Question for the TV repair guys...

[4u 2 nv]

Lightening took out my LED 55" samsung. Shop (only local Authorized Samsung repair shop and sadly the only well rated shop overall) quoted me over $500 to fix a 3-4 year old TV...but it is a nice 120HZ Ultra thin TV etc so i hate to throw it but $500 is way too much. Spoke with a computer buddy who has dabbled in repairs at home and we looked at the TV setup and its insanely simple. I was told it took out the main board and power supply. You can find both parts for about $75-125 each.

With that...what are good places to buy replacment parts from? OEM the only way to go? Is there anything I am missing with my though process?

 

[JasonSnake]

You can probably do better and find a repair guy on Craigslist (preferably with his own shop you can take the power board to) and let him see what it needs replaced. It's likely some bad caps. He could use some quality Panasonic caps to replace the bad ones. Caps are dirt cheap so the labor is what he'd really be charging you. Before you do though, just make sure the glass fuse is not blown. Sometimes there are two or more.

 

[Blown 89]

www.google.com. Search for tv parts or the model number and part names you're looking for. There are a zillion places to buy the parts from. Once you get them take the TV apart and do it yourself. If you can work on a car there's no reason you shouldn't be able to repair a TV. I'd start with the power supply.

 

[4u 2 nv]

You can probably do better and find a repair guy on Craigslist (preferably with his own shop you can take the power board to) and let him see what it needs replaced. It's likely some bad caps. He could use some quality Panasonic caps to replace the bad ones. Caps are dirt cheap so the labor is what he'd really be charging you. Before you do though, just make sure the glass fuse is not blown. Sometimes there are two or more.

I read online the caps go usually first with a strike. I know to look for swelled ones etc. The shop told me the power supply and main board were gone. I have to pick it up Saturday. Ill take it apart and go from there.

 

[4u 2 nv]

www.google.com. Search for tv parts or the model number and part names you're looking for. There are a zillion places to buy the parts from. Once you get them take the TV apart and do it yourself. If you can work on a car there's no reason you shouldn't be able to repair a TV. I'd start with the power supply.

Thats what i did. just didnt know if there was a go-to vender for stuff like this or if they were all the same.

 

[Blown 89]

Thats what i did. just didnt know if there was a go-to vender for stuff like this or if they were all the same.

They're pretty much all the same IMO.

It's not guaranteed that the caps will be swollen but if you see some it's worth pulling out a soldering iron and replacing them if that's in your skill set. Rather that test every cap I've found it worth the time savings to just replace the entire board. If you do attempt to fix it I've found the skill set to come in handy over the years. Youtube soldering techniques, it's really not that hard.

 

[TK Doom]

1) How did the lightning take out your TV?

2) All modern TVs today are disposable (IMO), if its an awesome TV worth more than $2-3k depending on your income, you should get a $100-300 warranty that sets you for 5-7 years.

If lightning took it out, who knows whats wrong with it, IMO. A myriad of things could be wrong with it.

 

[OhIIICobra]

I fixed my Samsung 52" when the display went out. I had sound but no display, it was a $80 video driver card. If I had yours I would definitely buy a power supply and slap it in, worth the risk for less than $100. You can always sell the PS on craigslist if it doesn't fix it.

 

[4u 2 nv]

1) How did the lightning take out your TV?

2) All modern TVs today are disposable (IMO), if its an awesome TV worth more than $2-3k depending on your income, you should get a $100-300 warranty that sets you for 5-7 years.

If lightning took it out, who knows whats wrong with it, IMO. A myriad of things could be wrong with it.

Big Strike near my home. Also took out one hdmi port on my Marantz, the hdmi on my PS3 and the entire cable box lol. Red light was on but wouldn't turn on. Made the normal clicking sound which isn't good. Took it to a very well rated local Samsung dealer and they diagnosed it. Said it needs a power supply and main board.

 

[TK Doom]

No surge suppressor in line?

=(


Only say that for future reference!

 

[VNOMIS]

If you do happen to replace some bad caps and they happen to be polarized, make sure you put them on correctly or else you'll ruin the caps or possibly blow the caps up.

 

[CobraBob]

How much did you pay for the TV? Sounds like you're on the fence as far as whether or not it's worth fixing. I had a 54" Samsung plasma TV that had a sound volume issue. Cost me $400. to fix it (part cost was high) and darned it that part didn't fail a month after the part warranty expired. I decided NOT to toss any more money into it, and bought a new TV. IMO, unless you have a higher end TV with higher value, it's questionable whether it makes sense to waste the time and money to fix it. If you're well skilled, makes more sense. But if you're going to pay a repair shop to do the work, seriously weigh the cost before making a decision to proceed. JMO.

