Audio Systems: 5.1 surround sound system, current sensing circuit, audio power amplifiers

Question
Have had my system for approx. 10 to 12 years..never had any problems.. turned the system on the other night and I have a flashing on/standby light... read what my owners manual said checked all my speaker wires for shorts, everything looks good..then I unplugged all the speakers one at a time. still the same problem.. vacuumed out the back for ventilation still the same problem.  That's all the book gives you to try.. any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated..System is a Denon avr-1601/681 5.1 channel surround sound system..

Thanks
Patrick

Answer
Did you do a reset?  This is done merely by unplugging the power cord for at least 30 minutes or more before powering it up again.

The flashing standby is almost always a sign of going into protection mode.  This is caused either by a power supply failure itself or some other part of the circuit drawing too much current and tripping the over-current sensing circuit.  And, the most common cause of over-current outside a power supply failure is a failure in one or more of the audio power amplifiers.  And, the most common failure in the audio output stages are failure/short down of the output transistors.  Since you have removed the speaker wires (at the back of the amp; if disconnected at the speaker you could still have speaker wire shortings) then we must assume the problem is internal to the receiver.

Hope this helps you in your troubleshooting activity.