issue with Panasonic plasma TV

pglbook

My 4-year old Panasonic Plasma TV (model # TC-P42U1, 42" model) recently started to have problems. There is no picture when I turn it on and there is a continuous red blinking light on the lower panel. I can get the TV to turn on eventually but, in order to do so, I have to hold the power button in for 10 or 15 seconds and then release it. Sometimes I have to do that process 8 or 10 times as many times the TV shuts off again when I release the power button but eventually it stays on. It is a real pain.

I did a quick online search and it appears that there was a batch of bad Panasonic plasma TVs a few years ago and it appears to be a common problem and I am one of the unlucky ones.

I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and if there is anything I can do to fix it.

According to my online search of the issue, many refer to the red blinking light as "the blinking lights of death," and apparently there is either a bad board or power supply involved.

The warranty expired 2 years ago and I assume it would be an expensive fix so I may be in the market for a new TV.

But I thought I'd see if any Polkies have had a similar problem.

Thanks.

nguyendot

I blew mine out with compressed air and it fixed the issue...then again mine is/was a lot newer than yours.

pglbook

Thanks, nguyendot. I will give it a shot. I will try any type of fix at this point.

pitdogg2

There was some bad caps that were going around maybe some made it into your TV. I'd get into it and look on the power board for caps that are swelled or even may have leaked a bit. Some like Samsung even used under rated caps on the power board that caused all kinds of problems but was a simple fix just had to replace with higher value caps i.e. 16v to 25v for the rated power it needed.

pglbook

Thanks, pitdogg.

I will open the TV up this weekend and check out the caps and I will also clean it out with compressed air.

BlueMDPicker

If your Panasonic plasma is like mine (circa 2007), it's all modular--maybe 10 PC boards. Mine took a spike through the FIOS STB and fried the DG (digital input) board. Bad news is the board is no longer in production. Good news is this outfit in Evansville, IN had a used one (for $115) : http://tristatemodule.com/

I'd highly recommend them if you diagnose the issue as repairable. Good luck!

pglbook

BlueMDPicker, thanks for the info and the great link. I checked out the link and they have a lot of replacement boards for my model TV. My challenge will be diagnosing what part is at fault. Hopefully, I will be able to troubleshoot what part is bad.

I called Panasonic customer support two days ago but, because the TV is no longer under warranty, they charge a fee to speak with a technician.

Monster Jam

Easy way to fix it.

Buy a new one.