HP PL5060N Plazma TV Lines On Screen

[Fisher77]

Ok, I have been messing with this off and on for awhile. When I first got this tv from my uncle it would not turn on. I found it had a bad IPMmodule, and a blown fet.

I replaced the top IPM on the YSUS board, and a blown fet on the bottom Y Driver board. When I first powered it on everthing was fine. After a couple of minutes vertical lines appeared on the screen. The number of lines changes. Sometimes there are 4, then 6, then 8, then 5, etc. The lines kinda flicker. In the pic below there are 5 lines. Next time I fire it up there may be 4 lines, or 8 lines.

I have checked all the voltages, and they are good. I cleaned all the connections. Cleaned all the ribbon cables that run from board to board. Cleaned all the ribbon cables on the XL, XC, and XR boards. Used freeze spray on just about everything on every board, and heated just about everything on every board with a hair dryer.

I am now at a loss of what it could be. Any suggestions?
If you need better pics of any of the boards, let me know, and I will get them.
Thanks for any help.

http://i65.tinypic.com/3diy0.jpg
http://i67.tinypic.com/2zq50mr.jpg
http://i65.tinypic.com/90wxnn.jpg
http://i63.tinypic.com/5ocydj.jpg
http://i64.tinypic.com/mw32a0.jpg
http://i63.tinypic.com/fokk6v.jpg
http://i63.tinypic.com/971sti.jpg
http://i67.tinypic.com/2usxwlv.jpg
http://i66.tinypic.com/1zelhu0.jpg

[mzacharias]

Has to do with the address lines at the top and/ or bottom of the screen. Possibly a tab-bonding type of problem. In consumer electronics normally considered non-repairable except by replacing the panel itself. Some techs may be able to get deeper into it and actually fix the existing panel but I have no specific advice or procedure.

[BMack]

I agree with the above post, bad panel. In plasma displays, horizontal lines (normally) repairable, vertical non-repairable.

[Fisher77]

Thanks for the info

[james_s]

Nothing to lose by poking at the ribbon interconnects along the edge of the panel though, you could get lucky.

[Fisher77]

Thanks james, I was wondering aout that. I will give it a shot and see what happens.

[Fisher77]

Ok,I think I found the problem. While I was checking the ribbon cables at the panel edge
I discovered 2 of the TCP IC's right where the lines are, to be nice and toasty hot. The neighboring
TCP IC's are cool as a cucumber. I assume theat means they are shorted inside, and that his tv is
done for? Unless something else up the line may be causing them to run hot?

Guess I could haul it to the farm and throw it in the bunkhouse to use occasionally, and deal with the lines.

[james_s]

That does seem like a likely conclusion. It's a real shame they're built this way, that seems to be a fairly common failure.

[BMack]

That does seem like a likely conclusion. It's a real shame they're built this way, that seems to be a fairly common failure.

...and not just plasmas, LED/LCDs have the same issue. I see a lot of bad panels and recently a ton of bad LEDs, it's been a pain in the ass doing LED replacements all day.

[james_s]

I haven't seen many bad panels, several that were cracked due to kids throwing something but none with lines through them that I recall. The LEDs are definitely an issue, I have two TVs that I got for free because they had dead backlights. One is a 60" and one is a 50" that was not even 2 years old. I fixed both of them but it was a huge pain in the ass to tear them down to where I could get to the LEDs. The backlight in the 60" is one big series string with around 300V across it. I added transzorbs across each strip to hopefully prevent another cascading failure, it's been solid since I fixed it. If it ever fails again I'm going to cut out the back of the pan to make accessing the LED strips easy.

[BMack]

I haven't seen many bad panels, several that were cracked due to kids throwing something but none with lines through them that I recall. The LEDs are definitely an issue, I have two TVs that I got for free because they had dead backlights. One is a 60" and one is a 50" that was not even 2 years old. I fixed both of them but it was a huge pain in the ass to tear them down to where I could get to the LEDs. The backlight in the 60" is one big series string with around 300V across it. I added transzorbs across each strip to hopefully prevent another cascading failure, it's been solid since I fixed it. If it ever fails again I'm going to cut out the back of the pan to make accessing the LED strips easy.

I see several faulty panels a week, I've had probably five this week, two out of warranty. Replaced LEDs in six or seven this week, only two out of warranty. Not totally normal week for LEDs but LEDs going bad is becoming more and more common. It's not uncommon for me to see three to seven bad panels a week. I get a lot of calls for physically broken panels but only see a couple a month...unless one of my big clients come in, the crap their customers do to TVs can be pretty bad.

[james_s]

I think most people with physically cracked panels don't bother taking them in to a repair shop. I don't even work in repair, broken stuff just finds me. Got me some nice TVs for the cost of some salvaged LEDs.