Is Too Much TV a Bad Thing?

This blog is going to be a two-parter.  The second part is going to get a tad more technical and nerdy.  Just giving you fair warning so you don’t get confused and think you are reading something from geek.com.

About three and a half years ago I bought a sweet, flat screen, LED 40” TV.  I was debating between a Sony and a Samsung, and went with the latter because Best Buy was having a deal.  The new TV was awesome and the dinosaur TV it replaced was given away.  After 15 years of service, it was time to move forward.

About three weeks ago I turned on this “new” TV and I heard a loud static sound and the TV began to power on and off, making this noise.  The remote was of no use and I had to unplug the TV from the wall.  I waited a bit and plugged the TV back in and it immediately came on with the same loud static noise, a blank screen and trying to power itself on and off.

I unplugged the TV again.  This is not the time in my life where I want to run out and buy a replacement TV especially when this one wasn’t that old. 

I went online and did some research.  To my surprise there were many, MANY complaints about this problem with not only my model but similar models as well.  There were blog posts and YouTube videos explaining the symptoms and what various people did to fix the issue.

There were a couple of things going on.  About 80% (I actually have no idea the true percentage but this seems plausible) of the people were able to easily fix their TVs by replacing the capacitors that had blown or failed.  The other 20% had to replace the main board.  OK, so if you take off the back of your TV there are two boards back there.  One is a board holds all the power stuff and capacitors and the other one is called the main board.  For the technically challenged that have this TV, the main board is green.

One YouTube video was informative and he stated that he called Samsung about the issue and they ended up sending a shady technician out to fix it.  The technician replaced the capacitors but the issue was discovered to be the main board.  He got that replaced by Geek Squad and called Samsung back and complained.  As it turned out there was (note the past tense) a class action lawsuit against Samsung for the issues.  It is a long document and if you really want to read it, go here first, this is the short letter.

This settlement was for TVs made before 2008 , but yet my TV (made after that date) had the same symptoms.  I called Samsung myself and asked if I too would be reimbursed for fixing what appears to be the same issue as all these others.  The short answer was no, but they would send a tech guy out so he could look at it and I could pay for it.  Um, thanks but no thanks and totally appreciate the fact that you stand behind your product (sarcasm).

One of the web sites I found had great pictures and detailed directions on how to replace the capacitors so I decided I was going to do this myself.  I have a technical background and I thought, “Surely I can teach myself how to solder.”  My reasoning was--people that make jewelry solder, so I could probably figure this out.  Plus I have always wanted to learn out to make my own jewelry so I was thinking I was killing two birds with one stone.  This is funny for multiple reasons, but more-so because I always wear the same, almost none, jewelry everday.

Following the site directions, the first step is to take the back of the TV off.  This is done by taking all the screws out.  Easier said than done.  There are some sneaky screws.  I also discovered that the only screwdriver I had was too short to reach a couple of the screws.  I normally don’t use tools and only have one of those cute, soft sided tool kits that people would give a college kid who was moving out.  After a bonus trip to Target, I came back and finished what I thought was all of the screws.

I spent a long time trying to encourage the back of the TV to come off.  I finally had to call someone to come over after work and help pull this thing off.  It was bothering me that this stupid TV back was not budging.  I began to inspect the TV a bit closer after I had laid it down.  Right in plain sight was the screw that I never saw.  I was able to unscrew that and take the back off no problem.  I guess I didn’t really need to unscrew the stand but a couple more screws to add to the pile never hurt anyone. 

After seeing how dusty things were in there I made myself a mental note do try and remember to dust the TV a bit more often than I actually dust my house.  When you open the back of your TV there are two large boards and wires going to the boards.  I saw the capacitors the dude on the site mentioned but my capacitors did not really look enlarged or bloated. 

I also saw where I would have to solder.  There was no freaking way that was going to happen.  It’s not like I can pop the capacitor out like a battery and then pop it back and solder it in place.  At this point I was aware of my limitations.  This doesn’t happen often but the though of being burned or electrocuted heighted my senses.  I decided to call around and ask some people who may have done some electronics work in the past. 

