Pioneer VSX-1121 with UE22 error

jghorton

Same Issue - $600 Pioneer VSX-1122-K less than 2-years old --
- Sound has gone out (repeated, intermittent) with flashing UE22 code
- I've tried everything I can think of and have even paid an online AV 'expert' ... to no avail. - Can't seem to contact Pioneer and have no authorized service center within 150 miles.
- I'm thinking about simply dumping it, taking my loss and buying a Soundbar.

e2kkot

audioken wrote: »

I just looked at a vsx-51 doing this. There's a ball-grid-array DTS chip on the digital pcb. Cooking this with a heat gun for 30-40 seconds (with the rcvr unplugged) has resoldered it, (no more UE-22), for now. I glued a little heat-sink to it in hopes it won't unsolder again, but I suspect it will anyway. I've done this on several Onkyo receivers and never heard back from the customers, which means either they lasted or the customers pitched them out when thay failed again.

Thanks audioken! You've saved my day & at least $400. I was about to give up on my VSX-1021.

I've followed audioken's instructions, I've cooked the DTS chip for 30 seconds using a heat gun and it works fine now. No UE22 error code, no more weird Static/Crackling noises on my Pioneer VSX-1021-K

Instructions:
- Disconnect power
- Remove the top cover
- Locate the DTS chip. Its in the middle of the top circuit board (the one connected to HDMI) (see image below)
- Start heating up the DTS chip at high setting, 8" - 10" away from the top surface of the DTS chip. (be extremely careful, DO NOT overheat) 30 seconds was enough for the circuit board to start smoking.
- Wait 5-10 min for the circuit board to cool down
- Reassemble & reconnect your receiver

dennis201208

re: e2kkot.

well, i had this problem with my pioneer lx55.
I tried your solution, and it seems to work. Thank you
i hope it will last

jab336

This just happened to my Pioneer Elite VSX-52. Followed audioken tip except heated the whole entire board at about 4" high with heat gun... Problem resolved. Hope I will get a few more years out of this unit (which I love). Side not I noticed that the UE22 error would go away after using the unit for a period of time with several power cycles (IE heat issue hence the fix from audioken working properly!!!) Thanks again!

mnagra

For the people that tried this heat gun tip from audioken, has the issue remained fixed?

jab336

My fix is a week strong. And no signs of the ue22 issue.

e2kkot

Mine lasted for 2.5 months, but once I've placed a center speaker on the top of the receiver and blocked the vents, UE22 came back on
reapplied the fix, this time I cooked the DTS chip for 2 minutes and the problem was resolved. Since it's an overheating problem, I've also enabled the auto off setting, that turns off the receiver 1 hours after it becomes inactive, hoping it may help keep the temperature down when not in use. It's a little inconvenient, since now i have to turn on the receiver every time I want to watch TV, but its worth trying.

I was thinking about installing some kind of fan inside of the receiver, similar to the ones they use in PCs, but it must be very slim, similar to this one
http://www.amazon.com/Scythe-Slip-Stream-120mm-SY1212SL12L/dp/B002CYPWTG

or maybe even a USB fan similar to this one
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-USB-UP-Cooling-Fan-External-Side-Cooler-for-Xbox-360-Slim-US-/300702571441

e2kkot

Mine lasted for 2.5 months, but once I've placed a center speaker on the top of the receiver and blocked the vents, UE22 came back on
reapplied the fix, this time I cooked the DTS chip for 2 minutes and the problem was resolved. Since it's an overheating problem, I've also enabled the auto off setting, that turns off the receiver 1 hours after it becomes inactive, hoping it may help keep the temperature down when not in use. It's a little inconvenient, since now i have to turn on the receiver every time I want to watch TV, but its worth trying.

I was thinking about installing some kind of fan inside of the receiver, similar to the ones they use in PCs, but it must be very slim, similar to this one
http://www.amazon.com/Scythe-Slip-Stream-120mm-SY1212SL12L/dp/B002CYPWTG

or maybe even a USB fan similar to this one
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-USB-UP-Cooling-Fan-External-Side-Cooler-for-Xbox-360-Slim-US-/300702571441

3ller

love you guyssss!!!!! solved the ue22 error on my pioneer vsx 2021 k!! thank you so much audioken!! fingers crossed!!!

jab336

UE22 came back and applied fix again. The fix worked a day then returned again. I will apply the repair again... But think it is time to start shopping a replacement.

hozzy

Thanks shrunken! I was elated when I found this and it seemed to fix the ue22 problem on my 1021, but then found my multi-zone still won't work... Anyone got any ideas?

hozzy

Damn autocorrect...
Thanks audioken!

hozzy

Nevermind.... Forgot I had factory reset... Just had to go and change speaker settings

Thanks again!!

mnagra

So I have applied the fix 3 times now since December 2014. Each time I do it, it fixes and works fine after that. Just wondering if there is any brainstorming to make this fix permanent. When we are heating up the DTS chip, is it re-soldering the connection every time.....

As of now my receiver is working fine, but I know it will come back. There has to be some permanent fix for this since we know which chip is faulting.

Claws

The heat-up-the-chip-fix revived my VSX-2021 as well, but I guess it is just a matter of time before it breaks down again.

