LG plasma 60PS11 HDTV - no video!

[Stealth3si]

My 2 year old LG plasma 60PS11 TV has no video but has sound and the menu button doesn't show the OSD on the screen. CS says either the panel or the circuit boards behind the TV need to be replaced.

I was the last one to use it and while I was waiting for a video file to load from a media box, I left the TV screen on for a few minutes too long, with no video or audio signal. And I think those are what caused the problem but I could be wrong.

What would cause a panel or circuitry board to no longer function?

After some thought, is there a solid basis to make the claim that a media box can do this, say for example, considering that static electricity can build up if they are placed too close to each other?

Now I'm not looking to blame others because I was the last to use it and more than likely I probably did something unknowingly to mess it up, but I am looking to find out whether or not the cause of the damage to the TV is internal or external or both.

 

[potzy81]

Are you getting the same symptoms on all of the tv inputs? Do you have a receiver that controls your video? Give me a rundown of how your system is setup.

 

[Stealth3si]

Same on all inputs. I have a receiver but it wasn't on at the time the problem happened. There was a COX cable box, an LG blu ray player and a WDTV Live. Only the WDTV live was in usage. Bluray and WDTV were connected Via HDMI directly to each HDMI port of the TV. Cable box was component. Receiver was composite.

 

[potzy81]

With no OSM or picture, your backlight inverter board is likely the culprit. Its sole purpose is to project video onto the screen. It could be the motherboard as well, but with audio working correctly, it is unlikely.

Leaving the TV on with no signal to it is not what caused this issue.

As for what caused the issues, could be several things.

Surge of power across any cables connected to tv, faulty boards, overheating, and the list goes on. You will never be able to prove that an individual device did this unless you can see a black burn mark around any of your inputs on the tv. If you had one of those though, I would highly doubt your tv would even turn on.

You are going to have to have it professionally repaired unless you are an EE

Good Luck!

 

[Stealth3si]

Yea you seem to have it quite down. How do you know this? Are you a professional? What kind of experience do you have?

Today an LG tech looked at it and said the panel is fine but the cost to fix the real problem may be somewhere around the $600 range even tho he did not give me an exact estimate. He also couldn't tell me which specific parts were bad or the precise cause of my particular issue without charging a $76 diagnostic fee, which I think includes the total estimate for labor and parts. So I asked him to come back later this week to see if they could arrange a concession for a free diagnostic, mainly because the tech person on the phone told me the other day it was free!

Anyway, I asked him some questions related to his professional experience and technical knowledge. I.e., he does 7 jobs a day and whatever the actual problem and cause I'm having with my TV (which he did not mention) isn't unusual for plasmas because they have had many thru the years that needed similar repairs because of their high wattage, unlike LCDs.

However, IIRC, he mentioned it's also rare for this to happen. Technically speaking then, how did this happen? Would it happen again? Should I fix it or scrap it and get an LCD instead?

So then, according to him, most likely the common causes of these things has to do more with something inside the TV. What specific parts? I have no clue, except for the what you said.

 

[potzy81]

I personally am not a tv technician. I am a custom home theater installer/designer and have experience with many types of tv's. We had a customer return an LG plasma tv to us with the same issues. He is correct in saying that plasma tv's have a higher wattage than LCD. If you can have a free diagnosis done, then I would definitely go for it. In my experience though, it ended up being the backlight inverter board, and the tv was returned to the manufacturer. Personally, I would replace the tv. You dont want to pay $600 to fix a tv, and then have it go bad again in a year. Just my two cents.

 

[Stealth3si]

Best answer selected by Stealth3si.