Plasma TV Screen Issue

[xrunner]

I have a Sanyo plasma TV that I got in 2006. I can see inside that the display is made by Samsung. Anyway, sometimes now it is exhibiting a problem, but not very often yet. Imagine a straight line drawn exactly in the middle of the screen going left to right, dividing the top half from the bottom half. The screen will blank out either all of the top half or all of the bottom half. It's always exactly 1/2 the screen. The blanked out half is black. The other half keeps displaying the picture OK. It isn't doing this very often yet. It mostly lasts for a few minutes and then won't appear any more that day.

Does this sound like a connector issue or a component issue, or something else? Does a plasma screen have drivers or power connectors or signal connectors for each half of the screen?

[WBB]

Might check out YouTube channel of norcal715 to see if he has a video of your particular problem. His channel is an excellent source on TV issues.

[tom66]

Can we see a picture of the problem?

I have fixed over 13 plasma TVs purely  as a hobby.

Quite recently I've had a run on loose connectors causing similar symptoms to what you describe.

[xrunner]

Might check out YouTube channel of norcal715 to see if he has a video of your particular problem. His channel is an excellent source on TV issues.

OK thanks.

Can we see a picture of the problem?

I have fixed over 13 plasma TVs purely  as a hobby.

Quite recently I've had a run on loose connectors causing similar symptoms to what you describe.

I should have taken some pics, I will try to capture it this evening (of course since I need pics it won't happen).

If it is a connector that needs to be re-seated that would be great. I could take it down from the wall in an afternoon and open it up and re-seat all the connectors.

[SgtRock]

Dear Xrunner:

--Tom is too modest, he has actually fixed 100s of TVs and monitors by proxy over at BadCaps Forum. He helped me fix a discarded Panasonic PS-50PS14 50", which had exactly the same problem as yours. First he had me re-seat the connectors and then he recommended a board replacement, which cost $40. This fixed the TV, which made a great Christmas present for my brother, and it has been on 16 hours a day for 5 months now. Tom is but a humble university student and yet is one of the most helpful of the great bunch over at BadCaps. Laurels and Kudos. His answers are unbelievably well researched and exceedingly prompt. Tom and his comrades at BadCaps, as well as DJ have taught me almost all of the little I know, as a "monkey see, monkey do" part swapper. I have now fixed 20 or so TVs and monitors, (yes I am an addict) which I give to my friends, or donate to charity. The ones I cannot fix I flog the parts on eBay. My latest project is the repair of a Vizio M320SL 32" LED TV, which I will use as a monitor to replace Olivia 26" that I am using as a monitor at present, total projected cost $100. I will post the Vizio project at BadCaps and here.

"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people."
William Claude Dukenfield, W. C. Fields 1880 - 1946

Best Regards
Clear Ether

[xrunner]

Can we see a picture of the problem?

Every time I got up from the couch to take a picture of it, the problem went away.

I'm not even kidding. 

But, just picture it in your mind's eye - the top (or bottom) half of the picture goes black, the other half is perfect. It happens for a few minutes at a time and then not for the rest of the evening.

[xrunner]

I'm goin' in. 

Tomorrow, if I can get my neighbor to help me lift it off the wall. I'm gonna open her up and re-seat connectors. If it doesn't work after I'm done, I'll just treat myself to a new LCD with LED backlighting.


Maybe I'll "accidentally" break something. 

[tom66]

Hah. Funny. Accident. Yeah, create -MORE- landfill while you're at it. If you don't fix it, sell it to someone who will for $10. Don't break it with such a simple fault.

[xrunner]

Hah. Funny. Accident. Yeah, create -MORE- landfill while you're at it. If you don't fix it, sell it to someone who will for $10. Don't break it with such a simple fault.

Broken TVs don't go to landfills in my city. They are collected and recycled.

[tom66]

Hah. Funny. Accident. Yeah, create -MORE- landfill while you're at it. If you don't fix it, sell it to someone who will for $10. Don't break it with such a simple fault.

Broken TVs don't go to landfills in my city. They are collected and recycled.

They are crushed into glass, metal and plastic, and all of the energy involved in rearranging those atoms is wasted.

Recycling is actually one of the least efficient ways to reuse materials. It is the cheapest, though.

[xrunner]

They are crushed into glass, metal and plastic, and all of the energy involved in rearranging those atoms is wasted.

Recycling is actually one of the least efficient ways to reuse materials. It is the cheapest, though.

Boy you're just ichin for a fight aren't ya?

So it's worse than going into a landfill? Yes or no?

Another thing is this plasma TV is an energy hog. It uses 351W. The thing gets hot as hell, and in the summer it makes my A/C have to run a little more than it would if it was off. So really, taking it out of commission is probably a good thing for the environment, not a bad thing. 

A new Samsung Plasma 4500 series 43" uses 201W (150W less power)

A new Samsung 7100 Series 46" LED TV uses 124W (227W less power)

I would probably get an LED backlit one. So if I did it would be a very green move on my part.

So really your argument is falling flat, on two counts so far ... 

[tom66]

Simply a discussion, not a fight. 

I still think you've wasted a great deal of energy by destroying the old one.  Sure, it uses more energy but think about all of the energy gone into making the TV which can be quite significant. The glass panel, metal framing, plastic casing, electronics assembly, etc. Plus there's the moral aspect of it. I don't think it's OK to destroy something which is readily and economically repaired, because it encourages the production of more electronics, use of more energy, waste of resources...

If you DO buy a new TV, do NOT buy a Samsung.... one of LG, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Sharp etc. would be OK All make decent TVs. (As long as you don't get a rebadge, do research beforehand to avoid this.) Samsung TVs are built to a short lifespan and look nice, nothing more...

[xrunner]

Simply a discussion, not a fight. 

Well, you need to chill out dude. Just because I make a joke about getting a new TV? 

Chill out.

I still think you've wasted a great deal of energy by destroying the old one.  Sure, it uses more energy but think about all of the energy gone into making the TV which can be quite significant. The glass panel, metal framing, plastic casing, electronics assembly, etc. Plus there's the moral aspect of it. I don't think it's OK to destroy something which is readily and economically repaired, because it encourages the production of more electronics, use of more energy, waste of resources...

Where did I say I destroyed it? What the hell are you reading?

And I disagree that, even if I did destroy it (I'm not going to intentionally), it's not immoral. Give me a break. Any new TV I get that's even close to the same size uses a lot less power. So if you want to argue about morals, OK, I think it's more moral to get a new TV that uses less power than fix an old plasma energy hog and send it to be recycled.

So there ... 

Besides, your argument that recycling is bad just doesn't fly with me.

What Texas' new television recycling law means for consumers

 Texas has a new law requiring television manufacturers to take back and recycle old sets in an effort to keep toxic materials including lead and mercury out of landfills and water.

Last week, Gov. Rick Perry signed the TV TakeBack Recycling bill into law after vetoing an effort in the last session. In 2007, he signed take-back legislation requirements for computers.

An estimated 25 million TVs are disposed of each year in the U.S., according to the Stacy Guidry, program director for the Texas Campaign for the Environment, an Austin-based statewide organization focused on recycling and trash issues. Old-style cathode ray tube TVs contain several pounds of lead, while most new flat-screen TVs contain mercury bulbs, she said.

"Older TVs have more e-waste," she said. "With the flame retardant, chromium, arsenic and cadmium, it's a toxic cocktail."

While flat-panel televisions have less lead, they have more mercury, she said.

Fewer than 1 in 5 televisions is recycled, Guidry said. The new law was one of the rare environmental victories during the legislative session, she said.

"We've been working on this since 2002," she said. "After Gov. Perry vetoed the last bill, we worked with the Consumer Electronics Association and came up with a two-pronged approach that manufactures can choose from."

Under the new law, manufacturers who sell in the state can join the Recycling Leadership Program and as a coalition put on 200 recycling events per year statewide. Or they can pay $2,500 a year to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and recycle televisions based on their share of sales in the state.

The legislation is the second of 24 other electronic take-back state laws supported by the Campaign for the Environment, according to Walter Alcorn, vice president of environmental affairs for the industry trade group. A similar television take-back law passed in Utah this year also had CEA support.

"Both Texas and Utah laws are conducive to a national program," he said. "We're trying to move away from patchwork state requirements. The new Texas law provides a framework that will scale to other states as well."

Alcorn said the industry is taking the toxins in televisions seriously, having launched in April the first industrywide electronics recycling initiative to recycle 1 billion pounds of electronics annually by 2016. That's more than triple a 2010 effort.

Those involved with the eCycling Leadership Initiative include Best Buy, Panasonic, Sony and Toshiba. The initiative plans to improve consumer awareness of the more than 5,000 collection sites currently sponsored by industry and boost the number of collection sites.

