After 6 months of faultless operation my Sony Bravia KDL-37EX403 has decided it wants to start buzzing at me after 15 minutes. The noise is there when the TV is first switched on but you have to be 1-2 inches from it to hear it. However after 15 minutes the noise increases quite dramatically and can be heard around the house. Picture is fine just this irritating buzz. Engineers are hear this afternoon to look at it and no doubt take it away for repair.

Anybody have any experience of this and know what cct is failing?

This kind of thing is usually caused by a ferrite transformer or core vibrating in the power supply. Apart from stripping the set and going around it with a 'listening tube' to find the source, there isn't much you can do.

As suggested, it may be a mechanical buzz - if you mute the sound does it cure it?.

If it's an obvious mechanical problem, it may be possible to easily cure it using glue or sealant - otherwise it will be a board replacement.

No the sound is there when the TV is muted.

I suspect and am anticipating a board replacement as well. It just means having to revert to a portable for a few days whilst it's taken away for repair. That'll be fun.

I was going to purchase this Sony 37" model myself but having read the REVOOS section on many of the discount websites a good deal of purchasers say the same....an annoying buzzing sound on the set after a short time of purchase!!!
Pity as it appears a really stunning tv!!
Maybe the 40" instead.

Engineers have been and agreed its faulty and taken it away for repair.

Appears to be a common problem then. Think I'll speak to the engineer looking at it on Monday and ask him if that's the case and whether Sony have a revised board or repair procedure that'll permanently correct the problem.

Despite the fault the TV when working is just about perfect for me. I love the DLNA side of it.

Which is what I would have thought, such noses are normally mechanical in nature.

What's the full model number?, I'll see if there's a technical bulletin about it - although I must say I've not heard of any sich problems, or had any sets doing it recently.


Presumably it's not been repaired by where you bought it?, who would normally lend you a set if it had to be taken away.

EDIT:

Just noticed you mentioned the full number in the first post.

There is a technical bulletin, it says to change the inverter board.

Thanks for the info Nigel.

I bought the set online and I'd never consider calling them if I can organise a warranty repair with an authorised repair centre myself. Never thought to ask for a replacement TV in the meantime but I might ask about that if I'm told on Monday it's going to be more than a week for the repair.

Assuming they collected it today, and order the part today, it should arrive on Tuesday (assuming it's in stock of course). If they fit it Tuesday, they could deliver it back later on Tuesday, or Wednesday.

Obviously it depends how busy they are, and what else they have booked - but that's what we would 'usually' do.

TV was returned yesterday morning at 8.37am with a replaced inverter board as per technical bulletin. It's totally silent.

Faultless service, exactly what you want when things go wrong.

The part must have arrived on Monday then - they come via DHL, flown in from Belgium.

Pretty decent service, would have been faster as well except for the weekend in the way.

Glad it is back Prontopro!!! Seems a common fault as other have stated!! Is Sony doing anything about it????

A previous post by Nigel already states that Sony are well aware of the problem and have a new inverter board that is to be fitted.

I would have thought that current production units already have this installed. As for the earlier unsold ones that are already in stock in shops that have not had the upgraded board, I'd imagine they're repaired as when the customer complains. In exactly the same way I did. What the customer now needs to be aware of is that the fault is a recognised inherent manufacturing fault and as such should be repaired free of charge even if they complain about it well after the warranty period has ended.

Oh dear, my Sony Bravia KDL-37EX403 bought a month ago is now buzzing loudly after 30 minutes or so after switching on.

I have two choices

1. get John Lewis to replace the set and stand the chance of the replacement being the same.

2. have the inverter boiard replaced - could this be done in-situ avoiiding the hassle of boxing up and collection/return.

I'm amazed at Sony's poor QA - this is not the Sony of old!

Probably so.


It depends on the actual repair agent - certainly it would be more cost effective for them to order the board first, then fit it when they come. Meaning just one visit rather than two.

It becomes a bit more difficult when you're dealing with a retailer with no service facilities though.


The inverter board is part of the LCD panel, which (probably) isn't made by Sony anyway - but as it's been fine for a month, how do you expect quality control to pick it up during manufacture?.

Once out in the field something has started to give problems, and a replacement board issued for it. Looks like pretty decent service to me?.

Nigel

If the poster above has bought a new Sony 37" and it is knackered after ONLY 1 month then I feel he has every right to make a comment about Sony quality - most of us plebs don't know who makes every single item within a set!!! All we know it is SONY which has always stood for quality. Havifng had a Sony LCD for over 4 years with not a jot of trouble I would always go for Sony.

Gush, tell us how John Lewis coped with the problem? this will be helpful to me, as I am looking at their five year warranty, which is tipping my scales against Comets one year. I also had a problem with a Panasonic after three weeks, but sent it back to Amazon & got a refund,I too forgot about the 28 day rule,Panasonic service help line advised me well on this. I too have the horror of mail order for a TV and if it goes wrong but don't have a Sony Sales dealer local now. I have no interest in buying from Tessie Cohen or Currys my only local option.

JO

Hi Pronto,

Apologies for resurrecting this thread, but I think I have the same problem with mine. It's been like it since purchase, but I notice it more these days. How loud was the buzzing sound? Mine is bearable in the daytime, but watching a movie in the evening when there is no ambient noise around, you can clearly hear this noise over the audio.

Once fixed, if you were to turn the tv in and out of standby would you experience any noise from the tv? Mine is silent in standby, but the second you turn it on, you can hear an electrical hum coming from the board inside the tv - Is this normal or should it be silent?

The reason I ask, is that mine has already gone back to Sony (5 year warranty), and came back saying that there was nothing wrong with it - They updated the firmware and put some anti-vibration stuff around the speakers, and it made no difference at all.

I mentioned this thread when I arranged the repair, but was told that this was not the issue.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Is you're the exact same model as this thread refers to?

Also does the buzzing stop when you mute the sound?.

Your set won't have 'gone back to Sony', it will have gone to a local service agent - were you not able to demonstrate the problem when they collected it?.

I don't think you will get much response from the OP as they have not posted since Nov 2011.

Nigel Goodwin may be able to offer some help and I'm pretty sure they'll reply once they've read your post.

Edit: looks as if they already have.

Hi Nigel, Thanks for the reply - Yep, its the exact same model.

Also, the buzzing isn't affected by muting the sound. I wasn't in when they collected it, but my wife said that they commented that they couldn't see (or hear!) what the problem was.

Thanks