Help!!!! My TV won't turn on. (1 Viewer)

[LDfan]

Title says it all. I came home from work and went to turn on my 6 year old 32" Sony and it wouldn't power on. There were some thunderstorms during the day. The tv wasn't plugged into a surge protector, just the wall outlet so I was maybe thinking it was a power spike or something. However my digital cable box is plugged into the same outlet and it works fine. I even tried plugging the tv into another outlet and still nothing.

Does anyone have any ideas what may be wrong with the tv? Also any estimated repair range?

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[Frank_M]

Jeff -

I've had the same problem with my TV (also about 6 years old) twice in the last six months. It spontaneously shut off, and then would not come back on.

I think it might have something to do with a static build up, or perhaps an overheating (although mine is in a well-ventelated cabinet).

Anyway, I've found that if I unplug it... and leave it unplugged for a few hours... when I plug it back in it works fine.

Short of that, I don't know what to tell you.

Good luck

 

[LDfan]

Bump...

Thanks Frank. I tried this and no luck.

Jeff

 

[Jack Briggs]

The lightning fried the set's power supply. Pretty serious. You can get the set repaired, but it may be just as well to shop for a new set, budget permitting.

Always use a surge protector, especially if you live in thunderstorm-prone areas.

 

[LDfan]

Hi Jack,

That was my first thought but noticed the cable box wasn't zapped. Could light fry only one of them even though both were plugged into the outlet?

thanks,

Jeff

 

[Jack Briggs]

Possibly. Most mass-market television sets come equipped with woefully inadequate power supplies--usually, the cheapest the manufacturer can get away with while complying with all pertinent safety guidelines. In short, they're very weak and are prone to this sort of failure. (My late mother owned a 19-inch Sony back in the early '80s. Lightning stuck within yards of her house, and the TV's power supply was toast. The tube took a pounding, too. The set was repaired--sort of. The picture never was as good again.)

 

[Lando P]

Jeff,

You might wanna try to check if it's just a blown fuse inside before having it serviced or shopping for a new one. Normally if you open the back panel, between the power cord and power supply is a fuse supposedly to protect the power supply from overload (e.g. power surges). If the fuse is ok, then I guess the surge got to the power supply. Otherwise, take out the blown fuse and replace it with a new one with the same amperage. You can get it at Radio Shack.

One note though, it's indeed a blown fuse, it wouldn't be safe to assume that replacing it would fix the tv. There's a chance that despite the blown fuse, the surge would have still made it to fry your power supply. But then again, it wouldn't hurt to try and spend a dollar for a fuse before paying a couple hundreds for repair.

Good luck.

 

[Neil Joseph]

I don't suppose there is an in-line fuse that was blown. I know what I would do were it my TV but I won't recommend you try it unless the TV is no longer under warranty and you Know what you are doing.

 

[LDfan]

Well the repair guy came out today and said my power supply and main circuit board was fried. It's gonna cost almost $400 to fix it.

Is it really worth it?

Jeff

 

[Graham Martin]

Nope. Put the cash into a new set.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Defintely not worth it. Do you tinker with electronics. If you do, this would be a nice little project because somehow, I always have less than 100% trust when it comes to these matters. I concur with using the $400 on another TV.