# Quick question on dead Samsung flat screen



## 2SSick (Nov 21, 2016)

Ok... So my girlfriend was watching TV this past Saturday, when she heard a popping sound followed by the TV shutting off and now it won't turn back on. The TV is barely two years old, is well taken care and even still has the plastic around the edges! So I refuse to pay Samsung to come look at it for 140 bucks being its out of warranty. Not that I don't respect what the technician does but come... this TV was 1100 bucks and like I said, is only 2 years old. Anyway..... 

I took the panel off the back and checked out the power supply board since I'm not getting any power nor standby light and I stumbled across a component that was visually burnt. It's not a capacitor with the X on top... I don't know what it is to be honest. My question is, would replacing the whole board fix my problem? It's only 65bucks or would it be wiser to swap out that one part? I have never soldered anything before so keep that in mind LoL


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

Well... here's my 2 cents... I've done a lot of "amateur" board work on non-AV equipment. If you don't know what you're doing, you can certainly botch a job, burn a trace... you name it. However, you might be able to pull the board and take it into a professional shop and have them solder the part for you. It looks like it's probably a 25-cent cap (assuming it's the blue circular piece?).

The real problem is, however, it blew for a reason. My guess is something is wrong with the voltage on the board. You might just have the same thing happen again. 

For 65-bucks, I'd take the chance of buying the replacement board and swapping it myself.

Mind you... I know absolutely nothing about repairing televisions or AV equipment. So, proceed at your own risk!


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## 2SSick (Nov 21, 2016)

That was exactly what I was thinking... That something else probably caused that part to burn out and it would likely happen again, kind of like repairing the same fuse over and over but not nearly as simple. So 65 bucks is nothing for the peace of mind, specially when it cost 140 bucks just for someone to come look at it. I was just wondering if changing the board would definitely solve my problem. 65 bucks is a whopping 65 bucks if it doesn't give me that peace of mind LoL Everything else on the other boards look fine but I'm no expert. The TV is so new that everything looks so new, clean and shiny.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

If you're sure that's the power supply board (which it looks like to me), pretty good chance that something upstream (on the board) went bad and caused that cap to pop. Replacing the whole thing seems like a good gamble to me. Warranty is already void. ;-)

You're right, 65 bucks is 65 bucks... but it could potentially save you hundreds!


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## 2SSick (Nov 21, 2016)

This is true LoL... Thanks Todd. I'm going to order the board tomorrow and get it in. I will post up the results when its all said and done.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

Cool. Definitely look forward to hearing the results. My fingers are crossed!


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## DqMcClain (Sep 16, 2015)

While there's nothing necessarily wrong with assuming "something else caused that cap to blow", it's also possible that the cap itself just barely passed QC at the factory and it blew on its own. Another possibility is that the "something else" was some sort of power-related event that might have been suppressed by surge protection (if the TV was plugged directly into the wall) OR it wasn't big enough to trip your surge protection and the only part that failed was the weakest link, i.e. that little cap. Consider also that that most surge protection devices only compensate for voltage overages... but having a big dip in voltage can also do a lot of damage, so it's not impossible that something happened between the TV and the power company that snuck right past whatever protection you have in place. 

All that said, it would seem the most logical choice would be to replace the cap first and see if that solves the problem and if it doesn't, THEN replace the entire board. However, considering that you've "never soldered anything before", that probably means you have to buy a soldering iron, solder, etc... so what should be a $0.xx part would cost another $20-$50 by the time you have the tools you need. 

So, buy that board.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

You make a good point... a singular power event of some kind could have done this. You have to wonder, however, what else on the board was damaged or stressed?

Board work really requires a good temperature controlled soldering station (and the proper tip). That could cost you hundreds (unless you know someone with one)...

If you have a change of heart and decide to swap the cap, do yourself a favor and practice desoldering and soldering on a scrap board. You can pull one from an old clock radio (or even hit GoodWill and pick up something electronic for a few bucks). You'll want to get some flux, too... never solder without it! ;-)


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## 2SSick (Nov 21, 2016)

I was actually thinking of trying to find the cap and soldering it myself with this wood burning tool i have from michaels that came with a solderig tip and some solder. I figure if I'm gonna order the new board I might as well give it a shot with the old one before I toss it. However, I just went into a TV repair shop and the guy told me they don't sell the parts individually anymore - just the boards. Is that true? If not, where could I find the cap and how do I know which one to get? He told me he would do it for 25 bucks if i find the cap but for that price i might as well just order a new board in case the old one is damaged elsewhere.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

2SSick said:


> I was actually thinking of trying to find the cap and soldering it myself with this wood burning tool i have from michaels that came with a solderig tip and some solder. I figure if I'm gonna order the new board I might as well give it a shot with the old one before I toss it. However, I just went into a TV repair shop and the guy told me they don't sell the parts individually anymore - just the boards. Is that true? If not, where could I find the cap and how do I know which one to get? He told me he would do it for 25 bucks if i find the cap but for that price i might as well just order a new board in case the old one is damaged elsewhere.


Hmm... if there's not some kind of identification on the cap, you'd have to gain access to the schematics. Not sure if those are available. As for buying it... if you can identify it, you could alway try an online store like Great Plains Electronics or Mouser. In fact, it might be worth calling a place like Great Plains and explaining what you're trying to accomplish...they might be able to help you with identification.


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## 2SSick (Nov 21, 2016)

Cool... Thx again Todd. I'm probably going to end up just buying another board but the DIY'er in me wants to give it a shot just for the experience. I have 3 other TV's laying around that stopped working so if all goes well, I could have a TV in every room for a fraction of the cost. Do I hear TV in the bathroom? LoL Nah, I'm JK but I have a 32inch that used to be my computer monitor, a 52 inch and a 47 inch. I could definitely sell them or at least find some use for them.


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