Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems 861v4 stopped working

Tonight when I went to start using my system I noticed I couldn't change volume and that the DSP speakers were all in stand-by.
I used the remote to try to turn it on again without any luck.
Next I tried power cycling using the switch on the back (twice) and then unplugged the unit.
The only change was that the amber lights on the front all turned on (Dolby Digital, THX, dts, mpeg) and remain on. The display is blank.

The unit doesn't respond to any buttons on the remote, or any of the front panel buttons.

I haven't made any system changes in over a year, and will need to load Meridian config on my new laptop to see if I can download my config file again.

Other than that, I am at a loss as to how to troubleshoot this problem.
Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated.

Kevin.

Hi Kevin,

It sounds like the PSU could be failing.

You'll probably need to find a local tech who can check the PSU outputs and replace if necessary.

If you're running a Linear PSU then disregard the above and it could be that cards need re-seating.

Good luck,

Steve

Thanks for the suggestions Steve. Yes it does have the linear power supply installed.

The next problem I have encountered is my USB to serial adapter is not compatible with Windows 11.
It appears that the StarTech ICUSB232PRO should work, so I will have to wait a few days for it to be delivered.

Hi Kevin,

Have you tried opening the Meridian Configuration Programme in Windows 11?

The following is what I posted back in February 2022 so knowing it is working now will be helpful.

If you haven't, you may have to use a PC with Windows 10 still on it, unless things have changed software wise since February.

Cheers,
Steve M

Yes, I have version 3.07 build 3592 of the Meridian Configuration Program and it is running on Windows 11.

Kevin,

Thanks for that confirmation on the Meridian Configuration Programme. Nice to know that there are still people tasked with updating Meridian's primary software, the Configuration Programme. Shame they can't update the 218 Firmware so that Tidal Connect would work with the 218 the same way that Spotify Connect has from the get go.

I still use Sooloos due to my long term user period with it and also use ROON with Tidal. When I updated to Win 11 in February 2022, the following Meridian software programmes would not work;

• Configuration Programme
• Legacy Configuration Programme
• Flash Programme
• Meridian Device Manager
• Sooloos Control PC
• Sooloos Touch PC

I just went back to Win 10 just so everything would still work properly. I wonder if these other listed programmes now still work on Windows 11 ?

As for the suggestion of reseating cards, my 861v4 was turning off within a few seconds of turning it on. I have a linear power supply on both my 861v4 and 861v8, so I swapped the power supply circuit board from the v8 to the v4 and the problem remained the same. Therefore after putting the original v4 power supply circuit board back, I removed every card in my 861v4 and reseated every board tightly. That did the trick thankfully, as Meridian were after £750 just for the new power supply circuit board on it own !

Good luck with your fix.


Cheers,


Steve M

I continued working on the problem today, and connected the new USB to Serial Port cable to my laptop.
Meridian config found the serial port without any problems, but when trying to store the config file it reported the error No Device Found.

I labelled and then disconnected all of the cables from the back of the unit and removed it from the rack.
Next I removed and inspected each card one at a time, powered on, checked the display, and then powered off and re-installed the card.
Getting to the last two cards - two analog input cards (IA00 and IA10B) caused the amber lights surrounding the display to turn off.
That was the only difference. I still can't get the main display to turn on even with these two cards removed.

Not sure what else to try.

The display is driven by the Comms card and you should only need this card in the chassis to allow the display to fire up.

If you've stripped all cards out and just left the CO00 card in the unit, do you get a display?

Check the display cable that links from the comms card to the display - DO NOT CHANGE THE ORIENTATION OF THE CONNECTOR - If it is connected the wrong way around you can damage the comms card and the display.

If that does not work, then you could try reloading the firmware or you either have a faulty display or comms card.

You may need to find a local tech if a firmware re-load does not fix it.

Good luck,
Steve

Today I tried the following:

- removed all of the cards except for the Computer Card CO00

- removed and then reinstalled the display board and buttons board including removing and installing the ribbon cable connecting the board to the CO00 card

- removed and then reinstalled the power supply and checked the voltages: blue = 12.2V, yellow = 13.2V, red = 5.2V

- ran Meridian Flash Uploader resulted in message "A manual reset in required. Please turn the power to the product off and on"
after numerous power cycles, this is as far as I could get.

None of these things helped. I still can't get anything on the display.

At this point without having other boards to swap in I can't think of anything else to try.

Update - Problem solved, it was the power supply.

For anyone that encounters a similar problem in the future I will post more details.

I reached out to Marc Koval at The Repair Shop, and with his guidance I was able to resolve the problem.

1) I was testing the power supply voltages without any load attached. When I measured again with the CO00 installed, the +5v DC dropped to under 4 volts.

2) I thought I had a linear power supply as my original invoice stated 'upgraded power supply'. I learned that that my unit was upgraded to the switching power supply, not the linear power supply.

3) To resolve the problem I purchased and installed the new Meridian linear power supply kit.