McIntosh Service Manuals

[enit]

Originally Posted by mustang

does anyone have any idea why a MX121 would shut off and not be able to turn it back on? It died about a month ago and the next day it was working. Today it died again and no LED's, on/off switch is dead and remote gets no reaction either.

That's baffling. A call to McIntosh's customer service is due.

The two things I'd look out for is ventilation, and if you accidentally erased the software. (though I'm not sure how that can be done on the mx121).

Just a thought: maybe you hit the Pure Direct button of the mx121. Hitting that twice will show no display tho it will still play.

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

[enit]

Originally Posted by mustang

does anyone have any idea why a MX121 would shut off and not be able to turn it back on? It died about a month ago and the next day it was working. Today it died again and no LED's, on/off switch is dead and remote gets no reaction either.

Any progress made on the mx121?

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

[BatCat]

Originally Posted by mustang

does anyone have any idea why a MX121 would shut off and not be able to turn it back on? It died about a month ago and the next day it was working. Today it died again and no LED's, on/off switch is dead and remote gets no reaction either.

The most likely cause of this problem would be an intermittent Backup Power Supply +5VDC. Either IC37 is causing problems or the ribbon cable J7 on the Surround PCB or the other end J9 on the Display PCB not seated properly.

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by mustang

does anyone have any idea why a MX121 would shut off and not be able to turn it back on? It died about a month ago and the next day it was working. Today it died again and no LED's, on/off switch is dead and remote gets no reaction either.

I had similar problems with my MX-150. The thing would just up and quit and would be non-responsive. The only way I could get it to work was to unplug it for more than a few seconds and plug it back in. A call to McIntosh resulted in a recommendation to remove the top and re-seat several circuit boards and cables.

I don't know if re-seating the boards and cables for sure took care of the issue permanently, but I haven't had the problem since.

[prepress]

I am in Texas so no access to my gear. I got a remote holder for Christmas and need to know the dimensions for the MC2300 and MCD301 remotes. No success with the manuals. IF anybody knows or can measure, it would be appreciated. Thanks.

[mustang]

They replaced the unit under warranty and no problem since.

[prepress]

^ ^ ^

Very good!

[prepress]

Speaking of service (or rather hoping to avoid it), what specific type of screwdriver would someone recommend to get the endcaps off a MCD301? The glass appears to have shifted and the tray's having difficulty going in and out. The tray's not centered in the slot. I have a screwdriver whose head seems to fit in the screws, but it's a short blade and handle so there's no leverage. Plus, those screws seem really tight, perhaps overly so.

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by prepress

Speaking of service (or rather hoping to avoid it), what specific type of screwdriver would someone recommend to get the endcaps off a MCD301? The glass appears to have shifted and the tray's having difficulty going in and out. The tray's not centered in the slot. I have a screwdriver whose head seems to fit in the screws, but it's a short blade and handle so there's no leverage. Plus, those screws seem really tight, perhaps overly so.

Overkill perhaps... These are designed for guns but capable of properly removing any screw you may come across. They can be found at Brownells.com

[prepress]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

Overkill perhaps... These are designed for guns but capable of properly removing any screw you may come across. They can be found at Brownells.com

Overkill or not, if it's less than a repair (the 301's out of warranty) It's worth investigating. This is assuming the problem IS only a glass shift. Otherwise, the unit will need service. Thanks.

UPDATE: I've decided to take the 301 back to the store after considering things more. The problem began a few months back, when the tray would open just fine but have a bit of trouble closing. It even seemed to depend on how I hit the open/close button, as the tray would close smoothly at times when I hit the top part of the button. Over the ensuing months this continued as the tray had greater difficulty closing; it would stop and go a bit, sometimes hesitate. But in the last couple of weeks it began to have trouble opening as well. The tray is clearly off-center, skewed to the left; I don't remember if it was skewed when I got the unit new. None of the buttons appear to be off-center, however. And while it's not impossible for the glass to have shifted, it's a bit hard to believe it would shift this much this fast. And I'd think the tray should have trouble going both ways, not only one way as before.

The store should be able to check the glass, and I can get a specific screwdriver recommendation as well for the future. But other possibilities seem to be the drive belt and the drive itself. If the drive needs replacing that's over $800, I believe.