SoSpacey

My receiver has 3 zones. I have my main zone in my family room, one zone in my kitchen and one in my dining area. All of my speakers are hooked into the receiver using banana plugs. Each zone has a volume control. Speaker wires run from the receiver to the volume controls to the speakers in ceiling.

Anytime I turn on zone 2 or zone 3, my receiver just shuts down with the message "check speaker connections". All of my speakers are set up properly. I have checked each of my connections to make sure I didn't rush through and put a positive to a negative.

It's driving me kind of crazy at this point.

gimmepilotwings

you either have the polarity wrong, the wires are touching each other making a short, or your receiver is faulty. It is most likely 1 or 2.

Brian Shannon

You don't say what the receiver is but just because it has multiple speaker outputs, a/b switches etc., this does not mean that it can actually drive that many speakers.

If you are sure that you have all the connections correct and that no wires are touching then you are almost certainly overloading the amplifier in the receiver.

SoSpacey

I have a Yamaha rx-v1700 which can either use the internal amps or be driven by outside amps. I have set up the receiver to use the on-board amps. This receiver has separate amps for each channel.

Brian Shannon

Ok, good receiver, that should be able to handle multiple zones at reasonable volumes. If the speaker connections are ok at the receiver end, try checking them at the volume control and then at the speaker end. Make sure to check only ONE zone at a time to see if you can get it to shut down on that particular control.

E Unit

I'm guessing you already checked to make sure the speaker wires are all the same gauge?

JimRochester

It only takes one little tiny wire to touch the other terminal and get the short you are experiencing. Check each banana commector and make sure all the wires are tightly wound and not going too far out the other side.

Spiky

I would first unhook all 2nd/3rd zone wires at the receiver. Attach them one pair at a time to see which is shorting the amp. When you find one, unplug all the others again to see if it is just the one or the combination.

Then I would start going down the lines to volume controls and speakers.

They are volume controls that match up with a regular HT receiver, right?

SoSpacey

So the shorting problem is fixed, but now I get nothing out of Zone 3. It isn't the speakers since I put the zone 3 speakers into zone 2 and they worked. the odd thing is both zones worked before i started having the shorting issue.

Brian Shannon

Then it is either the connections for zone 3 or the speaker control for zone 3

SoSpacey

and now my HDMI jacks are shot.

i ordered 2 from Yamaha since I know, at least, the HDMI OUT is done. Not sure about one of the ins. I think moving the receiver in and out trying to get everything working bent one of them. if i fiddle with it a bit I can get it to work but if i turn the tv off and on again i get nothing and have to fiddle with it again.

i can't believe the luck I am having lately.