On Sat, 09 Jan 2010 13:54:35 -0700, wrote:

On Sat, 9 Jan 2010 13:36:13 -0500, "Jumpster Jiver" no reply wrote:



In some cases, fixes are trivial (one particular line of Philips
plasma sets blow a pair of $1.00 caps in the power supply). In other
cases, expensive equipment is required.

Please tell me more about this particular Philips line. I have not yet come
across any of these and if someone calls me for repair I would love to check
these caps first and perhaps save some troubleshooting time.
Please let me know the models/line, as well as the location/value of the
affected caps.
A tip like this could save a small repair company like mine some valuable
troubleshooting time, and it would be greatly appreciated.
Mike

The Philips 42PF7220A and 42PF7330A sets used a Samsung 'core'
consisting of the panel, power supply, drivers, X, Y, and Z sustain
boards, and perhaps some other components. The manufacturer (Philips
in this case) added the small signal boards, I/O panel, controls,
case, etc.

The symptom on the Philips set can take two forms: Turn the TV on and
it appears to turn on, then instead of the green 'working' led you get
a red led blinking in a 6 short blinks, short pause, 3 short blinks,
long pause, repeat. Or the blink can be 7 blinks, long pause, repeat.
This depends on the level of firmware loaded on the set.

In each case, the cause is a pair of 3300 µF 10 V caps in the power
supply with bulging tops. Replace them with the best low ESR, long
life caps you can find. I use Panasonic FM series. Then download the
latest firmware from Philips and update the set.

The same power supply and same problem occurs on a number of other
sets, including the Philips 50", and I believe TVs by other
manufacturers including Samsung and Zenith.

The biggest problem I have found is removing the power supply. There
are about 60 screws you have to pull to remove the back and pull the
power supply.

Bill, wouldn't that be a routine "first step" these days with LCD
TV's/monitors, checking for visibly failed (bulging/leaking) electros
before digging any deeper? Takes litltle time, saves much.