Well not quite, but it did make a loud pop and stop working. Sorry, no smoke or fragments to report.
I suspect dust in the power supply and I am wondering if anybody has any idea if it would be worth fixing. I got it two years ago and the warranty has run out. It’s a 50" Zenith 720p and cost me $2400 new out the door. I believe that I could replace it with a similar model for $1600 now so I don’t want to spend more than $500 to fix it.
Any other ideas on it’s failure mode? Any idea on how much repair could run? Is this thing now hazardous waste?
Sorry for your loss, but thanks for posting- just another reminder why even though I watch 8 hours of TV a day, I would never spend 2400 on a TV that can blow up due to dust buildup in two years- you can buy a 20 inch tube model from Wal-Mart for 80 bucks that’ll last ten years, but have this happen to a brand new plasma? Sheesh.
Not all $2400 TVs blow up within two years just as not all $80 TVs last 10 years.
I bought an expensive large HD TV 4 years ago and its been worth the money I’ve spent just to see High Def Football games. It could blow up right now and the only reason I’d be bummed is that I would have to watch my $80 TV till I get a new big screen.
I work for a company that performs component level repair of industrial electronic boards. We have had a couple of plasma screens in the shop - usually they belong to employees or friends of the owner.
Both times, the failures were tiny little $0.000001 surface mount pico fuses which have popped, probably due to a voltage spike or transient. They exhibit no visible sign of failure. You have to stick an ohmeter across them.
Pico fuses are tiny. About 2mm x 1mm. Usually the circuit board will denote them as 'PF1, PF2 etc. That is the only way to find them unless you have a schematic.
We also had a Dell LCD monitor do the same thing. It was a pico fuse.
I would take it apart, look for open pico fuses, unsolder and put new ones in. I do understand that doing so is easier said that done.
Thanks for the info Mr. Floppy. I actually know an authorized Zenith repairman that runs a fix-it/resale shop here in Michigan just North of 8 Mile. I haven’t seen many newer ones in his shop yet, so he may actually like to check mine out. I’ve bought and sold TVs to him in the past and he’s a pretty good guy.
Yes, two years is pretty lame for this thing to start acting buggy. But I suspect it will be more of a time issue than a price issue. I’m tempted to go get a 65" DLP 1080p model for the living room for about $2100 and move this one to the bedroom when it comes back. Either that or buy two 20" sets for $80 each and hook them up to a pair of binoculars.
I’m a big believer in extended warranties for high dollar items. I just used mine for my 50 incher a few months ago. BestBuy did a great job. The repair guy pretty much trouble shot the problem over the phone and ordered the part right then and there. 7 days later the guy came out and it was fixed.
I’m not the OP, but I would be disappointed. I don’t have a big enough space of wall to screen it on, plus I’d need a room that gets 100% dark during daylight, which I also don’t have. So anyone can easily be disappointed with a DLP if it’s completely unsuitable for their needs.
I’ve heard more people complain of problems with plasma TVs than LCDs. Are plasmas much more prone to breakdown than LCDs? If so, why do people buy them?
You may be thinking of front-projection, which needs light control regardless of technology (DLP or LCD). Rear projection DLP is plenty bright for daylight viewing.
Plasmas will inevitably die, the gasses inside them will only work for, IIRC, 6 years of constant use on the model I have (Samsung 42".)
In LCDs the most likely thing that will happen is the backlight tube(s) will burn out. They could be replaced although that doesn’t seem to happen much in this disposable world we live in.
So why get plasma? Well in spring 2006 when I bought mine there were hardly any 42" LCD TVs at all, and the picture quality of the plasma is really really nice. Plus I figured by the time my plasma died there would be much cheaper, bigger, and better TVs available anyway. As far as picture quality LCDs seem to have mostly caught up now though.
Plasmas give a vastly better picture IMHO. And daylight (but not direct sunlight) viewing is just fine. As for the lifespan, who has their home TV on all day every day for 6 years?
Flat panels are creeping up in size at a steady pace, but nearly everything (and certainly everything affordable) over 45" is rear-projection DLP, LCD, or LCOS.
