REMStar Auto A-Flex turning on/off

I've been having a serious problem recently, and am hoping there's something I can do about it myself...

The machine sited in the title has recently begun turning off and on during the night, and waking me up in a panic. Not fun. Just to be clear, the off and on are the exact same type of off and on as when I press the dial to start the machine or stop it. There's a beep, and airflow stops. Last night was the pinnacle as it started turning off and on about once a second. Just off and on, back and forth. Beep, beep, beep. It's almost like it's losing power, because as far as I can tell, it's not doing it in response to my breathing or lack thereof ... certainly not at a pace of once per second like a clock, flicking off and on.

I find it hard to blame the AC connection ... this started at my old place, and I just moved to a new place, so we're talking about a totally different location, outlet, etc. All of the plugs, from the wall, to the transformer, to the back of the machine are extremely snug. There's no loose connection here, so I have to think it's the machine itself.

The codes on the bottom are 20100902 and 20100908 on the main unit and humidifier, respectively. I do not use the humidifier.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Dave

P.S. In case I missed anything, all the identifying text on the machine: Philips, Respironics, REMstar Auto, A-Flex, SYSTEM ONE

Only idea I have other than machine malfunction is leaks.

Go into the clinical menu and look for "Auto Off".....make sure it is set to "Off" setting.
When it is set to "On" setting if you get a big leak the machine will beep, beep, beep for a short while and then turn itself off after it doesn't sense any breathing (works the same as if you removed the mask and let the machine keep running).
If it is set to "Off" already....machine malfunction...might be the power supply...it wouldn't be the first time and that would be what I would want to replace first....check with your DME to see if they have one...though you are likely out of warranty.
Your manufacture code points to 2010 manufacture dates and warranties are only 2 years.
Have you had the machine this long?

If Auto Off is set to "On"....turn it off and see if the situation resolves itself...

Check your software data reports to see if you are getting large leak flags just prior to the shut off.

Replacement power supply if that is a possibility. It would be my first suspect if problem is not related to Auto Off and leaks.
https://www.cpap.com/productpage/respir ... upply.html
Of course there are additional suspects in the machine itself...how many machine run hours is showing?

Don't know how to get to clinical menu and see run hours or where to find Auto Off ?
http://www.apneaboard.com/pr-system-one ... structions

Here's what I found:

Auto Off: Off
Machine hours: ~5300
Large leak: 0%
AHI: 1.8 (both 7 and 30 day avg)

So even if Auto Off was enabled, I don't think I'd be triggering it.

As an aside, and AHI of 1.8 is pretty good isn't it? I was diagnosed as "severe" with an RDI of about 60 (not a typo) and oxy sat as low as 49%. Despite that being (I think) a pretty decent number, I still sleep horribly, still feel terrible, after about 3 years of religious CPAP usage. I never even lay down without it. I don't know if anyone else feels the same, but I literally can't sleep with this thing, and I can't sleep without this thing. I'm afraid that my low AHI might be because I'm awake 3/4 of the night. OK, done frustranting.

I agree with pugsy ---your power supply , cord or the connectors could be going bad. Some of the power bricks connectors in the cord line could be just making intermittent contact . I would look them over closely . You need to pin your model number down . Is it a 460p or 560p look at the name plate on the bottom. Your dme might lend you a power supply cord and all to see if that's your problem . Is the brick transformer getting too hot when its doing this ?
If power supply cord / transformer is bad you maybe able to buy an upgrade transformer/cord for heated hose from secondwind. Or you might find someone on here that has the old power supply after upgrading. Are you using a heated hose? Heated hose requires a bigger transformer in the line.
Please upgrade your profile so your equipment will show on your posts. in comments you can add more details . 5300 hours doesn't seem too bad , that's only about 2-3 years worth of use.
One trick you can try is turn the unit on and bend/ wriggle the cord and ends repeatably at each point to see if it shuts on and off --had to do this on many pieces of electronic equipment over the years to find intermittent bad spots .
Good luck .

Your machine is the PR System One Auto CPAP with AFlex model 550..so 50 series.
Can't be a 60 series 560 because the 60 series didn't come out until spring of last year.

Since the Auto Off feature is not part of the settings then it can't be turning off due to big leak.
Either the machine is ailing or the power supply is ailing. While most of the time these machines do last a lot longer than 5300 hours it wouldn't be impossible for the machine itself to be having the problem.

I still think the power supply cord would be my number one suspect. Either in the brick portion or the little cord portion.
With manufacture dates in 2010 you are past warranty expiration date though.

Regarding the low AHI and the fact that you say you are sleeping poorly....I assume you mean either simply laying awake a lot or having severely fragmented sleep (wake up often for whatever reason) and yes...just the wake ups and fragmented sleep will end up giving us poor sleep quality and poor sleep quality pretty much guarantees feeling like total crap the next day.

The cpap machine is designed to fix one thing...obstructive sleep apnea and if you have poor quality sleep for some reason other than OSA (and you AHI of 1 something points to at least the obstructive issues being well addressed) then the machine can't fix those other reasons whatever they might be.
The most common culprits...meds and hours of sleep and/or fragmented sleep often go together.
Short hours of sleep and if those short hours are fragmented...you won't be feeling any of the good numbers you are likely seeing.
Do you have the software so you can see what is going on? SleepyHead will work with your machine. I have links for it in my signature line.

Often we like to blame feeling awful on our OSA and expect the machine to fix it. Sometimes it does fix things but sometimes it doesn't. No matter how much we want to blame our poor sleep quality on the OSA...sometimes there are other factors going on.
Normally we ask....
How many hours of sleep are you averaging?
Of those hours how many wake ups?
Insomnia? Either falling asleep or staying asleep?
Meds...any meds even OTC being taken? Then we research those meds to see if they affect sleep quality or how we feel during the day or cause insomnia....

a few months ago my wife's 550 started doing the exact same thing. as we have 2 identical machines we tried all combinations with the 2 machines swapping power supplies, plugs, wall plugs, users, everything. in every case it was her machine doing it no matter who used it and what was hooked to it. it was out of warranty so we simply bought a new 560 and didn't bother with repair. good luck. let us know it it gets resolved somehow.

I am having same problem I found a short term solution for my machine after franticly tinkering with it for an hour. I put my mask on but pull tube out of machine, then I put my finger in the hole where air comes out. I essential restrict the air from coming out. This will keep the machine on. I slowly back my finger out, if I do this to quickly the air flow stops. Once my finger is completely out and air flow is constant I put tube back on machine. The seems to work but is frustrating as heck. Also the humidifier has to be off and I have to wait a few minutes before I turn the humidifier on. I understand the frustration I use mind every night for 7 years it is a necessity for me.

The fix i found is to put an extra screw on the back right of the printed circuit board.
Remove knob by pulling straight up. Then you need to use a torx driver T15 to open the casing. Then the lid lifts off. Find a short screw more than 4mm thick to insert in the hole already in the board. There is a hollow tube for the screw to attach to. This keeps the pressure on the seals of the air pressure sensors.

Rich rich rich wrote:The fix i found is to put an extra screw on the back right of the printed circuit board.
Remove knob by pulling straight up. Then you need to use a torx driver T15 to open the casing. Then the lid lifts off. Find a short screw more than 4mm thick to insert in the hole already in the board. There is a hollow tube for the screw to attach to. This keeps the pressure on the seals of the air pressure sensors.

Excellent information. The pressure sensors are aligned right above the outlet tube on the blower unit, and the main board must align and seal to the sensors. For some reason on the 50 Series, Philips did not include the screw to hold down the board above those sensors. This was a frequent topic of discussion when the PRS1 50 Series was more prevalent. An easy fix, and one the probably should have been dealt with in a recall. Also a Service Manual for these machines is available through the Apneaboard. You will need to be a member to access this link. The placement of the PCA board and sensors is shown on figures 6-12 and 6-13 of the manual. http://www.apneaboard.com/file_links121 ... +BiPAP.pdf

Does this problem/issue plague both the 50 and 60 series model? Or is it just with the 50 series?

Sent from hell

egzbuen wrote:Does this problem/issue plague both the 50 and 60 series model? Or is it just with the 50 series?

Mainly the 50 series for some reason. Rare with 60 series.
And not all that common even in the 50 series despite what it might appear like from the comments here.

I have owned and used both the 50 and 60 series...probably 6 machines...never had that problem with any of them.
I changed machines not because I was unhappy with the machines...but usually because I got a chance for newer at really good deal and someone had a need for my "older" so I would sell it at a discount to help out someone and get myself newer and not have to add much out of my pocket.

The chances of your 560 being afflicted is very low...not impossible of course but risk is very low.

Pugsy wrote:

egzbuen wrote:Does this problem/issue plague both the 50 and 60 series model? Or is it just with the 50 series?

Mainly the 50 series for some reason. Rare with 60 series.
And not all that common even in the 50 series despite what it might appear like from the comments here.

I have owned and used both the 50 and 60 series...probably 6 machines...never had that problem with any of them.
I changed machines not because I was unhappy with the machines...but usually because I got a chance for newer at really good deal and someone had a need for my "older" so I would sell it at a discount to help out someone and get myself newer and not have to add much out of my pocket.

The chances of your 560 being afflicted is very low...not impossible of course but risk is very low.

That is a big sigh of relief Pugsy. Thanks so much. Can't wait to get both of my machines.

Cheers.

I don’t know what a torx driver T15 is

Kylenn wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 01, 2019 12:52 pm

I don’t know what a torx driver T15 is

https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Tool ... 587&sr=8-4

Try that.

JPB

jimbud wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 01, 2019 1:15 pm

Kylenn wrote: ↑

Sun Dec 01, 2019 12:52 pm

I don’t know what a torx driver T15 is

https://www.amazon.com/Performance-Tool ... 587&sr=8-4

Try that.

JPB

How do people survive in this day and age without being able to put things in search engines?

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