Repairing a Samsung TV
November 22, 2012 6:42 PM   Subscribe

I have a broken Samsung TV and want to know if there is a cheap way to fix it or creative way to use it.

My parents' 32" Samsung 720p LED TV recently stopped working. Despite receiving power, it failed to power on. The LED light which would normally show that it is in standby mode wouldn't even come on.

They took it to a repair place which examined it and determined that both the logic and power boards would need to be replaced in the TV. This would cost more than replacing the TV with a brand new one, so they decided not to take that avenue.

It seems a shame to throw away something like this, and so I wonder if anyone can provide some advice on how I might approach fixing this myself. Or, something creative I can do with the old tv (which presumably has a perfectly functional screen in it).

I'm not particularly convinced that both the power and logic boards need to be replaced despite what the repair place said. I had hoped that it was an issue with a capacitor and I could simply replace that one part myself for very cheap (apparently the case with some other Samsung TVs), though I didn't see any obvious problem with any of the capacitors on the power board. I would spend the money to replace the power board (about $80 or so) if I was reasonably sure that was all that needed to be done; however, I'm not really sure how I would approach determining whether the repair people are right and that the logic board also needs to be replaced.

The model number is UN32C4000.
posted by jamincan to Technology (8 answers total)
 
Google for "Samsung UN32C4000 type:pdf service repair" and look for service manuals.
posted by Wild_Eep at 7:01 PM on November 22, 2012


My roommate had a similar TV with a similar issue. I bought the caps and did the repair just to see if it would work, given the low cost (like $12).

Works like a charm now. This is what I got: http://www.hobbymods.com/Samsung%20tv%20power%20up%20problem%20relay%20clicking.htm
posted by weaponsgradecarp at 7:35 PM on November 22, 2012


If the repair place said both boards needed replacing, it could well be that power supply board failed in such a way as to fry the logic board, or that a power surge or lightning strike busted both. I've seen that happen with PC power supplies and mobos. So by all means try your cheap repair on the power board if you're competent to do that, but don't hope for too much.

I'm not really sure how I would approach determining whether the repair people are right and that the logic board also needs to be replaced.

I expect that the way that they did it was temporarily splicing in a known working power supply.
posted by flabdablet at 7:41 PM on November 22, 2012


I would definitely open it up and look for bulged capacitors. If they are bulged, changing them couldn't hurt. If they aren't, chances are good it will not be worth it to fix.
posted by gjc at 8:57 PM on November 22, 2012


Response by poster: Thanks for the feedback. I already opened it up to look at the capacitors and didn't find anything wrong. The problem also seems to be different from what others have experienced (ie. there is no sign at all that it is trying to turn on; it seems like it isn't plugged in at all (though we have verified that it is receiving power). I'm betting right now that it is not something I'll be able to fix on my own for cheap without a lot of luck, so I'm afraid it will probably just end up in the dump. :-/
posted by jamincan at 4:22 AM on November 23, 2012


Did you see if there was a fuse on the tv? A lot of tvs have a glass fuse by the power plug on the board. A lot of the time you can just replace the fuse.
posted by majortom1981 at 7:58 AM on November 23, 2012


Before you dump it, do google the product name & the problem you have. Chances are, many others have had the same problem and there is a definite fix.
posted by thermonuclear.jive.turkey at 9:59 AM on November 23, 2012


i changed the caps on my 47" samsung that had the same issues - it took me 30 minutes and about $6 in parts. there are a bunch of youtube videos on how to do this - search samsung power issues
posted by Country Dick Montana at 9:04 PM on November 23, 2012


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