In 10-30-2004 I bought a new 27' Panasonic TV, CT27SL14.
In 2-8-2005 the TV *died* in the middle of a program. No picture,
no sound, no light on controls, no nothing.


I called a close-by TV repair shop and asked for help.
They refused my business because by opening the TV they would
void the Panasonic warranty. But they were friendly and said
that by what I described they are pretty sure that just a fuse
blew up because the TV had no "burn" smell from it.


I called the "athorized" Panasonic service center that gave me
two options:
1) Bring the TV to them, pay $45, and wait three business
days to get an estimate on the price of repair.


2) Have a technician come to me 5 days from now, for the price of $75.
The technician will give me "on the spot" estimate. The only problem
is that they
give a 3 hours "window" when I have to be home. And the window is
between
10:00AM to 1:00PM, so I'll have to leave work and come back to work
later.


IMO Panasonic cheated me once, by selling me a lemon, and now wants
to cheat me twice, by over-charging for a simple fix. I consider
opening the TV and replacing the fuse myself, like I had done
to three old appliances in the past. I'd like to ask:


1) What is the probabilty that the local shop is right?
2) If it is right, can somebody who had opened such a TV in the past
give me some hints, e.g. tell me where the fuse(s) are located?


Thanks


Hillel


"I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to
use as my telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer
know how to use my telephone." --Bjarne Stronstrup

I thought you said the TV is under warranty if so
why are you to pay $45 for an estimate.

tell us more
wrote in message
oups.com...
In 10-30-2004 I bought a new 27' Panasonic TV, CT27SL14.
In 2-8-2005 the TV *died* in the middle of a program. No picture,
no sound, no light on controls, no nothing.


I called a close-by TV repair shop and asked for help.
They refused my business because by opening the TV they would
void the Panasonic warranty. But they were friendly and said
that by what I described they are pretty sure that just a fuse
blew up because the TV had no "burn" smell from it.


I called the "athorized" Panasonic service center that gave me
two options:
1) Bring the TV to them, pay $45, and wait three business
days to get an estimate on the price of repair.


2) Have a technician come to me 5 days from now, for the price of $75.
The technician will give me "on the spot" estimate. The only problem
is that they
give a 3 hours "window" when I have to be home. And the window is
between
10:00AM to 1:00PM, so I'll have to leave work and come back to work
later.


IMO Panasonic cheated me once, by selling me a lemon, and now wants
to cheat me twice, by over-charging for a simple fix. I consider
opening the TV and replacing the fuse myself, like I had done
to three old appliances in the past. I'd like to ask:


1) What is the probabilty that the local shop is right?
2) If it is right, can somebody who had opened such a TV in the past
give me some hints, e.g. tell me where the fuse(s) are located?


Thanks


Hillel


"I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to
use as my telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer
know how to use my telephone." --Bjarne Stronstrup

wrote:
In 10-30-2004 I bought a new 27' Panasonic TV, CT27SL14.
In 2-8-2005 the TV *died* in the middle of a program. No picture,
no sound, no light on controls, no nothing.


If the fuse has gone, it is probably due to some other fault, often in
the power supply. It is unlikely (but not impossible) that the fuse
just died.
If the fuse is blackened, there is a critical short. As a general rule,
if the wire inside it is just broken, it could be less serious.

However, why mess about? I say take it back to the shop under warranty.
They ought to just give you a new one, its barely 3 months old !!! My
folks had to do this twice about 15 months ago, and they got an new set
each time no quibble. (ASDA, UK)
-Ben

The warranty for *parts* is one year, but for *labor* is 90 days.
I checked the date, it died after 100 days. (My previous TV died
after 4000 days, but it was bought before the days of super-advanced
electornics.)

Anyway, I never open any appliance before I
1) Disconect the power cord.
2) Wait several minutes.

Don't even take it apart. Take the tv into the authorized servicer for
diagnosis. Then with a detailed estimate of what failed in the tv set,
model, serial number, and a copy of you receipt, call Panasonic's
customer service line and explain how disappointed you are with the
poor quality of this tv set and that they should be the ones to pay for
the whole labor bill. This is assuming that it actually was a warranty
type of failure and not something external that happened to it, i.e cat
peeing down the vents, someone spraying windex on the picture tube and
it leaking down into the tv set through the front, etc.''


wrote:
The warranty for *parts* is one year, but for *labor* is 90 days.
I checked the date, it died after 100 days. (My previous TV died
after 4000 days, but it was bought before the days of super-advanced
electornics.)

Anyway, I never open any appliance before I
1) Disconect the power cord.
2) Wait several minutes.

The probability that it is JUST a fuse is slim, probably about the same
as you winning the lottery. The only way to know what is going on is
for a full and proper diagnosis by a trained technician.

Odds are they are not going to overcharge you for the repair required.

If the fuse is blown, they should be looking for the cause. The new one
may blow right away, or some time later.

A blow fuse in any of these electronic devices, is usually caused by
something else that is failing.

I know that during the warranty, you may have to pay the transport.
But, if the set is under warranty, why are you calling an independent
shop? If they work on the set, the factory warranty will be void.

Personally being troubled with having to have a product service is a way of
life. Having to take time our of your heavily incisive schedule is your
choice. Probably if your car broke down on the way to an appointment you
would just leave it where it died and call a cab?
Really Gov. If you want to have it serviced, take the time to either take
it to an authorized service facility or have the technician come to your
site and check it out. A 3 hour window in nominal in home service routines
since the service companies schedule more than just your petty 27" tele to
have service on a given day. Things do break, and require service, This is
a part of modern life. If you can't possibly take time to have it
appropriate addressed then go out and buy another product, trash the
troubled one, and get on with it!! That way your precious time is not
extremely violated.
Bloating newsgroups with this type of rant is not going to satisfy your
problem, maybe posting to Panasonic Website directly or call the 800 number
in the back of the operations manual for their respective Customer Care
Facility. As posted, if it is a fuse, there is a cause why, at this point
you do not know, because you haven't even taken the case off the set to do
a proper diagnostic.
"Jerry G." wrote in message
oups.com...
If the fuse is blown, they should be looking for the cause. The new one
may blow right away, or some time later.

A blow fuse in any of these electronic devices, is usually caused by
something else that is failing.

I know that during the warranty, you may have to pay the transport.
But, if the set is under warranty, why are you calling an independent
shop? If they work on the set, the factory warranty will be void.

Personally being troubled with having to have a product service is a
way of
life. Having to take time our of your heavily incisive schedule is
your
choice. Probably if your car broke down on the way to an appointment
you
would just leave it where it died and call a cab?

If my car will die after 100 days then I'll sue under "lemon law."
Unfortunatelly there is no such law for TVs, so Panasonic can actually
increase its profit by selling lemons that last only 100 days.

I know of ZERO Lemon laws that allow lemon law replacement/refund for a
single incidence of a failure. In all cases the lemon law applies when
a material and/or safety related defect cannot be repaired after at
least 3 repair attempts or a total of 30 or so days in the shop in a
one year period.

If you are such a moron that you cannot follow up by calling Panasonic
customer service with all the required information, than you deserve
sub-standard help. Although, from lots of past experience, the people
who rant and rave the most and make the biggest stinky deal out of
something like this usually caused the failure in the first place and
knew it. We have had people drop camcorders in the ocean try and get
customer service to replace the 4 month old camcorder before!!!!

All things break, some break sooner rather than later.


wrote:
Personally being troubled with having to have a product service is a
way of
life. Having to take time our of your heavily incisive schedule is
your
choice. Probably if your car broke down on the way to an appointment
you
would just leave it where it died and call a cab?

If my car will die after 100 days then I'll sue under "lemon law."
Unfortunatelly there is no such law for TVs, so Panasonic can
actually
increase its profit by selling lemons that last only 100 days.

I know of ZERO Lemon laws that allow lemon law
replacement/refund for a single incidence of a failure

The point, that you make quite an effort to miss, is that car dealers
are much more friendly than Panasonic. E.g. a GM dealer fixed
for me a leaking air conditioner, 9 months after purchase, free
of charge, because it was GM's fault.

Panasonic, on the other hand, does not think that it did anything
wrong by selling me a TV that went dead after 100 days.

If you are such a moron that you cannot follow up by calling
Panasonic customer service with all the required information,
than you deserve sub-standard help.

Panasonic directed me to the local service provider that want $75
just to take a look at the TV.

Can a smart person like you please explain to me what I did wrong,
and what would you do different?

We have had people drop camcorders in the ocean try and get
customer service to replace the 4 month old camcorder before!!!!

I just watched a DVD when the TV just stopped working. I did
not touch any wires, I did not put any liquid, etc.

So again, can you please tell me what is the best way to treat
a Panasonic TV so it would last more than 100 days?
(I don't ask about other brand because my old TV had lasted
4,000 days.)

An update:

In 10-30-2004 I bought a new 27' Panasonic TV, CT27SL14.
In 2-8-2005 the TV *died* in the middle of a program. No picture,
no sound, no light on controls, no nothing.

I called the local Panasonic repair shop that promised to take a
look for $75, detectable from the fix. A repair man came, a little
late, spent 10 seconds to verify that what I had said on the phone
is true, (TV is dead) and told me:
1) It is the power supply.
2) I have to pay him $75 for this "diagnosis."
3) Replacing the power supply will cost me $170.

I told him that:
1) The TV cost $349.99 before tax.
2) I have no intention to pay him anything for the "diagnosis" he
could make over the phone, but I'll give the $75 in exchange for
a power supply, and I'll do the repair myself.

