Auto power on problem with Paradigm PS1000

[Amal99]

I bought a PS1000 from a member on here around 2-3 months ago.

Everything was good and working fine, and in a way it still is.

The only problem is that it wont power on automatically when the amplifier sends a signal. No matter how high I put the sub level and cut off frequency it wont power on by its self like it used to. This only started happening a few days ago.

I can still turn it on my pulling out the power plug and pushing it back in so its not a major problem, but I would like it to turn on automatically as it used to.

If anyone can help me, it would be appreciated

 

[Amal99]

Just been testing it again, and now it wont turn on at all, no matter what I do.

I can say a few things about the problem though:
*Its not the power lead or the sub lead, I tried changing both and using it with another subwoofer
*Its not the amplifier as I tried it with the old subwoofer

What else can I do?

 

[bob123123]

Hi Amal99
Am I correct in saying it will not power on now? If so about 9 months ago my PS1000 sub stopped switching on. I changed the power lead from my pc to make sure it was not faulty and changed the sub phono cable as well. Still dead. I then thought about the amp having a fuse inside it, just like lots of electrical items. I unscrewed the amp from the back and sure enough the inline fuse had blown. So I went to Maplin with it to get a replacement. They did not have the exact match in stock but had a replacement.

I don’t remember what the original fuse was but the replacement they offered was a
250v Time-Lag 500mA. They come in packs of 10.

I plugged the fuse in, screwed the amp back on and rigged the cables up. Powered up the amp running a DVD and straight away as soon as the sound went to the box it powered up. Its been running for 9 months and have had no problems with it. The best £2.70 I spent.

Good luck

 

[Amal99]

Hi Amal99
Am I correct in saying it will not power on now? If so about 9 months ago my PS1000 sub stopped switching on. I changed the power lead from my pc to make sure it was not faulty and changed the sub phono cable as well. Still dead. I then thought about the amp having a fuse inside it, just like lots of electrical items. I unscrewed the amp from the back and sure enough the inline fuse had blown. So I went to Maplin with it to get a replacement. They did not have the exact match in stock but had a replacement.

I don’t remember what the original fuse was but the replacement they offered was a
250v Time-Lag 500mA. They come in packs of 10.

I plugged the fuse in, screwed the amp back on and rigged the cables up. Powered up the amp running a DVD and straight away as soon as the sound went to the box it powered up. Its been running for 9 months and have had no problems with it. The best £2.70 I spent.

Good luck

Thanks a lot for the reply mate. I've got mine sorted now. I also did everything you did, including checking the internal fuse, but in my case that was not the problem.

I gave my cousin a call, I only bought the PS1000 after listening to his. It turns out he had the same problem several months a go, he knew instantly what was wrong, it was the resistors on the auto power on system, he said it was a design fault, and almost every user will experience it.

He's an electronics engineer, so I got mine fixed for free . He replaced both resistors with 2 beefier ones, around twice the size, but of the same value and since then its been working flawlessly.

Incase you ever get the problem, unplug the 4 wires from the plate, and look at the bottom of the plate where you will see 2 resistors on the PCB, they are horizontal and a fair bit bigger than the ones lined up in quantities.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[shakespeare,]

I have had this problem for a while also.
Thanks Amal for the heads up on the resistor fault.

 

[Amal99]

I have had this problem for a while also.
Thanks Amal for the heads up on the resistor fault.

No problem

 

[Noddy7]

My PS1000 developed the same problem and your info was a godsend Amal

I'd like to add the following pointers:

*the resistor in question is subject to a lot of current draw and heat
* the resistor was slightly burnt, but was still useable
* problem with mine was the PCB trace that held that resistor - due to heat it had developed contact issues and fractured
* the coding values on the resistor had faded. There is another one of similar value next to it (similar size and color). Measure it with a multimeter and use that value to replace the burnt one
* if your PCB trace is broke, use a multimeter to find where it is connected to, and solder the resistor to that component instead for a more durable connection
*Paradigm should not have soldered that 'hot' resistor to the PCB the way they did

Hope this helps

 

[Amal99]

Its a common problem with this subwoofer, so im hoping this thread can live as a reference post for who ever needs it in the future.

 

[XbuG]

Right, replacement resistors did not seem to work.
can anyone confirm for me the value of these resistors? as Mine might've been heat damaged, i did stick a test meter on one. the colours have all evaporated.

or second option, can i bypass the auto-power-on bit of the circuit easily?

thanks.

 

[Amal99]

My resistors went AGAIN and my uncle put even larger ones on it this time.

I've taken a few pictures for anyone who needs to replace theirs, or wants to see it for what ever reason.







Everythings back to normal for me

 

[type r daddy]

my sub developed a fault with no power comming on, i was already looking for replacements until i came across this thread!!! i opened her up from the rear and i had a look inside her, low and behold it was the little glass fuse!!!! popped down to maplin as suggested and picked up the exact fuses. (pack of 10) £2.69.

