Calling all electronics... uhh... dudes! Help me fix my TV!

[m4gicfour]

Okay, so I've got an Olevia 255TFHD (255FHD-T11) LCD TV.

A while ago I noticed that it took a couple tries to get the TV to turn on.
I only noticed because it had gotten worse (at first I thought my remote's batteries were dying)

One day I went to turn my TV on, and nothing happened (other than): The blue status indicator in front of the TV turned off (as it always does) and then the backlight ballasts should click, and the backlights should fire; but it didn't. The blue light went out and never came back on.

Today I cracked open the back panel of my TV. When plugged in, there is a red status indicator lit on in the top corner of the mainboard (as there always was, as far as i remember). Also when I plug in/unplug the TV I can hear a relay in the PSU click (I'm fairly certain that is what it is). Obviously, I'm getting stand-by power... at least enough to power an LED lol.

I've checked the Caps in the PSU (Delta DPS408-AP B)
-two or three caps in the secondary have very minor visible bulging of the vent
-The big cap on the primary is bulged as well
-None of the caps have vented. The vents are intact, as are the plugs on their base; from what I can tell.
-No sign of electrolyte leakage anywhere.
-Everything else is visually intact.

I can get a picture tomorrow probably if it would help.

AFAIK, any bulging on elyctrolytic caps is a sign of failing or failed caps, (yes, no?) and I'm guessing the caps got progressively worse till the point that it went out of bounds and refused to turn on (either logic circuit malfunction, or a protection kicked in) What do you think are the chances that the PSU is dead VS. say, the mainboard or inverter(s)

Man I'm hoping bad caps are to blame, a new PSU is $225US after shipping, and I can't find the mainboard anywhere. The inverters are ~$90 each + shipping

 

[Solaris17]

idk man sounds like inverters to me. though the PSU should be replaced if its peaking i dont think thats the issue

 

[m4gicfour]

Would it just completely not respond if it were the inverters though? Also the fact that that status indicator never came back on - maybe just an indication of component failure rather than power issues?

 

[Solaris17]

Would it just completely not respond if it were the inverters though? Also the fact that that status indicator never came back on - maybe just an indication of component failure rather than power issues?

well if its anything like laptop LCD inverters no. It will still work just not show anything. However it might be the mainboard seeing that you dont get any sound out of the speakers. As for the indicator. idk if the TV worked perfect does the light shut off?

 

[m4gicfour]

Well theres two indicators: a blue one on the front of the TV, and a red one on the mainboard.

The blue one should be ON when the TV is off, and OFF when the TV is on.
AFAIK, the red one is always (and should be) on

RED one is currently always on, blue one is currently always off.
I'm sure there's nothing from the speakers but I did have it set to HDMI, and the TV usually takes ~5 seconds from standby to full-on displaying HDMI. HDMI is my computer and there would be no sound anyway.

I can try tomorrow to turn it on and switch inputs blindly; but I'm all but sure that the TV simply doesn't respond when it's told to turn on (whether via remote or face button)

I should also say; my dad's prebuilt computer exhibited the same behaviour, nothing but a MOBO status indicator (in fact a MOBO status indicator and a status indicator on the PSU); all other signs dead - power button did nothing... the PSU turned out to be the problem with that.

 

[Solaris17]

Well theres two indicators: a blue one on the front of the TV, and a red one on the mainboard.

The blue one should be ON when the TV is off, and OFF when the TV is on.
AFAIK, the red one is always (and should be) on

RED one is currently always on, blue one is currently always off.
I'm sure there's nothing from the speakers but I did have it set to HDMI, and the TV usually takes ~5 seconds from standby to full-on displaying HDMI. HDMI is my computer and there would be no sound anyway.

I can try tomorrow to turn it on and switch inputs blindly; but I'm all but sure that the TV simply doesn't respond when it's told to turn on (whether via remote or face button)

I should also say; my dad's prebuilt computer exhibited the same behaviour, nothing but a MOBO status indicator (in fact a MOBO status indicator and a status indicator on the PSU); all other signs dead - power button did nothing... the PSU turned out to be the problem with that.

i got ya. well idk id honestly say it sounds like a mobo. unless the blind switch proves otherwise. i mean you can have a dead logic board but still get power LED's it might be a chip or cap on the board.

 

[m4gicfour]

Yeah; IDK. Like I say I hope its not that mainboard; because Syntax Brillian (Olevia) is Chapter 11, and I can't find the mainboard anywhere. Anyways I gots to gets me some sleep; have to be up early. I'll keep troubleshooting tomorrow.

PS. Checked the caps on the MB before, all appeared in mint condition; no way to know for the ICs.

 

[Solaris17]

Yeah; IDK. Like I say I hope its not that mainboard; because Syntax Brillian (Olevia) is Chapter 11, and I can't find the mainboard anywhere. Anyways I gots to gets me some sleep; have to be up early. I'll keep troubleshooting tomorrow.

PS. Checked the caps on the MB before, all appeared in mint condition; no way to know for the ICs.

well thats all I got maybe someone else will chime in GL bro let us know

 

[m4gicfour]

Well, i did a few other things, and came up with nothing, so I went with my instinct and shelled out the $250 for the power supply; sure enough, fired right up.


Hopefully this one lasts longer than the original one :shadedshu

 

[Lazzer408]

Why didn't you replace the caps?

 

[Solaris17]

nice GJ man

 

[DaedalusHelios]

Why didn't you replace the caps?

Not everybody knows how to solder well. I had two years electronics(soldering and circuit) training and even I am not perfect. Also the lead risk is also there.

I think he did the right thing provided he had the cash flow necessary.

 

[Lazzer408]

Ah. I been this for so long I forget not everyone is as savy. I figured if he knew to look for puffy caps he knew more then most. Send it to me I'll re-cap it and you'll have a spare. =)

 

[DaedalusHelios]

Ah. I been this for so long I forget not everyone is as savy. I figured if he knew to look for puffy caps he knew more then most. Send it to me I'll re-cap it and you'll have a spare. =)

I have a Gigabyte P35-DS3L with a bad bios flash(flashed it to the wrong Bios revision)... What can I do to fix it? I can start another thread for it but I figured you would know more than me since you are the experienced type.

 

[Lazzer408]

Unless the BIOS is socketed or has recovery built into it your kinda in a jamb. You could remove (unsolder) the bios and solder in a replacement if you know how to work with BGA/SMT devices.

 

[m4gicfour]

Ah. I been this for so long I forget not everyone is as savy. I figured if he knew to look for puffy caps he knew more then most. Send it to me I'll re-cap it and you'll have a spare. =)

I can solder just fine, I'm definitely not perfect, but I can handle easy PCBs like PSUs since the traces and components are so large, gives a bit of room for error. Generally a bit more overheat-tolerant too.

That was in fact my original plan, but i figured that I really had no way to test it properly, so if it didn't work after the re-cap I might have wrongly eliminated the PSU as the problem and gone on a spending spree trying to find what the problem was; I wanted to make sure that I had a working unit. I also had planned on re-capping the unit now that I know that was the problem; however it got put in a box in the corner for that mystical future project time that will likely never come.