# What's gone wrong with my TV? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 19, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-gone-wrong-with-my-tv/264943 "2004-09-19T03:17:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-gone-wrong-with-my-tv/264943/1 "2004-09-19T03:17:09Z")
(At the outset, could I make it clear I’m _not_ looking for advice about repairing things, or anything like that, just to make it clear, blah blah…I _will_ take it apart, but purely because I want to, and for no other reason.) I know it’s bust. it cost me £20. I’m just intrigued by what has actually happened today: The picture is now distorted at the top, kind of pinched together. The red picture is distorted the least, making me think it’s magnets at fault. But I’m surprised at how visible the majority of the picture is - I’d describe it as ‘vase-shaped’ sides, while I always thought a failure of a magnet or similar resulted in no picture. Oh yeah, and there’s the strong smell of ozone whenever it’s on. Would be very useful as aversion therapy. ---
**Author:** ![DRBOB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@DRBOB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRBOB)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-gone-wrong-with-my-tv/264943/2 "2004-09-21T02:20:36Z")
Your cathode ray focusing electromagnets are going away. It could have been a software problem but the ozone smell indicates a high voltage short. Good News: Ozone producing room air purifiers sell for hundreds of dollars. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-gone-wrong-with-my-tv/264943/3 "2004-09-21T02:25:57Z")
> [@DRBOB](#): > > Good News: Ozone producing room air purifiers sell for hundreds of dollars. 🆒 Wow. At the rate this thing is going, I should be bottling it and selling it on eBay. Actually, that’d probably…hmmm…brb… ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-gone-wrong-with-my-tv/264943/4 "2004-09-21T03:14:28Z")
> [@DRBOB](#): > > Good News: Ozone producing room air purifiers sell for hundreds of dollars. Umm, very much _Bad News_. Ozone is a poison. Great high up in the atmosphere blocking UVs. Dangerous in your bedroom. If any appliance is giving off that “just after a thunderstorm clean air smell,” unplug it and don’t use it until it’s fixed by a pro. There are _ionizers_ that are sold as crappy air purifiers, and poorly made/cared for ionizers will produce ozone. That’s a flaw not a feature. (But there are of course companies without any scruples at all, i.e., most of them, some of which do highlight ozone production.) ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-gone-wrong-with-my-tv/264943/5 "2004-09-21T04:31:27Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > …I _will_ take it apart, but purely because I want to, and for no other reason You’ll want to short the high voltage caps with a bleeding resistor. If this sentence made no sense to you or you have to ask why, PUT DOWN THE SCREWDRIVER AND BACK SLOWLY AWAY FROM THE TV. Generally I’m all for taking things apart and seeing what’s inside, it’s just that TVs and computer monitors (the CRT type) contain high voltage parts and charge storage components, the combination of which can be rather painful and sometimes lethal, even if the thing has been unplugged for a while. ---
**Author:** ![DRBOB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@DRBOB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRBOB)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-gone-wrong-with-my-tv/264943/6 "2004-09-21T04:39:17Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > You’ll want to short the high voltage caps with a bleeding resistor. If this sentence made no sense to you or you have to ask why, PUT DOWN THE SCREWDRIVER AND BACK SLOWLY AWAY FROM THE TV. > > Generally I’m all for taking things apart and seeing what’s inside, it’s just that TVs and computer monitors (the CRT type) contain high voltage parts and charge storage components, the combination of which can be rather painful and sometimes lethal, even if the thing has been unplugged for a while. Read “charged capacitors”. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2004, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-gone-wrong-with-my-tv/264943/7 "2004-09-21T06:03:02Z")
Everyone who has been bitten by a CRT second anode socket remembers the experience quite clearly. 😛