Entertainment Center: TVs, Stereos, VCRs and DVDs - Emerson and Sears tvs, won't work now?


I have 2 tvs that don't wanna work. One is an Emerson ecr2100--it won't come on at all. I replaced the fuse and no luck--no click, no sound, no picture, cold as ice. Any suggestions other than trashing it?
The other tv is a Sears Solid State 564-41810052. It used to work well, then the picture went out. I tapped the cabinet and the picture came back on. It progressed to harder taps to get it to work, no all it does is come on, but no picture or sound. Any suggestions? Thank you! I sincerely appreciate any help I receive!

Good evening, invisible47:

Any television set is salvageable depending on what the failure is. I always recommend that folks check out this website for guidance. I could sit here all night and impart information but this site does a much better job:
http://an.hitchcock.org/repairfaq/REPAIR/F_tvfaq.html

Need service manuals on the set? Try this site:
http://www.treasurechestcorp.com/Default.htm

That takes care of the Emerson at this point.

Now, Sears doesn't manufacture any television sets. So, what you have is most likely Japanese, most like bottom of the line (Sears is on a "sell cheap" mode to stay alive). Sears is on a binge to be competitive with Wal-Mart.

So, let's think "Japanese television" for a minute. Mass production, bad solder connections, cheap. The circuit boards are not good quality so the components are not soldered down too well. If slapping the set around brought it back, this is most likely the case.
Take off the back of the set, poke around with a non-metallic probe (NOT A PENCIL!) and see if you can cough it back to life. If you find a "sensitive spot", the problem can be fixed with a little 60-40 electronic solder and a low heat soldering iron. This involves soldering the components back to the circuit boards.

This is as good as it gets at DoItYourself.com. We're here to help on specific issues and will give you our best advice. Big Mike and I don't tell lies or support any manufacturer.

Smokey ;)

Thank you, Smokey!
I will check out those sites you provided right now.

Hi Smokey,

I tried the stick trick, it works! The Sears tv set came on, went off, came on, went off, came on and stayed on after a few more pokings. I found where the trouble is, and will ask my bro in law to solder it in place. Thank you, thank you!
I tried the same thing with the Emerson, no luck. All the elements are cold, so could it be the AC wire connection? I know one thing, though--I made a mistake and touched the little fuse with my finger and felt the shock all the way down to the ring finger toe on my right foot! So at least it's getting juice, right? Also, on the underside of the circuit board, there were a few corroded spots at the solder sites, one at the AC connection for one end of the wire, one where one remote control wire goes, the other two right around where the big black thing is. I filed off the corrosion. Is it a goner? I sure hope not, and hope it's not expensive to fix.
Thanks for all your help, the other sites you suggested are up right now and I'm checking 'em out.

Good Morning, Sherry:

Sorry about the shocking experience with the Emerson. Obviously, checks are better made with the set unplugged in this case.

I would suspect problems in the low voltage power supply at this point. If you are adept at electronic troubleshooting, the service manual will be an asset. When you are dealing with an older set, it is not wise to put too much money into it. Replacement TV's are not that expensive these days.

But, this decision is yours. I just make recommendations. You may find something simple to replace and get a few more years out of the old set.

Getting parts for Emerson is going to be difficult. This is an "off shore" unit. Check the Emerson listing at this site and they will refer you to the folks that carry parts:
http://www.fargo-ent.com/p_s_dir/e.htm

Smokey ;)