Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Restaurant at the End of Universe Hitchhikers - Service, Repair, Custom Leads & Interfaces G68 Repair?

Hello All,

I came downstairs Sunday morning and smelled that familiar hot electrical smell when I hit the ground floor. I chased it down to the room where the audio/video equipment is located. The G68 seemed to be the source, and when I touched the left side of the case (standing in front of it) it was VERY warm to the touch.

I switched power off at the back (it was in standby) and unplugged it to see if the smell would go away.

Last night I plugged it back in, switched it on and nothing is working. I'm guessing the power supply went on it (even though it has lived its entire life plugged into a UPS and a power conditioner).

Where is the best place to send this to be repaired? Meridian?

Contact Marc Koval, a member of this forum and ex Meridian USA Service manager. Post this up in the "Service, Repair, Custom Leads and Interfaces" section.

Cheers

George

I've sent him a note... thanks.

Hi!

I have a similar issue with the G68 XXV, it was warm when I turned it off. I went very close and I could feel the melted smells.
The day after I unplugged completely to take a look inside, the transformer from the PSU was warm even do the G68 was in standby also the smells comes only from the back left side.
Is there any suggestions?

If you mean turning it off with the power button on the front panel, your only putting it into standby which is almost the same load on the powersupply as leaving is on.

You are talking about the transformer on the switching powersupply?

It normaly has a switching powersupply which is rather badly designed and commits suicide by cooking itself in the not so greatly ventilated case of the G68.

If I understand well when the PSU switch is not working properly it may overheat! and any further failure in the PSU could potentially damage a component along the path even in standby?

Everything looks fine on the surface and I haven’t found any disassemble guide, I will try to break down the circuits boards on the right side where the smell comes from!

If I’m right the PSU produces heat. It does that whether It’s in on or standby mode. The layout is very densely populated on the PCB which heats up components which shortens the lifespan of the components.

There are some other capacitors in the G68 that also need to be replaced.

There is also a ventilator in the G68 which can be turned off in mconfig, heating up the G68 even more.

You can find multiple treads on the subject, This is one of them. On page two there are some useful links supplied by forum member Floris.

If you decide to replace the PSU I would advise you to use the bigger 65 watt version.

Hi,
I am considering the possibility to replace the PSU could you recommend me the 65w bigger model? I took a look inside and all the caps look fine! if I understand well, the caps not always need to be replaced?

thanks for the help!

The PSU you need is the XP Power ECM60UT31.

Even if the capacitors look OK on the backplane and on the display board, I would still strongly recommend that they be replaced.
They can load the new PSU and cause premature failure.

Cheers,

Steve

Is this recommended power supply a LPS?
Trying to help someone with a no power up G68.
With the simplest solution now in 2026, I remember back in the day people were trying all kinds of diy transformers.

The ECM60UT31 is a direct replacement SMPS power supply.

I'm not sure if LPSUs are still available for the G-series. I've seen some third-party ones, but none that are as compact as the official Meridian offering.

If you want to have a go at building your own, you'll need a power supply with +5V, +12V, and -12V outputs. The 5V needs to be 6 amps, the +12V needs to be 2 amps and the -12V 500mA.

The simplest fix is generally to replace the existing SMPS with the ECM60UT31 and to replace the capacitors on the backplane.

Good luck,

Steve

Thanks a lot Steve.
I'm looking for the simplest solution here, that solves the problem.
I can replace a power supply and capacitors, but nothing more complex.
I know somewhere there's a written procedure for this, Meridian official if I'm not mistaken.