Ravenous

Ive had a Panasonic PT47wx49 since March 01 and I just turned it on to watch while working out. Within a minute it turned off by itself and wont turn on. I went to the back to change outlets and I smelled it... an odd burnt plastic type of smell.

So Im fucked right? Everything has been going out on me. Look back a month and youll see My dvd player went out (I even mention my dryer just going out), look back a year and youll see my reciever gave out... shall I go on?

Money is SO tight and I dont know what the hell Im going to do... sigh.... I just had to vent

DVD Josh

Rav, it's hard to make this kind of diagnosis over the net, but it sounds (and smells) like your transformer blew out. Now, provided that it did not literally explode and damage surrounding parts, it could be a simple fix (but the part will be pricey).

This is certainly a job for a trained tech, and if I were you, I'd use a local electronics repair shop, if only they may be willing to buy the thing for parts if they cannot fix it.

Keep us in touch.

Ravenous

Well there was no explosion as nothing was heard but I cant get back there and see without opening it up.

Whats pricey for a Transformer? $500? Anything may be better than getting a new TV, but whats to say the tube or screen wont give out in a few months. Either way I should probably start looking in the yellow to see what I find. Theyd probably charge an arm and a leg to come and look at it, considering I cant lug a 47' out to them.

Ravenous

Oddly enough, I just switched wall outlets to see if it would turn on and it turned on, but went out about 3 seconds after doing so. I unplugged and plugged it into another socket and it did the same thing. DOes that mean anything?

mrhan

It does sound like a transformer. I use to have the PT53WXD63; very similar to yours and the same thing happened. Ended up giving it away and the person I gave it to spent $600 to fix it. I guess it was cost effective for him since it was free but for us it wasn't. It was a really good tv until it died.

DVD Josh

Well it sounds like a power supply issue. Also, at this point, I'd stop turning it on and off and plugging it in, you are risking damage to the tv, your house and you.

If it's a ps/transformer issue, maybe a $200 part and a few hundred for labor. Really.

Nefarious

Man you have crappy luck. Have you had an electrician measure to make sure your outlets are putting out spikes of power?

Ravenous

Okay you bring up a point. Do you mean to make sure they are NOT putting out spikes of power? My block has very bad power. For no reason power will just go out. Sometimes its like someone is fucking with a powerswitch to my house (Its no one that lives here) and the power goes on and off a few times. Naturaly its happened when watching TV. So spikes probably wouldnt be out of the question.

Damn, $600 han? Thats insane. It would be best to buy a cheaper TV in the $600 range and a projector in the same price range. Thats what Im considering so far but damn I hate having to do this.

Josh, do you mean a powersupply issue within the TV or my outlets? Well $200 aint so bad, but Im afraid Ive had my TV long enough that what if in the next few months to a year the picture or whatever goes out. The TV was already showing bits signs of this (like out of whack convergence in one of the corners and sides of the TV). So it looks like I may have a bigger issue at hand.

mrhan

Like I said it just wasn't worth it. I convinced my wife that buying a newer TV was the better idea. That's how I ended up with a 58" Plasma Panny.

Ravenous

Whew, luckily I remembered that I had extended the insurance so Circuit CIty was called and gave us the number to their home repair people, called them and they gave me some troubleshooting and theyll send some people over tomorrow. Hopefully they fix it..... but if they cant, than what? They get me a new TV?

Nefarious

Yeah, I was wondering if you have power surges coming through your outlets that is causing them to go out. Do you use power-strips?

Check your warranty to see if it covers power surge failures.

mrhan

I had the same warranty with a 3 year coverage. I didn't extend it and I figured if it lasted this long it was going to last for awhile. It died 1 month after the warranty expired. I've read that they do replace the TV if it isn't fixable. I think they factor in depreciation and give you a choice of whether getting something at the depreciation amount or add to it and get whatever else is available. I could be wrong but I know they do something to that effect. However, I think they will keep trying to fix it until it works. That in itself can be a hassle and inconvenience to you. Also, if the part is not on hand you may have to wait another week or so to get it fix since they have to order the part and make a return trip. I know you said it's outside your budget right now; but the hassle to get it fixed is going to be so time consuming for you.

Ravenous

Right you are man. The guy came over today and was dressed like a regular Circuit City employee; in uniform. He opened the back, didnt know what was wrong, took out the WHOLE motherboard with the connectors and everything. It was huge! Took that, called some repair place and asked if they had a replacement. They said yea so he has to send the whole thing to them via UPS and a new part will be available in 7-10 days. Fuck! No TV for that long is going to be shitty. Its the only one I have HD and stuff on so I'll miss Sopranos and all that.

Is the Transformer even connected for that motherboard? I wasnt home with the guy so its all hearsay.

Sonicflood

Are you using surge protectors for your electronics?

SteelWill

I'm about to go through the same thing. Last weekend my TV started popping and the image was flickering. Turned it off and back on and it sounded like a tazer with the image bluring and pulsing. It was only a $400 TV at the time, so I'm hoping they're going to call it not worth fixing so I can get some credit for a new TV. If they can fix it on the first visit that will be ok, but I don't want to go through a hassle.

I wasn't sure I had even gotten the extended warranty on this TV, and thought if I had it would have expired by now, but this morning I was able to get my hands on the original reciept and called CC about it. Sure enough it had the warranty and was still covered, so at least I'm getting something.

mrhan

Man, that sucks. Funny how he couldn't tell on the spot which board was bad or if it was actually the transformer that went bad and just removed that. Sounds like he didn't give a shit and just took the whole thing out.

Do you have Comcast On Demand? If you do; at least you'll still be able to catch the Sopranos in HD anytime.

Ravenous

Nah but I have HBO on demand. Not that it matters, theyre not in HD. Of course if they focus on showing kids take shits, who cares? Thinking about it, I could care less for the Sopranos. But Im pissed that I cant see the NBA in HD

To answer others, yes I use powerstrips and I only have my computer on a surge protector. Thats going to have to change

MrPink

what happened?

SteelWill

So did they fix your TV? I'm still out a TV and just got a call saying it might be 2 more weeks before I get a replacement. The day after Memorial Day is when the repairman came by and couldn't fix my TV, now they are saying the TV isn't fixable and they need to arrange an exchange with the manufacturer. Why the heck they need to do anything with the manufacturer I have no idea since that warranty expired about 18 months ago, but after two frustrated phone calls to their service dept that was their story.

shumway

Keep calling and demand some sort of Make Good from them, whether it's a gift card/ certificate, or, at least something.

Dr Mabuse

you can buy brand new 36 inch TV's for less than $500...

i wouldn't go too far in money to fix it...