Several television marketers already have recycling programs, Alcorn said. One is at Best Buy, which will take back most electronics, whether purchased at Best Buy or not.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/06/23/3175955/what-texas-new-television-recycling.html#storylink=cpy

[tom66]

It didn't sound like a joke. If you indeed were joking, I apologise for my harsh attitude; it's just I come across this so often when I deal with others looking to repair their sets.  It's extremely annoying.

I was not aware 25 million sets are disposed every year in the US. If there are ~100mn households in the US and each has one TV (probably a fair estimate) that would imply the average TV only manages 4 years. What happened to the good old reliable TV? Or any piece of reliable electronics? Built to fail...

Saving electronics is a futile attempt to fight this stupid system but I'll do so anyway.

[xrunner]

It didn't sound like a joke. If you indeed were joking, I apologise for my harsh attitude; it's just I come across this so often when I deal with others looking to repair their sets.

Yes I was joking. I hate the heat this plasma puts out but I'm going to open it up tomorrow (if my neighbor can help me take it down) and re-seat connectors. Check back tomorrow and I'll post pics to prove it. The blanking is not that bad now but it ain't going to get better by itself. Besides, it needs a good cleaning back there.

I was not aware 25 million sets are disposed every year in the US. If there are ~100mn households in the US and each has one TV (probably a fair estimate) that would imply the average TV only manages 4 years. What happened to the good old reliable TV? Or any piece of reliable electronics? Built to fail...

Saving electronics is a futile attempt to fight this stupid system but I'll do so anyway.

It's good to help the way you are, and I wouldn't ever say to not do it, but realistically, the impact you can have doing what you are doing is, for all practical purposes, practically Zero. But that's no reason to stop if you care to do it.

[tom66]

It's good to help the way you are, and I wouldn't ever say to not do it, but realistically, the impact you can have doing what you are doing is, for all practical purposes, practically Zero. But that's no reason to stop if you care to do it.

Agreed, though I do publish videos and offer help to others to attempt to maximise any benefit.

[xrunner]

Here is the beast hanging on the wall. I'm going to place it flat on that table tomorrow and take the back off. I just can't lift it by myself.

[xrunner]

First, this thing is what cordless screwdrivers were made for. Lots of screws! 

I took off as many connectors as I could. I completely removed two boards at the right side in the pic. Several of the connectors were unusual to me, and I almost didn't try to get them off, because I was afraid of breaking them, but I told myself to man-up and I got them off.

I vacuumed everything. I also put Stabilant 22 on as many connectors as I could, especially the power connectors. We used this stuff a lot in the lab where I worked and I use it around the house. If you have never heard of Stabilant 22, it a contact enhancer (not a cleaner). It's a really good product and it really works.

Here's a description -

http://stabilant.com

There are some application notes you can read there.

So far so good. The set came up with no observable problems, and it really seems to look better (but I may be just overly excited). I ran it for 30 minutes and I didn't see the problem, but I will need to observe it over the next several days before I can say that the problem is gone.

[tom66]

Each of those row drivers use +/-200V. Is your contact enhancer going to be OK with this high voltage?

[xrunner]

Each of those row drivers use +/-200V. Is your contact enhancer going to be OK with this high voltage?

Yes.

[xrunner]

OK, I've had a nap and now I'm watching a baseball game in HD.

There's no doubt about it - the picture is a lot better than it was. A lot brighter too. 

[lemmegraphdat]

I will never work on another plasma. The YSUS board has a big hybrid chip and it burned out. That thing and the copper make a great heat sink. Had to use a hacksaw blade and side cutters on it. Surprisingly the chip has a layer of ceramic under the plastic.

[xrunner]

I will never work on another plasma. The YSUS board has a big hybrid chip and it burned out. That thing and the copper make a great heat sink. Had to use a hacksaw blade and side cutters on it. Surprisingly the chip has a layer of ceramic under the plastic.

There was a row of connectors at the bottom, but I wasn't willing to try and get access to them. I had it on for 4 hours last night and it exhibited no signs of the problem. If it has no problems in the next few days I'll call it fixed.

[Psi]

Youtube shows you how to fix theses sort of problems 

[xrunner]

Youtube shows you how to fix theses sort of problems 

Whoever designed the circuit board probably wasted time drawing little fishes on the PCB rather than concentrating on his/her design work.