Trying to diagnose a Philips HTS6500 DVD Player

[lkvee]

I have been testing it with its proprietary speakers and subwoofer detached. I have been testing it with no connection to a TV.

The fan's running. I have trouble cycling among the sources (DVD/AM/FM/MP3), but I believe the buttons on the panel are working. The original problem was the player would "eat DVDs". There seems to be documentation about this condition, but I'm reluctant to update the firmware on this thing.

I have also noticed no activity coming from the DVD drive itself. I have manually moved the laser, and its location would not change upon powering up and down. The "guard teeth" that would prevent insertion of a disc when another one has already been inserted are also up, even though there's no disc inside.

I've cracked open the unit. I see Rubycons, but I also see Lelons (bright green). None looked popped, but I have yet to test any of them with my ESR meter. I'm not even sure if there are more boards underneath the two pictured.

Thoughts?

[tom66]

Re: Trying to diagnose a Philips HTS6500 DVD Player

The first check would be that all the power supply rails are functioning. Use a multimeter with the black lead connected to the case and the red lead to probe each rail.

The fact that the DVD player has no activity at all might mean the small IC which drives all the motors is fried. It usually looks something like the picture I have attached. Look for any visible damage: holes, cracks, burn marks and a faint label are clues.

There is also usually a dedicated IC next to the connector running from the laser head; this too could be damaged although it is less likely. This is the chip which reads the data from the laser; it also controls the tracking of the laser head, focus and the disk spindle, by commanding the motor driver. However, tracking down a replacement may be nigh impossible. It's possible an LDO powering it has failed, which is far easier to replace.

The Lelon capacitors look to be part of a class D audio amplifier output stage. They are unlikely to be at fault. Worst case if they are, you will get no audio out.