My TV....R.I.P?
 

I've had a Sony Trinitron that I bought in 1993 and it has always looked as good as the day I bought it. Then yesterday, poof. It turns off and won't turn back on. No smoke, no heat, no flash. Just turned off like I hit the "off" button on the remote. But it won't turn on no matter what I do.

So what happened? Is there a fuse in there it might have blown? Power supply dead? Or is it a sign from above that it's time to move on and buy a flat screen?

Something like that happens to me too. It is usually fixed by unplugging the tv and plugging it back in. I don't think it may be the same situation for your TV though.

I say you should go get a new TV, you can get a decent one for cheap these days. Its kinda good that it died on you, now you actually have a reason to buy a new tv rather than just wanting one.

dont go asking sony for help. I emailed them with a problem after I had to replace my Trinitron tuner when my set was only 2 yrs old. they didn't bother to reply. three emails to there custmer service department later, and no reply, i am now a dedicated panasonic customer.

What model?

No lights at all? Even if you look inside through the vents? Assuming the outlet is good a fuse would be a good possibility. There could be an underlying problem but it's definitely worth investigating.

It happened to me , There is a sensor in the front that connects the on/off button to the Tv inner workings and if that goes you need to call a TV repairman ..It costed me about 65 for the visit.

That may be it. Unplugging/replugging definitely didn't work. It's in a power strip, and all the other components in that strip work fine, even when switching around what is plugged where.

Well, my tv died recently and the symptoms were very similar (one day it just decided not to turn on, I think it was after a thunder storm). Checked a fuse, but nothing. I tracked the problem down to one board, but nothing was evidently wrong with it. I tried a lot of stuff, but couldn't find the problem. My guess is that either a transistor fried or one of the hundred microchips.

I have a Sony Trinitron XBR model and the same thing happened to it ...twice already. I think I bought mine right about '93 too. First time was about 7 or 8 yrs ago, then it happened again about 4 months ago. I knew from the first time, based on input from my local, reliable, trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful ...I was a Boy Scout too... electronic repair shop guy that it is a relatively common and documented problem with some of these Sony TV's. I think it's a relay that goes bad. Anyway, this last time I tried to rapidly turn it on and off many times until it finally stayed on again and then I left it on for a couple weeks until I had it fixed. Even though mine wasn't turning on, I could here the relay clicking but it would not stay on until I did this. So I kept clicking it with the remote until it stayed on. It cost me under $120 to get it fixed, so I said I'd do it one more time before trashing the TV since it otherwise still works well and has a nice picture. My repair guy is in Phila, hope you can find somebody in Chicago area.

I'm actually in PA now. Hitting the on/off button results in no noise whatsoever. It's just plain dead. Might as well be unplugged. I might just have to buy a temporary CRT TV until the prices on Plasmas drop later this year.

I'm an RCA and Zenith type guy. My parents had RCA's and Zeniths and they have always worked extremely well and lasted for years.

My 94 y/o Grandmother had a Magnavox for 25 years till we finally got her a remote control a couple years ago.

I won't own Sony anything but movies and music. In the 80's they were great quality, but somewhere down the line in the 90's the quality turned to shit.

I have had an RCA and a Magnavox do this. Could be a cheap fix at a repair shop or it could be cost prohibitive to get it fixed. The reason it won't come on is because a fuse has blown on the power supply board. What made the fuse blow on the other hand is your root problem.

I considered fixing mine myself, but you take your life into your own hands working with crt monitors. They carry enough charge even years after they have been unplugged to stop your heart. No danger if you know what you are doing, but touch the wrong places at the same time and ZAP.

TVs don't hold that much charge. The capacitors take only about 12 to 24 hours to discharge, so after that, you can screw around as much as you want.

Capacitors? Vinaur, capacitors are not the primary hazard. To assume all tubes will bleed down to a safe level in one day is dangerous and incorrect.

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"Say, mind holding this anode for me?"

The CRT shell is used as a very high voltage capacitor. It may hold many thousands of volts for years.