# What's wrong with my T.V.? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 20, 2001, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-t-v/77120 "2001-08-20T12:28:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![VanLandry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/eb9ed0/32.png) [@VanLandry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanLandry)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2001, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-t-v/77120/1 "2001-08-20T12:28:15Z")
During the brutal heat wave we had here in Boston last week, I was in my third floor 100+ degree apartment watching the Today Show when all of a sudden the power goes out in just about all of Brighton. That was ok, as I had big plans that day including the Patriots pre-season opener down in Foxboro. When I got home the next morning, the power was back on, but when I turned my television on, all I got was static and absolutely no sound. Then I realized that if I mute t.v., it comes in fine. Press mute again, static. What could possibly be wrong with it and is there anything I could do to fix it? I’m no electronics wizard, but I do have a decent set of tools including a sledgehammer and an Icepick. Any suggestions? Just a side note: I think the scrambled porn channel comes in a little bit better than before, so I may not even want to fix it. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2001, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-t-v/77120/2 "2001-08-20T13:13:53Z")
Housewife here with absolutely no electronics background. My WAG would be that when the power came back on, it surged, and fried your TVs innards somehow. This is why they tell you when the power goes out, to go around your house and turn off all your appliances that may have been running, so that when the power comes back on, it doesn’t do this. Did you shut the darkened TV off before you left for the game? At least it wasn’t your computer. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![VanLandry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/eb9ed0/32.png) [@VanLandry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VanLandry)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2001, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-t-v/77120/3 "2001-08-20T13:22:15Z")
I thought the same thing Duck Duck about the power surge, but it’s the type of t.v. that if the power goes out, or if you unplug it, it won’t “turn on” by simply reconnecting the power. You’d have to actually turn it on yourself. I’m wondering if had something to do with the fact that it was on when the power went out. It was the only t.v. on in the house at the time and it’s the only one that doesn’t work now. Coincidentally, There were four computers on at the time and they suffered no ill effects. ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2001, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-t-v/77120/4 "2001-08-20T13:48:33Z")
Right, it’s got instructions on its silicon chip–when the power goes out, the TV shuts off, the power comes back on, but you have to hit the TV’s button to make it come back on. But the thing about a power surge is that it’s a “surge”. It would surge through your TV’s innards, overwhelming any “shut yourself down and ignore it when the power comes back on” instructions on silicon chips, and just splashing around inside the box and zapping things at random. The TV wasn’t “Turned Off” with the button, it was just in “shut yourself down and ignore it when the power comes back on” mode, which my WAG would be is slightly different. Since it was the only TV that was turned on at the time, and was “left on”, so to speak, that sounds like it has something to do with it. And, are your computers all plugged in to Surge Protector strips? That would explain why they weren’t fried. And hey, I found a TV repair FAQ. See if any of it sounds like your TV. [http://www.anatekcorp.com/faq/archtv.htm](http://www.anatekcorp.com/faq/archtv.htm) Do a “Find on This Page” for “surge” and see how many other people have had their TVs fried. You are not alone. 😃 And there was this: > [@](#): > > The main problem with lightning & power surges is that they do damage to items that usually do not fail in normal operations. Not being cruel the sky is the limit, you may very well get the set operating to find out 3, 6, or 9 months from now other components failing because of the severe stress.