Lightning damage

rookieme II

Hey guy's I need some input on my system that apparently has been damaged from a lightning strike. The strike happened 25' from the corner of our house a week ago. There was damage to several items around our house. Items like the AC adapter for the DSL Modem, AC adapter for a laptop, the AC adapter for an electric blanket and a string of low voltage decorative LED lights on the back deck were popped. All of the low voltage components in our StandBy Home Generator were fried. The home alarm system main component board was popped. There was no damage to the TV we were watching at the time of the strike, no damage to any major appliances.

I am just now starting to figure out what it has done to the theater system downstairs.

The issue at hand has to do with the subwoofers and/or the subwoofer output channel on the Yamaha. I had a split cable coming out of the Subwoofer Output Channel that went to a Polk PSW125 and a PSW110. The 110 was unplugged from the AC outlet at the time of the lightning strike, but was still connected to the audio cable. The PSW125 was plugged into a surge protector and it was in the ON position. All of the other components were plugged into the surge protector as well, and they all are working just fine.

The problem is when I go to change tv channels, or choose options from within a DVD's menu .. etc there is a loud thump/pop from the subwoofers. Both subs do this even if just one is plugged in. I have tried new audio cables, checked the parameters in the setup menu, tried each sub one at a time. In addition I am getting VERY little output from the subs, if any. I may not be getting any output from the subs as I did not disconnect the other speakers so that I could hear just the sub.
What do you guy's think? Are the subs popped, is the output channel on the receiver popped or both?

disneyjoe7

Lightening damage is more to damage Tuners from cables outside, Telephone from cable outside. Your tuner in your tv is must likely damage, I think you need to check your home alarm system also. Make sure it can send a signal to your alarm company, call them and tell them you like to test it.


Steve

rookieme II

Well actually the alarm system has been repaired with just the replacement of the main circuit board. There was no damage to any of the TV's or the DISH receivers, they all work just fine. I am surprised but we did not even have damage to any of the phones, phone lines or router and the only part of the DSL modem that got damaged was the AC adapter itself. Even the PS3 survived without damage.

decal

Lightning is a strange phenomena, it will completely destroy one thing while something next to it will be unharmed. My advice, as always, unplug your electrical equipment during storms. It's the only way to be totally safe.

bmbguy

I've even had unplugged equipment suffer damage. A network router that had power unplugged was damaged on the two ports that had cables plugged into it. Although, unplugged is much better than plugged in.

Back in the day, I used to do a lot of electronic service. I remember a telephone answering machine that came in after a nearby lightning strike. The copper in the two traces on the circuit board that were connected to the telephone line had been blown right off the board and was plastered to the inside of the plastic casing. Wild stuff.

So yeah, you've got to try and unplug everything from power, telephone lines, antennas, etc. Of course these days, telephone lines and antennas are getting harder to find...

disneyjoe7

I once work in a TV shop repairing tv's had a set come in on my bench for repair. It was just a fuse so nothing big, another set of the same customer was completely fired and mark NFR Not Feasible to Repair. When cost got to 50% or more of set it's NFR unless the customer wants to repair it.

decal

Unplug everything!!!!!

skrol

Check with your home owners insurance. Years ago I had lightning damage to a stereo receiver and a turn table. Insurance covered the repairs.

More recently I had mild damage to a sub-woofer and a dvd player. The sub just had a blown fuse. The dvd player was toast. The TV acted strange at first turn-on but has been fine since. These were all connected to a surge protector (low end APC power strip). I kind of wish it would have taken out the TV. I could use an upgrade but can't justify buying one.

Serendipity

Some very good advice in this thread. Unplug everything or use a good power conditioner/surge protector.

bmbguy

Even with surge protectors, I won't count on them to save me. Nice to have in case I'm not around -- but if I'm around, I'm unplugging stuff. Just got up and did it in the middle of the night last night, as a matter of fact.

We also unplug everything if we leave town.

Serendipity

From my experience, I have seen a good surge protector sacrifice itself to protect the gear connected.

decal

Serendipity wrote: »

From my experience, I have seen a good surge protector sacrifice itself to protect the gear connected.

You are lucky.

Serendipity

Well, it worked. Best $300 I ever spent for my audio system.

decal

Serendipity wrote: »

Well, it worked. Best $300 I ever spent for my audio system.

Like I said before, you are lucky.

BeefJerky

decal wrote: »

Like I said before, you are lucky.

Well, that's what a properly designed surge protector is supposed to do in the event of a surge larger than its joule-absorbing ability. No, it won't protect against a direct lightning strike, but then, even unplugging your equipment may not protect it. However, Serendipity's situation is not unheard of by any means. I've experienced the same thing.

Mind you, don't bother with the $8 Wal-mart specials; you do want a properly designed and well-made one with good quality parts. I've used (and had good luck with) APC and Tripp-Lite myself.

apphd

To the OP, my bet is something with the receiver, maybe all 3 if you have my luck. If you can get a "loaner" from a friend for a couple hours maybe you can confirm where the problrm is. Good luck

mgalbr22

my house took a direct hit once. the chimney was blown to bits. other than that damage and the fire dept kicking down the door to check for fire (i was out of town), all damage was to microwave and garage door opener. no damage to a/v gear, and i had no surge protector.
primary cause is electromagnetic shock, which may not even be preventable by surge protectors or power conditioners! not sure if their coverage is good for that.
in any event i now have them on all devices, including subs.
good luck.
p.s. my insurance covered the loss. not sure they would today, especially with a high deductible.

inspiredsports

Depending upon the exact conditions at the time of the lightning strike, I've found that unplugging does not help.

Electronic components are full of highly conductive materials and I think those materials and even unplugged power cords, etc. can form a pathway into the item.

Several years ago I had lightning strike (and literally explode) a pine tree 40' from the corner of our family room. I was unpacking a brand new 900MHz cordless phone set at the time and the base station and 3 of 5 handsets "sucked voltage straight out ot the air" and ended up with fried components inside!

A light bulb in a lamp in that same corner went supernova and burned out.

A flat screen TV that was turned on (plugged into Time Warner Cable and an APC H10) that was 20' across the room (as well as everything else in the home) went unscathed.

Because the bulb burned out you would think that anything else plugged in to the electrical system of the house might have been affected, but I don't think the current came in "through the wiring". I think it hit the bulb and phone set "through the air".

rookieme II

apphd wrote: »

To the OP, my bet is something with the receiver, maybe all 3 if you have my luck. If you can get a "loaner" from a friend for a couple hours maybe you can confirm where the problrm is. Good luck

Thanks. I had a friend carry the subs over to his house to test them on his system. Should hear back from him later today.

rookieme II

inspiredsports wrote: »

A light bulb in a lamp in that same corner went supernova and burned out.

A flat screen TV that was turned on (plugged into Time Warner Cable and an APC H10) that was 20' across the room (as well as everything else in the home) went unscathed.

Similar situation with the strike that hit us. On each corner of the house is a double flood light base. Those lights were not on at the time of the lightning strike. When we went to turn those lights on that night, one bulb in each base went "supernova" and went out.
The flat screen we were watching and the laptop I was working on never even flinched.