I was connecting up my Thommo to a different TV but unfortuantely I had the power on at the mains.

Anyway it now refuses to start, no lights, no noise - nothing - any ideas?

BTW I tried replacing both the fuse in the plug and the internal one, where the power is connected.

Just the obvious one comes to mind - make sure the figure-8 mains connector at the box is well and truly pushed in. Maybe even swap it with another if you've got one handy.

Yep tried that and with a different power lead.

Any other suggestions?

Well, something might have shorted and stopped the psu starting up. The only things you could reasonably disconnect are the hdd and fan, then power up and see if there's any lifesigns. If by a miracle there is then you know one of them is shorting.

Otherwise you're looking at replacing the psu or mainboard, which is not going to be worth the cost, probably.

mmm the Thomson doesn't have a fan as far as I can tell, but I'll try the HDD

It's been a while since I opened my DHD4000

Perhaps the fan is the problem.

My DHD4000 sounds like a jet engine when it starts up.

Check near the HDD.
Fan plug appears to be on the RHS, near the corner of the HDD.

See this site for info:
http://dtt.opennet.co.uk/thomson.htm

http://dtt.opennet.co.uk/PVRInsideFull.JPG

Usual safety warning.
Take extreme care around the PSU

Alan

The DHD4000 does have a fan, it's mounted inside the underneath of the hard disk caddy.

Well I can lose anything - I'll give it a try.

What does it need to start?

Fan?
Fan & HDD?

Without fan, you should get normal operation but not indefinitely. This is the easiest to try first.

Without hdd, no operation at all, but you should still get the standby light flashing at first, then settling to steady yellow.

BTW, it's easier to unplug the hdd at the main board end of the cables, assuming all boards are the same as mine.

OK guys, thanks, so I'll try the following:

1) disconnect fan, then turn on

2) disconnect HDD, then turn on

I'll try it and report my findings

Sometimes just moving an electrical item can "nudge it" into non-working.

For something to be DEAD would suggest not the fan/HDD but the power supply. It's very unlikely that there is a fault within a HDD that would produce such a result.

It may be that poor soldering is the cause. Over time a borderline joint may fail - especially if the box is knocked or moved.


If you have the skills and tools then take a look at the power supply main board (assuming its internal).

Obviously DISCONNECT THE MAINS! (sorry if thats patronising ) I would also leave the disconnected board overnight to allow any charge to leak away.

Remove the power supply board and take a look underneath at the solder joints with a magnifying glass. It may not be obvious but a poor joint may lack "clarity" or have insuffcient solder or have what looks like a "dirty crack" or "dirty ring".

Most solder problems will be around components that get hot or are big and heavy or have repeated physical stress applied. If in doubt solder it!

If you have never done this sort of thing before then don't try. It's really not worth the risk.

If he had these skills he wouldn't be asking. Lets keep it to the plug and socket level and keep him safe.

I hope he's safe, not heard back from him yet.

My Thomson died this week, first one of the tuners stopped working then I tried rebooting it and it wouldn't come on at all. Having looked at the power supply board it comes from a Grudig Satellite receiver, I ordered a repair kit from Satcure and a regulator chip, I fitted all the components today and it's all back working as good as new again now. Very please because lots of stuff recorded still to watch.

I seem to recall there was some issue with Grundig Sat PSU, something to do with the capacitors failing.

Maybe there is a thread somewhere concerning failing Thomson DHD4000s psu, and want to do.


I have a vague recollection of software to "get at" the recorded programmes on a Thomson DHD4000.

I think it's the same software used to transfer recordings off the DigiFusion range (which I have used in the past)

The hard drive has to be slaved in a PC to do it though.

I reconnected my Thomson yesterday after a complete rest for several weeks. Perfect for more than half an hour... then freeze and white screen

The lid was off and the machine was sitting inside an open window with a slight breeze flowing over it. I'm sure it can't be a heat problem (already been into service menu as per my old thread). I fear that capacitors may be beyond me. I have a spare ExcelStor 60gb 7200rpm HDD, was wondering whether to try that.

parthena

How much did it cost, if you don't mind me asking?

I have a suspicion if it's the same as the one in my DHD4000 it'll be the REV 2.0 kit RELKIT 33e which is £7.95. Visually the same although their picture has less components than exist on my board, changing the caps might preserve it a bit longer.

Mine is playing up of late, initially fails to power up once it's cooled down for more than a few minutes - the hard drive spinning up and down. Lately it's crashing following the overnight download.

I know for £50 ish I could buy another from Ebay but that's got as much chance to have a failing PSU as mine, and up till now mine has been good as gold.

Mine turned out to be a crack in the board which a friend repaired and it appears to now be working fine - just need to get my Fusion FVRT200 working which is stuck on PLS WAIT

I've got the Fusion and the Thomson, both broked

parthena

> Mine is playing up of late, initially fails to power up once it's cooled down

Just to follow up my own message, I finally got around to changing the capacitors in the DHD4000 PSU today, using the REV 2.0 kit RELKIT 33e from Satcure.

This has restored it to full operation now. Only thing to note is two of the capactors supplied exceed the voltage rating required and are therefore slightly larger. This means they touch the lid so some insulation will be necessary between them and the lid.

Is this easy to do, if like me, you've never soldered anything in your life?

Stephen.

> Is this easy to do, if like me, you've never soldered anything in your life?

We all had to start somewhere You could practice on scrap stuff until you get confident. Satcure have a section on this here. They'll even sell you an iron, solder and solder removal braid!!

Some of the capacitors had the leads kinked to hold them in place when they were originally flow-soldered. I used a solder sucker to remove the old solder and usually you can then wiggle the leads free. Sometimes a little more heat and the component will come out, but these stayed fast, one concern is being too heavy handed will lift the track.

In the most though as this is a power supply the tracks are quite thick and it's a fairly easy job as the components are pretty big. Taking a look at the picture of the V2.0 board on Satcure this board runs from the back to the front of the box so is quite big. The components themselves are between 7-10mm round with the leads a few mm in from that.

None of the removed capacitors showed any signs of damage as given in his example pictures. I think they will also change the components for you for a fee.