Ruark Vita R4i radio will not power on

[rh100605]

This radio has Ruark audio on the front and supports DAB/FM  a CD player, USB, Ipod and Aux in/out. It was expensive and well made.
(The earlier R4 marked Vita Audio does not have a 12 volt standby supply, all power is on all the time when the back switch is on .)

If the radio is halted with Vita or Ruark IMS on the screen and is unresponsive to the power button or responds randomly to the remote it is DAB module flash memory corruption.
The corrected binary images are in another post titled "Ruark Vita Audio R4i display menu stuck/erratic (fixed) then CD will not play."

First the fuse holder is dodgy on the back panel as the plastic breaks up with age.

Second  there is a standby power supply for all the relays. One relay is in series with the transformer primary.
When you remove the back panel ( 8 screws) and lay it down you can see a small switching power supply fixed to pcb which is screwed to a metal plate on the Toroid transformer.
Yes it is held on by a nylon tie wrap and hard setting glue and yes it is always on when the radio is plugged in with the back switch on and yes it does have a curved pcb.

This should supply 12 volts to the many relays in this radio, it's output was low at 3.3 volts. The marking on the 6 pin pwm modulator IC (32E16p 181) revealed nothing and I replaced all the electrolytic capacitors which did not correct the fault.
I replaced the entire supply with a 12 volt 2 amp supply sourced on Ebay after carefully checking the width length and height.
All are critical if it is to fit in the box.
I drilled holes in the lower pcb and used nylon standoffs and 3 mm nylon bolts to attach the new power supply.

[mixerman]

Do you have the link to the 12v supply you used or the ebay number.. Also this one I have in for repair. powers on with the mains switch at rear but as soon as I click power button at front , it blows the 2a fuse in rear. Thnx Alan

[rh100605]

Hi Mixerman,
I think the board I bought was https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/254603349879?var=554342383836
Which is still listed. However please check the dimensions again.

The second R4 problem you have of blowing the back panel fuse when you push the on button on the front panel is strange.

If your model does not have a separate standby 12 volt supply, The standby for the 4 relays on the intermediate board is derived from the main switching power supply (smps) or the main analogue power supply in older R4's.

The front switch simply tells the DAB module code to set a logic line to the smps (or the relays for the analogue supply in the older version of R4) that switches on the power for the final audio amps.
Watch the display before pushing the on button , it should show "Ruark/ Vita IMS" or even the time faintly.

Removing the power connectors to the final audio amplifier board should identify if the amplifier has a short.

If you remove the main radio chassis ( through the front) it is very difficult to align the 20+long pins that connect it to the intermediate board. Misalignment can cause a dead short to the power supply. I have had to remove the plastic bowl  for the remote +iPod dock to see the pins while reinserting. Picture of internals (CD removed) with intermediate board attached.

I have tried to put up on EEVBLOG detailed descriptions of Ruark / Vita radio faults and fixes. I would really appreciate you posting the fixes to the faults you have found as there do not seem to be many sources of information on Ruark/Vita radios.

Regards
Rob