Toshiba 19" TV : worth repairing?
jsmith99
Posts: 20,382 Forum Member
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The TV in the spare bedroom has stopped working. Admittedly, it hasn't been used since Xmas, but when our daughter switched it on tonight it wouldn't come out of standby.
The light on the front goes through about 16 red to green cycles, then goes black for a couple of seconds, The set ignores anything you do with the remote, or the switch on the side. I've tried changing the remote batteries, but that has no effect.
To be honest, few of our visitors watch the TV, and if one wanted to then they could use an iPad.
It's a flat screen 19"; given that the set cost about £120 three or four years ago, is there any point in taking it to be repaired? Or could it be something simple?
The light on the front goes through about 16 red to green cycles, then goes black for a couple of seconds, The set ignores anything you do with the remote, or the switch on the side. I've tried changing the remote batteries, but that has no effect.
To be honest, few of our visitors watch the TV, and if one wanted to then they could use an iPad.
It's a flat screen 19"; given that the set cost about £120 three or four years ago, is there any point in taking it to be repaired? Or could it be something simple?
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DIY repair............ Worth a shot, but there's a couple of caveats. 1) It's not fixable by pressing buttons otherwise you'd have already found a solution online. So this means it's going to involve a soldering iron and replacing components. 2) Even if you replace some suspect parts there's still no guarantee the set will work again. The problem could be more complicated.
A common fault with TVs and lots of other electronic goods is failed capacitors. They're often under-specced for the job and in many cases you'll find that cheaper brands have been used to keep costs down, but that also affects reliability as you have found out too. Replacing the existing 85 deg C capacitors with 105 deg C versions isn't a difficult task if you know how to solder properly. If you're upgrading too then go for the next higher voltage rating but keep the capacitance rating (μF / uF / microFarad) the same value.
The caps' you'll be dealing with will be mostly the eletrolytic type, and they'll look like little tin cans with a couple of connection leads poking out of the base. Decent brands that are readily available include Rubycon and Panasonic. Prices vary with capacity (uF) and voltage, but in the main each cap will cost a few tens of pence.
You don't have to replace all of them inside the TV either. Look up "Capacitor bulge" for a quick lesson in spotting the more obvious signs of failure. You should also consider replacing those caps near to heat sinks. If you have the tools then repairing a TV with new caps could cost well under £5 in parts.
?????
Only if you do your repairs with a can of petrol and a box of matches
For the OP, a VERY, VERY common failure on the cheap Vestel sets is S/C failure of the secondary rectifiers (due to a serious design failing). This is a cheap and easy repair, assuming that's all it is?.
After a lot of googling, I came across one method I'll try:
http://www.justanswer.co.uk/tv-repair/8eq5g-toshiba-tv-wont-turn-on-standby-light-flashing-red.html
the TV is currently going through the hour+ without power.
As I said earlier, the TV gets so little use that I'm not going to bother replacing it.
On a slightly more serious note, if people didn't push their own boundaries every once in a while then no-one would learn anything. Gaining new knowledge and skills is part of life, and one has to accept a modicum or reasonable risk.
The more likely result of cocking up replacing electrolytic capacitors is getting the + and - connections the wrong way round. Converting the telly into a model of Cape Canaveral as the cans of the caps take off like miniature rockets
Biggest danger from that is leaning over the board as they do so which could turn painful...
If you want to learn about electronic repairs, there are plenty of books like this:
http://www.the-cool-book-shop.co.uk/electronics.htm#repair
To learn about capacitors, see http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/low_ESR_capacitors.htm
There's also lots of YouTube videos.
If you want to cut your losses, sell it on eBay for "spares or repair". Someone will be happy to buy it for £20, fix it for a fiver and sell it for £80.
I'll put it out, in its box, for the bin men tomorrow. If they don't take it, I'll put it on Freegle.
"They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance!" last words of General John Sedgwick at the battle of Spotsylvania
Think this set will be a UMC rather than a Vestel.
Will it?, I've not seen any Toshiba's other than Vestel ones.
I've seen plenty