Bill was a good source because he knows more crap than I could even imagine.  He said he didn’t feel comfortable working on the TV but would lend me his soldering iron.  Since I had decided I could not so this myself the quest continued.  I called Lisa to check if her dad had any names of a repair service and she said that he fixes his own TVs.  Bonus.  I called him and he said he wouldn’t guarantee anything but felt like he would look at it to see.  This was good news!

The next step was another lesson learned.  I had no idea where to go to buy replacement capacitors.  I went to Fry’s but they didn’t have the right sizes.  I asked around and two people confirmed that this local electronics store was the best.  I got there right when they opened and asked them if they had the capacitors I was looking for.  Here is the crazy thing.  The guy asked me if it was for a TV, then he asked if I had a Samsung.  Seriously?  How common is this issue?  Samsung, get your act together.  At any rate, the dudes at EPO were extremely helpful and got me the items I needed.  They also mentioned they will do the soldering for $5 per item.  I called Lisa’s dad and he said to let them do it especially since they have experience.

I went back home to remove the circuit board containing the capacitors.  A friend’s husband told me to be really careful with the capacitors because they still could have a charge.  Still trying to figure out if he was just messing with me because no one else that handled the board seemed to care and were pulling the capacitors out with bare hands.  But, just incase I never actually touched them.  Safety first, right Kristen?

When I brought the board back to the electronics place, the guy noted that none of the capacitors looked bad, but to be thorough, he said we could replace all the capacitors but only charged me for two installs.  Thank you, Santos.  UNFORTUNATELY, I took the board home, hooked everything back up and the TV still doesn’t work.  It doesn’t power on and off anymore, so that is a bonus but it still won’t turn off. 

The next step is ordering a main board online.  Too bad all the sites I looked at do not have this particular main board in stock.  Must be a popular part to replace.  I am now on the wait list and a new owner of a smaller, on-sale TV from Sams.  No, it is not a Samsung…

PART TWO --- The Semi-Technical

So you, like me, discovered that your Samsung TV (LN40A550P3FXZA) began powering itself on and off.  Maybe you also heard a loud static noise.  Loud, like “oh my God” I need to unplug this loud before my neighbors come over.

This is kind of a step by step for the clueless.

1   Do your research.  Know what you are getting into.  There is tons of information out there.  If your   TV is under warranty, go that route.  Stop reading this and call Samsung.

2   If you got to this point, you are committed to doing this on your own, I applaud you and hope this     helps.  You now need to take off the back panel of your TV to check out the capacitors.  Do not lose the screws, you will need them later.

      

  Before the screws are taken out, lay on a flat surface.  Please ignore the un-vacuumed carpet...

      

  Those tiny dots are screws.  They are close to where they should be on the back of the TV.  There are 18 screws on the back, four on the base.

  

3   Now that you have the back of the TV off, look at the capacitors.  They are on the top right hand side of the board.  If they look puffy or bloated, you need to get them replaced.  NOTE:  Remember, my capacitors looked good, but you can search online for what bloated ones look like.  Even if your capacitors look good, it might be worth the $12 (including soldering) to have them replaced.

      

     Top and side view.  The side view shows the capacitors a bit better.  The black capacitors are the ones I got replaced (even though they looked ok).

 4.     Very carefully, disconnect the wires from the circuit board housing the    capacitors.  You must be patient and gentle.  I know plenty of people that would not make it past this point.  I cannot stress enough being gentle.  I worked some of the connections by gently squeezing the top part and “rocking” it out of its hold.  I can see if you have big, giant dude hands that this might be more difficult.

5.     Now you need to unscrew the board from your TV.  Again, keep track of your screws.  Once you have your board off you should probably remind yourself to find a local electronics store because someone needs to replace and solder on the capacitors.  If you live in Houston, I can hook you up, if not, don’t get screwed over.  Also, Santos told me the boards come from Samsung with cold soldering done.  Apparently, this is important because, if you are trying to do this yourself, you might fry the board.

 

     Here is Santos working on the board to replace the additional capacitors.  Impressive, right?

   


6.     After your new capacitors are installed, screw the board back in, connect everything back and do a quick dusting.   Replace the back of the TV and try turning it on.  Bonus if everything is fine.  If it is    still FU, like mine you need to order a board.  Go to shopjimmy.com and put in your main board’s part number (mine was BN96-08992B).  Hopefully, they have a part in stock.  If they don't you may want to invest in a smaller TV....