maybe some hassle to you but in dealing with a multinational corporation, that is to be unexpected.

Gee...I thought we could expect more from a big multinational corporation. I thought they would have enougn money and prestige to catch such GLARING problems. And when I say problems I'm talking about more than thier most notible shutoffs problem. There is some faint vertical line problem...DVI Input limitations...soft picture..etc etc. Need I go on?

Nobody asked you to buy the set when it was first introduced, you know you HAD to have it and you knew the risks involved with a new version.

Does Panasonic not advertise? I thought I saw a few around Christmas...hmmm. And what risks were we told about?? Were we told our Plasmas would shut off like the store model does?

Now you scream there's a problem with a small and yes it is SMALL number of early consumer and industrial Panny ED's and you'd think your very Constitutional rights had been violated.


Where do you get your SMALL number from?? Do you have some hidden numbers we dont know about? It's like when I see numerous stores have OFF 42PA20's and my friend has one as well and when NUMEROUS people on the net are showing all the same problem and telling about stores models being out as well....well I think you better do some more homework because you're being SERIOUSLY mislead.

TWizard gave you the skinny on the problem, that is now fixed, and many of you bash him as well....I find that sad and petty.

TWizard hasnt answered all questions on this thread. He doesnt work for the Consumer Version (42PA20) but just for the Commercial branch. Also he is not a high level Panny engineer or Big Wig but just a cog of sorts in the Panny machine. He doesnt know what Panny plans to do after the warranty period ends...he doesnt know the actual failure rate of this model Plasma...He doesnt know the actual hours it takes for a Panny to fail. He gives as much information as the higher ups and his particular division allow. He means well but Panasonic customers need much more information from Panny higher ups and engineers "in the know" about EXACTLY what is going on and what are the intended solutions.

Originally posted by elvisdoc


Wrong. This is a new version incorporating many features not seen prior in earlier models. You bought the first release of this new version and it had a bug...this happens in cars, software, and many other products...BTW, that makes you an 'early adopter'.

Ummm...you make it sound like we're buying a First Generation Prototype Plasma or something. I mean Panasonic hasnt perfected keeping thier plasmas on until thier frouth month of production?? WOW they really are "Pioneers" of the Plasma world. I guess we should feel blessed the Pannys are in color too!

Originally posted by elvisdoc

Most posts state repairs performed in a timely fashion...many times in home. 4-6 weeks is the exception, definitely not the norm.

There is no "norm" because each person deals in different areas of the country and are dealing with different repair technicians. In some areas of the country there are an overload of Panasonic repairs needed and more waiting is necessary. Other people live in rural areas and may need to ship it out. Also all repair technicians are not equal...They have different levels of knowlege and some dont have the parts on hand and have to order out.

Originally posted by elvisdoc

Have followed this issue from the beginning. Main reason I waited to get a Sept build instead of 'early adopting' was the shut-down issue...another plus of reading this board.

So you've been the very first of this long saga to hear about a Panasonic shutoffs problem? Well lucky you but I dont feel we should have to rely on luck when puchasing a Panny Plasma. We're buying plasma not trying for a lucky streak in Las Vegas....or having luck finding this avsforum board thread. I mean it would be nice for Panasonic to step up in a major way and acknowlege the problem for the world to see instead of keeping thousands of customers and stores literally IN THE DARK.


Originally posted by elvisdoc

Actually, free out of warranty repairs are not really expected in any consumer device but from what TWizard and others have posted, I do see solid evidence that Panny will handle it in a most satisfactory fashion for affected sets. They really have no reason not to, as they want repeat business and this is a known issue for early units.

You're just guessing as to what Panasonic does and their thinking. I mean it seems to me like they just wanted to bury this problem since there is so little information released by them about it.

Originally posted by elvisdoc

So lets stick to facts and not hysterics, huh, stef?

He wasnt acting hysterical but more annoyed and disappointed over Panasonics handling of this problem. But in reality if people did act a little hysterical it would seem justified considering the cost and expectations of a Panny plasma. When a plasma continually shuts itself off and the consumer isnt getting answers from salespeople/stores/corporation then it does lead to some grief and concern.

ElvisDoc considering you've heard about this problem from the very beginning its surprising how little you know about it all.

Funny how poster after poster states the problem was taken care of and now they are happy again. AS I SAID, not to belittle a PITA situation, but I do think some are getting carried away with bashing and personal insults. Hey, vent all ya want. Obviously, you are pissed. I would be too. But some of the comments on this thread fall to name calling and innuendo more worthy of a schoolyard.

Hope those that actually have the problem get it resolved. Those that don't, call a rep and get satisfaction. But slamming people, such as T. Wizard, that are trying to help you is not justified.


elvis

I'd like to know how many of us bought units on line just to save a buck. Not like buying from a bm store down the street where you can take it back the day it broke and letting them deal with it. Panisonic is no different than any other big company. Sometimes you get lucky and talk to somebody that can help you.
These complaints are no worse that trying to get a truck or car warantty issue solved. And you are dealing with a service rep face to face that is suposed to know what they are doing. I have had trucks that took months to resolve problems. I had 40000 dollar trucks tied up for weeks and I am the type of person that will drive a dealership to court unless I am satisfied. In short Panny is no different than anybody else.
My plasma was purshased at a shady NY dealer at a great savings. I knew I took a risk, not only with the dealer but also the 6uy. There is no reason to get BS's about warranty work. If one person doesn't help you you find another. Pick up the phone and call every tv repair service in your area. I bet you'd be suprised how many can actually help you out. It also helps if your attitude is good, I catch a lot more flies using honey!:O)

Originally posted by elvisdoc
...Your plasmas were fixed at no expense to yourselves and for most, in an expedited fashion... Not so for those of us with the industrial/broadcast version, TH-42PWD6UY. I am being asked at my expense, to ship it to L.A. or take it 75 miles to Sacramento. That's 300 miles total for 2 trips. At least Panasonic should furnish the transportation in this case, but they refuse.

Originally posted by hiker
That's 300 miles total for 2 trips. At least Panasonic should furnish the transportation in this case, but they refuse.
I have read in more places than one that if you take it to a Panasonic Service Center, they will ship it back to you at no charge.

Originally posted by Maurice2
I have read in more places than one that if you take it to a Panasonic Service Center, they will ship it back to you at no charge. Thanks but the nearest Panasonic service center is 400 miles (one-way) away in L.A.

Back in August I posted about a sports bar/restaurant near me that has 10 42PA20s for viewing games. The build dates on all of them were obviously in the June-Aug period. I talked to a manager there last night to see if they had had the shutdown issue on any of them. He said that 2 of the 10 had the shutdown issue and had been replaced. These sets are on quite a few hours everyday. All of their sets were purchased at the same time from 1 vendor. I found this somewhat encouraging based on the sample size. Of course, 20% failures isn't good, but it wouldn't have surprised me if 8 of the 10 had failed.

Hi! I'm just another owner of 42PWD6UY (bought in Sep.03) with the shut-down bug. Can anybody recommend a service center in Philadelphia area familiar with the problem, so I don't have to go through the explanation process. I will try to pay them extra for the in-home replacement. Thanks for your help in advance. Regards.

Hey, maril555 - you're in Techniwizard's region so your main concern may be only the in-home service attempt. My servicer claimed he liked to run them for a couple of hours after repair to be sure the problem was fixed, and needed $65/hour with a minimum charge. His best technicians also stay close to the bench. :rolleyes: So I got the message he would let me burn big $$ and risk that there were other problems, or cart it in and have it back in 4 to 18 hours.

Since he called me when he had the part, it was a snap - apart from removing and replacing the 6UY on the Peerless arm, which I would have needed to do for in-home anyway. Glad I didn't buy that 50" now!

Hi, PIFFLE! How do I get in touch with TWizard? Thank you for the response. Regards.

maril555,

I'm not PIFFLE but I'll try to help. Techniwizard does check in on this thread from time to time and I believe Techniwizard posted his email previously in this thread.
Hint on searching the thread:
Click on Show Printable Version at the bottom of the page.
Then in next page click on Show all xxx posts from this thread on one page
Then <ctrl>f (or whatever your browser uses for "Find in this page") and enter "Techniwizard" to search for all of his posts.

maril555 you have a PM

The weather may delay us in the morning but I suspect we'll be in by 10.

T Wiz

Well fortunatly my plasma (TH-42PA20) has not yet had the shutdown issue (July build) but I am getting more and more worried. I just checked the service locator on the panasonic website, put in my zip (59718) and it showed ZERO service centers witihin 3000 miles - that cant be right can it? So what happens if I have this problem and there is nobody to come do my in home service? I hope just because I live in MT that doesnt mean Im SOL with my warrantee...

And another one bites the dust.:mad:


I just got the high pitch whining and then 7 red flashes. I'm a member of the 42PA20U shutdown club now.

I'm calling Panasonic tomorrow and will keep everyone up to date on how timely my problem is resolved.

tmoth,

The servicer locator doesn't seem to working for me either. It was working last week so it must be broken. Here's the link I'm using
http://www.pasc.panasonic.com/WhereTo/FindServicer.asp?Pass=1

Give Panasonic a call 800-524-1448

That should be 800-211-PANA (consumer #) 800-211-7262

xxxx1448 is for Broadcast.

I'm starting to feel like I'm on death row. I've got a June build TH-42PA20 with 1,500 hours on it. Tick...tick...

Originally posted by Arnie D
I'm starting to feel like I'm on death row. I've got a June build TH-42PA20 with 1,500 hours on it. Tick...tick...

Hey Arnie, Stop that! (I have a june build also, but please don't buy any trouble) and don't worry it only affects a small percentage of units overall.

Techniwizard- The panny phone number (800-211-Pana) currently asks for your zip code, confirms it, and then hangs up on you. Alternately, it asks you to hold for general help and then hangs up on you. Nice start!

The website lists service centers, most of which don't know about the problem, refuse to travel the 17 or so miles, refuse to fix it in home, and won't let you talk to a tech only an admin because "the techs are too busy". Those that are willing to read the service bulletin to learn about the problem, state that the part is backordered indefinitely.

Great customer service on the part of Panasonic! Really glad they value customers who are laying down $3K+ on a tv.

I've spoken with the place I purchased it at in the hopes they were a repair center, and low and behold they are. They're hopefully going to be able to get the part and come out to fix it in the next week. We'll see.

Originally posted by Arnie D
I'm starting to feel like I'm on death row. I've got a June build TH-42PA20 with 1,500 hours on it. Tick...tick...


Dead plasma walking...errr....working!


sorry, couldn't resist...

elvis

Panasonic phone system sucks. I've had the same problem as NickChicago.

But the good news is that the Panasonic web site is working again, it was broken yesterday. http://www.pasc.panasonic.com/WhereTo/FindServicer.asp?Pass=1

ok good, now that the service locator is back up it shows a servicer 2 miles from my house. That puts me at ease a little...

Sorry guys, I dunno what's up with the website or the consumer #.

I'll try to forward your posts but the weather here is the pits lately.

Hey Tech,
Panny or somebody should give you a raise! :O) Thanks for having a good attitude and for sharing your knowledge. BTW That weather is due here Thursday!

Guys,

My service appt has been moved up to today. Will let you know. I'm in Hoboken, NJ. I'm crossing my fingers.


Boist

Originally posted by hovbuild
Hey Tech,
Panny or somebody should give you a raise! :O) Thanks for having a good attitude and for sharing your knowledge.
I'll second that. You've taken some heat here TW (from me included) and you still keep coming back to help people out and provide us with info that we wouldn't otherwise have and provide at least the sense that someone in Panasonic is listening.

Jim

I'll settle for an aisle seat on the next coast to coast flight with a cocktail or two.

Honestly, aside from the troubles some of you have had, this is really a good product line as can be seen from the incredible demand for this item.
Thanks to all here and the many, many customers making this thing a success.

While not trying to make excuses, some of the support has been outsourced as some of you may have found out. This seems to be the corporate bean counting soulution for the new millenium. From an engineering point of view, how can a more or less disinterested third party be as familiar with the intimate working of products that they may never have seen much less worked with.

That outsourcing cuts costs (read in house man-power) is a fact. That lower tech level folks can man a help desk with some kind of symptom cure flow chart and hope to provide service as good as actual "fix it" people remains to be seen. (Now climbing down from soap box)

T. Wiz

Originally posted by hiker
Thanks but the nearest Panasonic service center is 400 miles (one-way) away in L.A.

Can't you take it to an independent service center? There are two in the SF Bay Area (Oakland, Mountain View)

Bill
Just bught a 42PHD6UY yesterday.

Thanks, I could take it to Mtn View but 2 round trips is still 224 miles and I would have to go thru the city of S.F. and it would take at least as long. None of the industrial warranty servicers will even travel to my house to fix even if I pay extra. The other option I'm considering is just to pay the $165 to a consumer servicer and get in fixed in home. I'm really worried about breaking it when loading or while in transit.

I just want to update everybody on my situation (42PWD6UY shut-down, what else). First of all, thanks to this forum and especially to TWIZ. I posted on Sunday, got response from TWIZ the same day with the tel.# and the address of an independent service provider in my area ( Philadelphia).
Called them Monday morning. Sure, they were familiar with the problem. Asked the guy if it's possible to arrange for in-home service (remember , mine is commercial model with no provisions for the in-home service in the warranty). The guy says: " Sure, will cost you $75, BTW I have an opening this afternoon". So, out they go to my place while I'm at work, fix the thing on the spot, I come home in the evening, the TV is on the stand, working perfectly. Simply amazing- that's how it should be done always ( dream- on). Anyway, many thanks to TWIZ, AVS forum, and , of course, the Philadelphia service center. I only regret that I wasn't at home at the time to tip the guys, my babysitter just didn't have cash. Regards.

Ok. As you know, my th42pa20 shut down on weds, 1/21. I called Panasonic and they were useless. They couldn't even find the model # in their system. The service rep was very rude as well. So, on my own, I had to find the name of a service center in my area. I used the Panny website for this and found one. Called them Wednesday and they came on Tuesday morning. Guy was aware of the problem and fixed it in my apartment in less than 30 minutes. Said he's fixed more than a handful already in my area with the same problem. It's been on for over 4 hours now and no problems yet. Looks like a success. I'm in Hoboken, NJ. If anyone in northern NJ needs a service center for their Panny, let me know.

Boist

Good to hear we're having some happy endings.

my saga is complete.

So, in summary,

Display shutdown for first time last Sunday (June build with about 1,000 hours). Repair shops were for the most part unaware, but could read about the problem in the Panny bulletin and knew what part they needed. Most said they could order it. Luckily the place that I bought mine from also does warranty service. They had a few of the necessary parts in stock and came out to do the replacement this afternoon (they could have come earlier, but I didn't want to have to take time off from work to be home). The key here is to make sure the servicer is aware of the exact problem and the part needed and that it can/should be done in-home.