He refused the offer and I told him to leave, and sue me ASAP,
there are a couple of questions that I would like him to answer
under oath.

So now I have three options:
1) Pay $75+$170=$245 to repair a TV that cost $350. If it
will die the week after, I'll have to repeat the same process again,
for Panasonic great pleasure.

2) Throw the TV and buy a new one, *NOT* from Panasonic.

3) Find a power supply and replace it myself.

So, does anybody know:
a) What power supply do I need?
b) Where can I find one?
(I don't mind buying a used one, salvaged from another TV.)

Thanks

Hillel

On 14 Feb 2005 15:15:24 -0800, wrote:
An update:

In 10-30-2004 I bought a new 27' Panasonic TV, CT27SL14.

Damn!! My living room is only 26' long.

If your dates are correct, you are less than 30 days outside the 90 day
labor warranty and the parts should still be under warranty. Have you
called Panasonic? Was the servicer a Panasonic ASC? Have you spoken to
your dealer? Any decent dealer who is also a Panasonic ASC would have
already asked them for an accommodation on a set this new or at least given
you a break on the repair cost.

In Florida, refusing to pay the technician would be a criminal act. He
would not have to sue you, just call the local law enforcement. A judge
would tell you to pay up or go to jail and you could sue him if you thought
the charge was unfair. He told you how much the service call would be and
you agreed to pay. You should have done your homework. That said, it is
unethical to do a service call and diagnose a problem without even opening
the back of the set, unless there are other diagnostics possible. You don't
replace the PS on this set, BTW, you repair them.

Stop bitching and take some real, reasonable action. You might also check
your use of the term "detectable." It makes no sense the way you used it.
You probably meant deductible, in which case the repair charges would have
been reasonable for in home service.

Finally, the CT27SL14 can be had for a lot less than $350 in most markets.
For that price you should have bought it from a full service dealer and the
set would likely have been fixed by now.

Leonard

....I'd like to find you inner child and kick its little ass. Get over it...
(The Eagles)



wrote in message
oups.com...
An update:

In 10-30-2004 I bought a new 27' Panasonic TV, CT27SL14.
In 2-8-2005 the TV *died* in the middle of a program. No picture,
no sound, no light on controls, no nothing.

I called the local Panasonic repair shop that promised to take a
look for $75, detectable from the fix. A repair man came, a little
late, spent 10 seconds to verify that what I had said on the phone
is true, (TV is dead) and told me:
1) It is the power supply.
2) I have to pay him $75 for this "diagnosis."
3) Replacing the power supply will cost me $170.

I told him that:
1) The TV cost $349.99 before tax.
2) I have no intention to pay him anything for the "diagnosis" he
could make over the phone, but I'll give the $75 in exchange for
a power supply, and I'll do the repair myself.

He refused the offer and I told him to leave, and sue me ASAP,
there are a couple of questions that I would like him to answer
under oath.

So now I have three options:
1) Pay $75+$170=$245 to repair a TV that cost $350. If it
will die the week after, I'll have to repeat the same process again,
for Panasonic great pleasure.

2) Throw the TV and buy a new one, *NOT* from Panasonic.

3) Find a power supply and replace it myself.

So, does anybody know:
a) What power supply do I need?
b) Where can I find one?
(I don't mind buying a used one, salvaged from another TV.)

Thanks

Hillel

If your dates are correct, you are less than 30 days outside the 90
day
labor warranty and the parts should still be under warranty. Have you
called Panasonic? Was the servicer a Panasonic ASC? Have you spoken
to
your dealer?

Panasonic web site directed me to the ASC. Panasonic did not answer my
e-mail,
and I got tired being on hold. The dealer is Circuit City, and since I
did not buy their
extended warranty, they refuse to help.

In Florida, refusing to pay the technician would be a criminal act.

I have two defenses:
1) A contract is null and void if the other side acts in bad fate. The
other side told
me, over the phone, that the $75 will be deductable from labor. It
also asked for
unreasonable price ($170) to replace a board.

2) How much actual work the technician did? He came in the only day of
the
week that the shop services my town; and he came one hour late. So he
obviously
serviced another customer and his driving was minimal. Charging $75
for
20 seconds work is an unreasonable price.

Anyway, in California he will have to go to a small claim court, and
answer
some questions under oath. I suspect that he will not repeat his
bull****
("it takes four hours to replace power supply") if it will be recorded.

Finally, the CT27SL14 can be had for a lot less than $350 in most
markets.

In October 2004 my TV died and that was the best price I could find in
a reasonable distance. I checked Fry's, Circuit City and the Good
Guys.
If I'll not manage to fix the TV then I'll ask local shops if they will
be willing to
buy it for parts and buy a new TV, *NOT* from Panasonic.

Hillel