[Thump553]

To make a long story short, we had a bad rainstorm earlier today.  The rain was coming in around a window A/C unit, and in the process of taking it out my son and daughter apparently managed to dump a fair amount of water INTO my A/V receiver.  Before I disconnected it, it was making clicking noises even when not powered up (I didn't try to power it up). 

It's an old A/V receiver, and probably worth less than the rather sizeable deductible on my homeowner's insurance.

Two questions:  (1) Is this now hopeless?  Will waiting until it dries out and plugging it back in be dangerous?

(2)  Any reccommendations for a good, but very cheap A/V receiver.  One of my requirements is that (in addition to the 5.1 system in the living room) it be able to power a pair of in-wall speakers in another room.

What a way to start a weekend.

[G.Michael]

Here's what I'd probably do... Take the cover off and see if there's anything in there that is obviously water damaged.  If things look okay, let the thing dry out.  Disconnect everything from it , including loudspeakers, then plug it in.  If I didn't hear any electrical arcs, I'd turn it on.  (If there are any major short circuits in it, I'd expect the internal fuse(s) to blow.)  If the unit stays on and there's no arcing, smoking or other other abnormal things happening, I'd turn it off and connect some cheap speakers to it and turn it back on; and if things still seem okay, I'd try listening to some radio stations. 

Then I'd probably convice myself that it's time to buy a new receiver, anyway.   
Oh, and I'd keep my kids from messing with the A/C unless I was around (but I'm guessin' that already occurred to you  ). 

Best wishes with it.

[Doublej]

I would take off the cover, gently move it around on all axes to get any standing water out and then look for soggy components. I would apply a hair dryer on low to the soggy components. Next I would put in the sun for a few days to give it a thorough drying.

Bring it in, let it warm/cool to room termperature, plug it in but don't turn it on, listen for noises and check it with the olfactory sensor. If all is good turn it on and if it's still good, do it again with a cheap pair of speakers.

As for a cheap receiver I'd look at Panasonic SA series. I believe the SA-XR55K has some sort of speaker A + B.

[Gordy]

If all is good turn it on and if it's still good, do it again with a cheap pair of speakers.

Agreed, sorta... I wouldn't power it up without a load across the speak outputs! A $15 set of car speakers will do the trick!

[transam]

Where i work we had a receiver and poored water in it when it was on. It went poof and shut off and then we dropped it from about 4' high on the floor. We forgot to send it back to the vendor. We sent it to service and it came back with no problems, hooked it up and it works fine except it has a little wobble. Funny stuff! When i worked at tweeter one guy put his coffee on a RXV1 $3000.00 when cleaning, lets just say that never worked again. Good luck.

[Wayner]

I dropped a portable radio into the lake while fishing. When I fished it out (the only thing that was caught), water was poring out of it. I took it home, opened all of the covers and let it dry for a week. I put the batteries back in and the beast powered right up! I think the reception improved after that.....What a tweak!

W

[john1970]

I second the advice of unplugging everything from it and letting it dry out for a week.  After a week turn it on and see if everything is okay.  If you smell burning plastic or see smoke, the reciever is most likely toast.

For a new receiver I would recommend the Marantz SR4600.  It is their lowest price model, but it is the best all-around 7.1 AV receiver (and I believe it can play a second set of speakers). 

From www.marantz.com:

SR4600 Dolby Digital EX®/DTS ES® Surround Receiver | $429.99 (MSRP)

80 Watts x 7 Channels All Discrete Amplifier Stages
Dolby ProLogic IIx/ DTS 96/24
32-Bit DSP
192kHz/24Bit Audio DACs
HDCD Decoder
Surround Speaker "B" Output
Detachable AC Cord
Aluminum Front Panel

I purchased the SR4500 ~ 1 yr ago for $299.00 (when it was being discontinued) and am very happy with the performance.

Best of luck,

John

[Thump553]

Good news (to my wallet) - drying it out did the trick, it now seems to work fine.

I must admit though, that I was extremely impressed by some of the low cost receivers mentioned above, especially the Panasonic SA series.