 

[4u 2 nv]

How much did you pay for the TV? Sounds like you're on the fence as far as whether or not it's worth fixing. I had a 54" Samsung plasma TV that had a sound volume issue. Cost me $400. to fix it (part cost was high) and darned it that part didn't fail a month after the part warranty expired. I decided NOT to toss any more money into it, and bought a new TV. IMO, unless you have a higher end TV with higher value, it's questionable whether it makes sense to waste the time and money to fix it. If you're well skilled, makes more sense. But if you're going to pay a repair shop to do the work, seriously weigh the cost before making a decision to proceed. JMO.

it was a pricey one when new. But..its comparable is prob $899-999 these days. I believe i paid $1400-1600 for it 4 or so years ago. Its a 55 Ultra slim (1.5") Samsung 120hz 1080p etc etc. Not a baller TV but its a solid setup. While I am questioning its worth to put money in it...with looking at doing it on my own i really dont now. The parts are about $200-300 or so if i do it myself and that is ordering entirely new boards. They were getting me for about $200 in labor alone. Almost 100% of the parts I have looked at have return policies and such. I have to pick it up today so ill pull it apart and get the exact part numbers i need to check prices more accurately.

 

[4u 2 nv]

If you do happen to replace some bad caps and they happen to be polarized, make sure you put them on correctly or else you'll ruin the caps or possibly blow the caps up.

I havent soldered in prob 15 years since i did RC car stuff as a kid. I am sure i can but a main power supply board is about $75-100...ill prob just save myself the hassle and replace the entire board.

 

[4u 2 nv]

No surge suppressor in line?

=(


Only say that for future reference!

yep and wife actually agrees with this electrical purchase lol. Like i said it got my TV, PS3 HDMI port, my marantz HDMI port and took out the entire cable box. My house is/was a 84 built home. Could that make a difference in grounding abilities of house in general? I say was as we just sold it and two days before moving out this happened. Our new home is a 2005 built home. Not sure if that makes a huge difference in grounding abilities of the structure overall.

 

[97ReoCobra]

If doing the work yourself it isn't the soldering or polarity that is a problem. It's keeping track of where all those tiny f'in screws go that keep the back on the set.

 

[Uncle Meat]

2) All modern TVs today are disposable (IMO), if its an awesome TV worth more than $2-3k depending on your income, you should get a $100-300 warranty that sets you for 5-7 years.

Warranty won't cover lightning strikes though. Just sayin'...

U.M.

 

[SirShaun]

These new TVs are insanely simple to fix in most cases. The only time it isn't worth it is if the screen itself is ****ed.
Most only have 4 components.
PSU
Main Board
Speakers
Screen

I had a 55 Vizio get hit by lightning tried the PSU to no avail. I then ordered a Main Board off of ebay, it never arrived and I lost my money. Kind of gave up after that. I will still make another attempt at getting a main board eventually.

Similar scenario, I would say try the main board first. The PSU boards are fairly sturdy. You can check for raised capacitors on the PSU, if nothing looks popped then you are good. It also has 1-few fuses on it you can check too.

I guess the big question in determining what to replace. Do you get any power lights when you plug it in? In my case the Power LED would come on, but upon turning the TV on it would flicker lit black screen for a brief second then unlit black. If no power LED at all then try PSU first.

I uses Shop Jimmy for the PSU, and it arrived as expected. Main Board I used ebay, tracking order showed delivered but I never got it. Thanks USPS. Just make sure to use Fedex or UPS.

One last note, once you start looking at TV parts you will quickly realize how much whoring goes on when it comes to components. My Vizio for example had LG boards.

Good luck and dont be scurred.

 

[Blown 89]

If doing the work yourself it isn't the soldering or polarity that is a problem. It's keeping track of where all those tiny f'in screws go that keep the back on the set.

Cardboard. When I pull out a screw it gets poked into a scaled down cardboard replica. I do the same thing with the car if a project takes more than a day or two.

 

[4u 2 nv]

These new TVs are insanely simple to fix in most cases. The only time it isn't worth it is if the screen itself is ****ed.
Most only have 4 components.
PSU
Main Board
Speakers
Screen

I had a 55 Vizio get hit by lightning tried the PSU to no avail. I then ordered a Main Board off of ebay, it never arrived and I lost my money. Kind of gave up after that. I will still make another attempt at getting a main board eventually.

Similar scenario, I would say try the main board first. The PSU boards are fairly sturdy. You can check for raised capacitors on the PSU, if nothing looks popped then you are good. It also has 1-few fuses on it you can check too.

I guess the big question in determining what to replace. Do you get any power lights when you plug it in? In my case the Power LED would come on, but upon turning the TV on it would flicker lit black screen for a brief second then unlit black. If no power LED at all then try PSU first.

I uses Shop Jimmy for the PSU, and it arrived as expected. Main Board I used ebay, tracking order showed delivered but I never got it. Thanks USPS. Just make sure to use Fedex or UPS.

One last note, once you start looking at TV parts you will quickly realize how much whoring goes on when it comes to components. My Vizio for example had LG boards.

Good luck and dont be scurred.

Shop quoted me main board and power supply. The red LED in corner is there actually. But it does nothing. The LED is usually there when off .....a goes away when on. You can hear it clicking also if you listen close.