BEST MONEY I HAVE SPENT IN A LONG TIME!!!!

thanks guys

 

[chipbutt]

Thanks a lot for the reply mate. I've got mine sorted now. I also did everything you did, including checking the internal fuse, but in my case that was not the problem.

I gave my cousin a call, I only bought the PS1000 after listening to his. It turns out he had the same problem several months a go, he knew instantly what was wrong, it was the resistors on the auto power on system, he said it was a design fault, and almost every user will experience it.

He's an electronics engineer, so I got mine fixed for free . He replaced both resistors with 2 beefier ones, around twice the size, but of the same value and since then its been working flawlessly.

Incase you ever get the problem, unplug the 4 wires from the plate, and look at the bottom of the plate where you will see 2 resistors on the PCB, they are horizontal and a fair bit bigger than the ones lined up in quantities.

Thanks for your reply.

Hi There,

Total new here so hello all.

What brought me here was Goggling burnt out resistors in my PS1000, Amal99 any chance you could post what your cousin replaced them with on yours as I can't get any one to verify what they are at stores and now at my wits end. Many thanks in advance if you do take the time I really don't what to bin my sub..

Kind Regards,

Chippy

 

[IronGiant]

amal99 was banned 5 years ago so he won't be able to reply.

 

[Steve Hive]

My PS-1000 just died so I have spent the morning looking into the problem. Mine burnt the PCB up around the resistors so I had to work the circuit out before I could put it back together. Mine is a V3 and the relevant part of the circuit is included below.

My measurements indicate that the resistors drop 177V when the sub is idling and 0.8 when running. Since the resistors are 4K7 they are dissipating around 1.7W each, so probably on the limit. Surprisingly, however, the resistors survived and the PCB suffered all the damage, which is worse. Blackened sections must be cut out of the board as the carbon can conduct.

The moral of all this appears to be if you don't want to have to fix it then unplug it when it's not running, because this is when all the damage is done.

 

[Surfy]

Thanks for the info, thanks to this I've just repaired mine.
Oddly though, the resistors in mine were 5k6 not 4k7 and looked like 2W judging by the size, which is a bit too close to what they are dissipating.
What I really don't get is why they didn't just use one big 11k one instead, seeing as they're in series. The mid point between the two resistors is the part of the board where my track had burnt and no other components connect to that point so bad design in my view.
I've replaced them both anyway with big 5W ones and reinforced the PCB tracks around them with some solid wire. Probably "overkill" but hopefully it means I won't have to do it again.

This is my first post here, I joined so that I could just say thanks to all who contributed here.

 

[Spookyej]

Hi Gents, Looks like I've joined the faulty PS1000 club and having found this thread I'm looking for advice from you.
Tested the power and aux leads, all are OK so must be the sub itself. No power comes on at all and it's essentially dead.
The fuse inside is intact but the resistors are blackened. Could this be the problem?
I'll try and attach a pic
Thanks
Johan

 

[Surfy]

Hi Johan, hat looks identical to the problem I had.
Those resistors probably aren't burnt out, mine looked worse but were still OK (I changed them anyway though for some bigger ones. If you look on the other side of the PCB you'll probably find that the solder joints on those resistors have probably failed. A temporary fix would just be to go over them with fresh solder but personally I would recommend getting uprated resistors and doing the job once rather than twice.
I also reinforced the copper track and connection between the two resistors with some heavy gauge wire as that looked like it had been under some heat stress too and possibly contributed to the failed solder joints.
The complete repair cost about £2.
Regards
Paul

 

[Spookyej]

Hi Paul,
Thanks for the reply. I've managed to swap out the resistors but unfortunately it's still dead as a dodo. Any other thoughts or advice?
Thanks
Johan

 

[ched]

Did you manage to get the V3 fixed as I have same problem and not sure of Resistor Values?
Cheers for any help.

 

[Spookyej]

Hi there,
Yes the unit is fixed and works fine. It turned out that the fuse was also dead. I made a school boy error and assumed the fuse was OK because the wire was visibly intact inside. I was wrong and this needed to be changed.
The unit now runs fine with a new fuse and 2 new resistors.

 

[ched]

Cheers. I have a V3 I think (power cable on kettle type plug). I measured the resistors at 4.7KOhms repaired the pcb and all working . I now have the circuit diagram which states for 230v the resistors should be 5.6K and for 110v 2.0K both 3watts. Interestingly on the diagram it states Power dissipation on the 2K resistors on 110v is 1.2watts.

 

[Yannick99]

Hi... thank you a lot guys... i was shearching value of those resistor. Color code are faded. So now i know it's 2k 3w.

@ched Where did you get the diagram ? I never found this one

 

[ched]

@Yannick99 Just tried looking for the diagram on my hard drive but I can't find it. I will keep looking and post a link if I can find it. Hope you manage to sort your sub out.

 

[Yannick99]

@ched Thank you very much! Very appreciate
It was exactly what i needed!!

 

[Udude37]

Hello good people
So my dad has this paradigm ps 1000 sub in his lockup for ages and gave it to me a while ago and it has the same problem as most of you
Am I right in saying it just needs new resistors and fuse

ps: I know this is a old page just looking for help