Marantz 2245 FM tuner volume low

[lionelbob]

Just got real nice 2245 from ebay, local pickup. Seller promised all functions working like a charm. Aux, AM and turntable blow the doors off my basement closets at 12 O'clock volume. FM can barely be heard with vol at 9 o clock. Have to turn up to almost 2 o clock to get my ears ringing ( but it does work!). No its not the antenna, I have a 2230 and I can get great reception with that one, I used same antenna. Also, the tuning dial works ok, but the other center tuning dial barely moves. Are there any screws I can turn to raise the FM vol inside the tuning box?

Oh, the seller says he talked to his techie, and "all these Marantzes are like that" Hmmm

I was hoping to give the 2245 to my 21 yr old son for the holiday, any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[skibjr]

Make sure you clean all function switches and pushbuttons involving the FM section thoroughly with Deoxit. Hopefully that'll take care of things. :thmbsp: If not, a recap of the tuner board may be in order. :thumbsdn:

Oh, and the seller's full o' crap - all Marantzes are NOT like that!!

 

[jblmar]

If all Marantz' were like that, Marantz wouldn't enjoy the reputation it has. That guy's full of it!
You may have a bad contact or a bad stage in the tuner section.

Ron

 

[lionelbob]

Finally got to Deoxit the pots, FM tuner volume is still lower than all the rest of the selector positions. What does a recap involve, can I do it? handy with soldering iron. Anybody know a Marantz service guy in Philadelphia area?

Thanks, Bob

 

[Lefty]

Finally got to Deoxit the pots, FM tuner volume is still lower than all the rest of the selector positions. What does a recap involve, can I do it? handy with soldering iron. Anybody know a Marantz service guy in Philadelphia area?

Thanks, Bob

Unfortunatly recaping is not solve-all and is not a valid subsitute for troubleshooting and repairing the actual problem. Something is wrong and until it's solved and corrected, recapping is a waste of time and costs. There are several techs around this site that can help you out if you don't have a local tech knowlegeable on vintage equipment.

Good Luck and don't get discouraged a vintage Marantz receiver is worth the effort.

Lefty

 

[dr*audio]

The center tuning meter not working indicates that either the tuner is badly out of alignment, or the IF or detector stage has a problem, possibly the IC is bad.

 

[justw]

The center tune of the meter is a function of the dc output of the ratio detector which is also the input to the mpx board. You could have an if board problem or a problem on the mpx board, or both, or a power supply problem. If you have another receiver, of any type, you can substitute its output from it's detector to the input of the mpx board to test that part and/or the 10.7 Mhz output from it's frontend to test your if strip. Otherwise you're gonna need some test equipment for this one. IMHO One more thing, dr*audio would probably agree with this too, if nobody has messed with it alignment will not be the problem. Alignment is what you do after repair not before . Even an experienced technician can get himself into trouble indescriminately tweaking a receiver.

 

[morgan]

Try patching your receiver from the "tape out" jscks into the "tape in" jacks of a known working receiver, and see if the FM audio is the same.
I have seen dirty push switches create problems like this--Good Luck!

 

[skibjr]

I don't have a schematic for a 2245, but I had a very similar problem with a 4300 recently. Low tuner volume, poor sensitivity and almost no meter deflection. I measured the voltage supply to the tuner board - should have been 13V... turned out I was only getting 5V. Bad caps ahead of the multiplex circuit can cause symptoms similar to what you're describing, but make sure you check your supply voltage to the tuner board before you do anything else. :yes:

By the way, I just noticed this current thread about another 2245 with a very similar issue... :scratch2:

 

[dr*audio]

One more thing, dr*audio would probably agree with this too, if nobody has messed with it alignment will not be the problem. Alignment is what you do after repair not before . Even an experienced technician can get himself into trouble indescriminately tweaking a receiver.

Well, since it came from E-Bay, anything could have been done to it. I would expect someone to have monkeyed with it. I can just see this seller picking it up at a garage sale or the curb, taking it home, finds it doesn't work, trying to fix it by twiddling things, "Oh, well, I'll just flip it on E-Bay." Ad reads: "It powers up but I don't have speakers to test it with..."

 

[lionelbob]

Which Push button switches?

Anybody know how I can clean the pushbutton switches. When I had the unit apart, the switches looked to be pretty well enclosed, the only thing visible is the clicker spring, and that didn't look to be an electrical contact. BTW, which switch in particular would affect only the FM circuit?

Also, FM signals are only in mono, pressing the mono switch does nothing, I get stereo from aux and turntable inputs. Located in N/E philly I get great reception, so that is not the issue, since this unit is on the second floor, and I have a 2230 in the basement, with cheapie "t" antenna, gets Stereo no problem.

 

[Fred Longworth]

If the sensitivity is normal and it gets the usual panorama of stations (in my area, San Diego, a 2245 should get about 25 stations well), then the problem isn't in the tuner section at all. Look for a bad capacitor between the output of the ratio detector and the output of the stereo multiplex.

Also, look for a failure in the muting circuit, such that the unit is always in a state of "half mute."

Fred Longworth

 

[lionelbob]

Well hold the phone......

I sent a note to the ebay seller of this unit, and he generously replied with two options.

Option A:

I could return the 2245 to him, (driveable 20 mi round trip), and he would have it repaired free of charge for me.

Option B:

I could trade the 2245 for a 2226 that works fine.

----------------------------------------------

With option A: I wonder if I will be getting into more trouble having an unknown tech hack at guts of this box.

With option B: Although all Marantz units are sweet, the 2226 is a step down.

Final Jeopardy music playing.........

Option C: I buy a sweet looking Minty 2238 from a different ebayer, and use the repaired 2245 as a boat anchor.
Anybody out there have a boat? :dammit:

 

[Arkay]

I'd suggest letting him get it fixed, IF you can meet and approve of the tech he uses, first. Otherwise, ask him if he will pay for repairs by a tech you select (i.e., trust), or if your tech is more expensive, agree that he will pay the amount he would have paid his tech, towards the cost of getting it fixed by your guy. It's worth getting fixed, rather than trading it away.

Then get the 2226 he has, for a reasonable price.
Then get that 2238 from the eBay seller.
One can never have too many Marantz receivers!


Edit: If you ever reach the stage where you really have too many Marantz receivers, presumably by then you will have found someone with a boat . At that stage, you can put the receivers on that boat and ship them to me in Hong Kong. Much to my wife's dismay, it is part of my mission in life to give a good home to poor lost 'Marantzii'.

 

[lionelbob]

OK, it's time for ebay....I've had it

The dude that sold this unit to me had his 'service guy' work on my 2245 for 5 months. When I finally got it back, he had fixed the stereo light (replaced bulb) but did not do anything else. The seller claimed that it cost him more than $100 for the repairs. I initially bought the 'everything works' 2245 for $105.

Status now, all lamps work, unit looks real nice and clean, AM and AUX blow your doors off. FM volume is three ticks lower than AUX, and seems to be mono even when stereo light is on. There is a hum after warmup in the left channel turntable input with or without a TT connected.

I have since acquired a minty 2238B to give to my son to replace my poor attempt at an audiophile Christmas gift.

Decided to retain this unit, I can drive a mean IPOD with it.