Static while adjusting the volume SX-3700

dannyny

Active Member
Hey guys! I just picked up another receiver pioneer sx-3700. Seller said everything works and it does but neglected to mention the static when adjusting the balance and volume knobs. Is it hard to get to the pots with deoxit? I just purchased myself a can of that stuff off eBay. Will attempt to do it unless you guys advise me against it. Seller agreed to take it back which is pretty amazing considering its purchased off of craigslist.

Second receiver within a month. Is this considered hoarding? Its only 2, maybe when I get up to 5 it will be borderline?

Thanks in advance guys!
 
I have one and do love that receiver. You need to clean it. But it ain't easy. You need to start dismantling. I would suggest taking pictures as you go, so you know how to get it back together. Once cleaned, it sounds great. Really up to you on what you do. Of course, once you start, returning it is not OK.

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Me, too. You can reach the controls with some minor disassembly and a long red spray tube (maybe steal one from another can) with a bend in it.

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Those pics are amazing. Makes me want to keep it and get it fixed. I spoke to a store today and they said they would clean the pots for 65$ and realign the FM tuner for 20$ extra. I got the receiver for a pretty decent price so even with the service it would be well under what a decent one off eBay would cost.
 
I've never worked on the 3700 but AK'er Larry D. mentioned a tip on bending the Deoxit hose. Insert a stripped wire close to the size of the inside diameter of the hose. Heat the hose with the wire in it, bend a hook or other shape needed to reach the pots and let cool, remove the wire.

In most cases disassembly is required to do a thorough job.
 
Easy to take apart, wood off first, all knobs off then front plate off, BUT, D5 aint gonna cut it. It WILL clean it to a T, but leave it dry. You REALLY REALLY need to use F5 to lube up the bass, treble, volume and balance.

and the 3700 tape switches need a grunt of D5
 
Are those white LED's? Something looks off in your image, nice, but different.

I've got a 3900 not in play but a really nice unit.

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Thanks guys! I am going to order a can of the other deoxit to lube the switches and knobs. With that purchased I'm about 30$ in. Should I just have a technician do the job vs someone with no experience like me do this? Also when u look inside it looks really really dirty. Is there something else I can spray to clean it out? When I use to work on cars there was a spray we used to clean engines out that had a lot of grease and built up debris but not sure if there is something similar for electronics?
 
Well, I vacuum up dust and dirt on the ones I found. As to having a tech do it, 35 is not bad. But that receiver needs to be taken apart, so maybe the tech is not aware. That does take some time. But really up to you :)
 
For my 3900 I sqeezed the tip of the red tube so I could just get it in the blade switches, it works fairly well from the front.
 
Are those white LED's? Something looks off in your image, nice, but different.
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Not so far as I know, I got it recently untouched from elderly original owner. Could be just the photo.

The lights are pretty bright, they light up the interior of the unit when viewed through the vents on top.

The tape deck on the bottom came with it :)

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OK I just had the chance to turn the unit on again. The FM tuner is really low compared to my CD player volume. Maybe its because I don't have an antenna installed? The CD player sounds clear. I do get cracking and static on the right speaker when I adjust the volume from 0 to 3 bit after I past 3 there is no static. Do you guys think I should still bring in for service? Speaker A light switch is out. Is that hard to replace?
 
I have not been in a 3700, but I have been in a 3800 and I now know what hell looks like. :D It was a real bear to get into and, though I thought I did everything right, I screwed something up and now it sits dead on the shelf. The big issue for me was the 4 switches that are in the back of the unit and the use of long plastic extenders to reach the front panel. Once you pull the front panel off, it is pure hell trying to align the push buttons up with the extenders. I am guessing that at some point, in trying to get the extenders back in, I damaged something.

Keep this in mind when you open this baby up. Maybe you can get to the volume control without pulling the faceplate. If it was me, looking back, I would live with the crackle. Hindsight is always 20/20. Good luck and enjoy your blue glow.
 
I have not been in a 3700, but I have been in a 3800 and I now know what hell looks like. :D It was a real bear to get into and, though I thought I did everything right, I screwed something up and now it sits dead on the shelf. The big issue for me was the 4 switches that are in the back of the unit and the use of long plastic extenders to reach the front panel. Once you pull the front panel off, it is pure hell trying to align the push buttons up with the extenders. I am guessing that at some point, in trying to get the extenders back in, I damaged something.

Keep this in mind when you open this baby up. Maybe you can get to the volume control without pulling the faceplate. If it was me, looking back, I would live with the crackle. Hindsight is always 20/20. Good luck and enjoy your blue glow.

Haha, I'm going to return my deoxit through the mail right now.

I think I will just live with it for now. When it stops working completely I will take it in for service. For now I'll just use to to listen to my CD player at volume 3+ thanks for scaring me straight. I would have ruined this unit.
 
I dunno, I have always thought that 3700s and their 780 predecessors were 'silver faced cockroaches' - they will survive nu-cu-lah apocalypse....

easy to clean, easy to lamp, few adjustments to mess up
 
I was able to deox my 3700 fairly well without taking the faceplate off. Creative use of a syring and red tube was needed.

It wasn't the greatest job for sure, the switches\pots are hard to get to. But I bet you can get rid of the crackle.
 
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