TV only turns on with hairdryer(?)

FARGO

FARGO

FARGO

Associate
Joined
5 Aug 2010
Posts
1,990
Random one but I have a Samsung PS42A456 plasma TV that I've got a good bit of use out of over the last ~9 years.

However, for the last three months it won't turn on unless I heat the 'innards' through the back panel vents with a hairdryer. When switched on at the wall, the red standby light illuminates momentarily then goes out and the tv is unresponsive - it will only come to life if I go through the above method, every time I power on at the wall.

I've tried different fuses, different power leads and also a factory reset. Aside from leaving it plugged in and turned on at the wall (which I'm reluctant to do) is there anything anyone can recommend? It's done be proud over the years!

I believe it may be an issue with the capacitors being old and swollen - and I don't have the savvy to fix such things if that's the case :(
 
Haha! I found a video of a chap on YouTube using a hairdryer on a much smaller screen and it worked for him :D

I do feel like a wally doing it each time though!
 
Sounds like dry solder joints on the circuit board or maybe just one particular component on it atleast. I'm no real expert but i'm pretty sure a swollen cap would still work until it actually blows.
 
Is it not used often or are you worried about fire risk? Just wondering why you turn it off at the plug, does it come on every time when left in stand by?
 
FARGO;30484439 said:
Random one but I have a Samsung PS42A456 plasma TV that I've got a good bit of use out of over the last ~9 years.

However, for the last three months it won't turn on unless I heat the 'innards' through the back panel vents with a hairdryer. When switched on at the wall, the red standby light illuminates momentarily then goes out and the tv is unresponsive - it will only come to life if I go through the above method, every time I power on at the wall.
Click to expand...

Jesus - get a new TV.
 
Not sure what the question is here - you need to take it to be repaired! Or ebay for 99p collected.

Might be something very minor like Deo_volente says (intermittent solder connection is a good guess) but without some (substantial) electronics experience it could be challenging.
 
Is this purely from cold i.e your turning it off at the wall whilst out or when it's in standby mode?
 
you need to replace the board your heating up.

buy the same tv with a smashed screen for pennies off ebay and take the board out or see if you can find the part number and type it into ebay.

otherwise - buy a new tv
 
Yep, replace board or at least open it up to see if you can find something damaged. Obviously you risk losing the TV.

Though, 9 years. It's done well.
 
Might be the caps. I had a monitor that did that, there's something on the internet showing a damaged capacitor that would change it's value based on its temp.

If you do open it up, replace any bulging ones. That is if there are any. It's even worse when you're expecting an easy fix and then not seeing any busted caps to replace.
 
moogle;30486043 said:
It's even worse when you're expecting an easy fix and then not seeing any busted caps to replace.
Click to expand...

Yep, been there with an old ATX PSU recently, expecting to visually find some fault but no such luck, gets much more difficult at that point. :(
 
joeyjojo;30486131 said:
Yep, been there with an old ATX PSU recently, expecting to visually find some fault but no such luck, gets much more difficult at that point. :(
Click to expand...

Same here! I've been meaning to try and test the voltages coming off the leads but haven't had any time.

If it requires anything further I'll not have the skill to do it really.. :(

Oh well it makes a good grounding mat/base for when I'm dealing with ESD sensitive components (bare metal case).
 
Hi all, thanks for the replies. I've just realised how much of a skinflint I come across as! Once it's on, the tv works perfectly and has been set up with HD Basics etc so if there's anything easy I've missed, I'd rather give it ago before looking in to replacements.

It won't turn on from a 'cold' start, as in, having been switched off and then on at the wall. Once it's been hairdryered it can be turned on at the wall and in to standby mode, etc.

There's no reason that the to gets turned off at the wall at night, other than habit tbh. However, as I'm not entirely confident with the condition of the set, I'd rather not leave it plugged in 24/7, as unlikely as it bursting in to flames may be.

£75 per year over nine years has been great value so maybe I should be realistic and just invest in a new set :eek:
 
It's almost certainly an electrolytic capacitor (or two) on the PSU circuit board.

You can often identify the likely suspect by looking for a capacitor with a slightly bulging top, or maybe some signs of slight chemical leakage onto the PCB.
 
wellibob;30486782 said:
This. Absolutely.
Click to expand...

not really - if he's happy with the tv and has no reason to upgrade he could just replace the board.

he could repair that tv for less than £50 easy and a new tv will likely cost at least 10 times that.

plasma panels are rated to last 100,000 hours before their brightness halves. i therefore won't be letting go of my plasma unless it's uneconomical to repair or I pick up a cheap OLED to replace it which won't happen for many years yet.

plasma > LCD
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom