Samsung PN43D440A50 plasma TV

[radiotvnut]

OK, so I was asked to fix this 43" Samsung plasma TV from March, 2011 for a friend of a friend. Supposedly, it was working fine one day and not working the next. When tested, the relay clicks a bunch of times; but, nothing else happens. I unplugged the Y-sustain board (the one on the left) and I get the usual turn-on aural noises from the speaker when I turn on the set and I get the same noises when the set is turned off; but, nothing else. So, that tells me that this board has an issue. I'm having trouble seperating this board from the buffer board; but, I've determined that there are several loose capacitors that are not soldered very well to the board.

I was talking to a TV repair friend last night and he was telling me that there's a chance that the buffer board and the other sustain board may be bad. He added that the manufacturer recommended replacing all 3 boards at once and that was all fine and good as long as the TV was under warrantly; but, not so fine for an out of warranty set where the boards cost more than a new TV.

I told the guy upfront that if it was a simple fix; then, he might come out on top to fix it. However, if the repair involves replacing one or more boards; then, he might be better off getting a new TV. He said he paid around $400 for this set two years ago.

If I can get the Y-sustain board seperated from the buffer board without destroying anything, I'll resolder all the bad connections and see what happens. If that does not fix it, I'm probably going to bail out on it. I certainly don't want to get financially involved with this set, only to possibly have it come back to bite me in the butt.

When people ask why I won't buy a flatscreen TV, this is a big reason. You buy them, get a few years out of them (if you're lucky); and, they end up needing expensive repairs. With the old CRT sets, they can often be kept going for decades. I explained all this to the owner and I let him know that the days were over for getting a TV that would last for 15+ years.

[mstaton]

Look at those chips on the buffer board with a magnifying glass. I bet there is a hole in one of then indicating a bad/shorted chip. They generally take out the y-sus board and if you keep fiddling around with the bad Y board, then it takes out the Z-sus board. Seems only Samsungs(and makers that use those parts) do that. LG doesn't seem to have those issues with their Plasma's. You usually just repair(or replace) the board that's bad and your OK. No telling how many of those sets I junked for that very reason. It's very cost prohibitive to repair those cheapo Samsungs.

[radiotvnut]

After I resoldered all the very bad connections on the Y-sustain board, it still only clicks. The only difference is now it clicks with the Y-sustain board unplugged. Before, it had some audio with this board unplugged. So, I think I'm going to bail on it. In fact, I've already sent word to the owner that the TV isn't worth fixing. I don't know if he is going to pick it up or if he is going to leave it over here.

[walterbeers]

Get a salvaged Y sustain board on E-bay and give it a try. I repair an RCA Plasma which was also made by Samsung, and your pictures looks like the exact same set that I repaired. Replaced the sustain board and it came to life. Check for shorted transistors on that big black heat sink. I bet one or more of them are shorted.

[freakaftr8]

check to see if you are getting vs voltage coming from the power supply. It may be the power supply. It's a common issue in these new samsungs

[mstaton]

Unplug the Z-sus board and try to power up. if it comes up(sound only), then you have a bad Z-sus board also

[Findm-Keepm]

Originally Posted by freakaftr8

check to see if you are getting vs voltage coming from the power supply. It may be the power supply. It's a common issue in these new samsungs

Welcome back Shawn!!

Cheers,

[freakaftr8]

Thanks Brian!

Never really left, just really busy with family and work lately..

Been working on a lot of flat panels lately and took a break from my consoles, (or lets say they are taking a break from me). lol

Originally Posted by Findm-Keepm

Welcome back Shawn!!

Cheers,