Hello all, I own a TH-50PHD3 and it is a wonderful unit for a 5 year old. Well, yesterday, when it powered on, I saw an overblown, excessive bloom image for a brief half-sec, then it shut down with three blinking flashing lights.

I know the warranty was long gone, so I wanted to try my hand in fixing it before it truly R.I.P. I went over to Bruzzi Forum, and saw that he had some 5UY blink codes and it translates to 3.3 SOS D/DA board.

Being that the info is for the later model, I purchased the TH-50PHD3 service manual, and I'm guessing that since it had 1 D board, that's the one I needed.

Panny Service Center could not help with even checking if the 3 blinks means replacing the D board was the fix.

According to the service manual, the part number I need is TZTNP010GYS. Panny service is not that technical so I was referred to a local service center, and it was frustrating to talk to the guy as he wanted to fix the plasma himself.

I need help from any of you that can refer me offline to someone who is knowledgeable about the blinking three lights on a TH-50PHD3, and if I picked the correct part number to fix. Many world of thanks to all of you that can put me in the right direction.

With a wife and 2 kids, and this is our only display unit - needless to say, it's been a challenge without any viewing access to cable, dvd, or PS3.

Mike :confused:

Okay, can someone PM offline is I was breaking any cardinal rules about asking for help.

I'm ready to pull the trigger and buy this part, but need assurance I'm on the right path of troubleshooting.

On these very early models, it is usually the SU, SD, and/or SC boards that go bad.
As stated in the SM, the LED blinks are counted as they go DARK, not as they light up so be sure of your error code. Two blinks is the most common error.

To troubleshoot, alternately pull the SU and SD from where they plug into the SC board. Leave the ribbons to the panel connected and be careful as they are fragile.
Power on to test with only one board at a time SU or SD still connected, and look for a good 1/2 screen either upper or lower. If so, the disconnected board is your suspect.

If neither brings a good picture, the SC is most likely bad. This is also the most common failure and because of that, these boards are in short supply and may be out of stock. Boards are only available during production which ended in 2001, so if stocks are exhausted, you may not be able to find a board.

There have been D board failures but they are far less common and I would not advise to spend the big bucks on this board as a guessing DIY.

This model was always difficult to repair due to its complexity and board interactions. Not trying to be a Techno-Snob, but these repairs are not really for the dabbler or the faint of heart. If you are anywhere near LA or Anaheim, I would recommend a servicer called M-Industrial Audio/Video. They are reasonable and may have stock on these older boards.

T Wiz

Awesome - thanks for the input. I assume that since it lights up 3x, that means I count the 2X in-between when it's dark. I'll start by doing the troubleshooting steps you wrote so I can report back what the outcome looks like. Mike