Fixing flat sceen TVs for fun and learning

[gauss]

I made a little progress with the 40" Sharp by pushing several of the built-in buttons simultaneously (per something I found online) and was able to get past the red power light.


....

(I tried pricing out three of the individual IC boards (power supply, main, and TCon....couldn't find the 4th board's info)...and they run between $35 and $65 each. I hesitate to spend that much with no guarantee of a working TV when I am done.)

omni

Was there any return policy listed for the boards that you have found?

I know that Autozone around here has provisions to return electrical automotive parts that they sell.

If a web site sells via Mastercard/Visa etc., I believe that they are required by the card issuers to post their return policy.

-gauss

 

[omni550]

Was there any return policy listed for the boards that you have found?

I know that Autozone around here has provisions to return electrical automotive parts that they sell.

If a web site sells via Mastercard/Visa etc., I believe that they are required by the card issuers to post their return policy.

-gauss

I didn't check out their return policies. One board wasn't in stock (and it only seemed to have a 50-50 chance of being restocked).

I don't want to order anything unless I am fairly confident that I can get all the parts I might need and have them on hand for any swapping-out trials.

Plus I'm headed off on a 2 week vacation soon and don't want to order parts that might arrive while I am gone...and have them sitting here with their 'return clocks' ticking in my absence.

omni

 

[sengsational]

Given the recognizable but scrambled images and the purple bar on the left, I'd say digital processing problems, so yeah, you've probably got a good power supply and a good screen and bad in between. BUT, if you could put a meter on the power supply and check voltages, sometimes the logic circuits to weird things if you feed them AC when they expect DC and stuff like that. If the power supply is putting out the right voltages, I'd sell that and the screen on eBay (with those pictures from above attached to both auctions). I'd offer refunds, but only if the buyer pays for return shipping.

 

[kcowan]

Is there any way around the PIN entry?

 

[omni550]

Is there any way around the PIN entry?

I'm unclear as sure what you are asking?

I found some online references to a service reset of the PIN (if one has been activated).

How can you tell if this TV has a PIN?

omni

 

[gauss]

Found this video about troubleshooting multiple images on flat screen TVs

Note he was able to isolate the problem by disconnecting the 2 halves of the screen between the TCon board and the main panel and then seeing the problem go away after disabling the bad half.

In his case, the problem appeared to be a poor connection that he shored up with a bit of tape to tighten up the fit.

Interesting...

-gauss

 

[omni550]

Found this video about troubleshooting multiple images on flat screen TVs

Note he was able to isolate the problem by disconnecting the 2 halves of the screen between the TCon board and the main panel and then seeing the problem go away after disabling the bad half.

In his case, the problem appeared to be a poor connection that he shored up with a bit of tape to tighten up the fit.

Interesting...

-gauss

Thanks, gauss.

I watched this vid and another dealing with double-imaging, with the simple fix of a tiny bit of scotch tape.

Triple images seem to be caused by something else (possibly a bad screen according to one thing I ran across), and I am still researching this further.

I am learning something about flat screen TVs, so my time has not been wasted, although the learning is a bit slow and uneven (compared to a tutorial).

omni

 

[kcowan]

I'm unclear as sure what you are asking?

I found some online references to a service reset of the PIN (if one has been activated).

How can you tell if this TV has a PIN?

omni

It asks for it before the reset.

 

[omni550]

It asks for it before the reset.

It didn't ask for a PIN, so the previous owner must not have set it up with one.

omni

 

[kcowan]

Yes I entered all 0s and it worked! I am the original owner so I guess it was me who took the pass.

 

[omni550]

Status update

It's been a while.

I found a forum online dedicated to this kind of issue, called BadCaps.

A knowledgeable poster there suggested that I replace a certain board in lieu of recapping the entire TV. For less than a $20 outlay (for a 'used' non-returnable FCV board plus shipping from Shopjimmy.com) and Voila! I have a nice picture on the 40" Sharp.

omni

PS: Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. kneehigh's suggestion to use the free Peel Smart Remote Android app was very much appreciated!

PPS: Next up, the 80" LG......(after I fix my Whirlpool dishwasher).

 

[zedd]

How satisfying! Congrats!

 

[NW-Bound]

All right! Perseverance pays off, like it usually does. Lesser people would have given up long ago, but you said you are an ME, right?

 

[omni550]

All right! Perseverance pays off, like it usually does. Lesser people would have given up long ago, but you said you are an ME, right?

