# Can i repair this? Or is it dead?



## feralfreak (Jul 29, 2008)

I have a Westinghouse flat tv, a friend gave it to us in '14 for helping her move, well while watching it i heard a loud pop, sounded like those fireworks things you slam on the ground and they make a popping noise, but i was still able to watch it, then about an hour it turns itself off, i try to turn it back on but it doesn't even get to the loading up screen, the power light that means its turn on just shuts off, i try multiple times but nothing l, and i went up to it and see the light flickering, so i unplugged it, i cant afford another tv, im lucky to be able to get a new mower part, but i might be able to afford a component if its cheap, what could be wrong?


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

If you heard a loud noise, something shorted, maybe where it chances from AC to DC. Open the back of the TV. You might be able to see something.


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## KHouse75 (May 14, 2008)

They generally aren't worth fixing these days. TVs are inexpensive now and there are a whole lot to choose from. I'd trash it and get a new one.


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## Seattle2k0 (May 7, 2018)

KHouse75 said:


> They generally aren't worth fixing these days. TVs are inexpensive now and there are a whole lot to choose from. I'd trash it and get a new one.


They might be inexpensive for you and I, but the OP stated a new tv would be expensive for him/her. 

KHouse, you'll need to open it up and identify the failed component(s). It could be as simple as a blown fuse, capacitor, or bridge rectifier. A fuse is easy to test, with a multimeter. Capacitors can fail in different ways. Often, they will be leaking electrolytic fluid - sometimes you can see the leak-out, sometimes you don't see it, until you desolder the component from the board. If any capacitor is bulging, even if the top is slightly bulged out, or leaking, it will need to be replaced. 

Bridge rectifiers can come in different form factors. If the diodes show no visual signs of failure, then you'll need to check each of them with the multimeter. 

After you've identified the failed component, you'll need to search for it on Digikey, Mouser, or Sparkfun. Desolder old component, solder in new one. 

There's a lot that goes into all of this. Use of multimeter, finding the replacement parts (most of them are commodity components), soldering out failed part, soldering in new one. It's up to you to decide whether or not it's within your abilities, but there are lots of youtube videos out there. We are in such a throw-away world, if something can be fixed for a reasonable price, why should it be thrown out?


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

it was probably a capacitor that blew up. probably in the power supply. with your time, it would cost more to "maybe" fix it.


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## Fish_Stick (Feb 28, 2017)

I'd vote for a capacitor as well. If you can identify which one no it's not that expensive to fix. I had a small audio receiver that blew a capacitor and leaked the magic fluid everywhere. Under $5 for a premium audio one from Digikey and it's still working years later. Not everything needs to be chucked once something goes wrong. So yes it takes some time and research on your end but certainly not a throw away situation yet.



Sometimes you can find repair documents from the model number etc but for the most part it's going to be a visual inspection and testing of each component. There is a band on the cap showing polarity so make a note or take pictures before you unsolder it...just in case you get distracted or have to wait on a part. Just search capacitor polarity and you'll quickly see what I'm talking about.


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## feralfreak (Jul 29, 2008)

I managed to get it open, took pics of connections and such, im having trouble seeing any bad caps on the board, i have an old win xp computer with bad caps and those leaked from the tops, but i cant see any of it here, i thought I should post what I see and see if anyone here sees anything alarming


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)




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## carmusic (Oct 11, 2011)

the cap is probably on the power supply board where the 120v enters


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## adamz (May 13, 2018)

I agree with carmusic, the board in your photo is the TV input board. The power supply board caps need the visual inspection, not the TV input caps.


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## feralfreak (Jul 29, 2008)

The power cord plugs into that board


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## adamz (May 13, 2018)

feral,

Where at on the board does the power cord plug into?

What's the model number of the TV set?


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## Domo (Nov 9, 2018)

Electrical Engineer says - Sounds like you burned a power supply dielectric capacitor. (Very weak link in most electronics - lots of inferior caps in everything nowadays.)

If you're comfortable with electronics, you can take the bake off and look/smell for something burned. If you can find the suspect you can take any identifying information (revision numbers, etc.) from that board and look on the Internet for your make and model. Many places sell repair boards.

If it's a single board TV - forget it - probably not worth swapping the board due to it's cost and the fact that you'll end up with a 5 year old TV.

At the least, pull the back off out of curiosity...


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## ktkelly (Apr 7, 2007)

You WILL spend more messing with a TV that really wasn't a good TV in the first place (Westinghouse units were junk Chinese TV's).


It WILL be cheaper to buy a used replacement.


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## Deja-vue (Mar 24, 2013)

ktkelly said:


> You WILL spend more messing with a TV that really wasn't a good TV in the first place (Westinghouse units were junk Chinese TV's).
> 
> 
> It WILL be cheaper to buy a used replacement.


I can't believe I'm saying this but, I have to agree with ktkelly.
Westinghouse were always poorly designed pieces of [email protected]
You can pick up a brand new 50 Inch Samsung 4K TV for around $350 these days.

Now for the sake of fixing things, I have repaired several TV's in the past by just soldering a couple of new Capacitors into a PSU, or simply replaced a Video Board. Did it for myself or Friends.
Couldn't do it for customers, because the parts+labor usually exceeds the cost of a new Set.
:glasses:


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## mypage (Nov 29, 2018)

sau bạn không nghĩ là sẽ đi mua một các tivi mới thay vì bạn phải sửa lại cái TV đó


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## Deja-vue (Mar 24, 2013)

mypage said:


> sau bạn không nghĩ là sẽ đi mua một các tivi mới thay vì bạn phải sửa lại cái TV đó



Cảm ơn bạn đã nhập liệu của bạn, nhưng nó sẽ là khôn ngoan để gõ nó bằng tiếng Anh.
Rất ít người ở đây nói tiếng Việt.


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## Domo (Nov 9, 2018)

Mostly likely popped a dielectric capacitor.

If it was me (started working on TV's in 1962 with a pal using a plumber's soldering iron that you had to heat using a torch!), I'd 1) buy a new TV and 2) pull the old one apart to see if I could find the cap (or whatever) and simply replace it to get it going again and then 3) give it to someone else as a gift!

Yes, all TV's can be fixed, however, as others have alluded - many now-a-days are not worth the effort unless you're a cheap SOB as I am!

Follow step #1 - the TV owes you nothing - replace it and think fondly of your friend that gave it to you.


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