So it started a couple of days ago, I went to switch on my three-and-a-bit year old Samsung TV and nothing happened.

There was a slight hiss like a cooling fan running for a couple of seconds then stopping and the light on the front flashed a couple of times then the hiss stopped and the light went solid again (which it normally is in standby). Then a moment later the hiss started again and the light flashed again, like it was trying to switch on again, even though I hadn't pressed the button on the remote a second time - it was like it was stuck in some sort of loop, trying and failing to switch on.
This carried on a few times before I pulled the plug and left it about 5-10 minutes.

When I plugged it back in, the same thing happened - even without me pressing anything on the remote.
A couple of minutes later, having had no luck pressing anything on the remote, I was trying to work out what to do when the TV burst into life. I switched it on and off and everything seemed to be fine so I figured it was just a glitch.


Later that day, I came back to the room the TV's in to find it switched on. I was sure I'd switched it off but I figured I'd been mistaken.
Later again that evening, the same thing. Like before, I was sure I'd switched it off only this time I was a bit more suspicious as I doubted I'd've inadvertently left it on twice in one day, especially given the coincidental timing with the other issue.

Then yesterday, I woke up to find the TV had once again switched itself on and this time I knew for a fact it wasn't me but the rest of the day it seemed to be fine, so I figured I'd wait and see how it behaved - at least it was switching on, better that than not switching on.


Finally this morning, I woke up to find that it had obviously tried to switch on again overnight and failed and was in the same hissing/flashing loop as before. But I had to go to work, so I pulled the plug and forgot about it.
After getting home this evening, I plugged the TV back in and immediately it was back into the same loop, trying and failing to switch on with the faint hissing noise starting and stopping in time.


I left it for over an hour, no change. Tried pressing and holding the power button on the remote, nothing. Quickly flipping the mains on and off again, nope.
Anything else anyone else can suggest? Or is it a goner?

I would not be at all surprised to find that the power supply is on it's way out. I am sure I have seen threads on DS mentioning dodgy capacitors in Samsung power supplies before now.

If it is the power supply capacitors then there is a chance that replacing them with new more reliable versions may revive the TV. Whether or not that is a DIY job or not is another matter of course.

Someone else on another forum also strongly suggested it was the power supply.
Thank you for the advice.


edit: hang on, so the shoddy capacitors are part of the power supply?
So instead of buying a whole new power supply, replacement capacitors could do the trick.

But if you are not sure about the power capacity of your TV don't try to change anything before you know for sure. It might be a smarter choice to have the guy come over to have a look.

If the power supply capacitors ARE dodgy then replacing them could indeed fix the problem. It is a likely cause but might not be the only one or the one causing your problems.

However it is often fairly easy to spot a dodgy electrolytic capacitor as the top should be either flat or very slightly concave. A dodgy one will have a bulging top and there may also be signs of fluid leaking from the base. A really dodgy one will have blown it's guts all over the inside of the telly, and believe me it is amazing how much stuff comes out of even the smallest cap!

But if you do not know one end of a screwdriver from the other and have never handled a soldering iron I would caution very strongly against a DIY repair. If you put an electrolytic capacitor in the wrong way round and turn the power on it can turn into a missile. It quite literally blows apart and the can can cause you damage if you are silly enough to be bending over it at the time. And yes I have seen it happen enough times to stand well back when testing a repair I've made

Dodgy Samsung capacitors are legendary in the tv trade.

And in spite of this being regularly and widely discussed on the internet, people still think of Samsung as a "quality" brand.

Strange. If any other make had the same failure rate, people are quick to say they are rubbish, so why don't people form the same opinion of Samsung?

I believe I have the same model of Samsung TV (I'm at work now, so can't check) and I had a similar problem, which turned out to be the capacitors.

It's a known problem to Samsung and they will replace them for free.

Here's the link I posted about my problem at the time: http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showt...383&highlight=

Thank you all for the further replies.

I have contacted Samsung but have yet to hear back from them one way or the other.
I sent an e-mail but may call them next week if I haven't had a reply by then.

In the mean time, I've been pricing up DIY solutions - £10 gets me a set of replacement capacitors, ~£30 gets me a replacement PSU.
Whilst I'm handy enough with a soldering iron that replacing them myself probably wouldn't be an issue, I'd be inclined to pay the extra for the peace of mind of there being less chance of me screwing up and in some way making things worse.

That said, there is a third possibility I believe.
If it is the capacitors, then the TV was inherently faulty when sold and it was simply a matter of time before a problem occurred. Therefore, even if it's out of warranty, the Sale of Goods Act should still cover me and I may be able to get the retailer to deal with it.
I'd prefer not to have to go down that route as I imagine it'd be more hassle than it's worth but I guess it's good to keep my options open.

Interestingly enough my Samsung TV has also just started to play up which I suspect is a capacitor problem. In my case the TV randomly switches itself off and then back on again. It sometimes happens frequently but sometimes it behaves itself all day. My TV is LE40M87BDX and is just over 5 years old.
I think I'll take the back off this weekend to have a look. I'll probably try a DIY repair before eyeing up a new TV.

In case anyone else is having a capacitor power supply problem, Samsung are repairing this fault under warranty if it's one of the known problem models. You have to call their customer service. They will go through the script of swapping power sockets and swapping power leads before sending an engineer out. Have your serial number handy.

Mine just got taken away for repair today.

Why oh why are so many quality brands of products let down by poor quality capacitors in power supplies. You would think lessons would be learnt. Satelite receivers from wayback such as Pace PRD 800 and 900. Most notorious the Thomson Sky HD+ box.

My 6 series Samsung (bought April 2008) started having problems switching on as described in this thread today. I phoned Samsung support on 01932454358 and described the symptoms. The lady agreed to arrange a free in home repair and promised that this would happen within 7 days. Received a call 2 hours later from a repair firm - they are calling tomorrow between 9am and 1pm. Great service from Samsung