3ller

the ue22 after cooking the chip continue coming and everytime is more frequently, i hope someone come with the universal fix for it, reopen the box and apply the fix everytime... it happens more frequent on start up, but if you have the receiver on for long it will happen too so i dont know, i think its last time with pioneer for me

3ller

mine receiver is completely broken now after several recooks, the ue22 error is not displayed but on the firmware part, there are 3 numbers with *** and cant update the firmware not via usb or internet always get update error 1 i get stereo message displayed but not any sound , i hope its not everything lost, this is a expensive piece of hardware its a ..... that broke that "soon".

Bodhi.Dan

I have the same issue, a 1326k and my FW showing the *** unable to update past 20% and now no sound at all. Has anyone had the main board replaced and what Board was put in? I have looked and 1326k parts are not shown in the parts site. The bad board in my unit is an ANP7765. This part is not found on the parts site. Would the VSX 53 board work as a replacement? As they are essentially the same model with the same FW I would imagine they would be compatible. Does anyone with experience in this sort of thing know for sure?

tonyb

Not sure, doubt it though. Try calling Pioneer tech support and ask.

Bodhi.Dan

Spoke with Pioneer Parts store and they confirmed that the VSX board is compatible with the 1326, they share the same service manual and parts catalog but this future shop model originally shipped with some of the lower end boards. The board contained within my receive is not available and the elite 53 board is the recommended replacement.

tonyb

Just out of curiosity, how much are they charging for the board ?

Bodhi.Dan

About 300 bucks

dennis201208

Waiting for the service to fix the issue. but gave up on Pioneer, shopping around for something different. Marantz or Anthem, maybe? Not sure what the final cost for the fix will be though

M1ce

I had my vsx-922 dts chip resoldered with soldering iron but it didn't fix the signal cutting problem. (L and R flashes on the display and sound goes off and on)
Heating chip with hairdryer helps for a while but i don't think solders are the problem.

MilkmanCDN

Thanks audioken,

I too was experiencing intermittent clicks/pops and audio dropout on my vsx-51 amplifier. They started about 2 weeks ago. A few days ago my amplifier started making very loud tones that wouldn't stop. Resoldering the DTS chip as you suggested fixed the problem. Amplifier running like new.

I used a Master Mite heat gun as it was available in my lab (full disclosure, I'm an electrical engineer). Web link to the heat-gun is here: http://amzn.com/B001HWAFZU

In addition, I also applied liquid flux to aid resoldering of the balls on the BGA package. Cleaned up board with some rubbing alcohol when finished. Since the chip was located right on top, it was easy to get to. The fix took about 10 minutes.

After looking at the amplifiers industrial design, I noticed that the 60Hz transformer is located directly underneath this section of the PCB. When the amplifier is turned on, the transformer gets hot. Really hot! I suspect that the transformer heat caused the PCB to thermal cycle during on/off cycles. Thermal cycling the PCB will cause it to flex and I imagine would eventually lead to a cracked solder joint; the root cause of the problem. Poor design on Pioneers part.

I've ordered some BGA heatsinks from amazon: http://amzn.com/B00IR72LJQ

They've arrived and look like they will fit nicely (will put them on this weekend). My hope is that this will increase the thermal mass of the device and limit the thermal cycling somewhat. Time will tell if this fixes the problem.

Again, many thanks for posting the solution.

MilkmanCDN

@M1ce

With regards to using a hair-dryer to resolder a chip. These amplifiers are newer and likely use lead-free solder. The melting point of lead-free solder is between 220-230 degrees Celsius depending on the alloy that was used at manufacturing. I'm fairly certain that a hair dryer is not going to reach these temperatures. Here's an article where someone has unsuccessfully tried it: https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/127359/Hair+dryer+for+logic+board+reflow

If the root-cause is a cracked solder joint, you'll need to liquify the solder to fix it. Placing a soldering iron on top of the chip is also not a good idea as that's likely to damage the silicon inside. Borrow or buy a heat gun as mentioned in the previous post.

Good luck with your fix!

M1ce

I have a friend that re-soldered dts-chip joints with soldering iron using liquid flux and cleaned the pcb with rubbing alcohol, no help. I didn't think hairdryer would fix solders but before and after heating the chip with hairdryer it really helps for a while somehow. But maybe i have to ask my friend if he could check solders again in case he missed something, or just try with heat gun.

Thanks for your response!

tonyb

Might be time to accept the fact some of those units were lemons and move on. With what some newer used receivers are going for these days, not worth the time and effort monkeying around with the 1121.

M1ce

Forgot to mention that i don't have bga type chip.
After heating with heatgun receiver seems to be working again.

MilkmanCDN

@M1ce

Glad to see it's working again! Weird that it's not a BGA. If you have to pull it apart again, take a picture showing the top marks on the IC and post. If it is indeed a bad chip you should be able to order a sample, or buy a single part from Digi-Key for replacement. QFN and TQFP parts are relatively easily to replace with an iron and stick-solder.

I did some searching on the bga part and there is some errata from TI (Texas Instruments) showing that the part degrades over time. Specifically if you toggle the I/O's too many times, the received signal shrinks and after a while you get bit-errors. Though I'm not sure if this errata applies to this particular problem. I didn't dig deep enough.

For what it's worth, my receiver lasted about 4-5 days after the initial fix. Redid fix and this time heated the bejebers (technical term) out of the chip (BGA). Also added the little heatsink to the BGA (it fit's rather nicely). Been working fine for about a week. Will check back in next month and let you know how it's holding up.