Entertainment Center: TVs, Stereos, VCRs and DVDs - Repair 5 yr old TV?

5 Yr old Mitsubishi 32" cs-32507 occassionally loses vertical deflection (horizontal line) . Will sometimes work ok for several days. Sometimes loses vertical deflection for minutes to hours at a time. Can't really tell if heat related. Sometimes cycling power will bring back to life.

Nearest "authorized Mitsubishi service" is abouit 30 miles away (hassle factor).

What are the odds this is worth trying to fix? Other than this, picture is still real nice, dual tuner PIP is fun, etc.

Good Morning, mfwilson:

Chances are that a good whack on the side of the set when it fails will restore the picture.

A good bet is that there is a cold solder joint (or two) on the circuit board for the vertical oscillator and vertical driver circuits.
It's not a hard fix and can be accomplished at home if you are
adept at a little critical soldering. If you are up to it, come back and I will give you the procedures for repair.


Smokey ;)

Smokey, you were right: "a good whack on the side of the set when it fails will restore the picture" for a little while. (Archie Bunker once recommended this as a good fix for most everything, TV's, kids, etc.)

I am OK at soldering. In my younger days I successfully assembled a couple of Heath kits.

I'm up for it. What do I need to look for and do?

Frank

Good Evening, mfwilson:
Ah, Archie Bunker should have been one of our options on the ballot. But, a good whack now and then gives a man a great satistfaction.

Well, the problem happens because of mechanized manufacture of circuit boards. The boards are dipped in a solder vat and sometimes the connections don't take as well as the manufacturer would have like.

a) Unplug the set
b) Take off the back of the set
c) Plug in the set and make it operational without the back on.

A WORD OF CAUTION. AT THE CENTER OF THE GLASS ON THE PICTURE TUBE IS A LARGE WIRE.. STAY AWAY FROM THAT WIRE. IT CONTAINS HIGH VOLTAGE AND WILL LIGHT UP YOUR LIFE.

HINT: Steal a large mirror from somewhere in your house and place it in front of the TV. It shows you the vision of the television screen while you are behind the TV.

d) Obtain and use a wand of non-metallic substance (wood or plastic) to poke and prod around the circuit boards. DO NOT USE A PENCIL. Make the wand about 9-12 inches long.

e) Turn on the set (with no back) and use your wand to poke and prod around the circuit boards.
f) Turn on the television set. Use the "wand" to poke and prod around the circuit boards looking for a "sensitive" spot. A sensitive spot will make the problem "come and go".
g) When you identify the area with the "sensitive spot", turn off the TV, and mark the spot.
h) Use a low heat soldering iron and a little 60-40 electonic solder to resolder all the connections on the underside of the board. Remember, DO NOT USE A SOLDERING GUN!

I) You may do this trick more than once. Sometimes you miss the spot that has the bad solder joint the first time.

HINT: The solder joints may look "firm" when you view them optically but they may be "loose" under operation. .

Hey! Hook it up and try it. You may have to go through this routine two or three times until you hit the right connection.

HINT: This is the same procedure your repair technician could use. He charges $250 an hour for labor.

Smokey :)

Thanks Smokey. I'll give it a whirl.

You should have seen my wife's eyes when I told her I was going to try to fix it.

Frank

The only time I get excited about a wife's reaction is when she is sitting in a chair reading the provisions of the life insurance policy.

Be careful in there.

A good repair FAQ is available at
http://an.hitchcock.org/repairfaq/REPAIR/F_tvfaq.html

There's a lot of good information on everything from opening up the set to the actual repairs.

Smokey ;)

Smokey,
The bad guys won. about 4 tries to resolder connections after I found the hot spot. Finally was wrestling the back cover on to give up for the night at about 2:30 am. Suddenly this ghastly hiss sound starts. I think I cracked the neck of the picture tube.

I guess I really needed a new tv.

Thanks for your help.
Frank:(

Good afternoon, mfwilson:

Well, you win some and lose some, I guess. If you cracked the neck of the picture tube, it's a goner. It's not worth the cost to repair it.

So, time to go TV shopping. Think Mitsubishi, Sony, or Sharp. All good sets and have an excellent record for reliability.

Smokey ;)

Any opinion about Panasonic in general? Saw one advertised with similar features. Specifically a CT-32SX31 is what I saw.

Panasonic (or Matsu****a Electric) makes some excellent electronics. The only grumble I have with them is that they are not real good about supporting their products. Trying to get replacement parts from their system takes forever.

Smokey ;)

Smokey,
Thanks for your opinions and help, even though my carelessness did result in unfortunate outcome.

Frank

In case someone followed my odyssey and is considering a similar approach, here is where I messed up.

When I was replacing the rear cover, I carelessly let it bump into a small (about 5 inch square) circuit board plugged into the rear of the picture tube. This put a stress on the pins coming out of the rear of the tube and did it in.

If you are trying to button things up in haste, stop and take your time. Don't do what I did.

Good Morning, Frank:

Thanks for the warning shot. You are not the first one to endure this problem and, perhaps, I should have issued a warning about the neck of the picture tube. They are, indeed, fragile and are easily cracked.

This post is getting too long. I am going to close this link. If you require further assistance, start a new thread.

Thanks for stopping by DoItYourself.com

Smokey ;)