Pioneer Elite Pro-510 problem - Page 2

I don't know Ming. None of this makes sense. Why did mine stop? He didn't replace anything, ,just messed around with connections and reseated the board. In fact, he actually banged on the bottom of the board with a tool.

DJ

I visited the Pioneer web site and sent email regarding the blue flash problem as well as complaining about my service tech. They responded that I needed to call them. So I did.

According to the service rep I spoke to, if a problem is one that has been reported "enough times" a service bulletin is issued by Pioneer detailing the problem. According to this rep, he'd never heard of the blue flash problem. I told him he should visit the AVS forum and look up this thread as there are several of us experiencing the problem. I came to the logical conclusion that if there were this many people having the problem here, then there must be many times that number who aren't members of this forum and don't have access to the thread.

He wasn't impressed.

So I guess the official Pioneer stance is this is not a widespread issue.

That's pretty odd since the repair guy who worked on my set contacted his Pioneer advisor who had a pretty good idea of what to look at and how to run the problem down. Sounds to me like he'd heard of it enough times to know exactly what to do.

For the amount of money I spent on this set, I would expect a little more out of Pioneer.

DJ

Bill, if you don't mind. Keep us informed as to whether or not the board being replaced fixes the problem for you. I still haven't had the blue flash return, but that doesn't mean it won't.

Thanks for keeping us up-to-date.

DJ

bump

Hi Bill, thanks for the update.

Would you mind PM'ing me with the name and phone number of your repair guy? Starting 2 days ago my blue flash problem was back ... with a vengeance.

I'd like to talk to your guy directly so I know what to tell my service guy to look for.

Thanks

DJ

Hi Ming.

Wow ... good work. Now I know what to tell my service guy when I call him. I'm one of the ones who would not be comfortable poking around near the high-voltage supply.

Maybe between us we've got this thing tracked down.

Bill and Ming, please let us know if that blue flash comes back.

Thanks.

DJ

I had a new service guy come out. He talked to someone at Pioneer who claims the "blue flash" problem has to do with the Sub-video assembly and not the Drive Assembly for the blue board. Actually, unfortunately, this makes more sense since I always considered it kinda weird that only the blue board would go out.

He checked all the PC boards for solder problems and reseating problems. Said everything looked good.

He checked the overscan (mine's at about 4%), the focus, convergence etc. He made a remark that his company doesn't do ISF adjustments because it's a known industry fact that convergence won't stay put, it travels a bit. I found that interesting since the previous service guy charged me big bucks to make the convergence adjustments.

He also said he works on several different manufacturers sets and he considers the picture on the Pro series to be about the best. He then said the sets are pretty much "bullet proof".

Anyway, I'm still waiting on a price for the subvideo assembly board. I'll keep you guys posted.

DJ

I don't know how many of us in this thread have called Pioneer directly and complained, but I suggest that since this seems to be a problem we all share we should each make sure Pioneer knows about it. If they hear from enough of us, they will have to admit it's a problem that is common to these sets.

Call 1-800-421-1404 and navigate to Customer Service - Complaints. We don't need to let them sweep this under the rug. It's ridiculous that with a fairly short period of time we need to sink considerable money into an already expensive set for what appears to be a design or production flaw on their part.

DJ

Pioneer is not going to respond.

In fact the last service guy I called out was aware of this forum, and holds it in contempt. He basically told me the people here are full of it.

He decided it was the sub-video assembly board. He made that decision even though the set never once flashed while he was in my home. The cost for repairs? The board is $650 and installation $300. While he was looking at the set he made some adjustments. After he left I was watching the set, way too much red. I called him and he said he'd be out the next week to fix that. It's been 3 weeks, he hasn't been back. I finally went in to the guts of the set and found what he had done and fixed it myself.

My call to Pioneer's complaint department didn't do much good. The set is out of warranty, of course. I made the argument that after having spent thousands on a set they should fix what is apparently a flaw in their hardware. They don't agree. I was told that I should expect expensive repairs when I buy an expensive set. I let them know I would never again buy a Pioneer Elite product.

The service guy had tapped around on the inside of the set before he made his pronouncement that it was the sub video assembly board. For 3 weeks after he left no blue flash. Now it's back again. I've had it with Pioneer AND their freeking authorized service people. Tired of getting ripped off.

DJ

They are lying through their teeth. They had to have heard of it because I've called twice and complained AND I've had 2 different service companies out with the same complaint. Both service companies talked to their Pioneer rep who HAD heard of the problem.

My guess is they don't want to get into a recall situation.

I spent a good deal of time on the phone with their Complaint Department Supervisor.

At one point I told him to send me the board, that I would get it installed somehow. He told me he didn't want to bypass the service companies because he wanted to maintain a good relationship with them.

So there it is straight from the horses mouth.

1. They'd rather maintain a good relationship with their service company than the people who have spent thousands on their products.
2. They EXPECT expensive parts in the set to fail not long after the warranty expires. I guess that just means more post-sale money for them (parts) and their service company partners (parts markup and service).

My bottom line is there's no way in hell I would ever spend money with Pioneer or their partners again. If I can't fix the blue flash myself, I'll let the set go until the board fails then replace the set with something a lot less expensive.

Lesson learned, thanks Pioneer. You obviously don't need my business.

BTW - for anyone who wants to join me in writing a letter to the Pioneer Division manager who is over the complaints department, here's the info:

Kathy Yulich
P.O. Box 1760
Long Beach, CA 90801

Also .. both service reps had done such a lousy job "adjusting" the set I had to spend a lot of time fixing what they had fixed. I bought a DVD (Avia) that had test patterns and instructions on how to fine tune a High-Def set. Now, when it's not flashing blue, the picture is the best its ever been. The Avia DVD was well worth it's price.

DJ

Bill, I sent you a PM.

Thanks.

DJ