The guy came into my place, stated that he had done more of these replacements than he can remember (he said “at least 20” and that’s only one retailer, albeit a large retailer). He helped pull the set down from the wall, which was a pain. Then he removed the back and had the faulty part removed and the replacement re-soldered within about 5 minutes. Helped put it back up on the wall (I tipped him $ for this, as I felt it was above and beyond).

Needless to say, all is working fine as of a few hours. He said that after all the replacements he’s made, he hasn’t had a single call from someone saying the problem returned.

He and I both assume that this is just about inevitable for Jun-Aug sets sold. The numbers are simply too overwhelming.

I think for those of you who were like me up until a week ago (hoping it doesn’t happen and/or worrying it will happen out of warranty), I’d go ahead and call for the service. Say it’s happening and they’ll quickly do the fix. It’s certainly not the most moral thing to do, but then again, it’s not very moral of Panasonic to let people spend $3K+ on a set and then leave them floundering without a recall or even a letter saying “here’s what you do should this problem occur” when you know they are aware of how widespread the problem is. Just my $0.02.

Finally, thanks so very much to everyone on this forum (especially Techniwizard). Without the community saying ‘here’s what the problem is and here’s what servicers should doing to fix it,’ this would have been much worse of an endeavor.

Does a service bulletin there describes the probelem exist for the TH-42PWD6UY? If so is there an ID number or is a copy available?

I'm sure it does. At the servicers I called, I simply told them to look for a bulletin regarding displays shutting down with 7 blinking lights. They all were able to find it.

Nick, glad to hear your saga is over. Many years of trouble free viewing to you. Your suggestion, while not completely honest, could be considered preemptive action, therefore in keeping with current political thinking...I like it....but the French here may disagree. :D


elvis

Nick,

Thanks. Glad to hear you also had a happy ending.

Don't know if I'd agree about "...all will fail...". Seems like the peak is past as most Jun-Aug units are approaching 6 months of age. We still see some coming in for service, seems to be running 2-3%. I know it sounds like they are dropping like flies but I guess we just don't hear about the happy folks. Like Nixon's silent majority it seems.

One common theme seems to be the addition of some new input device. The PDP would now have its inputs switched more often and that seems to wake the sleeping beast (if the fault is going to occur). Not encouraging anyone to sit there switching inputs all day but it is something to watch for.

Techniwizard

Does hot swapping excaerbate the situation or is it both cold and hot?

We haven't duplicated in the lab. I'm only going from field reports that seem to share this common scenario.

I think it does not make a difference if it is hot or cold swap

I have a 42PWD6UY which is shutting down.

I use all inputs ( RGB , Component, Composite and S-video).
What I notice, is that shutdown occurs:
1) on the Switch of inputs
2) in the composite and S-video mode by just switching the SD cable channels.
I took out S-video connection, but composite shuts down just as often.

On the DVD or Satellite ( Dish 811 ) through Component and RGB I have not seen as much of the problem.

Dimitry

Well, after many moons of crossing my fingers and hoping for the best, I've now been bit as well by this bug. I received my display in August, and probably have 1500-2000 hours or so on it (haven't actually verified via service menu, though). First shutdown was about 2 weeks ago, then 1 week ago, and now twice over the past weekend. Needless to say, I'm in the process of trying to arrange service.

Dimitry's post encouraged me to share something I thought was interesting... so far the shutdown has occurred at exactly the moment a command was issued to my SA8000 cable box via remote... this could be either changing channels, or using the transport controls for the DVR functionality. At this point I'm trying to convince my wife to just pick a channel, any channel, and stay with it... :) The time bomb of eventual total failure has begun ticking...

So far while calling local servicers I've run into the problem that everyone wants to pull the plasma into their shop for the repair. While I've had offers to wait to pull it until the part comes in, I can't get anyone to commit to a one-day turnaround, and I've been told that there are several Panasonic service bulletins mentioning different parts for replacement associated with blinking power lights, so I might even have trouble just getting them to order a part and swap it when it comes in. In my case, I'm actually seeing 6 blinking lights separated by a solid light - not sure if this amounts to the 7 blinking lights that most are reporting.

It's frustrating to me since this should be a no-brainer... Panasonic knows that this issue is occurring, and the service bulletin specifies that the IC be replaced rather than the entire module, so the servicers want to do the soldering work in the shop rather than replace the entire module, which would be the right thing to do from a customer service standpoint. I'm not really blaming the servicers, since they don't want to jeopardize their "authorized" status, but at this point I think Panasonic needs to fix their customers as well as the display.

Can anyone offer any advice as to the best approach towards convincing a servicer to replace the module in-home, rather than the IC in-shop? Apart from everything else, I really don't want to add any more risk to the situation by moving the display from my home...

Thanks for all the details provided by everyone so far, it definitely feels better when one is not alone in one's frustration...

Descolada

Has anyone in Mpls dealt with Tech Center in Bloomington on this shutdown issue? I am interested to find out how your experience was with them.

Thanks,

Gary

Descolada - Sorry to hear about your plasma. I ran into the same problem with my 42PA20 and the local service center. I had to commit to in-shop service before they even agreed to order the part. Luckly it ended up being the same day service, once they got the part. Still, I was very skeptical of having them transport my plasma, but they seemed very knowledgeable.

My plasma has been working great since they replaced the IC. In counting blinking LED you need to count "OFF" pulses. If you have any problem with the service center please PM me and I will give you the part number of the IC that is needing replacement for a 5 or 7 blinking power LED shut-down issue.

If you read your consumer unit in-home warranty card you will notice that the use of "in-home" repairs/diagnostics contains wording that pretty much leaves it open to the service center to decide if they are willing to fix it in your home or at their shop. While some don't mind soldering in your home, most will probably want to do this in their shop. What you may be able to do is convince your servicer to remove and take only the power supply board. It would make more sense for them to do this then to remove entire plasma from your home.

Please keep us posted...Hope you get your plasma repaired soon.

Two schools of thought on the on-site repair issue.

1.) If the power supply module is exchanged, you need to recheck all of the voltages (as they may vary from one unit to another) to see that they are in spec. Tolerances are +/- 1 vdc for most. However, the PIX calibration is done on the assembly line AFTER the power supply is set-up. Swapping modules can possibly cause need for a major realignment.

2.) Usually, no realignment is necessary after replacing only the IC. But, this PCB (and most PCBs for that matter) are multi layer, dual sided. While it can be desoldered on the kitchen table using normal hand tools, this can lead to damaged foil traces of the actual printed circuit and carbonized board material which may lead to future failures. Modern service facilities use various "hot air" vacuum type desoldering systems to minimize board and component damage. Such tools are not easily transported for field use.

Each approach has good points and bad. Conservative shops don't want to risk turning a small repair into a major one by attempting PCB work on-site. Others may keep modern desoldering gear in all their service vehicles and can send out bench qualified techs on-site.

Either way, there should be no charge (consumer has in-home, broadcast does not) to the end-user and hopefully the work will be performed ASAP for all parties concerned.

Thanks, Techniwizard... appreciate this information. It serves as a reminder that swapping a PCB is not as straightforward as it might seem, even for those of us who wish it to be so... :)

I guess I can resign myself to the possibility of an in-shop repair, as long as there wouldn't be any unnecessary delays... I'm hearing now that some shops want to see the failure before they replace any parts, which I can understand the logic for in general, but I'd really like to avoid waiting for the set to die completely... we've already gotten rid of the old set that this one replaced... :)

Stef1,

Thanks for your feedback as well... I have one or two more shops to call, but it sounds like if I want this fixed, I'll have to pull the plasma down off the wall and let them take it in...

By the way, I'd greatly appreciate it if anyone able to recommend a particular servicer in the Austin area could send me a quick PM...

Thanks,
Descolada

my servicer had no problem pulling out a standard soldering gun and doing it in my living room, as he claimed to have done many times before.

It sounds like a preference of the servicer, but for the consumer model owners, I'd be pissed if they came and took it away for what it easily a 5 minute repair.

Sorry, forgot to ask something else in my last post... does anyone have the actual service bulletin number for the bulletin that Panasonic sent out regarding this shutdown issue? I read back through the thread and didn't see it noted... I'm hoping this might help the servicers decide to go ahead and order a part before the display dies all the way...

Thanks!

I know of no "publicly" acknowledged service bulletin although Twiz commented in his previous post that this "known shut down issue" information is available internally within Panasonic service channels.

My service center was not aware of this issue at first, but I told them to call their Panasonic tech contact and request the information.

I got my new 42PA20U last week and it was DOA (Dead on Arrival) with this problem. I took it back to the retailer for a replacement and the new unit has been operating fine for ~1 week. I didn't record the manufacturing date of the bad unit, but the replacement I got has a manufacturing date of Dec 2003.

Questions:

Based on the experiences of this forum, am I on risk of running into this issue with my new unit?

Has this issue been recognized by Panasonic? Any web links?

Your December 2003 unit should be fine. This issue only effects units with the manufacturer built date from June 03 to August 03.

Chances are that your DOA unit fell into this built date range. Many reported seeing 42PA20 store units with shut down problems.

Panasonic is addressing this problem via warranty repair replacement of IC component on the power supply. I am not aware of any web links that point to official Panasonic service bulletin information.

This forum is by far the best source for the information re: shut down issue and Techniwizard who is unofficially here from Panasonic commercial plasma group contributes a great deal to this thread.

Walter, if yours was truly DOA and never did run that seems to be a different problem than what has been discussed here. You should be fine with a unit built in December and have no worries.

Originally posted by JimSD
Walter, if yours was truly DOA and never did run that seems to be a different problem than what has been discussed here. You should be fine with a unit built in December and have no worries.

Actually, I think that there is some similarity. My 1st unit (that I exchanged) would turn on and operate for ~30 secs and shut-down with flashing LED. Then, it would not turn on again until I unplugged the AC cord.

Walter,

Sounds strangely familiar. If the LEDs were blinking 5 or 7 times, that was it and it is good that you had it replaced anyway.

T. Wiz

No reports of any problems with units manufactured Sept 03 and later.

elvis

So, I'm close to selecting a local servicer in an attempt to address my shutdown issue before the display dies completely, and I thought I'd check in for feedback on something before I set up a service call with a request to swap out the IC specified for this issue...

My experience, which mirrors that alluded to in several posts here, is that the shutdown only occurs after sending a remote command to my cable box - changing channels, pausing or rewinding a recorded program from the DVR, etc. There is clearly a direct connection here, as I've never had my display shut down completely on its own.

With the symptoms that are well-documented for this particular issue (7 blinking lights, need to reseat power cable before the display will come back on, high-pitched whine when turning the display back on), is there any chance at all that the IC on the regulator PCB is the part that will fix the problem? I'm getting some push-back from a couple of servicers that there could be other root causes for the same symptoms, and I'd just like a warm fuzzy before inisisting that one part and one part only (well, 2 if you count the module as well as the IC itself) should be replaced...

Thanks in advance,
Descolada

My experience was similar in that any "remote command" would trigger shutdown but I also had shutdown while simply watching the unit. It may be that if you left the plasma on long enough it would, infact, shutdown on it's own.

Mark

Des,

It is 95% certain that if your unit is July-August 2003 production and shutsdown whereby a power On/Off resets, there is a problem with IC 551 on the power supply PCB. This is replaced with Pana part # C5HABZZ00123 which is readily available now through the parts ordering system.

I feel safe in stating the actual part number now because there are thousands available. This quantity is based on an industry standard seven year parts retention program, NOT based on any expected mass failure so don't misread the above into any "panic" conclusions.

There is always an outside chance that there is some other problem so yes, the servicers to whom you may have spoken are merely protecting themselves. Just have them try IC 551 first, and if that's not the problem, let them find out what is.

Ideally, they may have a complete PS module that can be easily swapped for testing purposes.

Whatever is wrong, it should be under warranty if within the one year period.

TW

I had my 6UY repaired on Wed., in the Techniwizard's facility in NJ. Repair experience was good, brought the Plasma in at 10am and got a call at 1pm that it is fixed and ready for pick up. So far so good.

Dimitry

Dimitry,

BTW,

Your unit only had 171 hours use, August production. It was almost brand new. Calibration was right on so you should be OK for a long time.

Enjoy. T. Wiz


Ooops edit lag 971 hrs

T. Wiz and Mark,

Thanks for the feedback... I think I feel comfortable enough to go ahead and schedule the service, and I'll ask that they replace IC 551 or its module first, and hope for the best.

T. Wiz,

I really appreciate your sharing the replacement part number, I'll be much more confident that they can get my display fixed with the first shot. Thanks as well for your continuing contributions to this thread and this forum... I know you hear it all the time, but it bears frequent and sincere repeating... :)

Descolada

Originally posted by Techniwizard
Des,

It is 95% certain that if your unit is July-August 2003 production and shutsdown whereby a power On/Off resets, there is a problem with IC 551 on the power supply PCB. This is replaced with Pana part # C5HABZZ00123 which is readily available now through the parts ordering system.

I feel safe in stating the actual part number now because there are thousands available. This quantity is based on an industry standard seven year parts retention program, NOT based on any expected mass failure so don't misread the above into any "panic" conclusions.

Whatever is wrong, it should be under warranty if within the one year period.

TW

If this were to be an out-of-warranty situation, what is the cost of this repair?

Des, (and ALL)

Thanks for the kind words. Now if I can leave some print-out on the V.P.'s desk.....

Jason,

The part is quoted on our web-site @ $16.53 plus the labor costs. Shop time should be around 2 hours. On-site charges may vary depending on the servicer. P. Broadcast in-shop labor is currently $130 per hour so this type of repair would run $276.53 or so.

Originally posted by Techniwizard
Des, (and ALL)

Thanks for the kind words. Now if I can leave some print-out on the V.P.'s desk.....

Jason,

The part is quoted on our web-site @ $16.53 plus the labor costs. Shop time should be around 2 hours. On-site charges may vary depending on the servicer. P. Broadcast in-shop labor is currently $130 per hour so this type of repair would run $276.53 or so.

Damn! Always with the labor! OK, so if this happens 3 years down the road, the part would still be available? Or should any of us "nervous" ones pick one up and put it in the closet?

Jason,

The seven year retention is some legality requiring manufactures to maintain a supply of parts needed to repair their products for a minimum of 7 years. This does not include printed circiut boards and cosmetic parts.

However, this IC falls into that category so we'll have it for at least seven years and maybe longer if it gets used in any newer products.

The bottom line ? I think you are safe, but you are free to purchase this part and leave it in the china closet for use by some future servicer if you need that level of security.

The ride from Phillipsburg to Secaucus is not too bad anyway.

Techniwizard,

171 hours in 4 month?
I am very surprised about the hours of operation. I watch it for only couple of hours a day, but I thought that my kids watch it all the time.

Dimitry

Originally posted by Techniwizard
Jason,

The seven year retention is some legality requiring manufactures to maintain a supply of parts needed to repair their products for a minimum of 7 years. This does not include printed circiut boards and cosmetic parts.

However, this IC falls into that category so we'll have it for at least seven years and maybe longer if it gets used in any newer products.

The bottom line ? I think you are safe, but you are free to purchase this part and leave it in the china closet for use by some future servicer if you need that level of security.

The ride from Phillipsburg to Secaucus is not too bad anyway.

Thanks! That does make me feel more comfortable. Part of my paranoia (I know you'll call it that!) is the uncertainty of 1) the cost if out of warranty and 2) availability of parts. I am completly comfortable with what you have said. I still think Panasonic needs to have a MUCH better knowledge base, because to me, a company that does not know what is going on with it's products is lacking in customer service.

But, I am still thrilled with my set! That was never in question...

T. Wiz,

Just got off the phone with an extremely helpful and accomodating servicer, who said he's going to go ahead and order the part, and try his best to make the repair in-home, which I am of course EXTREMELY excited about. Service scheduled for Wednesday...

Had a brief scare when he told me that while checking for availability of the replacement part it was showing as backordered ("Doh!"), but when he called and spoke to someone on the phone, they said they had just gotten a huge shipment in, and that my part was on its way ("Woo-hoo!").

So thanks again for the timely information, and for sharing it here... just let me know which VP to send the letter to!

Happily awaiting service,
Descolada

Des,

I may wait until I'm up for promotion <GGG>

Yes, we did get a boat load of the ICs so there should be no backorders.

Let us know how it works out.

TWizard,
Do you know if there is a way to access the luminance range in the Service Menu of the PA2OU? Thanks for any input.

elvis

Well, my 1st edition 42PWD6UY just had it's first whine-click-flash*7 yesterday, and I hoped it was a fluke, but today it happened with a 5* flash. Which brought me here (thanks for the 800 # Techniwizard, they are going to call me back tomorrow AM) and I'm faced with the issue that being from MA I'm hundreds of miles from a local repair center. Major bummer if I have to ship this.

But whats equally as depressing was what greeted me when I went to get Lisaj's info, since I know what a great reputation she had, just to see they are no more. Oh well, at least it made it long enough to watch my boys win XXXVIII...

btw, 1453 hours

Tom M

I believe we now have an authorized service center in Mass.

The Pana website now lists all ASCs inadditio to the Factory service centers.

If needed, send an e-mail to BoettgerR@us.Panasonic.com and I'll forward your info to the right place.

For the newbies, please only msgs that are directly service related.

Use 800 524 1448 for tech questions.

The veterans here already know this, sorry to keep playing the same song.

ElvisDoc,

I know that the consumer service menu is different but that's about it.
1024 gray scale steps in VGA and 2048 steps in DVI as I recall. These are hardware dictated and cannot be changed as I recall.

Yup, there's a Independent Servicer Center in MA:

DAVE'S RADIO & TV = 44 Front Street - Ashland - MA 01721 - (508) 881-1731

Originally posted by Gx35
Yup, there's a Independent Servicer Center in MA:

DAVE'S RADIO & TV = 44 Front Street - Ashland - MA 01721 - (508) 881-1731

Hmmm, 3 miles, I don't know, that's pretty far... :-)
Thats a relief, the Panny rep at the 800 # couldn't find anything within 200 miles, although he said he wasn't the regular guy, and I would get a call this morning.

I hope I can swing a house call, although it could be worse, it could be my 375 lb projection set that nearly killed the movers getting it in the basement. That things never leaving in one piece.

Thanks Techniwizard and Gx35,
TomM

3 miles away, and they want $150 extra to come to the house, that's great. Not to mention the fact that when I tried to explain that I wanted to be certain they had the part for the problem he starts to tell me it's the fans, and when I gave him the part # that is suspected he quickly says that's from the 5 series power supply, and my 6 series doesn't have that diode problem. Grrrr....

Now I have to find a way to get my set to this place and stare at an empty wall for days while they do whatever.

It must be nice to be the only game in town for several hundred miles. How about you send me the part and I'll put it in myself?

then again....

" 1.) If the power supply module is exchanged, you need to recheck all of the voltages (as they may vary from one unit to another) to see that they are in spec. Tolerances are +/- 1 vdc for most. However, the PIX calibration is done on the assembly line AFTER the power supply is set-up. Swapping modules can possibly cause need for a major realignment.

2.) Usually, no realignment is necessary after replacing only the IC. But, this PCB (and most PCBs for that matter) are multi layer, dual sided. While it can be desoldered on the kitchen table using normal hand tools, this can lead to damaged foil traces of the actual printed circuit and carbonized board material which may lead to future failures. Modern service facilities use various "hot air" vacuum type desoldering systems to minimize board and component damage. Such tools are not easily transported for field use."

Send me your phone # and a good time to call.

Don't PM I hardly check

Use BoettgerR@us.panasonic.com

Hey "D" (Descolada), Sorry to hear of your PDP troubles. I remember we both received our units about the same time last August and oh how excited we were. As you might have already read, I've already been through the dreaded "bug" and have emerged smiling! It's bad enough having the unit go south on ya, but it really gets bad when your service center tightens the thumb screws. Mine was located 20 miles from my house but they still came and did the repairs at my home. Hope all goes well with your repair.

Stitchman,

Ah, yes... well do I remember the glory days when everything was shiny and new, and never was heard the "shutdown" word... :)

Well, I'm now officially once again a happy camper - my repair was done today, and so far, so good! The tech swapped out the IC in no time at all (it actually took longer to take all the screws out of the back panel and replace them when he was done), everyone at the shop was extremely helpful and courteous, and all in all I was very satisfied with the whole process - primarily because I was able to get the repair done before my display died completely. If anyone ever needs a servicer in the Austin area, give the nice folks at Affordable Electronics a call....

Y'know, I think I feel much better having had the issue and come out the other side, than if it never would have happened... I'd have been wondering when (not if) it was gonna hit for as long as I owned the display... now I can finally uncringe and get back to enjoying my most excellent picture!

Anyway, best of luck to anyone still awaiting repair, and to anyone that still hasn't had the problem... do ya feel lucky? Well, do ya? :)

Descolada

Originally posted by Descolada
Stitchman,


Y'know, I think I feel much better having had the issue and come out the other side, than if it never would have happened... I'd have been wondering when (not if) it was gonna hit for as long as I owned the display... now I can finally uncringe and get back to enjoying my most excellent picture!


Descolada

That's what's still bugging me (sorry for the pun) about this whole shut-down issue. Given enough time will this shut-down bug eventually affect my July Panasonic 42 PA20u? Is there any sort of guarantee that I will be safe from it for the life of my set? I use my set infrequently so if the problem comes up I'll undoubtedly be out of warranty or the worse case scenerio would be that the part is no longer produced or available.

Even though I read the postings of Techniwizard that the shut-down bug doesn't affect all the June to August plasmas, (and I don't doubt his expertise), I still have this nagging suspicion that it does. Call me paranoid and/or cynical, I guess.

Well, they fixed my set today (replaced the 5 pin IC with desoldering tape and a good old iron) and it took less than an hour. It was happening several times a day.

I am curious about the bizzarre onset of the problem after 1450 hours without a hicup. I guess I didn't realize it was a diode within an IC. Are the failures due to the actual IC breakingdown, through EM or something, or is the new IC's diode tollerence's more forgiving for some fluctations in the power supply that increases over time? In other words, was it the 1450 hours of wear on the diode, or on some other component, that causes the shutdown?

there was always a lingering "when's it gonna happen" before it hit mine and I had it fixed. A little nagging concern that is great not having anymore.

Also, I just realized that I only check this thread about once a week now, rather than 4 times a day. :)

The parts are in strong supply. Just call in to get it fixed and ease your mind.

Originally posted by Descolada
to anyone that still hasn't had the problem... do ya feel lucky? Well, do ya? :)

Descolada

Not really. My July 2003-dated unit is still going strong after 1200 hours of use.

Which means that I feel like this big shoe is hanging over my head, and I'm waiting for it to drop......

I just experienced this shutdown issue on my 42" consumer (Aug. 2003 build date). I've been trying to get someone to come and fix it since 2/6, and I can't get anyone to come until 2/23, if I'm lucky. Trying to deal with Panasonic customer service has been one of the worst experiences (if not the worst) I've ever had, and I've had some doozies. Supervisors won't call me back, regular reps hang up on me, etc. Rudeness all around...very disappointing.

Not being able to address a known issue for 3 weeks--when Panasonic specifically hyped its "in home" service to me as an advantage of buying the consumer model--is ridiculous. And, to add insult to injury, all the servicers claim that they'll have to take my display in to fix it. Perhaps armed with the info from this thread (which I just stumbled on today), I can convince them to try to do the repair here.

Goldbean,

Where are you located? Perhaps, someone in your service area had a successful experience getting their set fixed and can point you to that service provider.

Sorry to hear about your difficulties. Even though the Panny plasma is very good, their customer service seems to be very hit or miss.

Franchot,

I'm located in northern Virginia, just outside DC. If anyone has any suggestions, please pass them along. But I've called a total of 6 or 7 service centers throughout VA, DC, and MD, and I'm still just waiting.

The most insulting part, IMO, is that when I ask Panasonic reps if they think having to wait more than 3 weeks to service a known problem on a $4k display is acceptable, they say yes. When I ask them if they think this might mean they have inadequate service capacity in this area, they say no. When I ask them to explain the logic to me, they act rude. Very frustrating, to say the least, particularly since my plasma is amazing otherwise and has (had) an unprecedented WAF.

Goldbean,

I know you have a consumer unit but the following Broadcast servicers may also do consumer work:

The model TH42PWD6UY may be serviced at one of the following Panasonic Authorized Service Centers.

B & K ELECTRONICS, IC. 8624 LOCH RAVEN BLVD. BALTIMORE MD 21286 (410) 337-0008

A-1 TV SALES 7 SERVICE LLC 2141 INDUSTRIAL PARKWAY - SUITE 102 SILVER SPRING MD 20904 (301) 593-7676

STRAUSS PHOTO TECH 1240 MT OLIVET RD NE WASHINGTON DC 20002 (202) 529-3200

TELE-FIX INC 695 SPRING ST. HERNDON VA 20170 (703) 471-5433 218
B & K TECHNICAL SERVICE INC. 1 EAST 9 MILE RD. HIGHLAND SPRINGS VA 23075 (804) 737-5180

Good luck,

T. Wiz

Thanks, T Wiz, for the suggestions. I've actually called all of those servicers (2 of which are so far away, they won't come to my house). Strauss is looking like the best option (they're the only ones who can come out within the next 2 weeks).

Well, I just joined the shutdown club too, and I don't even have one of the newer models... My PT42PD3P shut down yesterday with two blinks of the red light, and will not start up again. I'm still within my warranty period, but it certainly is frustrating when I have an in-home warranty and they tell me it could be out for three weeks or so.

My wife said that she was fast-forwarding on the VCR and it just went kaput. It may have nothing to do with it, but sometimes when you fast forward the VCR, it flickers strangely on the plasma. T Wiz or anyone else: do you know what the "two blink" error code means? If it doesn't require replacement parts, I might get it back sooner.

Chris

Not sure how far from you but ... have you tried these???


BOULEVARD RADIO & TV 2225 BOULEVARD RD COLONIAL HEIGHTS VA 23834 (804) 526-0990

COLOR & SOUND,INC 13665 WARWICK BLVD NEWPORT NEWS VA 23602 (757) 874-8818

TV SHOP 411 CHATHAM HEIGHTS ROAD FREDERICKSBURG VA 22405 (540) 373-1212

CHURCHLAND TV & VIDEO SER 6000 HIGH STREET WEST PORTSMOUTH VA 23703 (757) 484-0536

COVEY'S RADIO & TV 440 WESTFIELD ROAD CHARLOTTESVILLE VA 22901 (434) 973-4494

COMMERCIAL TELEVISION SERVICES 909 HIGHAMS COURT WOODBRIDGE VA 22191 (703) 643-2277

ATLANTIC-VIEWTRONICS 329 VIRGINIA BEACH BLVD. VIRGINIA BEACH VA 23451 (757) 428-5772

VALLEY ELECTRONICS 245 E MAIN STREET LURAY VA 22835 (540) 843-4900

ATOMIC TELEVISION 3202 WILLIAMSON ROAD ROANOKE VA 24012 (540) 362-1234
A.T.S. ELECT. 6114 JAHNKE ROAD RICHMOND VA 23225 (804) 232-0074 100

HI TECH ELECTRONICS 1539 APPERSON DRIVE SALEM VA 24153 (540) 375-2878 203

THE SERVICE CENTER, INC 1606 LYNCHBURG TPKE SALEM VA 24153 (540) 345-8131

DALTON TV AND ELECTRONICS P O BOX 458 RADFORD VA 24143 (540) 639-2901



__________________________________

How do I get to the service menu on the 6uy? The only thing I found in this thread was for the consumer....

Originally posted by cmor
How do I get to the service menu on the 6uy? The only thing I found in this thread was for the consumer.... http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=345509

thanks!

strangely, that thread didn't come up under a search using the following:

service menu th-42pwd6uy

Just a quick post to say thank you to all the contributors 1) to the forum in general and 2) specifically for all the info in this thread. My Jul-03 6uy experienced the shutdown issue after 1005 hours.

I found a certified repair center in Houston on the Panasonic website; a quick call to Panasonic confirmed all I had to do was take it in. Armed with the part number (special thanks to TWiz), I called Prof Audio/Video Service (713) 266-9511 and inquired about the process of getting the unit repaired. They confirmed they had the part in stock, their engineers are familiar with the issue, and all I had to do was get the unit there. Took it over...2 days later it's back on it's perch.

FYI, the "bill" was $100 labor, $11.78 for the part. No out of pocket, they deal with Panasonic directly since it's under warranty - all they need is a copy of your receipt.

Thanks again!

CMOR

Glad to hear it worked out well.

T. Wiz

A belated thanks to Gx35 for the suggestions (though they were all too far from where I live to help).

I finally had the issue resolved, though (unfortunately) I had to go all the way up to Panasonic's legal department to get things rolling. When I finally made contact, everything fell into place (it helped that I'm an attorney, too, which established a positive rapport). Interestingly, while the multiple customer service reps I talked to claimed no knowledge of the problem, the attorney knew exactly what I was talking about, knew the part number, knew the cost of the repair, etc.

Even though the customer service rep (and his supervisor) told me they couldn't advance the issue with their servicers, the attorney did just that, calling a local servicer and asking him to bump me up, given the circumstances. I had a servicer call me first thing the next day--just as I had been promised--and after I described the problem (thanks, T Wiz, for the specifics) they ordered the part, which was overnighted from Panasonic. They picked up my TV 2 days later (last Thursday), did the repair, tweaked the overscan for me, and returned it on Monday morning. Even though it took 17 days from start to finish, the eventual response from the top was very solid (the repair was completed at least a week and a half before it would have been without intervention), and I came out of everything with a pretty good feeling overall. My only concern is how high up the chain I had to go to get some sort of positive, helpful response.

I got 2 months tacked on to the end of my warranty and a promise that if anything arises as a result of this issue after the warranty expires (which is highly unlikely), Panasonic will take care of it. The attorney also contacted Panasonic's regional service manager to discuss (and hopefully address) the inadequate service capacity in the area.

