear or promote sales. Notice how in OP post, all caps for Monster power, clean power. Reeks of advertisement disguised as a post. Just my opinion.

Well, he is here looking for advice, because it is not working. So that is a darn poor add. In addition the unit is nearly 20 years old and NLA. So your post makes no logical sense.

 

[Tankini]

Well, he is here looking for advice, because it is not working. So that is a darn poor add. In addition the unit is nearly 20 years old and NLA. So your post makes no logical sense.

Just an opinion, OP may have those issues with his gear. Use to have one of those power/surge protectors way back basically a waste of money, to do that right is to go the way you describe.

 

[Mayrel2015]

AH has been getting hit with a bunch of spam post lately. Many come on here with claims, I have this and this happens. Or they list a bunch of links to other online order sites. I been looking at these or I have this, would this be better than what I have now. Start listing stuff for gear, basically just to sell gear or promote sales. Notice how in OP post, all caps for Monster power, clean power. Reeks of advertisement disguised as a post. Just my opinion.

Thank you for your answer, I am not a seller of anything nor do they pay me for giving promotion to Monster, I only capitalized to highlight the team in general, anyway you are appreciated taking the time to respond.

 

[Mayrel2015]

That is a 20 year old design. Those units are apparently known for failure of the transformers on the power board.

To be honest, those type of units add about zero benefit. A whole house surge protector at entry and may be one at the panel, is far more effective.

You have to understand that your power under most circumstances is clean. Voltage tolerances and distortion are mandated by Federal law, and power companies are held to these high standards. So there is a strong element of 'snakeoil' BS about these type of units.

It is however true that there can be transient issues with power from time to time, and these are almost always associated with adverse weather.

The sub stations and your local transformer closest to your house will be fitted with a high quality voltage regulators. In fact almost certainly higher quality than that Monster unit. Monster are known for a lot of bogus substandard gear anyway.

If you want more protection than high quality surge protection, then you need a UPS unit that contains batteries. These monitor the power and switch to battery in the event of power interruptions and and voltage abnormalities. I use UPS units from APC.

This has been a long winded way, of saying, good surge protection is job one. If you want more then you need a UPS and not so called power conditioners.

Thanks for the explanation, I think it's best to buy a UPS, I'll take your advice, a million thanks!

 

[Tankini]

Thank you for your answer, I am not a seller of anything nor do they pay me for giving promotion to Monster, I only capitalized to highlight the team in general, anyway you are appreciated taking the time to respond.

My Apologies, AH gets hit with BOT just like other sites. As stated it was just an opinion basically in general. Best of luck with your endeavors in this hobby.

 

[highfigh]

That is a 20 year old design. Those units are apparently known for failure of the transformers on the power board.

To be honest, those type of units add about zero benefit. A whole house surge protector at entry and may be one at the panel, is far more effective.

You have to understand that your power under most circumstances is clean. Voltage tolerances and distortion are mandated by Federal law, and power companies are held to these high standards. So there is a strong element of 'snakeoil' BS about these type of units.

It is however true that there can be transient issues with power from time to time, and these are almost always associated with adverse weather.

The sub stations and your local transformer closest to your house will be fitted with a high quality voltage regulators. In fact almost certainly higher quality than that Monster unit. Monster are known for a lot of bogus substandard gear anyway.

If you want more protection than high quality surge protection, then you need a UPS unit that contains batteries. These monitor the power and switch to battery in the event of power interruptions and and voltage abnormalities. I use UPS units from APC.

This has been a long winded way, of saying, good surge protection is job one. If you want more then you need a UPS and not so called power conditioners.

WRT whole house at the panel, I agree but motors and switches inside of the building are able to send surges that can damage sensitive electronics, so surge protected power strips are a good idea, as needed, aside from power amps and they can be UPS, but it's not absolutely necessary unless something wants to be shut down using a specific procedure, like computers.

The thing about not using protection after the breaker panel is that lightning can induce strong surges without even hitting the house. Not that I would expect a surge protector to handle a strong/nearby lightning strike, but they can help. My Panamax shuts off at <90VAC and >140VAC- I haven't lost any equipment during thunderstorms or at any other time and with the 60' tall trees near my house, I think I'm either lucky or the protection is working.

Does your power company offer a surge protector that fits between the meter and meter box? WE have WE Energies and they don't offer this.

 

[TLS Guy]

WRT whole house at the panel, I agree but motors and switches inside of the building are able to send surges that can damage sensitive electronics, so surge protected power strips are a good idea, as needed, aside from power amps and they can be UPS, but it's not absolutely necessary unless something wants to be shut down using a specific procedure, like computers.

