Top 10 Panasonic DMR-E55 DVD Recorder Questions & Answers

Amazing - I have exactly the same symptoms on my DMR-E55EB - noticed the dead machine on 19/11/6 - tried several powerdown resets, gained a few tens of seconds operation each time, and after around 6 attempts it died completely. Will open it up and have a look...

You can try a factory reset (reboot).Here are the steps..

The following will set your recorder to the Factory defaults.
(Will not format HD on DMRE80).

With power off (stand-by mode/CLOCK DISPLAY SHOWING):

1)Press and hold [skip reverse] [Time Slip] [Eject] buttons for about 10 sec
2)Display will show 'L1 TEST'
3)Now power off DURING TEST
4)Clock should be fashing 12:00
5)Turn power on and language menu will be displayed on TV

Use for
DMRE50
DMRE55
DMRE85
For the DMRE75V press both [dub] buttons and [eject].

Hope this helps.

Hi there,

This is a common problem with this particular model. I can tell you what the fault is but unless you feel confident in using a soldering iron, the repair is best left to someone who is.

Ok...the fault you describe is caused by failure of IC001. This is a voltage regulator on the power board. You can identify the regulator as it is fixed to along thin metal strip near the middle of the board. It gets very hot during normal operation and will fail after a couple of years. The metal strip offers very little heat dissipation so the regulator operate in excess of its limits and therefore fails.

You need to take the lid off, remove the board which is mounted on the right hand side of the unit and replace the faulty regulator.

To remove the board, remove the fixing screw above the power connector on the back of the recorder, then the 4 fixing screws that secure the board. Next carefully remove the multi-connector that connects the board to other circuitry and lift the board clear.

A new regulator type STRG 6353 and can be obtained from several online suppliers. The old regulator can be removed by unscrewing the fixing screw, cuttiing the 5 pins with wire cutters. Then using a soldering iron, carefully removing the residual pins from the printed board making sure the print is not damaged.

Use some heatsink compound on the back of the new component, this will help it to dissipate heat more easily, use an additional heatsink if you can, which will help to prolong the life of the new regulator, then tightly secure it in position before carefully soldering the 5 pins.

Check that you have soldered it correctly without any shorted pins or tracks and reassemble the unit. I have repaired dozens of these successfully with exactly this fault.

Mains voltages can be lethal so always remove the power plug before doing any work like this and be sure of your own ability. If you're not confident in tackiling this, get someone to do it. Whatever you do, don't ditch the unit for such an easy to fix fault!

From your user name, I guess you're a radio amateur, so you should be on home territory.........

Hi Benyto

Thank you for the information. Sorry that you are having such problems.

Nearly all the problems on ths DMR E55 are due to a faulty power board. The greatest load on the power supply is when the unit first reads discs and also when finalizing. Sometimes the unit cannot read discs and sometimes it continuously self checks.

Try replacing IC001 on the power board. This is a 5 pin regulator #STRG6353. This component gets very hot and the heatsink is poor. When I replace these, I use a larger heatsink and some heatsink paste which helps to prolong the life of the component. If you look at the regulator, you will see by the colour of the circuit board that it gets very hot. It fails after two or three years in all DMR E55s.

Be careful when you take the old regulator out because the print can lift away from the circuit board.

I have posted full instructions on how to replace the STRG6353 >HERE<

Hope this helps

Hi again

Well done!

I am so pleased to hear that you have restored the DMR E55 and for taking the trouble to let me know. It's always satisfying to achieve something like that and I guess you'll get even more pleasure from using it now than you did before. They are good machines and well worth the effort to keep them going.

Thanks again and kind regards

displays when ther was somthing unusal detected with the disc while recoding playback or copy this is diplayed when the unit is in the recovery process to return to normal operation the unit is not broken once the display clears you can use the unit again

I had the same problem with my DMR-E55 over the weekend. I looked at similar problems and solutions for the DMR-E85 on this website. If you open the case, look for two capacitors that may have a bulging top end and a yellow/gold substance leaking out. If you see that, you have the same failed capacitor problem. Usually both will have failed, but the problem may only be noticeable on one. Replace both the C1260 and the C1261 while you are doing the work. Use the next larger uF and V ratings with both wires coming out of the end of the capacitor. Note the +/- polarity on the existing and new capacitors. Look at other solutions for similar DVRs on this website and club.cdfreaks.com I will try to post my photos on a photo-sharing website tomorrow. I will post a link here after I upload them.

Há algum tempo o meu Gravador de DVD de mesa Panasonic DMR-E55PL-S vinha apresentando a seguinte mensagem de erro sempre que eu clicava qualquer comando através do controle remoto: CHK REMOTE2 Havia entrado em contato com o técnico da autorizada Panasonic de Niterói e ele ficou devendo-me uma solução. Como possuo outros 3 gravadores de mesa (2 Pioneer e 1 Samsung R121), apesar da contrariedade, não esquentei muito a mufa. Hoje, porém, encasquetei, e resolvi tentar, mais uma vez, resolver a má função. Após "ene" tentativas malogradas pintou o insight: - "Cacildas! Se eu faço tanta pesquisa para dirimir as dúvidas dos companheiros, por que não o faço também, para mim"? Assim, digitei no "gluglu": CHK REMOTE2 Panasonic Entre outras dicas, saquei esta: Question: - "Whenever I press any button on my remote control, I get this error message on the front panel display - CHK REMOTE2" Answer: - "Just hold ENTER and press the number indicated on the display for a few seconds, and it will fix the issue". Basta clicar ENTER e pressionar o numero indicado no display do painel frontal do gravador por alguns segundos - isto resolverá o problema. (Clicar ENTER e pressionar o número 2 no controle remoto). Tal dica serviu para o meu DMR-E55PL-S como também para o DMR-E85HS - do **** "flashcode" - devendo servir para outros modelos Panasonic da mesma linha. Soçarba... Mr. Walker

No power light look for a fuse--power light comes on and then goes out look for either a jammed mechanism or a power supply problem.

In Australia you can contact the nearest Panasonic service agent and, according to service consultant on the telephone, they will fix it to multi region in about 15 minutes at no cost. Only catch is you have to take it to them and that might be an across city trip.