Categories
General Tip

Blown Power Supply on Philips Plasma

I’ve been bean to post this blog entry for some time – but better late than never. In late February, as the kids were getting ready to leave for school in the morning, they mentioned to me that the TV in our Sunroom was not working and it had a blinking red light. I went downstairs sure enough my 42″ Philips Plasma TV (Model: 42PF9631D/37) would not turn on. After the jump I’ll explain how I fixed the problem for under $30.

Picture 2.pngI’ve been meaning to post this blog entry for some time – but better late than never. In late February, as the kids were getting ready to leave for school in the morning, they mentioned to me that the TV in our Sunroom was not working and it had a blinking red light. I went downstairs sure enough my 42″ Philips Plasma TV (Model: 42PF9631D/37) would not turn on. After the jump I’ll explain how I fixed the problem for under $30.

First of all let me start by giving a little background on the TV. It was a extremely nice house warming gift from my parents when I bought my house just over two years ago. This was my first flat screen and I was so very excited. So much so that at the time it was delivered at 7:30 am, I rushed over from my old house, where I was still living, to meet the delivery guys at the new house — I was still in sweats. I even had that box cracked opened before the delivery guys had left the driveway.

Fast forward two years and poof – the plasma decides it won’t turn on. I’m sure that a lot of you can relate, in a large family it really hurts to have one of the TVs down for any amount of time. Everyone’s daily routine is thrown off, rules start to get ignored (evidence: crumbs on the carpet in the “no-eating” rooms that had working TVs), the arguments start on what shows to watch, etc. So it behooved me to get the plasma fixed as quickly as possible to avoid losing family members. However, I was not looking forward to the repair bill.

Before I started calling around for repair shops, I broke out the warranty paperwork. Of course – just out of warranty. Luc200903260917.jpgky me. Typical. Fortunately I didn’t pay anything for it.

However, on a hunch I jumped on the internet and did some research on the model in question. In my research, I found out that the first year to 18 months of this line of Philips plasmas had been out, there were very few issues. At least not enough to cause any concerns regarding any major defects. That was until January or so of this year (2009) – I started seeing dozens of complaints of blown power supplies and the horror stories surrounding getting the plasmas fixed.

Once again the AVForums had all the answers a guy with A/V problems needs. I discovered this thread that deals with a number of Philips plasma models exhibiting the same symptoms. Here were my symptoms: Power On, Green Power Light, 2 “relay clicks” (you can hear the clicks clearly), Power light goes red and flashes 7 times, Power light stays red. Basically all of this pointed to something wrong with the power board(s) in the plasma. A majority of the reported issues were with blown capacitors. I believe that one person reported that the specific capacitor was rated for 1000 hrs – no wonder so many of them were failing just outside their warranty period and all at once!

Message #70 of the thread really sank it home for me, as the poster had exactly the same model of plasma I had and he had posted pictures of the blown capacitors. At this point I figured that I might as well see if I had the same problem – and maybe attempt to fix it myself to save on the repair costs. I thought I would post some pictures about this project – hopefully it will help someone else out.

Here is a picture of the plasma with the back taken off. I’ve edited the picture to show the capacitors that were blown:

OpenPlasma.png

Here is a close up of the blown capacitors:

blowncaps.png

You’ll notice that the top of the capacitors are not flat, but rather blown up.

I took the board to a local electronics store, Green Brook Electronics, that had some guys on hand that knew their stuff. Frank, the guy that help me through this mess, confirmed the blown capacitors. He also inspected the rest of the board and gave me a little bit of advice on some of the parts. He then said that he didn’t have the appropriate part on hand, but I could find it online readily enough. Once I got the part, he would put them on the board for me.

One bit of advice Frank had was that when attempting to get the part online – make sure I have the correct measurements of the capacitors (12.50mm x 25.00mm). I didn’t realize at the time how important that was until I started looking for the part online. I was stunned at the number of choices of electronics parts – I’m such a nubie with this stuff.

In any event, I took Frank’s suggestion on using Digi-Key. After about an hour of trying to find the part myself – I resorted to using the online chat with their tech support. They were extremely helpful. They found two appropriate parts in 3 minutes. One part rated for 1000 hrs and the other for 7000 hrs. I got the 7000 hrs version. Here is the link to the specific part I ordered: 493-1754-ND. It cost me $1.07 for each capacitor – shipping was more expensive than the parts – about $6 on the slow truck.

Once I got the capacitors three days later, I went back to Frank and in 10 minutes he had the new parts put on the board. Frank charge me something like $16 and change – I gave him $17. I raced home with the newly repaired board and installed it immediately. WORKED LIKE A CHAMP!

In total – I spent about $27 and 8 hours of effort (research, two electronic store visits, moving the tv – with a friend – Thanks Mark!). A lot better than the $800 repair bill I would have to pay. A great big THANK YOU to the community of AVForums.

I hope that this article helped someone out – and if you are in the Greenbrook, NJ area and need some electronic work done, go to Green Brook Electronics.

-JT

324 replies on “Blown Power Supply on Philips Plasma”

thank you so much for this article; i am experiencing the VERY SAME problem with my 50″ Philips Amiblight. I am going to at least try this repair before I get rid of the TV; I got an $800 repair estimate. Worth a shot!

AWESOME! THANKS! I have the same problem with my 50″ Philips 50PF931D/37. I opened it up and found two popped capacitors thanks to your blog, one slight and one largely popped. I got a repair estimate of $500-600 for the power board, $95 bench fee and $90 visit fee. I am even more excited that I can replace it with a part that will last seven times longer. I am slightly experienced with electronics and armed with a soldering gun so this repair might just cost me $1.98 (less shipping of course.)

Hi I think I am having the same problem. I have a Phillips 50″ plasma tv just out of warranty. Well I should say this is my second cause my first one I bought at walmart broke within 6 months. I know have the replacement (most likely refurbished, cause you know I used my hard earned bucks for a once broken second hand TV). Anyway the other day the TV just stopped working. Wont turn on and no indication of recieving power. NO LIGHTS at all. Is the capacitors most likely my prob as well? Please help!

Matt – wow, no lights. That’s really going to be different. I would recommend that you post a request on the AVForums (link in the article) as they have some real experts there. In any event, If it were me, I would take the back off the tv and see if there are blown capacitors – as that would be an easy fix. Plus, you’ll probably need to see what the part numbers (circuit board revs, etc) for anyone to give you any detailed advice.

Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Let me know how things work out!

JT, you are the man!

About six months ago, my 50 inch Philips plasma would not turn on. It would only do it every so often, and usually if I unplugged the power cord and re-plugged it in, the tv would eventually turn on. That was until about a week ago. It was down for the count. Luckily, I found your very informative and helpful post, inspected the circuit board from the back of the tv, and sure enough, the tops of my capacitors were blown as well. To make a long story short, about 7 days and $1.98 later, I am back in business. And thanks to your post, I saved several hundred dollars, which is what the “HD TV Technicians” in my area would have charged to diagnose and repair this problem!

Thanks again!

Thanks so much for the information. I currently have my TV on the living room floor and I am in the process of removing the motherboard. I noticed you linked a single part: 493-1754-ND. Do you simply buy two of the same capacitors and replace the two with blown caps? Thanks again for such an informative and clearly rewritten piece.

Kevin – Yes, in my case both blown caps were of the same type, thus the one part number. If your blown caps are of a different type, you’ll need to do some investigative work on Digi-Key — or better yet take the board to a nice (older) electronics store and see if they can help you find the appropriate parts. Thanks for the comments and Good Luck!

HOLY MOTHER OF GAWD! Just minutes ago I ran down to my local TV repairman. He charged 25$ to soder the two new caps to the board (I went through Digikey also). I drove home like a madman and mounted the board to the TV and low and behold, SCORE! It feels good to be a “hero” of sorts to your kids and to have your wife finally believe you might have figured something out. Instead of $800 on some phony new board, I am only out about $40. I can’t express how awesome your blog is and how much I really appreciate the help! YOU ROCK, SIR!

Kevin

I had this issue as well with my Phillips 42″ Plasma.
The first time it happened was at 14 months old, 2 months out of warranty. I had 7 red blinking lights. I also did a lot of reading in the AV forums and remember looking at the exact pictures you posted. Took the pwer board in to work to a co-worker who used to work electronics. He soldered in another capacitor he scavenged off of a computer power source and it worked great.

Fast forward another 8 months and it’s out again 🙁
6 red blinking lights. Again I removed the power board and the other capacitor next to the one he replaced last time was done for. He replaced this one but no luck, she won’t boot up. Looks like the board will have to go in for some more in depth diagnosis.

In the mean time I’m ordering a new LCD and if I ever get this Phillips working again it will either go on Ebay, Craigslist or be reserved to the basement where it’s cooler. I believe part of the power board issues arise from inadequate cooling. Especially in my case where it was corner mounted with all the AV equipment directly underneath throwing up heat.

Thanks for the article.
–Steve

Thanks JT, I had the same problem with my Philips 42PF5320 in Australia. Picked up a couple of 3300TKR capacitors from Wagner in Sydney, soldered them in and away it went. Your post saved me a lot of time.
Dave

JT,
I have the same condition exactly as you described with my 42″ Philips Plasma TV.
I found the 2 blown Caps and replaced them. However, there was no difference. Still get 7 blinking red lights after power up and a brief audio sound.
I was wondering if you or anyone else have any additional suggestions I might try.
I hate to spend 400-600 dollars for Philips’s authorized repair dealer.
Thanks for the excellent posting and photos. It was really a big help to me.
-JL

Jack –
Sorry it didn’t work out for you. I would reccomend that you read the entire thread in the avforums — maybe even post your question there as they have some geniuses that visit that forum.
Here’s another option: When I did my repair, I had remember reading that there was a guy on eBay that was selling components for a similar model tv. You can find him here. I traded a couple of emails with him as he didn’t have the exact board I needed, but he mentioned that he could fix the powerboard of the model I did have. Not sure what it would run you, but I’m betting it’ll be cheaper than going to a repair shop.

Good luck and post any results you get.

Thanks!
JT

hi, thanks for all this info, my set , philips 42 plasma with ambi light , is exhibiting the EXACT problem, so I removed the back, and removed the central board, I already ordered the caps, but the only thing Im a little concerned about is that the caps on my board do not look ruptured at the top as yours do. I already contacted greenbrook electronics and when I get my new capacitors, Im gonna take a drive there (Im about 45 min from there) and have them install em., Hope that works, thanks

update,, well I had the caps replaced and same thing, so I just ordered a new complete power supply, hope that works, or in the garbage it goes,, but thanks anyway for the info, it was worth the 40 bucks to give it a try,

wow,, confused,, I replaced the entire power supply board, and same thing,, seven blinking lamps, then cycles again, any ideas out there??? seems strange to have the exact problem you guys have with no results,, Im baffled

JT,

Thanks for the informative site. Just wanted to share a related story – I picked up a used 9630 off ebay since I have some experience with some other Philips tv’s with similar issues, and this one had similar issues to your problem (and I like to fool around with stuff). Here is the actual listing for the item:

“up for sale is my 42 inch philps ambilight plasma model number ,42PF9630A/37 was working perfectly until the other day , when it turned on and turned off by itself, wont show anything, red light at the bottom blinks 7 times, may be an easy fix, not sure, and dont want to know.

I dont fix electronics, were going to buy a new set,

looks brand new as its been hanging on the wall in my living room, maybe someone with some electronics experience can fix it, this was top of the line three years ago and I paid alot of money for it, (about 3000) now of course there alot cheaper, so, its up for grabs,, just so you know, I would light it on fire, before I sell it for less than 150.00 so dont ask, I will absolutely not sell it for less, under any condtion, , Im funny that way,,,lol anyway, thats the price. AS IS NO RETURNS”

So to me, this seems like a tv that nobody had messed around with. However, after I paid, I realized that the person I bought it from was Bill Di Carlo who had responded in this thread saying that he had swapped the capacitors and power supply.

When I picked it up, I asked him to his face whether he had done any work to the tv to replace anything, including capacitors or power supply. He said “No, I didn’t do any of those things”. I even had a printout of this blog which I showed him and he still said he didn’t do any of these things.

Being an honest person who will take someone’s word and not think they are lying to my face, I took it home, opened it up, and it was pretty obvious that the 8059 and 8060 capacitors had been swapped out (as well as several others). Seems like a relatively decent job of soldering, but they may have damaged the board in the process (as there was a small brown spot around one area of soldering).

So I am torn, I knew I was getting a broken tv, but the listing made it sound like nothing was done to attempt to fix or that anything on the board was replaced. I didn’t spend a lot on it, but it is really just the point that someone would blatantly lie to my face when I asked them directly. Bad karma for him, and I am debating filing a complaint with Ebay/Paypal since the listing does not represent the condition of the item. However, that is a lot of hassle and although I think I am in the right, I may not have a 100% shot of getting my money back.

I’ll keep you posted as to how it turns out…

KT – Thanks for the post and I’m sorry to hear about your experience.

I debated approving the comment as I don’t want the site to becoming something other than what I intend it to be. However, I thought it was important to approve the post as it does “contribute” to the conversation. — if only to bring up the fact that one needs to be careful when buying used products (I’m a eBay fiend lately.)

Obviously I can’t speak for (or against) the person you mentioned in your comment, nor can I speak for their work, but I can wish you luck with the plasma. I do hope that it gives you many years of enjoyment to offset your buying experience.

Thank you for sharing!
-JT

JT,

Sorry for the rant previously, but I do have an update…after looking at the power board for a while, I was thinking something didn’t look right…and I realized that the new capacitors that were put in on the board were put in backwards, so the negative was on the positive side for both. Shocked I didn’t pick that up earlier, but what can you do. (So I definitely know someone played around with the power board but wasn’t fixing the right problem)

So I put them back in the right way hoping that would fix it, and I got further up to the point where the ambilight would come on before the tv shut down, followed by 7 red blinking lights.

So I unplugged the y board, plugged it back in, and it starts up and doesn’t shut down at least. So I am pretty sure I need to replace it. I’ll let you know if that clears it up.

Thanks again,
KT

I picked up the same model you had after finding a craigslisting that described the symptoms you had listed here.

After taking it apart it could have been the very one you took pictures of — they are that similar.

I’ve got the caps ordered and will let you know how it goes. Could be the best $150 I’ve spent in a while.

–Matt

I have 50 plasa from philips which i bought refurbished 1 and a half year ago. All of a sudden last week, I started seeing the the slow and fast 6 red flash/blinks. I followed the instruction on this thread, and opened the tv cover and found 1 capacitor like JT mentioned, was not only had blown cap but some black dust were on the top. Another capacitor looks ok.

I ordered 4 matching capacitors 493-1754-ND from Digi-Key incase when I am soldering, extra would be handy. Hopefully this will take care of my problem. I will keep you guys posted. I should get my capacitors on Wednesday 09.02.09

I received 4 capacitors from http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=493-1754-ND, and cost about $4 for 4 +$14 – 2 day shipping. As soon as i got it, i took out the blown out as well as the other one (I am pretty sure it will blow up soon), and sodered 2 new ones in. I put everything back in, and BAAAAAAAM…. everything is back up. I used to have a lag time before start, and no sound for a while, but its all normal now. Thanks much JT. You da man. You saved many people $100 of dollars if not thousands. Keep in mind, that I have done some research, and some people have other sets of capacitors gone bad as well, but didn’t pay too much attention as to what sort of problem they are having.

Thx.

RP

JT

Love your site great stuff. I have the 7 blinking lights going on right now. researched it a bit and have found a quick fix while the new Compacitors 3300uf 10v come in the mail. TURN THE TV ON AND OR PLUG IT IN AND WIGGLE THE POWER CORD OUT AFTER YOU HEAR THE SECOND CLICK THEN PLUG IT BACK IN AFTER THAT. I tried that and it worked after the second try. From what I read its temporary…..but alot better than when I called Philips and they wanted me to replace the whole board?????? Ba****ds! By the way did you ever consider sodering the compacitors youself?

Thanks

John M

Thanks for the compliment and yes, I thought I’d give it a shot initially. However, once I saw the state of my soldering equipment. I think the last time I used it was close to 15 years ago. Plus I’ve never really acquired any soldering skills per se. I was just good enough to make minor repairs. For me, it cost under $20 to have someone else do it that had those skills. I was more than happy to fork over the money!

-JT

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Exact same problem with my 42″.

Thanks to your post – will be able to repair myself for a couple of dollars.
Thank you for taking time to explain and post!

Wow. Finding your post has really encouraged me.

I have the Phillips 50 inch plasma and have been fighting with it for about a month deciding what to do. Up until today I could unplug/replug and it would eventually come on. It started shortly after I bought the unit, just shutting down – then coming on on its own. This was very sporadic….. I really was not sure it was the TV. I replaced the cable box; even suspected my Lifestyle system. Until about a month ago when we started this game getting it to come on at all.

My question is; I have the six long/three short red light flashes. Others have mentioned seven flashes. Does this indicate a different problem? I’ve always suspected the power supply.

I’m going to tear it apart tomorrow to examine the capacitors. I too have been delaying schlepping the gigantic thing to the repair shop where I was given a rough estimate of $400 – 600.00 from my verbal description; pending actual findings. You know it would have been higher in the end!

Thanks for the great post. I will let you know how I do!

@Cody – Good Luck and let us know how you make out!

@Pete – It does sound like power. However, since it’s a different size and different code, I would head over to the AVForums and do a little digging around there. They have some absolute geniuses that might be able to help you out. Good Luck and let us know how you made out!

-JT

Thanks for the quick response. Opened the unit up this morning and to my amazement – the exact two capacitors you described clearly appear to be blown. Both are split at the center and one is ‘leaking’ black …….whatever it is. I’m headed to Radio Shack to try my luck. I will replace the power supply as well. Seems foolish not to.

I have done a fair amount of hobby soldering and general project stuff. never on a PC board. I will pick up a small gas soldering iron. Any further tips?

I feel I should be paying you for this information and time. I’m just in NY above the Jersey border. If it works I’m sending you a gift certificate for a good Outback dinner or something!

Thanks.

Pete – Thanks for the thought – but save the cash — or better yet take the wife/significant other out for dinner. I’m just happy to help out. Post your results when you get a chance!

-JT

My T.V. was working perfectly fine a couple of hours ago. I come home to use it, specifically to watch Dexter, and a red light came on and just started to blink. I unpluged the power cord, however, it continued to do the same thing. I contacted Philips, and all they said was that my T.V. is out of warranty and to contact someone who can help.

Your post has helped me greatly. Thank you so much.

I don’t have any experience with electronics, are these parts I can just replace myself? I saw someone state something about sodering.

Thank you!!

Danielle – Sorry to hear about the TV. Whether you can do it yourself really depends on your skills with a soldering iron and your tolerance for risk of an electrical fire. 🙂
All kidding aside – this type of repair generally requires some board-level work, unless you replace the entire power board.

If I were you, I would look around for a good electronics place – Mom n’ Pop kind. Generally you can find someone there that you can strike up a conversation with and explain the issue. If you don’t mind taking apart the TV, take the board to them and see if they can help you.

Another thing you can try: If you read a few threads up, you’ll see a link to a guy on Ebay that offered to fix my board when I had this issue. Give him a shout.

Worst case – you can go to an electronics/TV repair place and give them some business. I would assume it would cost a little more, but a reputable one will stand by their work. You probably can save some money if you call them up and ask them to do specific work as opposed to coming to the house, investigating what’s wrong, taking apart the TV, etc.

Good Luck and come back and post what you ended up doing!

-JT

JT,

Add another success story and very happy reader to the record. My capacitors arrived from DigiKey today and, an hour later, my TV is working good as new. Thank you so much for taking the time to post this detailed and very user-friendly fix. You just saved a stranger a lot of money. Very much appreciated. (DigiKey was great to work with, too.) This whole experience is the web at its best, this after nearly being ripped-off by a far more traditional company.

Thank you.

JT,

I must have caught my problem early. The TV just made clicking sounds with picture for about 10 seconds then settled down. Thanks for the great help in this matter. Wouldn’t it be nice if each time you had a problem with something, you could find the inexpensive fix this easy. Bottom line: DigiKey capacitors with shipping – $4.30. Local shop to solder capacitors – $60.00. TV working like new – PRICELESS. Thanks again.

katman

J T,

Thanks a million! I had almost resorted to just calling a tech out to diagnose and repair my 50″ Phillips plasma. As a last ditch effort, I did a search on my model and found your blog. My symptoms were nearly identical to yours so I took the 5000 screws off of the back panel and found the blown capacitors. Like you, I ordered the 7000 hr caps through digikey and a local electronics store charged me nothing to solder them on the board. (I tipped the tech $20.00)—Got home, put it all back together and I am back in business. Thanks again. You saved me a bundle.

Steve

Thanks JT and John M,

I tried what John M said and it work for me on the first try. Still ordering the new capacitors and will replace. Thaks guys potentially saving me hundreds, will come back and let you know how it turns out.

JT:

I have been playing with this same problem for quite some time. I have had a heck of time finding the capacitors that everyone is talking about. I was about to give up when I finally saw a picture for the board here… So now I am looking at the board and the picture and they are not the same??? I have a PS-425-PHN LJ44-00119. I did see that there was mention of someone having another board but they were able to find the bulge… Any idea of where else I can look on the board to determine if this is my problem.

Thanks

Toby… that’s weird! I did a quick Google search on the part and came up with two hits. The second one was for an ebay item that had exactly the same model power board. However, it was for a 42″ Vizio television. Here’s the link.

Now I don’t know if the Philips and the Vizio components would work with one another, but take a look at the pic that’s on the page and see if you want to take the chance on the board. If you don’t mind spending $99 you could have a relatively easy fix. (or you could be out a $100)

I would suggest that you hit the AV Forums and post your question there. The link is in the article above. I already did a search on that power board model number on their site and came up with nothing. But post the question anyway.

Good Luck with it. Come back and let’s us know how you made out.