I am another victim of the bad Power PCB. Mine failed at about 975 hours. I have a commercial model (TH-42PWD6UY). I called the local authorized service outfit here in Los Angeles (M-Industrial AV). They came out the next day and took care of it. It's a bummer that I had to pay for the service call, but thats life.

P.S. This thread was allowed me to diagnose the problem very quickly. Thanks to all.

That stinks Joe_Fonebone. How much did it cost for them to come to you as opposed to you taking it to them?

Iam in NYC,
HAd the service tech come in from NJ and charge me just a $100.00 extra for the inhome service.That seemed really fair and worth the trouble it saved me of treking out there with the panel.
I commend Panasonic for their service i called them and they got in touch with this guy for me faxed him a copy of the receipt and explained the problem.
So the service guy came over with the power supply swapped it out and left within half an hour.
I wasnt home but my wife tells me he set the plasma on its face down on the carpet while he worked on it.I got pretty paranoid hearing that and check for scratches etc but it seems okay.
THANKS AGAIN TO TWIZ and everyones help...Cheers!

Well, my 42pwd6uy experienced the shutdown problem for the first time last week - and it rapidly degraded into happening quite frequently (never on the VGA input where my DVD player was recently hooked into, but often on the component video input from the cable box).

Anyway, I checked this thread, found a local authorized service center (Dave's Radio & TV in Ashland, MA), and had it fixed quite quickly. After calling and setting up a Saturday appmt, I just drove it down there and in about an hour it was fixed and ready to go home. Not anywhere near as difficult as I thought it would be, and since I drove it in it was completely covered under warrenty.

I'd really like to thank everone who contributed to this thread - especially Techniwizard! - for documenting the problem here, and Dave's Radio & TV for making the repair so painless.

...Ken

I got mine repaired about a month ago at Dave's in Ashland (about one week until ready for pickup -- very helpful and knowledgable). They apparently have a brisk business since he got me confused with someone from Cambridge dropping theirs off the same day.

But last Thursday while watching VHS the screen went completely white. I thought it was a tape defect until I tried to change channels and stop the tape. Power cycling corrected and I haven't seen it since -- is this a new issue that anyone else is seeing?

That sounds more like the image processor crashed. A few others around here have mentioned troubles that cropped up with fast forwarding a VHS tape, though not just while watching it.

I hate to be the one to report this but my wife just called and said our TH42PWD6UY OCT03 (maybe even NOV03 can't recall for sure) unit is shutting down. She said it blinks 5 times fast then pauses then blinks 5 times again. Turns it back on and all is fine for 10 minutes and then back down again. I received the unit in early November. I remember before I mounted it checking the date as I was aware of the early unit shutdown issues. Bought from Visual Apex and it was hot off the manufacturing line as I received it right before the shortage and had to wait for them to get units.

Not sure on the hours but will check when I get home.

Bummin..........

john

Time to resurrect this thread! My TH-42PA20UP (July 2003) shut down last night. The little red light blinked seven times (six short and one long) repeating indefinitely. No response to either remote or front panel power switch.

Unplugged the panel for ten minutes or so, and all is working fine again. ...But I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop!

I know about replacing IC 551 on the power supply circuit board, but I can't remember the difference between five flashes and seven flashes (my case.)

If (when?) it happens again, I start the Panasonic service calls. One-year warranty period ends September 25! (Fortunately, I bought the Warrentech extension!)

The IC 551 shutdown will randomly flash either 5 or 7 times.

Call for service and get it replaced, especially before Sept 25th.

T. Wiz

Followup to my 42PA20 shutdown described above:

Panasonic's web site showed two local (Tucson) service providers. The first said they would have to take the TV into the shop for a week or two, and didn't seem interested in my "flashing LED" information. The second knew immediately what the problem was, and said it was an "in home" repair! He ordered the part (IC 551) that day.

The part came in this morning; he came out this afternoon, and one hour later my 42PA20 is working fine again! And with 12 days left on my one-year warranty, there was no charge.

Thank you, Techniwizard, and the rest of you contributors to this thread!

Glad to hear it worked out.

Don't forget the problem yet!

My September 2003 unit started to shut down abput two weeks ago. Searching on the web led me here, but I'm still waiting for Tweeter, here in Chicago, to look at the problem.

Same as described by everyone else, the switching supply shuts down with a squeal and then you get the power LED flashing an error code 7.

Service stops by tomorrow, I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Originally posted by The Goat
Don't forget the problem yet!

My September 2003 unit started to shut down abput two weeks ago. Searching on the web led me here, but I'm still waiting for Tweeter, here in Chicago, to look at the problem.

Same as described by everyone else, the switching supply shuts down with a squeal and then you get the power LED flashing an error code 7.

Service stops by tomorrow, I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Welcome to AVS Forum. :)

Is it Consumer or Commercial ???

I'm just curious to know how many hours your Display have.

Originally posted by Gx35
Not sure how far from you but ... have you tried these???


This is Funny. :D :D :D

Thanks for the welcome, although I must thank Panasonic for the initiation.

Well, with a whiff of flux the serviceman replaced the regulator and was on his way. Mine is a consumer with just about 2500 hours, and keep in mind that this is a September unit that was supposed to be immune.

I'll let it run for a while and let you know what happens.

My 42PA20 (repaired one month ago on September 13) is still running fine now. No further shutdowns or flashing lights.

I have a customer with a TH42PA20 that just died from this issue.

It was purchased on 8/19/03 so it's about two months out of warranty. I haven't gone there to check the usage hours.

I spoke to Panasonic customer service (800-211-7262) and they would not acknowledge this as a known problem and only gave me a service center number. I called two in my area. Neither was aware of the specific issue but both insisted I bring it in and pay for estimates which would alone take "several weeks". I tried to tell them about this known issue and they both insisted that I bring it in and they would decide and THEN order parts. For what it's worth this is the two service centers that I phoned:

ALPHA ELECTRONICS 2750 4TH STREET SANTA ROSA CA 95405 (707) 542-8363

PROFESSIONAL VIDEO ENGR 2190 MERIDIAN PARK BLVD CONCORD CA 94520 (925) 827-4860

This is very frustrating! It seems to me that Panasonic had a ticking time bomb on their hands and their customer service needs to be made aware of it, like a year ago! I will call their number again and try to arrange in-home warranty service. Has any one dealt with this issue OUT OF WARRANTY? Who did you deal with, names etc? Has anyone had experience with service centers in the bay area of CA?

Thank you for your time!!!

I think for subsequent installs I will test Sharp's customer service instead. :mad:

DigitalMad,
Call Digital Service Solutions 650-341-2161, authorized panasonic servicer in the Bay Area. They know about the problem and hopefully they will come to your city. I would also call panasonic and insist they pay for it. There should have been a recall for this problem. I watched the service tech replace the part. Most any tech could do it. The part has only 5 solder connections, is located on the PCB top center, and anyone with good soldering skills could do it with a soldering iron from RS. But it does have a heat sink attached and need special paste applied to new part. The part number is C5HABZZ00123.

i have a th-42pa20 panasonic unit that was purchased at the beginning of august 2003...which was fine until the last month or so when it began to shutdown intermittently. having browsed these forums in the past, I was aware of the issue...but since it hadn't happened to my set in the first year (well it did shut down twice in isolated events I thought were secondary to possible power surges/storm), I thought I was in the clear. Needless to say, I'm rather upset that this has now happened outside of my one-year warranty and Panasonic refuses to do anything about it. This has otherwise been an excellent set and I just can't believe Panasonic would leave its customers out to dry like this...

a.s.

Originally posted by shive
Needless to say, I'm rather upset that this has now happened outside of my one-year warranty and Panasonic refuses to do anything about it. This has otherwise been an excellent set and I just can't believe Panasonic would leave its customers out to dry like this...


I am extremely surprised, and worried, to hear this. My warranty ends this month on my 42PWD. I had always assumed if it happened within a year or so of the original warranty expiring, they'd fix it for you. They know it's a manufacturing defect, how can choose not to replace it?

I have had post-warranty breakdowns with electronic equipment and cars that were the result of known pre-existing flaws. Each time, the companies fixed the problem without cost. As the Panasonic shutdown issue is clearly not a phantom, there is no way a consumer should be charged if it happens after warranty coverage expires.

Panasonic should familiarize themselves with the concept of the Class-Action lawsuit; it's very popular these days.

I had hoped not to have to revisit this thread! I had my Panny replaced about 13 months ago due to the defective diode. (I had the unit actually replaced and not repaired.) As over a year had passed, I figured that I was probably out of the woods with regard to this nasty little defect. I'm sorry to report that's not the case. My plasma died again last night with that dreaded whine, followed closely by the dreaded 7 LED blink. I knew immediately what had happened... Unfortunately it's going to take 10 days for someone to come by and fix the problem.

FWIW, I would have to estimate that there's somewhere around 2000 hours of use on this display over the last 13 months. So if you've got a 42PA20 from one of the questionable manufacturing months and think that you're in the clear just due to having survived with no problems for some length of time... There are no guarantees! I thought that I had it made.

While it's total speculation on my part, I'd be surprised if almost all of those original Pannys with the junky diode didn't end up with the failure sooner or later.

I bought my Plasma in Sept 03, and recently began experiencing the power shut down/ 7 blinking lights issue.

Called Panasonic at 800-524-1448, and they referred me to talk with Marek Kwasnica at 201-348-7975 to see if it would be covered even though my warranty is expired.

Marek stated that most of the problems with these units manifest themselves very shortly after being used, and not over a year later. I told him of the countless number of people on here who have had problems after 300+ hours. He was very nice though, and said I should contact the nearest service center (Neil at Dave's radio and Tv in Ashland) and if it was that problem, he would extend the warranty to cover it. I would have to pick up the cost of inhouse service of course, if I didnt want to take it there.

Now waiting to talk to Neil. At least its covered...

Update: spoke to Neil, too busy for home service, so I am bringing it to him.

Unfortunately I just experieced this problem on my 42pwd6uy. I purchased it in Oct. '03 from a Forum sponsor and the set has a Sep. '03 build date.

My local service center says I need to go through Panasonic to see if they will honor the warranty seeing I'm two months beyond the 1- year timeframe. The person at Panasonic was "unfamiliar" with the problem and referred me back to the service center. Has anyone had success getting Panasonic to cover the repair beyond the warranty time?

sundaypunch,
Call Panasonic at 800-524-1448 and explain your problem and ask for the number of your local rep. The rep should be able to authorize the repair, hopefully. GL

I bought the TH-42PA25U about three weeks ago. May I assume this problem is not an issue on this newer model? It has functioned perfectly so far but I do have an extended warranty.

Originally posted by sundaypunch
Unfortunately I just experieced this problem on my 42pwd6uy. I purchased it in Oct. '03 from a Forum sponsor and the set has a Sep. '03 build date.

My local service center says I need to go through Panasonic to see if they will honor the warranty seeing I'm two months beyond the 1- year timeframe. The person at Panasonic was "unfamiliar" with the problem and referred me back to the service center. Has anyone had success getting Panasonic to cover the repair beyond the warranty time?

Same thing happened to me a couple of months ago -- my display that I bought in August 2003 died with this well-known problem in October 2004, after it had well over 2000 hours of use on it.

If your experience is anything like mine, Panasonic Customer Service will say that they've never heard of the problem and that they don't know anything about it, and will initially tell you that they can't help. This will be a surprising response, as I talked to two different techs, as well as the supervisor, and educated them all about it.

However, if your experience is anything like mine, then if you are persistent, insist on talking to a Manager, let them know that you know the nature and extent of the problem, the part number, the effected build dates, and mention the AVS forum, then they will quickly relent and pay at least part of the cost.

In my case, they paid 50% of the cost of an in-home repair (from a repair service that had to commute a long way, about 60 miles). I needed to FAX all sorts of documentation to them, so I hope you saved your receipts, delivery bil lof lading, etc...

I went through the store that I purchased my tv from 1st but mine was 2 days from being out of warranty(got lucky there..I guess) I am just keeping my fingers crossed that no more problems come up. Took the Tech about 45 min total to fix most of that time was spent getting all the screws out and back in.

Originally posted by Fwapsk
I bought my Plasma in Sept 03, and recently began experiencing the power shut down/ 7 blinking lights issue.

Called Panasonic at 800-524-1448, and they referred me to talk with Marek Kwasnica at 201-348-7975 to see if it would be covered even though my warranty is expired.

Marek stated that most of the problems with these units manifest themselves very shortly after being used, and not over a year later. I told him of the countless number of people on here who have had problems after 300+ hours. He was very nice though, and said I should contact the nearest service center (Neil at Dave's radio and Tv in Ashland) and if it was that problem, he would extend the warranty to cover it. I would have to pick up the cost of inhouse service of course, if I didnt want to take it there.

Now waiting to talk to Neil. At least its covered...

Update: spoke to Neil, too busy for home service, so I am bringing it to him.

Good news: Dave's TV and Radio in Ashland MA fixed the TV and billed Panasonic directly. Set is home and working fine and I paid nothing. I did have to get it to the repair place myself. Highly recommend Dave's TV and Radio - they were very friendly, familiar with the problem, and very professional. Glad to see Panasonic stepped up to the plate and covered it under warranty as well, despite it being over. (Plan B was to use American Express who doubles the manufacturer's warranty, so I was covered either way). Loving my plasma once again!

This problem just started occuring with our TH42PA20. It has now happened about 5 times. We took delivery in July 2003, and the set now has 1500 hours on it.

I just called two local service centers. The first wants $125 for a tech to visit and diagnose the problem. I asked to speak to a tech, but "there is no phone extension near where they sit". The second insists that the problem cannot be an IC because then the set would never turn on. So has anyone found a knowledgeable service center here? I'm in South Orange County.

As an alternative, has anyone done this themself? If the part is only $15 and it just involves replacing an IC. I might try it.

--Jim

After calling a few service centers and speaking to some people who were unaware of this problem, I decided to try fix it myself. It seemed easier and quicker than hauling my plasma screen to some shop and having them spend days diagnosing the problem. I have soldered a few things in the past, but nothing in the past five years.

I first ordered the part from panasonic.. It is part # C5HABZZ00123 available at Panasonic's web site. I ordered it Monday afternoon, it arrived Thursday morning. I paid for two day shipping. The total cost, including tax and shipping, was just over $30.

I picked up some supplies from Radio Shack. I bought some solder (High tech Rosin-Core Solder), Heat Sink Compound paste, and Desoldering Braid. If I had to do it again, I would have also bought the desoldering bulb. Desoldering the part was the toughest step for me.

I needed some tools that I already had: a soldering iron, power screwdriver ( to remove the back panel and the power supply board), pliers (standard and needle nose) and some smnall snips ( a plier-like tool for cutting wire).

I took the plasma off the wall mount and mounted it on the table stand that originally came with the TV. I removed the wall mount, all the cables, and then the back panel. There must be over twenty screws holding the back panel on. Remove the ones with adjacent arrows.

