CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

MrBlonde83 · Joined: 16 Mar 2009 Posts: 132 Location: Lansford, PA

Well, here I am again...
I was watching Sharkweek on my ECP 4100 and a slight poof sound and some smoke come out of the front of the unit. The picture stayed on however oddly enough. So maybe this can be fixed? As you can probably tell, i'm not skilled on how to fix these things, I can swap parts, but never touched the CRTs themselves. I shut it off right after to prevent further damage. I took a few photos... They're probably useless, I can't see anything in them.

HaydnG90 · Joined: 22 May 2006 Posts: 1356

Lots of carbon deposits in that chassis. A good clean would be recommended especially around the HV sources.

mc86 · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 4:14 pm Post subject:

I've experience this before -- every time my old man farts after eating habeneros. Wink

Seems like you should be able to see damage somewhere, given the where-there's-smoke-there's-fire/heat theory. Perhaps the thing to do would be to pull out the chassis with the LVPS and HVPS and visually inspect them as they are near the front. To do this is pretty easy -- there are four screws on the cover plate IIRC, and then two screws holding the rail in place. One screw connects a few green ground lines to the chassis. All are visible and you could do it in ~10mins. I bet the ECP pages show you how.

The keystone module and power-entry-module are the only other things on the front of the machine, but I don't think those have been historically "prone to fail" much. Of course, historically-true is changing as these buggers get older...sorta like how cancer wasn't a leading cuase of dealth until people started living longer!

I think you still have an extra chassis laying around to pull parts from, but if not, I *might* have spares that could work for you as I haven't trashed all of the 4100 chassis I tore down yet -- anything would be free, of course as I am pretty sure Curt pitched almost all his non-4500 ECP parts. BTW, I'm still hoping for your other tubes someday. Wink

bests,
Matt

MrBlonde83 · Joined: 16 Mar 2009 Posts: 132 Location: Lansford, PA

How long should I leave it unplugged before I go taking those HV leads out? :/ I don't wanna get fried. I'm not as electrically inclined as you guys are. Sad

I see the indicator light on the back how much voltage is running through the set, still weary about poking around in there. But I already replaced both the HVPS and LVPS so i'm no stranger to that area. swapped boards too. But, an audiovideotech on ebay said it could be the HVPS. Maybe I can get one of those for free since its such an old set and people seem to be throwing the parts out. Shame because I think it still has a decent HD image.

And I went upstairs poking around to remove those tubes. If that isn't the problem, I'll take those out. The only one with wear looks like the blue. Looks like, all i have to do is remove some philips screws up top and those 4 big bolts. and a multipin cable going to the switch box and G2 controls.

Also how would I clean around the chassis to get that carbon out of there? Compressed air? lol A brush? Without causing static electricity?

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 4:41 pm Post subject:

5 minutes. When you take out the HV leads, touch the copper tip to the metal chassis of the set. THen wipe everything down with isopropyl alcohol, NOT rubbing alcohol and a paper towel. Wait 5 minutes for it to evaporate, then plug the leads back into the splitter. You may as well take the splitter out and wipe it down too.

Plug it all back in and see what happens. I suspect that you have arcing within the HVPS, in which case it will probably burn itself out with more smoke and smell in a short period of time. If it was just crap due to dust around the HV area, then you'll be fine.

draganm · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 8990 Location: Colorado

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:02 pm Post subject:

True isopropyl alcohol (up here anyway) is over 99% pure.

Just to show that once again, Canadians know how to brew their alcohol! Smile

Seriously though, rubbing alcohol leaves a residue. Not recommended.

mc86 · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:38 pm Post subject:

Interesting -- as there is no discounting Curt's experience on this, there must be some impurity present in trace amounts that is causing something to akin to residue or the residue itself. I use pure methanol to wipe down stuff typically unless it is greasy or oily, and then I use hexane if the substrate allows for it. For glass, I use acetone a lot.

Can't help you if it is an HVPS that is on the blink...I traded my extra backup HVPS for an ECP Extender board...

Matt

MrBlonde83 · Joined: 16 Mar 2009 Posts: 132 Location: Lansford, PA

It can't be repaired? Anywhere else I can get one?

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 5:51 pm Post subject:

I've got stock.

MrBlonde83 · Joined: 16 Mar 2009 Posts: 132 Location: Lansford, PA

Awesome, I'll find out if thats what it is, guess I'll take the panels off and fire it up, carefully put the fan panels on to prevent overheating?

MrBlonde83 · Joined: 16 Mar 2009 Posts: 132 Location: Lansford, PA

I have it running now... it smells a bit.. but no problem hmm... How can it still be running? maybe it was a capacitor leak?

macgyver655 · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 8508

Sounds to me more like a cap exploded. I would look around for a vented cap.

MrBlonde83 · Joined: 16 Mar 2009 Posts: 132 Location: Lansford, PA

i took a pic... lemme upload it to my comp.... i'm not about to open that HV... i'll take your word for it. if that was the case.. can I use it as is? I guess it'll fail in the future though. It needs that Cap! lol
I shut it down for now... I dont' feel like watching anything right now, i'll probably watch a movie later tonight.

Eh, I don't know what this black stuff is here... (i think it already was there though?)

And there's a shark Razz

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 9:31 pm Post subject:

Take a closeup of that first pix. It does look like a cap smoked, but probably burned off, and it's working fine now. You lucked out, although if that cap is burned up, I'd take it right off the board.

MrBlonde83 · Joined: 16 Mar 2009 Posts: 132 Location: Lansford, PA

So, what exactly happened then? I don't understand. Is it fine now? I guess I'd have to open the HVPS to see if anything is burnt? I don't know if thats what it was, it felt like rubber... i peeled some off and threw it in the trash.

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 10:59 pm Post subject:

OK, that's just goop, it looked like a smoked cap, but I was wrong. Just ignore it, and look for a fried insect somewhere in the set. Smile

MrBlonde83 · Joined: 16 Mar 2009 Posts: 132 Location: Lansford, PA

LOL a fried insect (serves him right)... thanks Curt... I needed that Smile

I'm in the mood to watch Jaws tonight...
hopefully the set will survive threw the showing. Have a 720p Blueray on my Mac. Smile

But, I have to say... this set has more than lived past the useful life of this little digital POS I had a few years ago... I think it was 3 months and poof! the lamp exploded. even though it too was used. damn this thing is what? 20 years old now? Has a damn nice HD picture in my opinion...

mc86 · Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 3:44 am Post subject:

If your mac can output 1080i, you might find you like how it looks even better. To my eyes, 720p looks a bit soft by comparison. Yep, damn amazing these machines.

I'd still inspect it for a bug or fried part...in my experience, things that go away by themselves usually come back by themselves.

Matt

MrBlonde83 · Joined: 16 Mar 2009 Posts: 132 Location: Lansford, PA

The next highest resolution is 1920x540 or some odd thing.. doesn't look very good at all. even the satelite receiver.. 1080i is all shifted towards the one side.