Samsung flat panel TV Problem

libra10

We have a 5 to 6 year old 40" Samsung TV, which appears to have developed a fault.

The picture stops and pauses, then clicks off, a few seconds later will click back on again. This doesn't always happen, but once started, the sequence keeps repeating, making the TV impossible to watch.

At first we blamed the humid temperatures, or possibly a fault with the aerial.

We are considering asking a local TV shop to investigate the problem, and wondered whether it would be worth spending money on, or spend the money on a new TV.

Any advice welcome.

AndysDad

Possible problem with the power supply as I think there were numerous problems with dodgy capacitors in their monitors.I guess TV repair man is your only option.

libra10

Thanks very much AndysDad, do you know whether this is a costly repair?

almillar

Capacitors are cheap as chips. Diagnosing and replacing could be expensive.
Does this happen when viewing a DVD (removing reception from the fault)?

libra10

Thanks for replying almillar.

Our son has some computer knowledge and if the problem is with the capacitors, he thinks he may be able to fix.

Not sure whether problem would still happen when viewing DVDs as we haven't tried that yet. We have now replaced faulty TV with another set which had been in another room.

Just wondering what to do.

almillar

If it's gonna be self repair, you need to google the model number and the brief symptoms, to find a guide to follow. It'll be a common repair, it'll tell you the parts to order and how to do it. It will involve soldering, and difficulty just depends on the size and accessibility of the component. People on eBay might even be selling repair kits for them.
All of the above is irrelevant of course until you actually investigate the problem.

libra10

Thanks again almillar.

My son wondered about buying parts from Ebay.

He has been looking at YouTube maintenance videos and he and my husband have just gone off to Maplin to see whether they can buy the parts there.

He should be alright with the soldering as he does a lot of this in his job.

Will update when they've done the repair.

libra10

They managed to buy the capacitors and components, and my son soldered them in, and the TV is back up and working. At a total cost of just under a tenner.

Have had the TV switched on for a couple of hours - even watched Little House on the Prairie (for goodness sake!), but so far the fault hasn't recurred.

The fault has been intermittent, but so far so good.

Thanks everyone for help.

almillar

This is fantastic as I was just fumbling in the dark!
It would be very useful for other forum users if you would provide the model number of the TV, and any links or general info that your son used to repair the TV, for future use.

libra10

I will ask my son the links that he used when he returns.

Will update later.

libra10

The TV model number is ML 4086.

Unfortunately the problem briefly recurred a couple of times yesterday evening, but hasn't since.

If the fault does start again, we will buy the power pack (not sure what the correct name is) and have another try.