I located the power supply board and removed it. First remove the connectors. These were tough, but doable. I used the pliers to grip the edges of the connector and pull them off. I then removed the five or six screws holding the card in place.

I have attached a photo showing the location of the power supply card.

jpbrody,

Congratulations and thanks for sharing that experience. You're a brave guy.

I watched the technician do the IC change in my home and didn't think it looked that difficult. I know what you mean about the desoldering. Another step I would have have difficulty with is locating the IC since it is obscured by the heat sink. Your photo will make it easy.

I removed the power supply card and brought it to a table where I had set up the soldering iron.

I removed the defective IC551 (see the attached image) by desoldering it. First, I removed the screw that attaches it to the heat sink. The screw proved inaccessible by a screwdriver, but was easily loosened by a pair of pliers. Next, I tried to remove the solder from each of the five pins that attached IC551 to the circuit board. This proved difficult, and I'm sure this is due to my lack of experience. I was using the desoldering braid, which is supposed to absorb solder once it melts. Radio Shack also sells a hand bulb which is supposed to suck up (like a mini vacuum) solder once it melts. That costs less than $5 and might have saved me a lot of grief. I eventually got the part loose by snipping two of the leads and desoldering the other three. Once I had removed it, I removed as much solder as I could from the five holes.

I inserted the new IC551 part. I applied the heat sink paste to the part and attached it to the heat sink with the screw. I then soldered the five leads onto the circuit board. I screwed the circuit board back into place, reattached the cables and replaced the rear panel of the TV. When I powered it back up, everything was fine! I have had it on for about 10 hours since I performed the repair, and the problem has not yet recurred. Just in time for the New Years football games.

In total, I estimate this project took me about 3-4 hours. Desoldering was the most troublesome, it probably accounted for about 2 hours. I have no doubt a skilled technician could do the entire job in less than an hour. This could be done by anyone with a little soldering skill. If you don't even have that, you might want to just remove the power supply board and bring it to shop or a friend and have them replace that troublesome IC551.

Thanks to Techwizard for diagnosing the problem and posting the part #.

Shame on Panasonic for the unhelpful service. If I call the main panasonic consumer service number, I just get referred to Panasonic Authorized service centers, which is really just your neighborhood "John's TV Repair" shops. The shops in my neighborhood don't know anything about this problem and need to diagnose it, which is going to take weeks and hundreds of dollars.

If anyone gets that class action law suit together or need some clarification of these instructions please contact me at jpbrody at yahoo dot com.

Well, my panny i believe is acting up now too. It shut off last night with the whine and 7 blinks. I took out the manual to see if it was mentioned in troubleshooting (before reading about it here). Nothing. Unplugged it, plugged it back on, and it was fine.

Tonight again it went off... again I noted it was while I was watching the local news, received via antenna. I unplugged it, plugged it back in, and it went out immediatly.

Waited 10 minutes, did it again and it worked fine... I switched back from DSS to antenna and it went out immediatley. I thought maybe some of the coax was grounding or something, so I fiddled with the cables. (DSS is connected via component).

Turned it back on, things worked fine... still going find after an hour of reading this thread. I believe I am just out of warrenty, but I'm gonna dig out the receipt to double check.

The biggest problem is that I did a dealer search on panny's web site and the closest dealer is in minneapolis, about 75 miles away from Mankato, where I live.

Anyone from the twin cities area that has had this fixed by someone? It would be nice, if I have to, to call someone. But I may just either put it in the paper to sell (lol) or do the fix myself...

I had exact same experience as Fwapsk. My TH42PWD6UY plasma was purchased in Sept 03 and failed with ‘Shut down with error LED of 5 blinks’ issue in Dec 04 (3 months out of warranty). I contacted the main Panasonic support center and was referred to Marek, the east coast regional rep for Panasonic. Marek was familiar with the ‘known’ issue and was able to extend my warrant to cover the repair (parts and labor). Fantastic!

I contacted E.C. Electronics in Manhattan (212-333-5570) and scheduled in-home repair for the following day. The technician replaced the IC and all is well, he was onsite for only 1/2 hour. Please note that I had a choice to bring the unit to the shop and pay nothing or schedule onsite service for $86 fee. Dragging my plasma around Manhattan in a taxi is not very practical or safe so I was glad to take advantage of the onsite service. Also, original factory warranty on commercial models does not include onsite repair so this is fair.

I am very pleased to see Panasonic taking care of its customers. Big thank you to Marek and Panasonic.

I called the place I bought my plasma from and they said they do service them. I talked to a guy (tech was out) about the problem and they said they haven't heard of anyone having the problem.

The good thing is they were able to give me purchase date (11/03) and serial number. My model is a TH-42PA20 and my serial number is a YDxxxxxx (which I read early in this thread should have been in the clear?)

Of course I explained the problem and they said they would like to look at it and diagnose, and I then said "if I bring it in, tell you the part number to replace, will you just do that?" and he said "well... maybe... I'd have to ask the tech. Maybe he's heard of the issue..."

So, my question is, any YDxxxxxxx serial number folks have the issue and had it fixed?

bvstone,
What model no. and what manuf. date?

an 11/03 purchase date could mean a Sept manufacturing date. While the main problems were on Jun-Aug production, very low qtys of Sept-Nov production did develop this problem after time.

Clues: Circuit Board PN # TNPA2841 no suffix or AB suffix = early pcb
AF or AH suffix = newer pcb

IC 551: original IC PN # has a B suffix. Note that the # on the IC is totally different than the ordering PN # or on the schematic.

Newer IC 551 has an M suffix. This is PN # C5HABZZ00123 use this part in servicing any suspect unit.

A very, very few post-Sept. production models used a B suffix IC 551 with a small paint dot in the upper left corner, my guess signifying hand selection. Change this to the M suffix if suspected.

No guarantee that this is your problem but it is quite likely.

T.Wiz

It looks like a lot of us are still experiencing this problem. I posted this in a different thread a few days ago:

I have been a very happy TH-42PA20 owner since November, 2003. Last night, while watching it, it suddenly shut down and the power light was blinking red six blinks, then steady for a few seconds...six blinks, then steady for a few seconds...repeats forever). I was unable to do anything. Finally, I had to unplug it to stop the flashing.

I plugged it back in, and when I turned it on it worked fine for the rest of the night (about 2 more hours). Today, after a few hours, the same thing happened. This is starting to look more and more like the shut down issue that a lot of people were seeing last year. This has been occurring about 3 times a day for the last few days.

According to Techniwizard, "this problem only affected certain units built in July, August, or September". Mine was built in October 2003, in Japan, and it appears that I have the same problem.

My unit is less than 2 months out of warrantee. After reading the last few posts, it looks like Panasonic is acting like it is unaware of the problem, and is not extending the warantee? Do any of you guys know who I can contact at Panasonic that may be aware of this issue?

Techniwizard, you know about this problem. You know that it is fairly widespread. Can you help those of us that are only a month or two out of warantee?

Sadly, my contacts are all on the Broadcast side.

Try 1-800-211-PANA (7262) for help with consumer units.

Techniwizard, thanks for the response.

After thinking about this for a while, I am leaning towards attempting to fix it myself. I have a lot of experience with soldering irons and electronics (I was an Engineering lab technician for about 5 years before I became an Electronic Engineer/Programmer). After looking at the excellent information provided by jpbroady (posts #376 and #378) and Techniwizard, it doesn't look too hard to do.

Overall, it may be easier to fix it myself rather than going through the aggravation of having to convince someone at Panasonic that this is a well known widespread problem that should be fixed by extending the warrantee.

Techwizard,

Thanks for the information and keeping up to date on this problem.

I don't really feel like taking the unit off the wall and opening it up to see the PN number on the IC, but I assume if this gets worse, I will take your information in to the shop with me so they can use it.

Now, we haven't experienced the problem yet while watching DSS (hooked up via component). Only while watching TV through coax. But, I have heard a weird whine while turning the unit on after it's been shut off for only a few minutes after watching DSS.

It really stinks that Panasonic is not recognizing this problem. From what I've read I can bet that even newer units will seem to have the problem, and only after a couple months after the warranty is over. Which is a real problem for a consumer. Everyone jokes about things going bad right after the warranty has expired, but here I think we're experiencing the real thing.

If there's anything I can do I will do it. But talking to $5/hour support people will not solve this problem. IT seems there are a few people that recognize this problem and extend warranties... but corporate greed as usual is blinding others that could make the descision to extend warrenty or recall units.

I wonder if those that have had it fixed will again start experiencing the problem in another year.... I'm betting yes.

If I do get it fixed, I'll most likely sell the unit then purchase a non-panny LCD flatscreen 42" TV... I bought this unit because it was a good price, I didn't need HDTV (got the 92" front pj for that), and I had read only good things about it... after a year and a month or two, it seems these things are going into the toity... bummer...

Originally posted by bvstone
I wonder if those that have had it fixed will again start experiencing the problem in another year.... I'm betting yes.

I certainly sympathize with your frustration, but there were many people who experienced this problem over a year ago and got it fixed and we haven't heard anything about the problem reoccurring for them. I don't recall anyone who has gotten the shutdown problem fixed (maybe one initially) reporting that it has shutdown again. Based on that I'd surmise the fix works.

Originally posted by bvstone
Now, we haven't experienced the problem yet while watching DSS (hooked up via component). Only while watching TV through coax. But, I have heard a weird whine while turning the unit on after it's been shut off for only a few minutes after watching DSS.

Mine started out like that. First, it only shut down once. the next day twice. the third day 3 times. You can see the trend...Over the next several days the shutdowns happened more and more often. Now, the TV shuts down about once every hour.

I ordered the replacement part from Panasonic's web site. I will be attempting to repair it myself.

Well, we are watching the vikings game and so far no problems at all.. DSS of course.

I thought maybe it was because I was getting spikes or something through the coax, so I put the ferrite cores on the cable. I guess we'll see if it happens again.. usually happens during the evening news, while watching through coax (antenna).

I wouldn't be so upset if Panasonic didn't act like there was no problem (they obviously know as we've seen at least 2 accounts of panasonic support admiting it), and if it didn't happen 2 months after the warrenty expired.

Watched the game, then a couple shows.. TV was on for almost 5 hours straight, all DSS. No shutdown.

I have noticed that shut down occurs more often when switching inputs or switching channels...less often when just watching one channel. However, when there is an abrupt change in video level from one scene to the next, shutdown will occur.

bvstone, Since shutdown has only happened to you once (so far), let's keep our fingers crossed that it was just a one-time fluke event. If you do have the shutdown problem, it will continue to deteriorate over time. If it does fail, It would be better for you if it failed sooner rather than later. Then you might have an easier time trying to get Panasonic to extend the warantee. If several more months go by, they will probably be less likely to do the right thing.

It has happened to me more than once... I'd say 3-4 times. But only while watching the local news (over coax/antenna as I explained before).

Scandy, Bvstone, could you let us know how many hours you have on your plasma? Many of the reported problems cropped up with less than 1000 hours, but mine was at 1500 hours. The process to read out the number of hour was posted by jasonbanks:

[Quote]
1) Put input into Cable Mode
2) Go to channel 124
3) Set sleep timer for 30 minutes
4) Turn volume all the way down using the REMOTE
5) Press DOWN Volume button on the TV

You will see a red "CHK" and then a group of 6 letter/numbers right after. That I believe is the Service Hour count

Oh, press POWER on your Remote to get into the service mode with "CHK" displayed, press POWER on the TV to get out of it.

** It has been reported that you can possibly lose your custom video settings, so write them down first (number values)
[\Quote]

The hour count is in hexadecimal. It can be converted using the Windows calculator.

Scandy, good luck with the repair. With your experience, it should be no problem.

PS. I checked the IC551 part that I replaced and it did have the B suffix on it just as Techniwizard stated.

I can hardly believe it...according to my CHK number (B47) I have 2887 hours on the TV.

jpbroady, thank you for taking the time to post about your repair experience...I don't think that I would have attempted the repair if you hadn't provided the information.

It will be interesting to see what the suffix is on the part that I replace. I hope that it is the old part (my TV was manufactured in October 2003). Then, at least I will feel more confident that that was the problem. If I have the new part and that failed....

1891 hours.

Just a brief update after my repair - unit is working flawlessly now.

And for those with the problem, I actually stopped the unit shutting down by placing a fan next to it and blowing air across the back of the Plasma. The fan was placed on the left as you look at the Plasma - I have no idea if that was the best side but it worked for me. That sufficed until I could bring it in for repair. But definitely get it fixed.

Fwapsk, Is your plasma wall-mounted or do you use the table stand? The fan stopping the issue makes it sound like a heat-related problem.


Has anyone with the shutdown problem been using the table stand instead of wall-mounting?

Update on my end.. we watched the news (antenna/coax input) again and tonight it went out after 15 minutes of viewing the news (it's always right before the weather starts).

But, we've watched countless hours straight on DSS (component input) with zero shutdowns.

Very very odd.

[Has anyone with the shutdown problem been using the table stand instead of wall-mounting?]

My July 03 model (shutdown on 28 Aug 04) was on a table stand. Working fine since repair on 13 Sept 04.

Another update... shut off with DSS for the first time.

A difference I found:

With coax (using antenna input) 7 blinks.
With compnent (DSS) 5 blinks.

Any idea what these blinks mean? Think I'll order the part tommorow morning. I doubt panny will cover it since it was bought nov. 2003 and I'd rather just fix it myself.

Originally posted by JimSD
Has anyone with the shutdown problem been using the table stand instead of wall-mounting?
I have mine on the table stand as well. Shuts down frequently.

Originally posted by bvstone
With coax (using antenna input) 7 blinks.
With compnent (DSS) 5 blinks.

Any idea what these blinks mean? Think I'll order the part tommorow morning. I doubt panny will cover it since it was bought nov. 2003 and I'd rather just fix it myself.
According to Techniwizard, when you have the shutdown problem you will either get 7 blinks or 5 blinks (it is random whether it will blink 5 or 7 times). In my case, when mine shuts down it usually blinks 7 times, however there have been 3 or 4 times when it blinks 5 times instead.

It sounds like your shutdowns are becomming more frequent. My guess is that in the next week or so it will get a lot worse (if yours acts like mine).

Ordered the part last night to fix it.. will be doing it myself unless I get intimidated... shouldn't be a big issue.

If it looks bad for me, I 'll take the board to a local shop and have them do the work... easier than lugging around that huge TV!

The easiest way to remove the old IC is to cut the legs first and then heat and remove the legs one at a time. A 40 watt iron with a 1/16 chisel tip is great because this is a dual sided board and the solder should melt completely before you pull on the leg. Otherwise you'll rip the copper clad off the board and make the repair ever so much harder.

Use solder wick (or some coax shield from stripped wire in a pinch) to sop up the old solder and clear the hole. Use a toothpick if need be to open up all 5 holes. Install the new IC and attach the screw to the heatsink before soldering. This gives some leeway to tighten the screw as the angle for a regular screwdriver is not the best.

