Failed Cases Of Two SONY LED TVs
Every now and then we do have to face failures in our attempts to save a device and here are two cases that incidentally came one after the other. Both TVs were attempted for restoration by some unknown techies and I came to know about this only after opening and seeing the condition and confirming from the customers. The customers never tell you this when bringing and though I had made it a practice to ask them, I normally get evasive replies like ‘The TV was given by someone; It belongs to my relatives; It was lying unused for a long time and I do not remember etc.’ I am sharing this only for those who might have interest in seeing the insides of these two world famous brand TVs and what all we can do before we give up!
1) KD-43X7000F : This was brought by a new customer, though known to me because of the steel rails he fixed in my house to help my wife who was recovering from a stroke. The display was having a lot of horizontal lines with no picture but sound ok. He asked me to look into and check whether it could be fixed economically, as he did not want to go for a change of panel at exorbitant rates which did not also give any warranty. Let us have a look of this TV:
As you can see from the second picture above, it had a T-Con board with two strips going to the panel. On inspection, I found that paper piece was inserted in one strip to mask a few tracks:
This is a regular trick we, technicians do in these types of TVs when one side of the panel gets short. The advantage is that instead of cutting the tracks, we have to just mask the CKV lines like this, upon which the picture would be normal. So, I realized that an attempt had already been made by some technician and that was not revealed to me. I called up the customer, who confirmed that it was done by someone long back and again the same problem has come and further that that techie had gone out of India taking up job abroad. So, I just checked the condition of the panel by removing the strips one by one and following was the result:
Evidently, the panel had developed shorts on both sides and there was nothing I could do in this case except a panel replacement, which the customer could not afford. So, I fit the TV back and returned it to the customer stating the actual situation and shared the pictures and videos to him. Though he offered to pay my charges, I declined to accept any just for the sake of building a customer relationship for future possible returns.
2) KDL49W800F : This was brought by a new customer, once again fully known to us as he was a doctor who attended to my wife. The complaint was once again (pardon this once again coming once again!(LOL) lines in the panel. Let us have a look at pictures before proceeding further:
Please don’t mistake my reflection image in the second picture above as from a video! (LOL) Let us have a look at the inside of this TV:
First of all I checked all the important voltages like VGL, VGH, VCom, AVDD and VCC, which were found to be normal. So, the T-con board was healthy and alive. Then removed one side strip and checked like how I did in case (1) above. As I suspected some other techie working on the set before from the strain marks on the screws, fittings and LVDs cables, I called up the customer and asked him. In came his reply that this was used by his son in his room and was lying unused for a very long time in his absence and he was not aware of any such invasion into the TV before! Well, I got cornered and I decided to do what best I could and contacted my techie friends.
One person suggested removing a few CKV resistors from the scaler board, for which I had to dig further into the TV metal frames. Let us have a look at these spots on the scaler board:
There were eight zero ohms resistors, six of which were that of CKV 1 to CKV6. I removed all the resistors as that was easier and joined the other two which were not CKV. How did I identify it? You can see a white arrow going to the left to a white bordered block. It was marked there. But even then there was no positive result.
Then I decided to connect a U11 Board using a full HD LVDS cable with special connectors, which I had to order out. The original LVDS cable had 51 pins, but we need only 29 pins to be connected:
Then I reinstated all the removed joints and connected the cable to the T-con. Then I got a blue screen without any display, indicating that definitely panel was short on both sides.
Then I packed the TV and informed the customer sharing the progressive pictures and videos, upon which he offered to pay my charges and asked me to retain the TV to recover cost of service by salvaging whatever I could. As a reciprocal gesture, I told him that I would be carrying the TV to a long distance place where we were planning to have a short technician’s interactive study meet and one more attempt would be made by panel experts there, failing which I would try disposing it off for recovery of my costs, which he readily agreed. I did take it to the experts, who checked it up as a part of study material (like doctors use dead bodies to learn!) and confirmed that only panel replacement was the solution. By the way, I forgot to mention that the customer was not willing for a change of panel, as he had a TV for himself and his son was away and might not require it spending so much money. So, in a way, his was a smart way of scrap disposing the TV via media with a final attempt to save it if it could be done. Well, I admired his cleverness and appreciated it! Did I have any other choice! Anyhow, one of the experts took the TV and offered a price that would cover my expenses!