-JT

Thanks JT!!! Just read this Thursday night after getting the red lights and no power. ordered the capacitors from digikey. The next morning I gave Gene’s TV Repair here in Fargo a call and turned out he had the capacitors in stock. brought the board over and he had it done in 2 minutes! Trading him the 2 capacitors I purchased for .99, which showed only two days later via priority mail. Great Job posting this! Thanks again… Total cost $5.97

JT,,

first off,, thx for spending the time to post your results.. i went from being very angry to calmed down for now.. i have a phillips 50″ plasma with the 7 blinking light issue. for the past 2 months i have just left the tv on 24 hours aday and using a screen saver dvd i bought.

like a dummy i figured i’d try just turning off the coverter box and leave the tv on with a blank screen.. this morning my tv was off and i tried unplugging and pluging it several times and almost tossed my remote right through the screen:}

anyway,,i found your blog and it gave me some hope.. my question is,, how hard is it to take off the board that you mentioned?? i havent took the back off of the tv yet..waiting for my roommate to come home to help me get it off the stand..

was just wondering if the board is attached using screws??? i will keep you posted with my results once i try the replacing of thecaps.. thx again,,,ron

Ron – There are a ton of screws holding the back of the TV together – no worries as they all come out easily and they are all the same. Once you expose the board, you’ll see how very easy it is to remove. A few screws and cables (that connect it to the other boards) is all that’s there. Good Luck and post your results!

-JT

jt,

so far so good.. i just took off the back and found the same two caps to be blown. i have the board out now and ordered the caps and a couple spares.

as soon as i get the new ones in i will post the results.. thx again for your original post in telling people how you got lucky and fixed yours..

sure hope it works for me.. talk to ya in a few days!!!! ron

jt,

i got a couple questions for ya.. my caps should be here tomorrow.. i read the 26 pages of the forums that helped you out and i remember seeing one post about the caps having one leg longer then the other and 1 was positive and 1 was negative. i will read them again if you cant remember which is which.

do you remember which is which?? also,,do you know which is the positive/negative on the board? i may try to do the soddering myself or at least want to tell who ever i get to do the soddering for me which is which just incase they dont know.

i will be sure to let you and others on this blog how it went for me. i have a 50″ phillips/ambilite and the board looks pretty close to yours.. the caps were in the same location..

thx again,,,,, ron

Ron –

Short is negative and long is positive. What it looks like on the board….sorry. I didn’t take shots of that so I don’t have any reference. However, I would suggest that you examine the existing caps on the board, as sometimes they have a minus designator on them.

-JT

JT, woke up this morning and went to turn on my t.v., and NOTHING!!! My philips is just out of warranty, after fighting with phillips for an hour or so I hit the web. I was happy and also shocked to stumble on your post, and see all the people who were having the same problem. I got some quotes to see how much to get it fixed and if you are not confidient with electronics, then best buy is the way to go. They will come to your house and fix your tv in about an hour. (if it is the caps) the cost to me was nothing because I bought their protection plan but it would have cost 300.00, Tv broke on monday, called best buy, tuesday tv fixed and I did not ave to leave the house. I showed the tec your page and he said that the pics were perfect. He also said to stay away from philips, he works on them more then all the rest.

He suggested for a cheep fix take out the board and go to the local college, and ask electronics students if they can change caps, it will only cost the price of the caps and a six pack of beer.

Thanks for the help, great page

Hey Thomas – Thanks for the post and feedback! Glad you had the protection plan in place. I would have to agree about the Philips line at this point — too many people with the same problem that could have been easily been avoided had Philips used appropriate parts.

-JT

Hi JT – this could be a very silly question, but here goes… do you have to wear some form of gloves when handling the components of the tv? My friend was telling me that you can touch the wrong part and electricute yourself and die. I was going to stop by home depot this weekend and buy electrician gloves before attempting to take out the board. Is this necessary? If you can’t tell, I have no idea what I am doing. Thanks for the feed. You have done us all a great service.

Danny – I guess anything is possible. Obviously take the normal precautions of disconnecting the TV from the wall outlet – yes, actually disconnect it, don’t just shut off the TV. By the time you take the TV down off it’s stand or off the wall and remove all the screws from the back of the TV, the components that are designed to hold a charge would probably have discharged. In addition, this procedure has been done at least a couple of dozen times from people that have stumbled on this blog posting – many more have done it that got their information from other sites – so I would say it’s about as safe as anything else is.

I don’t think you need to take a ton of precautions — However, Anti-Static mats, wrists bands, etc. are always a good idea (I’m so bad with this myself. I only use them when I’m installing really sensitive components, like CPUs.)

I haven’t heard of anyone actually dying or getting injured fixing an LCD/Plasma – but in a different life, when I was a PC tech, I’ve heard of some pretty hairy stories of guys fixing CRT monitors with them plugged in. Those guys usually ended up in through a wall or with seriously messed up nervous systems for a bit of time (urban legend? who knows? But they are scary enough stories to make sure you don’t screw up and to stay away from the buzzing noise.)

I’m assuming that you’ll have someone else do the soldering (please…) – now isn’t the time to pick up that skillset. I would suggest that you stay organized when you take the TV apart. Put the screws in a container, take digital pictures or take notes of where the cables go when you disconnect the board are all good ideas.

Good Luck and post your results!
-JT

jt.

YOU ARE THE MAN!!!!!! got my caps today [same ones you replaced].. i took the board to a small tv repair place. the guy told me no charge to put the news ones in for me. i gave the guy a $25 tip..

anyway, i have the 50″ ambilte plasma.. took the board home,, put it in, crossed my fingers and hit on.. guess what??? works like a charm!!! i called a couple repairs shops to get a quote before i read your blog and they all said between $600 and $1,000 to fix.

my cost finding and using your info at my cost was about $32!!!!!!! i am so happy i found your blog.. i bought this tv new for $3,000 about 3 years ago.. i will never buy a phillips or samsung product again!!

anyway,, thanks sooooo much for taking the time to post your success story and the links to the forums and digikey.. your a hell of a guy… take care and thx a bunch…ron

I survived JT! Without gloves! I removed the board today and ordered the parts (4 of them so that I’ll have them on hand when it happens again in 3 years). There were a lot of chords to remove! Fingers crossed that I did not mess anything up in there in the process of removing them. I have another silly question for you. I have my tv propped up on my sofa at a 60 degree angle. I am afraid to lay it down because I was once told not to lay it flat on the ground because of the whole plasma/gas thing. You think it is okay at this angle or should I really have it standing up over the next week? Thanks again! You’re the best!

@JC – The only thing I can recommend is that you open it up and take a look. It’s worth the time to do. If you look at the pics I have in the article, you can clearly see any blown capacitors. If it’s not the same ones that I have taken shots of, simply take the board to an electronics shop (preferably an older establishment, or a college) and let them look at it. In any event, jump online and go to digikey and they can help you find whatever you need. Just remember to get the measurements of the capacitors as well as their rating (that’s usually printed on the side of the capacitor.)

Good Luck and let us know how you make out!
-JT

dannybob,

i layed mine down on a big blanket while i took the board out. then i did pick up the tv and leaned it against the couch for the next couple days. i too replaced 2 caps,,crossed my fingers and she fired right up. it’s been a couple days and everything seems to be working fine.

without JT and his blog i would have most likely sold this tv for what ever i was offered. you figure when you spend $3,000 for a tv it should last longer then 2 and a half years!!
i will NEVER buy a phillips or samsung product again. anyway,, my total cost to fix was $32 rather then the $700 to $900 estimate i was given on the phone..good luck with yours!!!

ron

@jt
thanks jt weird thing is i have two of these screens and last year the other one broke ,i replaced two caps and one relay and has worked ever since,the one that has broke now is a differant model ,will take your advise and take it appart today.

Hey JT this is Terry in Texas. Just wanted to say thanks for everything. You solutions fixed my problem immediately. Thanks for taking the time to share with everyone and in such detailed fashion. You made it easy. Not sure where you are but if you are ever in texas look me up. I owe you dinner and drinks at least.

tc

JT, YOU ARE THE MAN! I received the capacitors in the mail on Friday and paid the local TV repair man $45 to replace them for me. Cost of living is a little bit higher in South Florida, but a total cost of approximately $50 ain’t bad at all! TV is working fine! Now I can watch the Packers-Vikings game in HD tomorrow! It’s amazing that for $0.99, Philips could not put the 7,000 hour capacitors in from the get-go. Planned obsolescence is a b—-

Happy Halloween!

Danny – thanks for the post. I’m happy everything worked out!

I’m only 1.5 hours into Halloween and I’m on my 2nd box of candy. Looks to be an early night for us! Happy Halloween!

-JT

JT,

Like al the others that have already commented, THANK YOU for sharing this information. You should get some sort of royalty for your post as you have saved many of us a combined total of several thousand dollars. I would be happy to buy you a beer whenever you are in Washington (the state).

I have a 3 year old 50 inch Philips and followed your instructions exactly, ordering the same capacitors from Digi-key. One of the capacitors was actually blown so much that the top was split at the X that is indented on the top of the capacitor. I am a novice solderer but was able to remove and replace on the board myself (just be sure you put them in the correct way. (It is like a battery with a + and -. The capacitor actually has a short and long wire to distinguish). The plasma works perfectly now and hopefully for another 7000 hours. My sincere gratitude to you. You have “Good Karma” credits coming your way. Thank you again for you post.