Good luck.

Originally posted by JimSD
Fwapsk, Is your plasma wall-mounted or do you use the table stand? The fan stopping the issue makes it sound like a heat-related problem.


Has anyone with the shutdown problem been using the table stand instead of wall-mounting?

Mine is wall mounted. From Techniwizard's post, it was my understanding that the IC became more sensitive to heat over a period of time, and thats why I tried the fan. I believe the whole issue is heat related, but the heat required to cause the issue is not excessively high.

hey, it worked for me :)

I thought I could avoid posting in this thread, but here is my story. I bought my TH-42PA20 in Oct. of 2003 and started having shutdown issues in Nov. of last year. It was then I knew what the problem was since I had a July build date and the 7 blinking lights. I called panasonic and waited on hold for 30 mins to talk to somebody and was told to fax in all my info (reciept, serial #s, personal info, etc.) and then waited to hear back. I call back about 10 days later and was told they never recieved my fax. So I resent it. Then about a week later still no word. I called once again (always having to wait about a half hour on hold), was told they got the fax, and left a message for the lady who was working on my case. She called two days later and said they would honor fixing the IC as long as I brought into a service center, but if I wanted home service I would have to pay for that. She gave me a 30 day window to get it fixed. So I took it in the the Select service center in my city the next day (which was about a month ago now).

I was told he had done that IC before and it shouldnt take long as long as they get the part in quick. I was told maybe I would have it back before Xmas, but maybe not. Well I have called each week and each time have been told that they have the IC on order. Same story each week. I call them again today (been in the shop for approx a month now) and was told the same thing - IC on order. I get a call back a couple mins later and it was the tech Im assuming and he says that they did replace the IC but it still has the shutdown prob, and that a DIFFERENT IC is on order now and he should know something by this Friday. Now Im thinking he is making up stuff to give me a reason why it still isnt working. I didnt know there were two different ICs. Then he also says that he doesnt know if Panasonic will cover this second repair under warranty now either. I dont know what to do. I havent had a functional TV now for like two months...

I think I'm gonna bring the IC and board into a shop to have them replace the IC. Now to just find a shop that will do it. :)

tmoth, I don't think that the repair center is telling the truth. I ordered the part on Sunday and Panasonic shipped it out on Monday (the next day). If I can get the part from the Panasonic web site, a dealer should have an even easier time.

Maybe you can get some help from Panasonic. After 2 months it may be time to take your TV somewhere else! Since they have done nothing, I wouldn't pay them anything!

Well this repair center is the only one within 100 miles, or else I probably would have...

Tmoth, this place sounds pretty fishy to me. It sounds like they are trying to milk you for more money and assuming you know nothing about the problem. I would try to get as many details as possible. Ask for the specific part # of the second IC. Post it here.

Also, consider just taking your set back unfixed, order the part yourself and find someone to replace it. You just need someone with a little experience in soldering and electronics. Maybe a neighbor who is into amateur radio, or someone from the local trade school.

Yeah, well I think they just didnt order the right thing at first and are now making up reasons why it isnt fixed yet. I told them what was wrong (even brought in an email from techwizard himself saying what is wrong), but they say there is "something else" wrong with it. They are supposed to call me tomorrow with the status, and I will ask for all the info then (I may call today too). But Panasonic said they would cover the repair so I am not going to pay for anything - I will refuse if they try to add charges.

The new part that I ordered on Sunday arrived yesterday (Thursday). Total cost including shipping and tax was $25.55 (I used regular ground shipping). The repair went very smoothly. It took me about two hours start to finish. We watched TV for about 4 hours afterwards and guess what...NO SHUTDOWNS. :D

The hardest part of the repair is removing the insane number of screws that hold the back panel on. There are over 40 screws to remove. A battery powered screwdriver (or drill) really helps out a lot. The only other advice that I can give to anyone that wants to try this (besides the advice already given by jpbroady and Techniwizard) is to resist the temptation to pull the connectors out of the power supply board by grabbing the wires and pulling. A small set of ignition pliers works well. Grab both edges of the connector with the pliers and gently wiggle back and forth while pulling straight out. The other piece of advice that I can pass along is to use a small amount of isopropal alcohol and an old tooth brush (or semi stiff brush) to clean up the solder flux from the bottom of the circuit board after soldering in the new part. Also, it is a good idea to clean up any additional heat sink compound that squeezes out after screwing in the new part to the heat sink. Otherwise, just follow the advice given by jpbroady and Techniwizard and you shouldn't have any problem.

Once again, thank you Techniwizard for telling us what the problem was, and thank you jpbroady for posting the pictures and telling your story. ;)

Scandy, congrats on fixing it. Did you get a look at the number on the bad part? I thought you said yours had an October manufacture date and I was wondering if you had the B suffix on the bad part

Originally posted by jpbrody
Scandy, congrats on fixing it. Did you get a look at the number on the bad part? I thought you said yours had an October manufacture date and I was wondering if you had the B suffix on the bad part
I mean't to post that information. Thanks for reminding me.

Even though I had an October 2003 manufacturing date, the power supply circuit board was TNPA2841 with no suffix. According to Techniwizard, no suffix or AC suffix is an early PC board. Since mine had no suffix, I guess I have the oldest version (despite the manufacturing date). Also, the part # on IC551 (the bad one) was P6668B, and the new part # was P6668M just as Techniwizard said.

This makes me believe that this problem probably continued past August. My unit didn't fail until 2880 hrs. Ill bet that there will be more failures from units produced around the same time as mine once they get more hours on them (I don't think that most TVs get the heavy use that mine does).

Well, I got my plasma back today and supposedly everything was taken care of. Panasonic covered it all under warranty. Ive had it on now for about 6 hours and it hasnt shutdown at all. Im glad to finally have it back up and running!

I just got my new IC today and it is part number F6668M... Is that right?

Yes, the suffix "M" prt is correct. the PN # on the bag should be C5HABZZ00123 not the same as the PN # stamped on the IC but as long as the last stamped character is "M" you should be OK.

TW

Thanks, Techniwizard! She's starting to shut off a lot quicker now, like every 30 minutes on DSS or antenna... so I got it just in time.

Now I need to find a shop to fix it for me. I plan on taking the board and the IC in to get it replaced...

I just looked at the bad part that I removed, and the part number is F6668B, the new part was F6668M. In post #415 (above), I INCORRECTLY wrote that the part # on the IC started with a "P". I guess my eyes were playing tricks on me...the correct part # is F6668M. Sorry.

bvstone, your set is acting the same way that mine did. The shutdowns become more and more frequent until you do the repair. I think your plan of removing the power supply board and bringing it to someone to do the repair is sensible, especially if you do not have all the correct tools and have never done that type of repair before. Since you will be bringing in the part and telling them which IC to replace, I don't think that the repair will be that expensive. If they have time, you may even be able to have it done while you wait. Good luck!

I found this thread only after starting a thread of my own yesterday. I have a panny TH-42PWD6UY with a man.date of Sept. 2003. I just started having the shutdown problem yesterday. I have not had a chance to contact panasonic regarding the issue because today is sunday. What are my chances of getting this repaired, replaced, anything to get it fixed since I've had the unit 1.3 yrs? I'm very concerned and my wife is livid.

Please read the last several pages of this thread. There is a lot of good information there. It should answer a lot of your questions.

Tell your wife to calm down...this is a well known problem and it can be fixed. Your biggest problem is finding a repair center that is familiar with the problem and will work with Panasonic to get them to extend the warranty.

I found a TV repair place that said they'd replace the IC for me. I brought it in and it's one of those dive joints with old electronics everywhere... haha..

I showed him the board, which IC to replace, and gave him the new IC. He said "boy, that's an easy job.. I don't know what to charge..."

I said "what's you're time worth?" He said "I dunno.. 20 bucks?" I said "I'll give ya 30." LOL! He laughed. Said "I won't get to it until tommorow, but fill this out and I'll call ya when it's done and test the rest of the board to make sure it's ok..."

I was expecting to pay $100 or so (hour min work). $20 seemed too low, and I appreciate him doing it. He must be one of those guys that's in business for years and never throws anything out.. I looked around and saw all the tools, etc.. I asked what he prefers to desolder, braid or the suction thing.. he said "both... I have a few sized suckers and then the braid works good for cleaning up..." I asked a few more questions to get a feel for his competence, and was satisfied... although my wife thought "are you sure you want to leave it here?"

I said "either with a half-brained 50 year old who's been doing this all his life for $30, or a chain store that if they DID do the work, would be done by a 15 year old techie for $150...." LOL...

We shall see! This is gonna be interesting...

The tech who did my job said that proper use of the heat sink cement was important. Hope your tech knows that.

Yep, I asked specifically about that and his reply was:

"I got tons of that stuff around here.. that's no problem..."

I asked quite a few questions to judge his abilities... he sounded good. I explained that I would have tried it myself but I hadn't done that type of work for a few years... his reply to that was:

"Ya, people do that, then bring it to me to fix and it costs then 10x the amount or more to fix their mistake.. I think you made the right choice..."

Made me feel a little better... I also wanted to clean up his shop, but I grew up in that industry (mobile radio sales, service and repair) and know that some work better that way... If my grandfather who started the business wasn't in AZ and didn't have parkinson's, I'd have him do it and he's be thrilled to do it! :)

Anyone from the Thief River Falls area probably has heard of the company he started with my father.. Stone's mobil radio. Kinda wish I would have gotten into the business, but I went the software route.. long story... :)

My parents' TH-42PA20, purchased in November 2003 and manufactured in June, just developed the shut-down problem a couple of weeks ago. It had gotten progressively worse until they left on vacation last week. I'm trying to deal with it before they return in about 2 weeks. I just called 1-800-211-7262 and described the problem and that I knew from the AVS forum that it was a known problem and that the warranty had been extended for others. After putting me on hold for a few minutes, she returned with a reference number and said that she would need an authorized shop to evaluate the problem and fax it directly to her. She made no promise to cover the repair, but never tried to deny that this is a known problem or tell me I was out of luck.

I'd really like to have the repair done onsite, but would guess an evaluation might require the shop to witness the problem. Since the shop is only a few miles away, can I bring it in safely without reboxing it? In the box, it won't fit upright in our van. How hard should I push the shop to do the repair in house? Also, is there a quick way for the technician to evaluate this specific problem?

Well, I was given the option by panasonic to either have them pay for a tech to come out to my house and diagnose the prob OR have me take it in and they would cover the repair. Of course I took it in and had them cover the repair. I took my plasma in without the box and just layed it in the back seat. Two people in the car, one holding it just to make sure it didnt want to shuffle around...

2 questions for Techniwizard:

1. Originally it was thought that only a few percent of the June-Aug sets had the shutdown problem. Do you have any updated numbers as to how many sets have now had the problem? 20%? 50%?

2. I have a June set with over 1800 hours on it. Would it be prudent to order the replacement IC now while they are still available, or should I just wait until/if the shutdown occurs?

JimSD, Panasonic is required to have spare parts for 5 or 7 years after the release date. This means that they will have the part that fixes the shutdown problem available for a long time. It is really up to you whether or not you think it is worth it to have the part on hand, or to wait until you have the problem (which may be never).

On the other hand, the replacement part only cost me $25.55 delivered, so it won't set you back too much if you want to have "piece of mind".

I have posted this before, but I think that it is worth repeating...My TH-42PA20 has an October 2003 manufacture date and it still had the bad part (B suffix), and it also had the earliest revision power supply board. Also, mine didn't fail until it had over 2880 hours. Unfortunately, I don't think that we have seen the end of this thread yet.

Originally posted by dhacker
Also, is there a quick way for the technician to evaluate this specific problem?
Your TV was manufactured in June, one of the months that definitely has this problem. Your TV is shutting down, and it has gotten progressively worse. These are classic symptoms of this problem. When the TV shuts down, does the power LED on the front panel blink 5 or 7 times? If the answer is yes, then it is 99% certain that this is the problem.

Most likely, the technician will replace IC551 and then let the TV run for a while to make sure that the problem is fixed.

Since the unit is 2 months out of warranty, Panasonic is just covering themselves in case something else is wrong (not likely). Panasonic will replace the part for free (if IC551 is the problem), but it sounds like the "in home" part of the warranty is over.

The only thing I can't confirm without watch some TV over at their house is that there were exactly 5 or 7 flashes.

I called the local repair shop and they recommended I call Panasonic back and pressure them to appove the repair before evaluation, unless I want to pay for a service call. I think she was talking about them coming out to the house rather than me bringing it in. I'm going to try that tomorrow...

Originally posted by JimSD
2 questions for Techniwizard:

1. Originally it was thought that only a few percent of the June-Aug sets had the shutdown problem. Do you have any updated numbers as to how many sets have now had the problem? 20%? 50%?

2. I have a June set with over 1800 hours on it. Would it be prudent to order the replacement IC now while they are still available, or should I just wait until/if the shutdown occurs?

You may want to get the part for the few dollars and piece of mind. Stock is plentiful right now but after the 7 years if there is no parts movement (no sales) they are tagged for disposal if no longer used ina ny current models.
Bean counters push to keep parts inventories low etc etc

There are no specific totals but I might guess that there have been 5% failures of the 3 months and then tenths of a percent in Sept- Nov 03 some that slipped through the cracks. This record keeping is not a priority now as it's a new model year and a lot of the 6s are now out of warranty.

TW

Thanks for the answers TW. I think that if I don't get the part immediately, I will most likely get it by August when the extended warranty from our credit card expires. After August, $25 is not bad for piece of mind.

The 5% number really surprises me. I was guessing around 20% based on what I've seen in stores and a restaurant. The restaurant has 10 and at least 2 of them had the shutdown problem. I've also seen it on 2 display models in stores - out of 10 or less I've seen it in.

Thanks once again for your insight.

Techniwizard,

Out of curiosity, what is the part number for the entire board (complete) that IC551 goes into? I know it is most likely expensive purchased as is, but I'm curious.

Actually, curious and worried because I haven't hear back from the guy I took my board too... I talked to him and he wasn't done, but his shop has been closed for the last couple days and he did sound sick, so for now I'm giving him the benifit of the doubt (if he has the cold I just got, then I could see how he wouldn't want to go into work).

So, out of curiosity, and for peach of mind if I never see it again (which I doubt will happen, but you never know).

Thanks!

The complete PCB # is TNPA2841 suffix AH but you wouldn't be able to buy it. PCBs are inventory controlled and are only released after authorization by the local regional field engineer to broadcast service centers.

That said, in the unlikely event you need one get back to me.

Price is around $400 so better to hope he gets well soon.


OMIGAWD...Johnny Carson died today !!!

Later TW

I just read Johnny died too!

As far as the part, I'll let you know.. but I will give it time.. At least with this I know how much I can take him to small claims court for, and if worse comes to worse, maybe a summons will wake him up (although the money isn't a big issue, it's more the principal of the matter).

