Power Surge
 

Ok, so I went away for the weekend, and I got back tonight. I came into my room and i heard a buzzing type noise. I kinda walk aroudn until I can tell it's coming from the TV. I tried to turn the TV on, but nothing happened. So I unplugged it and let it sit for a while and tried again. Still nothing. There must've been a power surge over the weekend that fried my television. I'm so pissed. I bought it at Wal-Mart for about $120 last November or December, and I don't recall if there was any type of warranty or not. Is there anything I can do, besides buy a new TV? It's an Orion 19" or 21".

Im so pissed:mad: :(

Pitch it. You can LITERALLY get a whole new TV for the cost of even bothering to fix it.

*edit: if you are brave and have some experience with electronics, you could crack the case open, and check the fuse at the power supply near where the cord comes in/out. If it is not the fuse, pitch it.*

*Warning*

If you do open a TV, BE VERY CAREFULL, just because it is unplugged doesn't mean you are safe. I know Professional service peaple who have been thrown across the room when they were working on tv's. Even when a tv is unplugged there is a great deal of energy still stored inside it.

If it's buzzing it's not going to be the PSU fuse. It's most likely a blown capacitor on the board somewhere. You'll should be able to see it, just look for scorch marks or a capacitor with a puffed up top.

Also, don't do anything unless you have a VERY good idea of what you are doing.

I have been Jolted twice while working on low voltage TVs. The ones designed for cars. Let the TV sit for at least three days before you play with it. That is six time constants if you know anything about electronics.

I opened a TV last year to fix the loose cable connection inside. Long story short, Upon plugging the TV back in, it caught on fire. Seriously, if you don't know what you are doing, PITCH IT!

Ok, it's been unplugged for about two weeks now, does that make it any safer to go into, or no? I would like to check to see if its just a blown capacitor or w/e. If it looks too complicated ill just forget about it. Thanks for the replies

After two weeks the capacitors should have de-energized, but there's always a chance that they haven't. Just be carefull and watch where you hands and tools are at all times.

As a side note: I saw pictures a few years ago where a guy took a 4ft length of PVC pipe and put a loop of wire on the end. He would stand back and use the loop of wire to short out any caps he found in the equipment. Now that I think about it though, you might want to place a power resistor in the middle of the loop so all the power isn't released through a bare wire.

bleh, i just opened it up, and used a spotlight to check everything out. i didnt see any burn or scorce marks, and it prolly doesnt help that i dont know wtf im doing, but im just gonna go ahead and leave it. i plugged it back in and it still makes the noise:( (i was hoping some tv repair elfs would come and fix it while i slept, but nope) is there a fan in TVs? it sounded sorta like when one of my computer fans was screwed up and made a buzzing/humming noise. thanks again for the replies:rolleyes: