[cazzasguy]

Hi all,

I bought a 36" CRT(model 36PW9618/05) off a guy on Ebay 18 months ago. He was a really sound guy so no complaints about him and I got a bargain, the set was in pristine condition and I paid £600 less than it was selling for in Dixons at the time. However after 18 months of perfect service, I came home from work last night to a disaster.

I switched the set on, immediately the blue power light appeared (which it normally doesnt) changed to red and the TV went into standby. When I pressed a button on the remote to bring it to life, the light changed to blue and started blinking. And that's it. All that happens. No picture of any kind on the screen, no sound, nothing.

I tried the good old tactic of unplugging the TV for 15 minutes but to no avail. Same thing over and over. After checking the troubleshooting section on the Philips website it seems as though they think users are imbeciles, its no use whatsoever. It doesn't even refer to the correct colour lights!

Please could anybody give me a hint as to what is wrong? If I can't fix it myself (pretty handy with a soldering iron and done several PC improvements) at least I can budget for the cost of repair. I've just gone through a messy separation from my former partner and badly need a bit of AV distraction right now.

Thanks a million in advance

[Chris Muriel]

Look up faults for your model or models based on the same chassis here :

http://www.avrepair.info/tips.htm

Chris Muriel, Manchester

18 months only? Did he sell you some "magic beans" too?

No seriously, joking aside, I would get a decent reputable tv repair man. Most will fix on site if they can incl the cost of the call out. Its prob not worth the time and energy to attempt it. I found reputable Tv repair men are usually honest videophiles.
Fixing computers is abc stuff whereas considering the cost of that tv its not worth screwing it up yourself after reading some DIY repair manual.

[cazzasguy]

I hear what you say, I'm just trying to organise my finances following a difficult period. I'm not one of those kn0bheads that love paying for services or products by credit cards/loans. The set has become unuseable overnight for no apparent reason so if it's a simple fault and I can sort it myself, why not? Also it will expand my scope of knowledge.

The thing that really irritates me is, why Philips and every other manufacturer make it so difficult for customers to understand why their products are malfunctioning. I mean, a certain sequence of flashing lights of a particular colour on my TV is clearly designed to convey the reason for failure but the companies ensure the matter is shrouded in the utmost mystery.

Ascertaining the current height of Mount Everest to the nearest millimetre is perfectly straightforward on the internet. Of course, there are no financial incentive in doing so. That's why these forums are so useful: you can learn things for no corporate benefit.

Thanks to the previous poster who provided a link to a great website.

That is such bad luck Cazzasguy. I feel for you as I have the same television, which is 16 months old, fortunately with a five year warranty.

Don't think I am insulting your intelligence by mentioning the obvious but I recently thought I had a faulty Sky+ box and bought another when it was just a dodgy connection. I presume you have looked at the troubleshooting page 25 in the manual but it is pretty basic isn't it.

As it's such a brilliant television (well, I think it is) it's worth getting it fixed by a very experienced tv repair man. It is a very complex tv with so many features that it may be complicated to repair, although not necessarily so. I will just mention (at the risk of you screaming at me!) that you haven't inadvertently pressed the key left of select button which selects the other connections, i.e. dvd, sat, amp, etc. I really think it is a fault as you mention it went straight to blue light when you switched the tv on, which is not normally the case.

You need some entertainment in your life right now and if the repair bill may be too large, perhaps you could rent a tv in the meantime, although I always feel that it is wasted money. Good luck to you.

Hi
Quote "I mean, a certain sequence of flashing lights of a particular colour on my TV is clearly designed to convey the reason for failure but the companies ensure the matter is shrouded in the utmost mystery."

Even knowing the fault codes, when the TV is in the workshop the TV engineer can take some hours to trace the fault. Faults can be very difficult to find even for a trained TV engineer.

Nigel

[cazzasguy]

Hi,

Thanks Cynthia for your kind comments and to everyone else who bothered to respond to my post, and I apologise if my reply to the initial advice seemed a little bolshie. I didn't mean it to seem that way! The TV breaking down at that particular time was just the last straw for me...

Well at least I have been put in touch with a reputable engineer who will be able to help, trouble is I might not be able to afford his bill for at least a month if it turns out to be a serious fault. It's a great set though when it's working so I will persevere with it.

It's just so irritating that a top of the range TV, used only 30 hours a week at most, can fail overnight for no apparent reason. It's not so long since it was being sold in Dixons/Currys for £1,699 (before the crash in CRT prices due to plasma, obviously).

I'll let you know how I get on. In the meantime I'll try and summon up the strength to retrieve a trusty 29" Sony of 1993 vintage from the spare room which is still functioning perfectly!!!!

Regards



Dave