But, like I said, I'm jumping WAY ahead of things here and thinking worst case scenario. I guess when someone doesn't run their business like I run mine, I think they're cheats right away... :) I've already got the owner of the building's name and number where he rents space in a strip mall... LOL!

Well, got ahold of the guy doing the IC swap for me... he sounded terrible (sick, like congested at the end of the flu) and was very apologetic saying he was sick all last week and lost a week of work and has a lot of catch up to do.

I told him I understand and just to give me a call when hes got it done... I know what it's like to be sick.. I'm just getting over my second flu of the winter... it wasn't as bad as the first one, but if it was anything like the one I have now, I totally understand...

I should blame the govt for this for telling everyone not to get flu shots... LOL! now they're throwing out tons of vaccine!

bvstone, I have been following this thread for a while now and have been wondering how you made out with your repair. It's too bad that your repair guy had to get sick, but it sounds like things will work out OK. Let us know how things turn out.

Glad I found this thread! I have a 6uy September build date and after 1.3 years it started shutting down with the red light blinking. I have an extended warranty but they were closed when I called last night. We'll see if panny will come to the plate if the warranty doesn't.
Great information here, calmed my nerves. :) I'll post when I find out who's going to fix it....BTW It is a wall mount.

I think that this shutdown problem is much worse than Panasonic would like to admit!!! :(

I reviewed only the last 5 pages of this thread (starting with page 18) and I count 18 of us who had their units fail AFTER the warranty was over (in 2 cases within days of the warranty expiring). A lot of the failures occurred within the warranty period, but there is another large group who is having failures a couple of months after the warranty expires.

If their are 18 of us who had the shutdown problem that posted here, imagine how many others, who are not familiar with the AVS forums, have had this problem! Those poor folks had no idea about this problem and probably paid to have the problem fixed.

I think that Panasonic should have done a recall, or should have issued a blanket statement to their repair centers to cover the cost of this problem under extended warranty.

I agree the problem must be widespread in these models. Check out the 4 reviews here http://www.shopping.com/xPR-Panasonic_TH_42PA20 all of them complain about the problem.

As time goes on, it might be worth keeping your eyes open for "broken" TH-42PA20's. Some clueless folks might consider junking theirs and buying a new set rather than going through a repair out of warranty.

PS I looked on ebay. There's one for sale with a broken screen. If anyone wants circuit boards it might be the way to go.

Good News!

Got the board back today. The repairman apologized over and over about being late, but I told him I felt bad for bugging him being sick.

He showed me his work.. very nice! Even got the original chip out without cutting it first.. Gave me back the old part.

He said he tested both chips and they didn't seem much different. I exlained the deal.. he said he tested the rest of the board and it checked out ok.

Slapped it in, turned it on (after mounting on the wall by myself... ugh..) and success! Everthing works! No smoke or the dreaded "burning solder" Been about 30 minutes now.. hasn't shut off.

Lucky I took picks of the board first because there was one open plug that couldn't find a wire for... checked the pic, wasn't one there before.

So total money invensted in fix, $17 for ship, $29 for the labor (would have been 20, but I insisted he take more). Total time, 2 days (not counting the week the repairman was sick).

Anyone wanna buy a plasma TV? I think it's time to go LCD.. LOL!

I'm going to pick up my 6UY next week from the repair shop. It was 1.3 yrs. outside of the warranty. The panasonic rep for my region was very nice and understanding. He covered the part and labor. I just had to haul it to the service center which was about 100 miles away, but it's worth it. Thanks for the help techwizard.

I just realized, the Panasonic batteries in the remote lasted longer than the TV... LOL!

Originally posted by Scandy
Your TV was manufactured in June, one of the months that definitely has this problem. Your TV is shutting down, and it has gotten progressively worse. These are classic symptoms of this problem. When the TV shuts down, does the power LED on the front panel blink 5 or 7 times? If the answer is yes, then it is 99% certain that this is the problem....

The TV is my parents', and I couldn't find their receipt, so I had to wait for them to return from vacation anyway. They are back now, they found the receipt, and I saw it shut down today. There are a series of 5 blinks (4 short flashes followed by one long, then it repeats).

Changing the channel seems to trigger shut downs. Even without changing channels it will eventually shut down.

Was this the common behavior for the known IC flaw?

Anyway, I'm going to call Panasonic tomorrow to see if they will authorize repair and save the evalution time. The shop would rather just come by a put the new IC in since they are only a few miles away.

These are exactly the symptoms of IC551 shutdown.

Call the shop and let them put the IC in. Should be around an hour labor plus the house call.

T. Wiz

It took less than an hour to fix! If you are going to do this yourself, you will need an off set screw driver or you will need to remove the heat sink the regulator is attached to in order to lossen the screw holding the regulator to the heat sink.

Well, the CSR kept insisting that I have the shop evaluate the problem before they would authorize a warranty extension, so I asked for a supervisor. The shop kept insisting that this was not a good thing, because they would have to open the ticket charging us and could not then switch it to Panasonic (I suspect this is because of different labor rates for the public) The supervisor was very helpful and at least authorized that they would pay for the evaluation. The shop didn't really like it, but agreed to come out. They weren't sure whether the on-site service call would be covered, so I agreed to pay for that separately, if necessary. The service call was scheduled for today and I just got the report from my mother. They apparently worked out the details with Panasonic this morning and he just went ahead and replaced the IC. The whole thing took about 20 minutes and they said everything was covered and didn't even leave a receipt. Hopefully that's the end of it. Thanks for the help and information on this thread.

Well, unfortunately I have also now joined the "club." It happened right in the middle of Lost. Ugh! I never really assumed I was in the clear, even after 16 months of flawless performance. I just hoped I was. Oh, well. Guess It's time to comb the thread and arm myself with information.

Tommy,

If you're comfortable removing the board yourself try finding a good electronics repair shop. Buy the chip, bring it and the board in and ask the tech if he can replace it... total shouldn't be more than 40 bucks. The guy that did mine did great job and so far no troubles.

Also, it seems the volume is louder now. :) We used to watch on "12" all the time, but now we watch on "10"... which is odd.. maybe the TV channels are just turning things up..lol

Thank God I found this great site.


I have owned my TH_37PA20 for 5 hrs! It shut down already!

Heres the catch - no red lights after it shuts down. And I cant get it to turn on even after I unplug. Is this a new problem?

Going to give the service guy some of this info.

Any help would be great.

Add one more victim to list.

I have a TH-42PWD6UY with a manufacture date of September 2003 that started shutting down 3/8/05. I did not bother calling Panasonic. I ordered the regulator and replaced it myself. Total downtime for the repair was about an hour.

JEB,

I too have a 6UY that experienced this problem after 1.5 years. Im curious where you ordered the part and how much it costs? I would like to try and tackle this repair myself. Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

pip9ball, All the information that you need is already posted in this thread (including pictures). Please read post #376, #378, and #413. Actually, if you want more information start reading this thread at page 19.

Sorry to hear that this problem is still going on. I still think that Panasonic should have issued a recall.

Thanks for the info Scandy! It is a bummer that this issue has creeped up after 1.8 years. Im going to contact Panasonic and push them to honor the repair as this is a well known issue.

After reading numerous threads regarding this issue I still don't quite understand why some people see issues within months while others don't witness the problem after a year. The defective IC551 chip supposedly has low tolerance to voltage swings. If this is the case then why did it take 1.8 years for me to see this problem.

From a electrical engineer's persepctive this issue appears to be a device degradation and/or signal integrity problem. When a device is powered on charges (electrons) can become trapped in a region of the chip causing hot carrier effects and thus degrading the perfofmance of the chip. Or alternatively, routing lines could have been too close to one another causing transistors to be pulled high or low unexpectedly (SI effects).

This could answer the question as to why when a fan is placed to blow air across the back of the unit the shutdown issue went away. Just a thought?

In summary I beleive the transistors (PVT - Process, voltage, & temperature) used in the defective chip were not adequate in this environment. A thorough Realibility Verification flow should have cuaght this problem in the design cycle and all of this could have been avoided. With that said, Panasonic was well aware of this problem and should have issued a recall or addendum to the warranty to cover all repairs. Hopefully the representative from panasonic understands this fundamental ethical issue and does the right thing.

Thanks,

pip9ball

Originally posted by pip9ball
After reading numerous threads regarding this issue I still don't quite understand why some people see issues within months while others don't witness the problem after a year.
My guess: I think that the original circuit was designed with the shutdown threshold too stringent (over conservative). It shut down when really nothing was wrong. The tolerance of the original IC551 part was just too close to the edge. Over time, voltages and tolerances drift slightly, pushing an already too conservative circuit over the edge.

Different TVs might have slightly different voltages, and dependening on the combined tolerance of all of the other parts, the drift over time may vary from unit to unit. Eventually, the threshold is reached and the over conservative circuit shuts down.

Update: After roughly 3 levels of Panasonic CSR's, I finally was able to speak to someone who was well aware of this "shutdown" issue. Tedd Castillo (425-483-0192) handles all of Northern California and provided me with excellent service. He mentioned that this was most likely a IC551 problem, contacted my local service center to authorize repair and to bill Panasonic directly. This morning I performed the grueling task of removing my Panny from the wall and dropped it off at the service shop. I didn't get a chance to speak with the technician, however, the owner was well aware of this problem and has serviced many other units. I was pretty surprized to see 7-10 units in for repair...oddly enough most of them were 7UY's. Has there been big issues with this model? In any case, I hope to have my unit back home in about 7 days. I'll provide an update after the repair.

-pip9ball

Great thread. For the record, my 1.5 year old July 2003 build 6UY (wall mounted) now has the shutdown problem (with 7 blinks). Can anyone recommend a shop in northern NJ that will fix this on-site? Given that it's a relatively quick fix and the part is only $20 I wouldn't expect it to cost too much.

Send me a PM with your contact info and I'll forward it on Monday (tomorrow)

TW

I have a PA25, build date nov 2004, will i possbily see this problem or are the newer 25 series fixed?

You shouldn't have the problem with the PA25. I haven't read any instances of that model having the shutdown problem.

I lurked last winter reading this very same thread. When everyone said the issue was June-August build dates, in December '03 I bought my TH-42PA20 (Serial No. YB355xxxx) with an October build date, thinking I was secure. Should have keep lurking.

Last week started experiencing the shutdown, 7 blinks. Usually while I am just watching a program (no fiddling with remotes or switching inputs).

I am now 4 monthes past my warrenty, will probably take it in to a service center nearby.

I assume I am in the very small percentage of sets built post-August '03 to have the same problem as those, needing the same fix. Correct?

Did anyone have their's serviced in No. Va.? The two closest seem to be:
Commercial Television Services in Woodbridge
Tele-Fix in Herndon

Thanks in advance for your help.

sorry to repost the question from last year, but

does anyone know anything about a simple shutdown, no blinking lights, nothing, just shut down? I continue to have that for my panny every once in a while?

If anyone is interested in a cheap plasma, I noticed this on Ebay. Starting bid is $599, from the description "This auction is for a Panasonic TH-42PA20 42" Plasma TV. This tv is being sold "AS IS". There will no refunds or exchanges. This tv came to us on a load of electronics. We do not have the resources to repair it. When powered on a red light at the bottom makes 6 short blinks and 1 long blink and then repeats. "

Funny thing is they earlier were auctioning a circuit board, Panasonic Part # TXN/D10QCS. Description: " We ordered the part in an attempt to fix a plasma TV we have. We tried this board to fix the TV and it did not cure the problem with the TV."

:eek: Okay - so, after the purchase of this FINE model TH-42PA20 in Dec 2003 ;) , not shortly after it was installed the problem with the colorful red blinking light began. We took the heavy piece of garbage/I mean "television", back to the store we bought it from within a week of purchase date as we were directed by Panasonic customer service department. My husband and I had to transport the heavy thing. Anyone else try to lift one? At that time, during our phone conversation with Customer Service they thought possibly the blinking was due to the high altitude (we're only at 3500 feet - jeesh, gimme a break!). My reply, "Okay - no". That was an insult at the the very least to my intelligence. Then Panasonic said possibly it was in the wiring inside my walls. Again I replied, "Okay - no". Anyway - so many hours of phone coversation later we found ourselves sitting at the retail store - after 4 hours of sitting and waiting at the retail facility that sold us this unit and after being accused by the store manager of a fraudulent claim that the t.v. did indeed work but that we'd just changed our minds, we were finally given another unit. We transported the heavy piece of ???? - okay the television - back home 90 miles, had the professional installers come and install a 2nd unit (to the tune of 300 bucks) only to find that this "sweet" unit is performing it's magic all over again. And the problem seems intermittent. It will be on for a half hour and poof, picture turns off and the red light begins blinking. Sometimes the television will go for hours, or days, or minutes.

SO - due to all of the fantastic posts that I have been able to read, I thank each and every one of you for your very informative posts. Seems to me that I wasn't crazy after all as Panasonic suggested... :o If I had known that this website existed once the first television was bought and then through the endless blinking and resetting of the current television - it could have saved me from endless angry outbursts... :cool:

Rest assured customer service will be contacted, again. Warranty or not, this batch of t.v.'s all seem to have the same problem... coincidence? I think not.

(From 2/18/05) Well, unfortunately I have also now joined the "club." It happened right in the middle of Lost. Ugh! I never really assumed I was in the clear, even after 16 months of flawless performance. I just hoped I was. Oh, well. Guess It's time to comb the thread and arm myself with information.

It is July 17, and my 42PA20 has not shut down once since February. The interesting thing is, no repair was ever done.

On Feb. 22 I ordered the IC from Panasonic for 19.95 + shipping. It arrived in five days. I removed the unit from its mounting, took the back cover off and after studying it for a while, came up with my strategy of fixing it.

Figuring I would commence repairs within the next few days, I left the cover off to save the time and hassle of having to deal with all of the numerous screws that hold it on. I also continued using the unit.

As the days went by, I became busy with other things and so the repair kept being put off. In April, since I had experienced no additional shutdown problems with the unit and with the May season finales right around the corner, I decided to postpone the repair until summer. Instead, I remounted/reinstalled the entire monitor, but chose to leave the back cover off

Five months have passed now, and the plasma has operated normally with no flaws, no shutdowns. This experience may serve as further proof that the IC551 flaw is indeed heat related since, without its back cover, the entire unit is able to give off its heat more readily.

I still plan on replacing the IC on mine soon since I already have the part. But for those who may be looking for an immediate, low cost (or really a no cost) solution, this may be an answer, especially if your unit is installed in a wall recess... well ventilated, of course.

Greetings all,

I appear to now be joining the ranks of others now with this shut down issue with Panasonic Plasmas. Mine is the TH-42PWD6. I have enjoyed my plasma since I first got it back in December 2003. I have NEVER had a problem with it until this morning when I turned it on and after a few seconds the green light turned into a blinking red standby light. I tried several times with the same result. My heart sank! I spent over 3G's on this thing and it's now possibly broken?!? CRAP!!!