Now, coming to the conclusion of this article, missions failed but satisfaction of one’s best done got qualified to get entry to the collection bag!
A series of strange co-incidences: (1) Both customers were new to avail my services but were connected with my family in one way or other (2) Both were Sony TVs though the sizes were different (3) Both came one after the other (4) Both had same type of panel problems (5) The internal structure of both were same (6) Both offered to pay for futile attempts made (7) Both TVs were previously attended to by unknown techies (8) Both came to our known circle because of my wife’s illness (9) Both TVs had panel shorts on both sides – Well, that’s all that I could think as of now!
(LOL)
Our technical life is full of such varying amusements and we have to enjoy each and every opportunity that falls in front of us! We might gain money in some, lose it in some, but the knowledge and experience we acquired would never go from us until the eternal rest!
This article was prepared for you by Parasuraman Subramanian from India. He is 74 years old and has more than 30 years’ experience in handling antique equipment like Valve Radio, Amps, Reel Tape Recorders and currently studying latest tech-classes conducted by Kerala State Electronics Technicians’ Association. He has done graduation in BBA degree, private diploma in Radio Engineering and retired as MD of a USA company. Presently working as Consultant to Hospital and other institutions.
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20 Comments
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Tree
September 20, 2025 at 10:29 am
Good job sir.
Parasuraman S
September 20, 2025 at 7:10 pm
Many thanks!
Waleed Rishmawi
September 20, 2025 at 2:53 pm
yea, as technicians we go through that alot. in my shop when customer brings a TV set I usually powers on the tv while he awaits and then find out the details about what the TV has gone though...and if I find out that the customer was not honost with me I charge him estimate fees and I make him sign a paper for that...I made up a paper for that with a help of a lawyer and since then I am using it on a regular bases... thanks for sharing my friend and always enjoy reading your articles. have a blessed day
Parasuraman S
September 20, 2025 at 7:12 pm
Yes, one of the reasons why I decided not to open a shop was to avoid such customers! I do not like to create unpleasantness especially with unknown customers! Now I have very decent customers with occasional strays here and there, but within tolerable limits. Many thanks for your inputs and comments, dear friend!
Yogesh Panchal
September 20, 2025 at 2:56 pm
Good Job!Sir,
There are many reasons for repair failure, but we always learn something new with every repair attempt.
Parasuraman S
September 20, 2025 at 7:13 pm
Yes, actually we learn more when we fail and the lessons remain in the memory! Many thanks!
trebel
September 20, 2025 at 4:29 pm
Thank you for all your hard work.
Thank you kindly.
Good tutorial.
Cheers m8.
Parasuraman S
September 20, 2025 at 7:13 pm
Many thanks!
Albert van Bemmelen
September 20, 2025 at 7:40 pm
Older Sony TV sets are known for having lcd panel problems. Even one of my friends who bought a brandnew Sony TV in the past phoned me up in the same week after he bought it when his screen showed annoying vertical stripes all of a sudden. And it is general knowledge that it took Sony time to adapt from Triniton crt televisions to manufacture good LCD sets. The best thing about Triniton crt tubes was that they were cilindrical tubes and so they had not the problems that spherical tubes had in solving existing deflection errors.
Sadly this repair only strengthens me in my thoughts not to take on LCD television repair as a good hobby.
The knowledge and experience you no doubt again acquired here therefore will not help my present view on this dear Parasuraman.
And I already have seen online the coming television of the future that is not only flexible and unbreakable but also completely in 3D with holographic view.
And that new technology is already available at very affordable prices like here:
About you mentioning your wife's illness, knowing your devotion and passion for life and patience in restoring all things that matter I know she undoubtedly is in good hands!
