Flip Flip Flip Damn I wanted to see that!

December 26, 2006 7:53 PM

Broken TVfilter? We have a Phillips TV which keeps turning itself off. A vicegrip and more are inside.

It powers up fine. And if I clamp a pliers to the remote so that it keeps flipping channels it's fine. As soon as I let it stop on a channel, it turns off.

While my attenion span is short. And my wife insists I am a terrible channel flipper. This is not a solution I can cope well with.

Any simple things I could try to fix it? I am not adverse to donning the rubber gloves and rubber shoes and having her dial 9-1- and waiting for a shocking noise if it's an easy repair.

posted by jeribus to technology (8 comments total)

Buy a new remote (or a universal)? If you are using pliers (!!) sounds like it is already damaged.

I had to have a conversation with my mom about this. If the buttons press hard to work, CHANGE THE BATTERIES.

I wish she would learn though, I've already bought 3 directtv remotes, and the 4th (last I bought) is on it's last legs.
posted by SirStan at 8:05 PM on December 26, 2006

This is a long shot: what happens if you remove the batteries from the remote? There's a slim chance that the remote is trying to send an 'off' message to the TV that's overridden by the flipping...
posted by toddshot at 8:07 PM on December 26, 2006

Yeah, I would guess remote as well, though it could be a stray signal being picked up by the TV. If you try the remove the batteries idea listed above and are still having problems, try locating the IR port on the TV and covering it with a bit of electrical tape. If that fixes it, look around for another remote or IR transmitter in the room that might be malfunctioning.
posted by quin at 8:34 PM on December 26, 2006

Nope and nope. Tried things with no remote (even removed the batteries). Still powers up. Still just shows a channel for around 4 seconds and then turns off. Sadness! Woe and misery!
posted by jeribus at 8:35 PM on December 26, 2006

What kind of "off" is it? Is it going to the normal standby mode or do you have to unplug and reset it or anything like that? If you set it to the Aux input so it displays a black screen, does it still shut off so quickly?
posted by cillit bang at 8:59 PM on December 26, 2006

FixYa for Philips: select the correct topic (Flat Panel TV, Portable TV, Projection TV, Standard TV, or TV Combos) and enter the model number and you should be able find a solution to your problem (as well as product manuals). When you Google "Philips TV on off problem" several links pop up - so this appears to be a fairly common problem with Philips TVs:(
posted by plokent at 1:01 AM on December 27, 2006

Sure it's not some neighborhood kid with one of those TV switch-off thingies?

Like this:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/electronic/755e/
posted by slater at 1:45 AM on December 27, 2006

Have you tried covering the IR receiver on the tv to make sure it's not getting an off signal from elsewhere?
posted by phearlez at 9:20 AM on December 27, 2006