PS. Bad karma to the Philips people that want to charge us $800 to replace the board and act like they don’t know what to fix, for another 1000 hours of use…

Hey JT,

I have the same 42″ Phillips with the 7 blinking red lights. I got the back off and can’t find any capacitors that look blown. What else do you think it might be?

Marty – Sometimes a blown capacitor doesn’t seem as distended as one would like. For instance in the close up pic I have, the cap on the right was only slightly bulging. Take another look, or bring it to an electronics shop and point out the caps in question and see if they can determine if they are blown. Otherwise, I would advise you to hit up the AVForums.com. Bunch of really smart people over there.

Good Luck with it!

_JT

JT – i ran across your post and i have to say “you are the man!”. I have this model of tv and it hasnt worked for quite sometime until now! I got the parts from digi key in 2 days. Don’s tv here in wichita ks soldered the capacitors in for me. I put the thing back together and it works. All together with the tools i only paid about $35 bucks. This is awesome because its fixed just in time for Jayhawk basketball!!!! Thanks again for posting this.

LJ92-01200A(Samsung) power supply board has small on-board riser card that flashes green code- 3 flashes
when plasma is plugged in and experiences no audio/video Accompanied by the red flashing 7 times code on front panel.(note when red front panel flashes 7 times the green power light goes off at this point)

I inspect capacitors (the two 3300uf 10v ) that are notorious. They are not swollen/leaking and by all means appear perfect. (have not checked yet due to not wanting to remove psb yet)

I am posting this for two reasons.
1. This information I am providing better clarifies a non bulged capacitor issue.
2. I am trying to avoid pulling main power supply board(LJ92-01200A) until necessary.

I am seeking information as to the meaning of 7 red codes on front in combo with the 3 green codes on PSB.

My Y-main board on this 42″Plasma by Phillips is Samsung part#LJ44-00101CPS-424-PH REV0.7 ECO

The upper Y-Buffer board is LJ41-02760A (Samsung)
The Lower Y-Buffer board is LJ41-02761A(Samsung)

Any experience on these specifics by anyone would be appreciated.
Thank you posting this.

Since my previous post I have made some simple observations.

I disconnected power to to right side X Main Board (LJ41-02758A)
With Plasma powered on I still flash out red 7 count on front panel.

re-connected the X main board

I then dis-connected main power supply connector at the Y-main Board(LJ-0010CPS-424-PH)
Again powering up Plasma and alas no red flashes.And power supply is not shut down. At this point I note the following voltages at these points:

Vscan = 200VDC
VS=200VDC
D5V=5VDC
Vset=190VDC

At this point I assume the power Main Supply Board is Functional.

I unplug chassis A/C from household socket.

Check fuse(ceramic) on Y-main board = fuse good

Nothing burnt broken or bulged on the Y-main and upper & lower Y-Buffer boards.

I Plug connector back into Y-main from PSB and power up plasma unit once again, this
time reading voltages at same points as previous:

Vscan=drops out
Vs=drops out
D5V=0
Vset-drops out

At this point, I am waiting for some advice before I do what my instinct tells me, which would be replace Y-main board and up and down buffer Boards
If I replace the three, is it plug and play or do i need equipment to synchronize things?

Thanks again.

DanZai – Brother, sorry to say, I have no idea. I don’t know if you tried the AV Forums – but I would post the question over there. I did a quick search and found some more information… and more specifically a service manual!

Here is the original thread and a direct link to the service manual. (If the manual isn’t there, let me know, I saved a copy locally.)

In the end, the person in the thread, replaced their PCB.

Good Luck!
-JT

Well JT, just wanted to thank you for taking the time to post this and detail your experience. It was this blog that convinced me to go out and try this fix. I too had the common power on, 2 relay click then 7 red lights. For about 6 months I was able to bypass this with the unplug, plug routine. Until lately it started taking up to 2 consecutive hours of doing this. That’s about when I started to give up and re-read some of the threads on avsforum but then I found this one.

I quickly ordered the caps as you suggested (we have the exact same model tv), .99 cents each. Got the TV down, took the board out, dropped it off at the TV repair shop with the caps and they soldered em on for me. Came home, put the board back in, BAM powers on in 1 shot no issue. UNREAL.

Funny part of this story is back when this first started happening to my Philips, I thought it was dead completely. I panicked and bought another 42″ flat screen. So now I have 2 perfectly working plasmas on top of one another in my TV room. 🙂

Thanks again JT, you’ve helped so many of us and saved so many people LOTS of cash.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.