Why does my plasma TV keep going black?

September 13, 2009 10:03 PM

Why does my RCA plasma TV keep going black for 5 seconds at a time, outta nowhere?

It's about 3 years old and has no other problems...it just all of a sudden (of course at the peak of the action!) turns off and turns back on. No discernible pattern, hooked up to all the modern conveniences. Can anybody help?

posted by flowerofhighrank to Technology (6 answers total)

The first thing I'd try is get an extension cord and route the power to another outlet. It could be a loose power connection or a bad wall socket that provides a bad connection. Test the wall outlet with a tester, if you have one (not for power but to make sure neutral is working right and not crisscrossed). Bend the power prongs outward very, very slightly to help them get a good connection in the socket. Also inspect the cord for damage. I say all this because external issues are more common and easier to diagnose. Internal TV troubles are invariably going to require a service call to get any real answers, and you'll be glad if it turns out to be something easy.
posted by crapmatic at 12:02 AM on September 14, 2009

Had the same problem with a regular, but almost brand new, TV. Plugged it into a different wall socket and the problem went away. But the socket meter-tested OK. Maybe some minor incompatibility between the plug and the socket?
posted by RichardS at 4:51 AM on September 14, 2009

Nthing the bad circuit/outlet. We had a similar problem years ago with the VCR. The TV and stereo were on the same dedicated line and gave us no trouble. The VCR went crazy randomly. After months of trying to figure it out, we put it on another line. The repair guy said most likely we'd been hit by lightning, which I don't understand as everything else worked just fine.
posted by x46 at 5:19 AM on September 14, 2009

Are you sure it's turning off and not switching to another input?
posted by dmd at 6:30 AM on September 14, 2009

You say turning off - but could it be losing signal? When I had satellite TV I had this problem. Occasionally the signal would disappear and then take several seconds to reappear.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 6:33 AM on September 14, 2009

Our cable tv will do this (always during my favorite shows or the last 10 seconds of a game...) It's signal drop out, because, you know, cable is soooo much better than broadcast /sarcasm...

Not much can be done if it IS cable. Does the tv go off if you're watching a dvd or tape as well? Then I would think cord, outlet, or power supply. Please get a nice surge suppressor (about $50 or less at Fry's), that may help if it's the outlet or power from the wall fluctuating!
posted by Jinx of the 2nd Law at 10:49 PM on September 14, 2009