Pioneer DV99 - Sub with a mind of its own

[Arthur10]

Hi all.
Can anyone shed any light on this problem with an otherwise excellent system.

Occasionally the sub stops working for no apparent reason, leaving the other speakers on as normal. The first time was straight out of the box so Richer Sounds exchanged it without question. Then it went again & just came back on by itself, a few days later. The next time I found the scart out of the TV loose, pushed it back in & the sub came straight back on. Now its gone off again & I cant see why. All the cables have been out & in, system on/off, options etc reset but the sub stays quiet. The manual doesn't help either.

I'd love to find out why it keeps doing this. Pioneer (surprise surprise) said take it to my nearest dealer at my cost. They also reckon I'm the only one with loose speaker grilles, but this forum says otherwise (these are now fixed using better tape)

Any suggestions would be appreciated, cheers.

[MJG1985]

Dunno about sub, maybe incorrect setting on remote? Night mode may suppess the sub - low/no output?
The grills do get loose on this system. Pioneer won't do anything really. Just re-stick

[Arthur10]

I tried the night/quiet mode, & it's off. There is no output at sub (checked by touch & using test tone). The fan is working though & the relays are switching so I'll keep fiddling with the remote settings & cables.

Cheers

[jaymac]

You have got the sub well ventilated with at least the minimum gap as per manual? As for the grills comong loose thats been there since thestart. Just one other remote chance. this beast can be set up for the differrent modes ie music for stereo cinema for ProLogic 2 etc., . Have you by chance got it off in one of the modes
Jay

[Arthur10]

It's now back to about 1/4 power on the sub, & it doesn't matter which mode its in. If I gently place my finger on the sub cone you can feel it trying so there is some signal but the test tone for the sub draws a blank. I can also hear the solenoids working when you scroll through the modes. Help!

[Towner]

You mentioned that when you pushed the scart back in TV the sub came on. Would it be worth swapping the scart lead for a differant one to see if that has any effect???

[jaymac]

. Have you got headphones plugged in by any chance that will keep the sub off. I appreciate you saying you are getting no sound on test tone but can you confirm you have No bass when listening to a movie. or musicyou shouldn'tbe ableto hear it from the sub My hound who will jump a mile if someone farts lies with her head about a foot from the sub through the loudest parts of Private ryan and the ornaments are shaking pays no heed.

[Arthur10]

Good point Towner, I didn't think of that. I'll get another over the weekend & check that out. I also have a scart adapter plugged into the TV so I can bleed of the audio to the DVD player. I must admit that I thought that the scart just gives out left & right channels, not sub as well, so I can't see the link but it's still worth a go.

[Arthur10]

Cheers jaymac, but I don't use headphones. I'll try plugging some in & out to see if that sparks it up. When playing a movie/CD you can tell the sub is way down on power as, like you say it should be shaking the room (I have even boosted it up to +10dB, still the same). As I said before, there is some signal because when I rest my finger on the speaker cone, at the back, you can feel some movement. When its working properly the cone really shifts some air. I find it funny that this has only happened to me, from what I gather, either I'm doing something dumb (quite possible) or I'm just plain unlucky (well I haven't won the lottery yet). Pioneer aren't interested as its out of warranty.

[jaymac]

Why are you playing around with adaptors to bleed off the audio from the tv you should have only yhe scart from the dvd to the tv then in your 99 settins you should have selected scart and the tv audio should feed down that. Also check you haven't got the LFE set to off

[Arthur10]

The adapter was stuck in 'cos I wanted to use my old Vid, & freeview box. I'll be the first to admit it all looks a bit of a hash. The freeview box is temperamental so when the signal goes I revert back to the old TV tuner (bear in mind the TV must be getting on for 20yrs old, still gives a cracking pic though). I'll try junking the RCA bleed/adapter, but I still need the scart splitter.
I still wonder why the sub packed up though, it used to work fine with this set-up.

I'll try what you suggested & post result. Thanks for the help.

[Arthur10]

Tried everything as suggested, still no luck. With all channels turned to -10dB & the sub cranked up to +10dB the sub was just about moving. I then stripped out the sub amp to check fuses/connections, all OK. Put it back together & still the same.

Switched it on tonight with the above settings & bingo! Everything that's not nailed down is dancing off the shelves. I don't know why this thing is so temperamental but at least it's fine now (well for the time being)

Thanks for all the suggestions.