Yup...a persistent ME here.

omni

 

[ERD50]

That's awesome - I had forgotten about this thread.

After following some, and seeing the quick fixes were not 100%, I though the chance of success was getting rather slim. But since you were mostly in it for the learning experience, no harm done, no big disappointment, learnt a few things along the way - good enough.

And now you got it working - cool! It actually has inspired me to be a bit more tenacious on my next repair. Good work!

Speaking of tenacious, one of many great lines from this movie (skip to 2:14 if the timing link does not work):

"She's ummm, tenacious? You have no idea."

https://youtu.be/JylK4HuKMvQ?t=134

-ERD50

 

[NW-Bound]

I have opened up a Mitsubishi TV to replace bad caps twice. It's acting up again. Darn!

On the Web, a RV repairman said he had to replace ALL electrolytic caps to keep problem for recurring, not just the main ones at the power supply sections (each board has its own section).

That's a heck of a lot of work, and I have been too busy to look at it the 3rd time. With TVs getting so cheap, I am tempted to trash it. I hate to throw anything away, knowing that it could be repaired with a bit of money (but a lot of time!). I have not attempted another repair nor buy another one, because we watch TV seldomly and usually use a smaller set in the bedroom.

 

[Sunset]

Fantastic, how wonderful you were lucky it was that board that was bad.
I'm sure you narrowed it down and I can really appreciate that effort and determination and I'm not diminishing that at all, just recognizing it could have gone a different direction.
Glad it worked out for you this time.

I really want to know if you get the 80" going

 

[omni550]

Fantastic, how wonderful you were lucky it was that board that was bad.
I'm sure you narrowed it down and I can really appreciate that effort and determination and I'm not diminishing that at all, just recognizing it could have gone a different direction.
Glad it worked out for you this time.

I really want to know if you get the 80" going

Thanks. I did it as a bit of a lark and to learn something about flat screens. Cheap entertainment for less than $20. I was actually quite amazed when the TV started working. Yah, the other boards might eventually fail, too, but it's been fun.

BTW, that was a bit of a typo on the second TV that I salvaged from the trash. It's an 80-lb. 60" LG plasma. I'll post an update when I get to working on it.

omni

 

[jdmorton]

Another Potential Resource Website

Omni550,

I did not see where anyone had posted this website which might be useful in your search for TV repairs/troubleshooting: AVS Forum | Home Theater Discussions And Reviews. I've used it myself for some very easy troubleshooting issues.

If you scroll down a bit, you will see the forums for the various types of TVs. If you know the make and model number, you will probably find a number of "problem" posts for that TV and usually a number of contributors answering the original poster's question. A lot of people post that their TV doesn't work/turn on/has lines through it and so forth. There are a number of individuals who either repair TVs or troubleshoot problems that post on this forum. These individuals can also decipher what a blinking light sequence means in terms of the actual problem. Sometimes the problems are posted in a general thread about a particular TV model and those threads can exceed 15,000 posts if it is a popular brand/model. Fortunately the search function is pretty good.

Hope this helps in your quest to recycle/rehabilitate TVs!

 

[omni550]

Omni550,

I did not see where anyone had posted this website which might be useful in your search for TV repairs/troubleshooting: AVS Forum | Home Theater Discussions And Reviews. I've used it myself for some very easy troubleshooting issues.

If you scroll down a bit, you will see the forums for the various types of TVs. If you know the make and model number, you will probably find a number of "problem" posts for that TV and usually a number of contributors answering the original poster's question. A lot of people post that their TV doesn't work/turn on/has lines through it and so forth. There are a number of individuals who either repair TVs or troubleshoot problems that post on this forum. These individuals can also decipher what a blinking light sequence means in terms of the actual problem. Sometimes the problems are posted in a general thread about a particular TV model and those threads can exceed 15,000 posts if it is a popular brand/model. Fortunately the search function is pretty good.

Hope this helps in your quest to recycle/rehabilitate TVs!

Thanks, jdmorton! I will definitely research it for the 60" LG Plasma.

omni

 

[gauss]

Kudos to you Omni!

Now you have a Trophy TV to commemorate your success.

For those that have trouble with bad caps - an ESR meter (which can often be built from a kit) is a useful tool to identify bad electrolytic caps in-circuit. You would only need to change the ones that are clearly bad initially.

-gauss