So after actually unplugging it and turning it back on, it miraculously worked again. Which didn't make me feel too good because I didn't know why it failed to come on in the first place. Then I wasn't able to switch the input from PC mode. Turning the power off and on again managed to fix that. But I was really getting worried here. So off to work I went when I searched the net for an authorized service center website when I found this forum. Wow. Talk about ignorance is bliss! I NEVER knew these panasonic plasmas series were prone to this. And looking at the dates of the original post it seems that this was going on well before I made my purchase a year and a half ago. If I had found this forum back then when I was doing my research I don't think I would have bought it.

I got Panasonic because absolutely nothing looked better. Plus the price was outstanding compared to other brands. I guess you really get what you pay for afterall. A few questions for those still looking at this thread:

I've noticed several people quote how many hours their plasma was working before it failed. Is there a way to check this on the display? Or are people just guestimating?

Also, I live in Hawaii, so I'll be damned if I pay $500 to ship my TV to a repair place back in the continental US. Anyone else here in Hawaii have the same problem with their display? Are there places here that know of the problem and can fix it?

Several later posts claim they were able to get Panasonic to cover the cost of the repair, even with an expired warranty. Since I bought mine from DTVCity and had it shipped here, I don't have a store I can take it back to. Anyone know the direct way of getting Panasonic to cover the repair?

Thanks.

does it keep doing it? Mine, since the beginning has been simply going off sometimes, not with the multiple blinks or anything and not blinking after the screen is off. There IS a signal output, or lack on input shutoff function, and that may be causing something when the input doesn't get enough signal from the tivo, or dvd, or whatever. Come to think of it, it only really happens when coming from a tivo.

does it keep doing it? Mine, since the beginning has been simply going off sometimes, not with the multiple blinks or anything and not blinking after the screen is off...

It failed when I initially tried to turn it on this morning. It didn't go off when I was watching it for a while. It never fully clicked on. The green light came on after being in standby. It then takes a few seconds for the display to turn fully on. Only this time, instead of it coming on, the display kicked off and the standby light blinked 7 times.

I then pressed the actual on/off button instead of the standby button on the remote. I did this several times with the same result. It wasn't until I actually unplugged the TV and tried again that it worked. Wasn't able to test for much longer since I had to get to work. I'll be trying it again when I get home. I'll also be looking up the manufacturing date.

I have a PA25, build date nov 2004, will i possbily see this problem or are the newer 25 series fixed?


Hi, I was frustrated when my Panasonic Plasma EDTV TH-42PA25 shut down today. So I went online and did a search, and found this forum. I'm glad I did. I purchased mine from Costco back in April 2005, and it has a manufactured date of FEB 2005. I've read this thread throughly, and noticed that some of the things that I've did may trigger the shut down. I was watching wrestling WWE, and I was afraid that the WWE logo would cause a burn in to the plasma, so I clicked on the aspect ratio to change the display every 10 minutes or so. Also the weather in San Francisco today is extremely hot. Anyhow, after the initial shut down, I waited for about 5 minutes before powering it back on. It powered back on, but shut down again after just 10 minutes. So I let it cooled down for about 2 hours before I turned it back on again, and now it's at night time, the temperature in my room is a bit cooler. I played some dvd movies (without messing with the aspect ratio button or channel switching) I was able to watched 45 minutes without interruption. I'm fortunate that I purchase this from Costco, as they have a very good return policy, I think 6 months for laptop/desktop computers / television sets. So the question I want to ask is... Should I return this Pana Plasma and get my money back, so I can get something better? (I will have to do a deeper research, maybe Sony this time) Or should I just try to forget / avoid the problem by not watching it when the weather is too hot and not messing with the aspect ratio buttons??? Seriously, I've compared numerous brands... The Pana really got the best pictures out there, as far as price goes. Thanks! :confused:

ss5153,

Another option is to have Panasonic repair the unit. I know it must be really frustrating to have a 3 month old TV go bad, but as I understand it, this is a problem they can fix. I know I wouldn't want to be restricted in the way I could use the set. I think you got a great set for picture quality (I have the 6UY commercial version). Good luck.

And besides, anything that is going wrong is likely to get worse over time. If you are getting intermittent shutdowns, I encourage you to get it serviced.

i have a panasonic th42pa20. it was produced in July, 2003. i had the shut down issue repaired in 12/03. The other day my wife was using the tv and it shut down again. However, she got a two blink cycle. two blinks, pause, two blinks, and so on. anyway, by the time i got home, the tv was unplugged from its source. I plugged it back in and it has worked fine for the last 10 days with no problem. Anyone know what this is? The day it shut down was very hot and high humidity (I would say over 90 degrees and 90 percent humidity). My wife didn't have the ac on. Could this have been a problem with overheating? My concern now is that I may be making a problem worse by continuing to use the unit. Any help would be appreciated.

Firstly, thank God I found this forum!!

My TH-42PA20 shutdown last night, no warning, just shutdown and started blinking 2 times (one short one long). Now it cannot be switched on at all.

I bought the TV in July 2003 and have been very happy with it so far. I got it from Circuit City and apparantly was one of the first to take delivery as they didn't even have one on the shop floor! I am now thinking I have got one of the faulty batch which has taken its time to go wrong.

Thanks to this thread I have put in a call to Tedd Castillo who apparantly handles the Northern California region for Panasonic (425-483-0192) and am waiting for a call back. I have also called the nearest service center who told me that they are familiar with the problem and are arranging an appointment.

I am hoping that as this is a well-known problem I can get Panasonic to foot the bill for the repair, even though I am out of warranty. After all, this has to be cheaper than a Class Action Law Suit! What surprises me is that none of these units have been recalled by Panasonic to rectify the problem.

Have many people experienced the problem outside the warranty and had Panasonic honor the repair?

Wow just found this thread. My 42PWD6 just died. Its been a couple years now but its a bedroom Plasma so it doesnt get a whole lot of use. Just wanted to thank you guys for the info posted. One way or another it will be fixed because of this thread!

hello all,
my TH-42PWD6 (manuf. 7/03) was having the same shutdown problem as others have had. so after finding this thread i ordered the new part and had a panasonic authorized repair shop install it on the board. i put it all back together, but afterward my tv would not power up at all. anyone have any suggestions?
thanks

hello all,
my TH-42PWD6 (manuf. 7/03) was having the same shutdown problem as others have had. so after finding this thread i ordered the new part and had a panasonic authorized repair shop install it on the board. i put it all back together, but afterward my tv would not power up at all. anyone have any suggestions?
thanks
never mind. i just missed one of the connectors. broke the cardinal rule. got in hurry and didn't take a picture before i started. one set of wires got underneath another board. tv works great. cost me 20 bucks for the part and $25 for the install.
thanks for all the great info. everyone!

Well heck, I pulled mine off the wall today. The date on teh back says feb 04. Seeing this didnt make me happy. But I took the back off and pulled the board anyway. The suffix is F6668M the good #. Man this sux! I dont watch this TV that much. Its a bedroom screen and after a little over a year and a half it went out.
I turn the unit on and I get a line on the right hand side followed by the unit turning off and the light flashing two times. If anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them! Fuggin panny!

Does anyone know of a good shop in Sacramento for Plasma's?

Does anyone know of a good shop in Sacramento for Plasma's?
Authorized Panny service center:
C & S TELEVISION 5448 ROSEVILLE RD NORTH HIGHLAND CA 95660 (916) 332-1811

Hello,

I am new here.

I was told that my 50" Yamaha PDM-1 (purchased in 2003) is based on a Panasonic model, (and that only the bezel color and retail channel is different) and now after all this time, yesterday, the unit shuts down a few seconds after power up - and then the LED blinks (6 "off" cycles).

I am in the Woodland Hills, CA area. Any advice about how to get this repaired - and what to say - would be specifically appreciated.

Thanks in advance - and for all the useful info in this thread.

If it is in fact a Panasonic unit and blinks off 6 times, this indicates a fan roatation failure. Remove the rear panel and power up and check the four fans. Only one needs to not rotate to give this error.

It may be bad, but may only be clogged with dust bunnies. Try cleaning around the bearing. Don't clean out the dust until you identify which fan is not rotating in case it needs replacement.

These are 3 wire fans similar to computer case fans with the extra wire for rotation sensing.

2003 model equivalent might be TH50PHD5UY, need more info to be sure.

If it's not really a Panasonic, you're on your own.

TW.

If it is in fact a Panasonic unit and blinks off 6 times... .


Yup, the Yamaha PDM-1 is indeed a rebadged Panasonic. :)



.
Check Out the all-new BruZZi's Panasonic Plasma FAQ (http://www.glaucobruzzi.com/plasma-faq/index.php?)
The FAQ plus links to Plasma Stands, Wallmounts, Speakers, Frames, Bezels & More.
Also links to Audio/Video Faqs, Comparisons, Reviews, Shootouts, Tweaks & Many More.

Techniwizard, Bruzzi, thank you *so much* for these responses.

I will check the fans out - and report back. I really appreciate it!

Yep! Dead on Techniwizard.

One of the four fans won't spin up - or if it does, it won't continue to spin. What terrific insight you provided. :)

Any chance you would be able to direct me on how I should replace the bad fan? I have yet to crack open the chassis.

Should I try to disassemble the fan and clean it somehow - or try to find a replacement?

If replacement - any idea who I should call for that part? Thanks again!

Well,

They are a standard part which I don't have with me at the moment.

Send me a PM with your e-mail address and I'll reply Tues or Wed if I can find the info.

TW

:)

Thanks! At your convenience - and much appreciated.

Turns out I opened up the chassis, removed the bad fan, cleaned the external dust off, shook it around and used a can of compressed air to really kick the dust bunnies out.

The thing appears to work now. I am stunned. If it still works tomorrow - I'm gonna hang it back on the wall.

I can't thank you enough Mr. Technowizard.

Glad to hear it is working.

For future reference, the fan for a series 5 either 50 or 42 inch is part #

FBL06A12LS

You can get it on-line at www.panasonic.com under SUPPORT - BUY PARTS about $40 List
Better to try an Electronics store or on-line supplier of Pana parts, probably cheaper.

Hope you don't need one.

T. Wiz

I've joined the list of shut down sufferers. TH-42PA20, October 2003 production date, sn YB355xxx, purchased November 2003. Shuts down, blinks 5 times. Right now I can watch for about 3 hours before it goes out. I've been unplugging, waiting 1-4 hours (depends on what I'm doing). If I attempt to turn it back on too soon, I'll hear that high-pitched sound and I know it will go out again shortly. Thanks to this forum I don't have to panic. I have an extended warranty through Warrantech and I'm waiting on a call-back from them. I'm hoping this can be repaired in-home without too much trouble.

Techniwizard I just took my panny into the shop. (see posts on page 16) They are saying its the panel and Im looking at 1200.00 This thing is 15 months old! Its a bedroom panny and doesnt get much use. Do you know if panny will work with me on this? Thanks for any bit of help!

Techniwizard I just took my panny into the shop. (see posts on page 16) They are saying its the panel and Im looking at 1200.00 This thing is 15 months old! Its a bedroom panny and doesnt get much use. Do you know if panny will work with me on this? Thanks for any bit of help!

Can't say for sure. Bad time of year, lot of folks on vacation and not my region.

If you see a vertical line before it shuts down it could be the panel and that price is about right. Of course you could get a new 8UK for near that kind of $$$.

The West Zone Factory Svc Ctr is in LA 323-436-3500 but these folks were just in NJ for meetings and are traveling back to go straight to holidays so you may not find anyone until next week or longer.

Man I did see the line. I think its just NUTS that this thing went out so fast! Thanks for trying to help. I know one thing for sure if I buy another it wont be a panny! Sux to spend almost 3k for something and it go out so fast!

Greetings,

I have a similar problem, but not exactly the same. My 37" EDTV Plasma (Panasonic) has started turning itself off immediately after I turn it on.

This happened yesterday. I hit the power button (on remote) and it flashes on and then goes dead immediately.

THis morning I turned it on and it ran fine for an hour or so. I'm sick at home with a cold... so around noon I tried running it again and it did the same thing as yesterday.

I don't see anything happen like flashing lights. The front panel is dead, and the button on the front doesn't respond.

Is this a common problem?

Any suggestions?

Calvin

Just in time for the holidays, my Oct 2003 YB355XXXX TH-42PA20 has encountered the Shutdown - 5 blink problem. Just in time for the holdidays:(

Does anyone know of a panasonic rep in the central NJ area that is aware of the problem that I can call to try and help me? And maybe a service center (Central NJ, Middlesex county) that has fixed this problem before.

I have the part number for the IC 551.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks,
Casey

Just in time for the holidays, my Oct 2003 YB355XXXX TH-42PA20 has encountered the Shutdown - 5 blink problem. Just in time for the holdidays:(

Does anyone know of a panasonic rep in the central NJ area that is aware of the problem that I can call to try and help me? And maybe a service center (Central NJ, Middlesex county) that has fixed this problem before.

I have the part number for the IC 551.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks,
Casey

Send me a PM

I have a 14 month old TH-37PD25UP which, a couple of days ago, started making a ticking noise (sounds just like a turn indicator on a car) when plugged in. Red power light will turn on but no picture or sound on any input. After a few minutes it will power off on its own. If I cycle the inputs, one of them will show a blank, black screen. I've tried unplugging over night with no change.

Is this the same issue as the rest of the posters to this thread or something novel and expensive to repair?

I have a 14 month old TH-37PD25UP which, a couple of days ago, started making a ticking noise (sounds just like a turn indicator on a car) when plugged in. Red power light will turn on but no picture or sound on any input. After a few minutes it will power off on its own. If I cycle the inputs, one of them will show a blank, black screen. I've tried unplugging over night with no change.

Is this the same issue as the rest of the posters to this thread or something novel and expensive to repair?

Posssibly but this is a consumer model so I'm not sure.

Generally, any defect except the panel display itself is worth it to get repaired.
Average is a few hundred $$$ depending on the parts needed.

TW

Not a shutdown issue, but I do get the 7 blinking light on my panny 37" PWD 6UY.
When turnng on using the remote, I get a high pitch sound from the set, picture is faded and unwatchable, but if I turn the unit off, then on, using the power button on the set, the picture comes back and stays on for as long as I watch it.
Any ideas?
It works fine, as long as I power up from the set, not the remote.

Not a shutdown issue, but I do get the 7 blinking light on my panny 37" PWD 6UY.
When turnng on using the remote, I get a high pitch sound from the set, picture is faded and unwatchable, but if I turn the unit off, then on, using the power button on the set, the picture comes back and stays on for as long as I watch it.
Any ideas?
It works fine, as long as I power up from the set, not the remote.

This may be the same problem.

What is the date and year of manufacture ? (from the rear panel sticker)

Affected months were June-July August of 2003. A very few of Sept-Oct-Nov 2003.
Only the 42PWD6UY and 37PWD6UY (not the HD versions) and their consumer counterparts in that time frame.

The back panel shows an Aug 2003 Mfg date.
Is that any help?
What puzzles me...if I use the front panel to turn it on, it works fine.
It's just the remote power on, that's a problem!
VB