Parasuraman S
September 20, 2025 at 11:58 pm
Many, many thanks, dear Albert for your involved expert comments and the concerns expressed! Yes, Sony had their own way of designings and remain unmatched. The problem with LCD Tv manufacturers is that they all depend on a few selected sources for the panels. Let us have hope the advancement in technology would bring a solace to the customers, though it might affect us very much!
Mark
September 20, 2025 at 8:15 pm
It's not a failure when the repair outweighs the value of the item.
Parasuraman S
September 20, 2025 at 11:59 pm
Many thanks, dear Mark!
Philip
September 20, 2025 at 9:20 pm
I think you didnt ignore to inspect scalar board components as a problem there can cause an almost if not exact, panel problem. Apart from heat I think something in a regulating voltage or current circuit is failing to carry out its duty to the designed expectation and hence causing a surplus voltage or current flow that ends up causing a short circuit in the panel. And, the IC that monitors screen voltage or current could be sleepy, or isnt seeing correct feedback, in which case the replacing panel will be shown the door sooner rather than later. Most friends and relatives come to us when the other techinician is no longer of help in one way or another. They ask for a quick fixing. Their never-ending phone calls or visits enquiring about repair progress become annoying, and so agitating is their sticking around as if to oversee the repair. But,sir,your dispay of composure to commence a repair surounded by lies is inspiratinal.For most techs,it would have turned to,back to sender situation
Parasuraman S
September 21, 2025 at 12:03 am
Many, many thanks, dear Philip for your analytical comments and feed backs. All possibilities of failure due to other than panel were looked into by my expert techie friends. For me I value in fetching relationships and maintaining them to the best of extent possible. Every customer at our door is a seed of new relationship and it should blossom to give its fragrance and we should do all that we can do to nurish it to that stage!
Mark J
September 21, 2025 at 7:45 am
Parasuraman you are right about the knowledge and experience acquired that will last a life time. Once again thank you for sharing.
Parasuraman S
September 21, 2025 at 4:11 pm
Yes, dear Mark! Thanks!
Daniel
September 22, 2025 at 2:46 pm
Thanks a lot sir for sharing, actually it wasn't a futile attempt as I know but resentment by the customer (s) to generate fund for dead parts (panel) replacement probably the closeness of buying a complete set becomes present when both prices are compared! Many thanks, Daniel Amadike from Obrikom Rivers State, Nigeria.
Parasuraman S
September 22, 2025 at 3:04 pm
Yes, very true! Many thanks for your involved comments!
Philip
September 23, 2025 at 9:25 pm
Sir, we article readers should be the ones thanking you and many others for your passionate commitments in delving in complex and tiring repairs but still squiz time in your busy working schedules to prepair lessons-filled articles. All these must be so so exhausting ! For me to ultimately send a reply, I may spend hours owing to interruptions from here and there. A child student may insist that there is some information to be sought from the internet while doing homework, using the very phone I'm busy with. For some reason someone decides that we should have a long phone call conversation. Or, a long forgotten customer appears and insists I look for his or her dusty irrepairable radio, that needs dusting first. In such like interruptions I may press the wrong button and that takes me back to square one, think what to write all over again. By any measure of comparison, I'm far less busy than you are but nonetheless find writing a whole lot tasky. Dear readers write. Writing on, I surely shall ! Thanks MrYong
Parasuraman S
September 24, 2025 at 5:04 pm
Many thanks once again for your wonderful comments packed with facts of life!
To put it in a nutshell, all of us are interlocked with each other on something or other; some are visible, known and we are aware, but many are unkown to us. All the things in the world are contributing something or other to its existence and the life here. We, humanbeings, who consider ourselves as special, are also a part of that system. Our duty is to share, share and share as much as possible with brotheren in this world, irrespective of where we all dwell! When we realise this and do our duty diligently, the pressure turns to be a pleasure and that is what keeps us going!