The thing about not using protection after the breaker panel is that lightning can induce strong surges without even hitting the house. Not that I would expect a surge protector to handle a strong/nearby lightning strike, but they can help. My Panamax shuts off at <90VAC and >140VAC- I haven't lost any equipment during thunderstorms or at any other time and with the 60' tall trees near my house, I think I'm either lucky or the protection is working.

Does your power company offer a surge protector that fits between the meter and meter box? WE have WE Energies and they don't offer this.

Nor did ours when we built this house. But right after it became code here. So new construction has to have it, which is a very good idea.

In electrical storms the UPS units do cut in and out. So they do the job.

The other thing that has helped is no daisy chained neutrals. I don't see any loading with the AC motors cutting in and out and fridges. So, I think I am well covered. All three systems have everything protected, but the power amps are not connected to the UPS, as per best practice. That is another case for not having voltage amps and processing boards in the same case as power amps, connected to the same power supply.
I know the issue, its dollars and cents. But it does not have to be that way, and AVPs should be way cheaper then AVRs and it is disgraceful they are not.

 

[Mayrel2015]

Unplug all of the components from the back. Then unplug the Monster Power for a couple of minutes to let any capacitors drain and then plug it in again and turn it on with nothing attached to see if the problem persists. If it still cycles with nothing attached then it needs servicing or replacing. If it powers on ok, plug your components back in one at a time to see if one of your components is the issue. There are no user-serviceable parts in these units.

I just got home, I disconnected all the equipment and the same problem still persists, apparently something has been damaged and I have no idea what it was, thank you!

 

[Eppie]

I just got home, I disconnected all the equipment and the same problem still persists, apparently something has been damaged and I have no idea what it was, thank you!

As TLS Guy mentioned, the transformers are known to go, but given the age of the unit I think the UPS recommendation is the best one.

 

[highfigh]

Nor did ours when we built this house. But right after it became code here. So new construction has to have it, which is a very good idea.

In electrical storms the UPS units do cut in and out. So they do the job.

The other thing that has helped is no daisy chained neutrals. I don't see any loading with the AC motors cutting in and out and fridges. So, I think I am well covered. All three systems have everything protected, but the power amps are not connected to the UPS, as per best practice. That is another case for not having voltage amps and processing boards in the same case as power amps, connected to the same power supply.
I know the issue, its dollars and cents. But it does not have to be that way, and AVPs should be way cheaper then AVRs and it is disgraceful they are not.

How would neutrals be daisy-chained if a building it required to have separate circuits for each room't outlets, lighting, appliances, HVAC, etc?

The dollars and cents logic is due to mass production being the only way to feed the beast of consumer demand. "Make it fast, make it cheap" doesn't work with "Make it good". You may have heard comments from contractors and builders- "You can have good, fast and cheap- pick two, because you can't have all three".

 

[j_garcia]

I just got home, I disconnected all the equipment and the same problem still persists, apparently something has been damaged and I have no idea what it was, thank you!

These things die over time and the older they are the more likely that is. I had 3 different ones from Panamax, the caps just don't live forever after a life of cycling. I switched to APC after the last one died and never looked back. That one is ~10yrs old now and still works fine, but is probably time to replace it too.

 

[TLS Guy]

These things die over time and the older they are the more likely that is. I had 3 different ones from Panamax, the caps just don't live forever after a life of cycling. I switched to APC after the last one died and never looked back. That one is ~10yrs old now and still works fine, but is probably time to replace it too.

I have three APC units that are 20 years old now and two that are five years old. I keep gear as long as I can. I have units in my rig nearly sixty years old.
That is the key to having a really nice system, not having to chuck money at replacements. In fact the preamp and turntable I am playing right now I bought in 1966, and the turntable from around that time. The PU head and arm are fifty four years old. Would not know it was the latest digital audio wizardry!

 

[j_garcia]

1966! Older than me But not by much. And I wasn't into audio gear for at least another 15 years after that haha.

 

[TLS Guy]

How would neutrals be daisy-chained if a building it required to have separate circuits for each room't outlets, lighting, appliances, HVAC, etc?

The dollars and cents logic is due to mass production being the only way to feed the beast of consumer demand. "Make it fast, make it cheap" doesn't work with "Make it good". You may have heard comments from contractors and builders- "You can have good, fast and cheap- pick two, because you can't have all three".

That is the way it used to be done. The live went back to the breaker, and the neutrals went from outlet to outlet whether or not it was on the same breaker.

 

[lovinthehd]

What are the reasons you're using the Monster device?