Customer TV Repair Self Help
My TV stopped working, it has no picture or sound, is there anything I can do or check before having the TV serviced?
There are many possible reasons for a TV to lose both picture and sound. If one has a home theater installation; the more complicated the installation is, the greater the possibilities for losing sound and picture. The symptom “no picture or sound” could mean that the TV is “Dead”, no power at all, or it could mean that there is power but the signal has been lost; this condition is referred to as “no signal”.
Let’s first discuss the things to check for when working on a “Dead” set. The checklist below will be the same list that a qualified skilled TV technician from our company would check before he pulls the first tool out of his toolbox. CAUTION: before you start unplugging anything from your home video system, you should label all the wires corresponding to the input / output labels near the connectors, using masking tape and a thin magic marker or other suitable marking techniques!
1) “Dead” TV Set:
a) While the TV is still plugged into the AC outlet, press the power button on the TV, NOT the remote control. Does the TV “power on”? If so, try to power on the TV with the remote control. If it DOES NOT “power on” using the remote control, then it may be time to change batteries in the remote control. If the set does not “power on” by using the power button located on the TV set, then continue with the following troubleshooting technique:
Verify that the TV has AC power, at the wall receptacle where the TV plugs in. If your TV is plugged into a power strip, power conditioner, cable box etc. bypass that device and plug your TV directly into the wall outlet. This may seem unnecessary but you must verify that you have a functioning AC power outlet /source. A qualified TV technician may use a voltmeter but you can do the same check with another known good functioning device, for example, a lamp, clock radio, DVD player, VCR, stereo etc. Unplug the TV from the receptacle and plug in the known good device into the exact same receptacle where the TV was plugged into. Try and “power on” the substitute device, does it “power on”? If yes, then plug the TV back into the power receptacle and “power on” the TV, by using the sets power button located on the TV NOT by using the remote control.
Does the TV “power on”? If so, you MAY have fixed your problem. I say that you “MAY” have fixed it, because what you have done is reset the microprocessor inside of the TV set. Sometimes, microprocessors randomly “lock up” for no particular reason and have to be reset. If this is what caused your TV to “lock up” it may not happen again, and you will be good to go. Sometimes, microprocessors will “lock up” because of a defective component or circuit inside the TV set. If this is your situation, your TV will probably soon fail again, and you will need the services of one of our qualified TV technicians to repair the problem. The defective component could be something as inexpensive as a resistor or it could be a major circuit board. There is no way to definitively determine what is causing the problem, without having a qualified TV technician do a diagnosis on your TV. In any case, if your TV’s power was restored then re-hook up your system the way it was before you started this troubleshooting technique and see if it still functions. If it does, continue to use your TV. If it does not “power on”, then you may have a defective device that the TV is plugged into, replace that device and try again or permanently “bypass” that device. CAUTION, by “by passing” a component in the original system design, it may cause your system to function differently and or offer less protection in the event of power surges or electrical storms.
b) If you substituted the known good device as outlined above and “no power” on the substitute device was detected, then you need to investigate your homes electrical system. The first place to check is your home AC distribution panel also known as the “circuit breaker box” or “fuse box”. If you do not know how to check for “blown fuses” or “open circuit breaker” you should call a licensed electrician; otherwise locate and replace the “open fuse” or reset the “open circuit breaker”. If you do not see any “open fuses” or “open circuit breakers”, you should immediately call a licensed electrician, as a dangerous household wiring problem may exist in your home.
2) “No Signal” or loss of video and sound
a) “Power on” the TV set by using the sets power button located on the TV NOT by using the remote control. Is there any indication of “power on” such as a light or led that is lit on the TV? If not, go back to item # 1 above and follow the trouble shooting technique for a “dead set”. If there is a “power on” indication, then proceed with the following:
b) Usually there is one button labeled “Menu” or something similar, on the TV set. Although these buttons exist, they may have never been or seldomly used, because they are also duplicated on the remote control. The labeling of these buttons is sometimes very difficult to read and you may need a bright light to read them. After pressing the “menu” button it will display a “Menu” on the TV screen. Most TV sets have menu functions that can be controlled by using dual-purpose buttons on the TV such as “volume up”, “volume down”, or “channel up”, “channel down” buttons may allow the “cursor” on the screen to move from one menu selection to another. You want to try and locate a menu item labeled “input” or “source” or something similar. Select the “input / source” menu function by moving the cursor to this item and by pressing a button labeled “select” or “enter” or something similar. If you can not find an “enter” or “select” button, one of the other buttons may serve as a dual-purpose button for this function; you may have to resort to trial and error method to figure this out. If you are unable to figure this out, try and use the remote. But, first verify that the batteries are good. If you are still unsuccessful in selecting an “input” or “source”, it is time to call on a professional for help. Please call our office to schedule in-home service for your TV: 585-248-5510. If you were successful at selecting a “source” or “input” menu item then you will probably be presented with a list of source devices that your TV will accept, such as cable box, DVD, etc. It is also possible that you may be shown a list of “source / input” connections such as Component, HDMI etc. You need to determine which working “source” device you are trying to view and either select that “input” / “source” item from the list of devices or select the “source” / “input” connection. Now “power on” the source device that you are trying to view. Do you see a picture? If not, you may want to try a little more of the trial and error approach. If you are still unsuccessful, call our office and we will arrange for you to have your TV serviced by a professional qualified technician. If you now see a picture, you are well on the way to restoring your TV to working order. Next, you want to turn up the TV volume using the “volume up” button on the TV; do you hear the sound? If so, you may be “good to go” unless you discover that some other feature or input device does not work. In which case, you can try some more trial and error techniques or call our office to schedule service. If you do not hear any sound you will next need to find out how your source devices transfers its audio to the TV. You may need to look at the back of your source device and locate the connectors that are labeled “audio out”. Are there wires connected to these connectors? If so, “reseat” these wires by pushing them into the “audio out” connector of the source device. Did this restore audio to your TV? If the answer is yes, then you are “good to go”. If not, you may want to check the other end of these wires where they attach to the TV. Check and see if they are connected to the correct input connector “Audio In” which corresponds to the correct source device that is currently selected and showing a picture on the TV. If they are connected to the correct source device then “reseat” the plugs by pushing them into the “audio in” connectors located on the TV. Did that restore the audio? If not call our office to schedule service. If it did, then you are “good to go”. If the audio wires are not connected to the correct corresponding source device connectors, then locate the correct “audio input” connectors on the TV and connect the left and right audio wires to these “audio input” connectors. Did that restore the audio? If so you are “good to go”. If it did not, restore audio call our office to schedule service: 585-248-5510.
I hope this information is beneficial to you.