Master thread for Panasonic plasma not turning on - Page 9

Panasonic is doing the right thing: Offering to repair my Panasonic TH-42PZ700U which failed to turn on and exhibited the Seven Red Blinks on the power-on indicator light. I was three months and 22 days out of warranty when the malfunction occurred.

It took six days after I faxed my receipt to Panasonic for their customer care unit to decide to approve the in-home repair. I had a phone message that they approved "a one-time accommodation," and I was given the Concierge number to call to schedule a repair. (I'm scheduled for Wednesday, April 1, a date I hope is not indicative of some planned lark.)

If all goes as planned, I will "only" be deprived of my TV for 10 days. So, overall I'm pleased thus far with Panasonic's handling of what seems to be a somewhat common problem with these units. I think the malfunction might have appeared during the warranty period if our usage had been normal, but we have used it less than two to three hours each day on average. (We might have used it more if our Panasonic DVD recorder had not been malfunctioning during so much of the year, requiring two lengthy trips back east for service.)

That is great to hear, thanks for the update.

My 42PZ700U just went today Will call Viera Concierge in the am, had it for ~8mos.

Sorry to here that, how many blinks?

7 Blinks and I looked, it's past warranty so now I will see what I can do with Concierge services - they do have an appointment with me for Weds.

This really seems like they should be fixing this for anyone, regardless of age of TV, gratis and extending the warranty as well. I found a LOT of other forums/sales sites where folks have the same issues.

What are the chances that after fixing this the problem will reoccur? Did they update the boards/firmware enough to eliminate this?

I love the TV when it works but now I've bought two Panny items in the last year both defective - my DVD player from them has major issues requiring unplugging to reset. I feel like I should have gone Samsung LCD or sucked it up on a Bravia

is there a general timeline in the sets' life where these issues are coming up?

From reading this thread, not really - some people had it happen almost upon first use while others like me are over a year.

Well, they took my TV today. Pretty much got a blank stare when I mentioned the firmware update.

Good news!

The service person Concierge sent (all the way from Foster City!) arrived today (1) on time, (2) with the right parts, (3) with a pleasant demeanor, and (4) with the requisite skills.

In about 30 minutes, he (1) confirmed the Seven Blink code, (2) removed the TV from the armoire with a wee bit of help from me and without complaint,* (3) disassembled the back of the TV, (4) tested the three suspect boards to find the faulty one, (5) replaced the faulty board, (6) reassembled the back, (7) tested the TV without the antenna (first-time setup screen), (8) replaced the TV into the armoire and reattached the antenna and the HDMI and composite connections, (9) tested the TV and the DVD recorder (both kinds of input), (10) updated the firmware with an SD card, (11) collected my signature, and (12) went happily on his way (a great guy: thanks to immigration we have another competent American!).

*Concierge had warned me that the repair folk might refuse to remove the TV from a cabinet, because of the risk of breaking the screen.

Note that the repair person upgraded the firmware without prompting, unlike the previous post.

So, even though it took Panasonic six days to decide to repair my set, which was out of warranty by three months and 22 days, and took another four days to repair it, I have to report that overall I'm pleased with the way Panasonic treated me.

Now I look forward to several years of trouble-free viewing. The set this Panasonic replaced was a 19-inch Sony purchased in 1979. The only "repair" in all that time was a replaced fuse. The repair man today said we can't expect the new sets to last nearly as long or to be as trouble free. Pity. At least they are less expensive in relative terms and have a better and much larger picture.

That is great news DawnSun and thanks for the update. This is one of the reason that I purchase a Panasonic.

Hi there,
i'm seeing this wierd issue with my new 50pz85u, every time i touch the power cord, which i checked is firmly and securely in place, it is disconnecting the power.. i noticed it when i wanted to plug in my rcvr in the power extension and i mistakenly touched the power cord and then to confirm if thats the case, i started wiggling the cord and every time i move it upwards it loses the connection and reconnects when i bring it down... and yesterday all of sudden poof it died no power then I started wiggling again the cord and noticed that if there only position where i could get the power by pulling the power cable all the way upward almost like pulling it towards the upper side. as soon as i let it go it loses the power connection... anyone seen something similar to this?

Sound like the locking tabs has widen and not locking the power cord. Try removing the power cord by pushing both side snaps and inspect the tabs. If ok then insert it firmly until the tabs on both sides click into place.

OK, big thumbs up to Panny - my TV was WAY out of warranty, purchased 10/07 and they still covered all repairs ($575, half labor and half replacement board).

The invoice shows the SC board as replaced.

Now I'm going to do the firmware upgrade to my TV in the next couple of days too.

That is wonderful, thanks for the info and update.

I'm happy to read that you were treated as well as I was by Panasonic for this Seven Blinks problem. I wish there were a place to record these failures and Panasonic's responses--especially its responses to requests for out-of-warranty repairs.

One of my frustrations with this otherwise wonderful AVS Forum is the sheer mass of information and the difficulty--for me, at least--of finding what I need. I certainly don't have time to read all the posts even on the threads I'm interested in. And the first few times on this site are a searcher's nightmare. Even now I have trouble searching.

Firmware upgrades: How does one learn about them? And how does one download and install them?

I was lucky that the repairman had the upgrade for a Panasonic TH-42PZ700U when he came out to make the authorized out-of-warranty repair. But how do I keep up with upgrades going forward?

Panasonic has my e-mail address. Why can't they e-mail me about firmware upgrades when they appear?

Yes it would be nice for companys to email an owner about firmware updates. But they general don't do that unless its a safety issue. I have found that if there is an problem with something, is to go to the company website. Here is the firmware update.

Generally, vendors do not allow self-firmware upgrades, these are left to authorized servicers. They are also only suggested for a reported problem. If you are not having problems, no need to upgrade and tempt fate.

Same reason all vendors discourage entry into Service Menus.

T Wiz

Thanks, JChin, for the link. It didn't have instructions on what to do with the download, but I found all one needs at this page: http://www.panasonic.com/announce/updatemytv/info.html

Of course, it doesn't have everything I need since I have no idea what an "SD card" is. (Is that what's used in digital cameras?) Or how to get stuff from the Web site to the SD card to the TV set. One option that page offers is to have Panasonic mail the upgrade. I suppose that means they send you an SD card.

Actually, the repair person who fixed my Seven Blinks problem installed some kind of update, so I assume it was this one. I bought my set in November 2007, and I think I saw this update came out in January 2008. I suppose any others updates would be included. They are cumulative aren't they?

Check out the following page:

http://www.pasctraining.panasonic.co...ads/Plasma.ASP


.

Yup.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Digital_card

.

Thanks BruZZi for the link to the Panasonic firmware upgrades page. I see for the first time that there are TWO upgrades for my Panasonic TH-42PZ700U. One upgrade is for TH-nnPZ700 (all screen sizes in the PZ700 series), and one is for just the TH-42PZ700U.

I'm going to assume the repairman installed both of these updates when he came out last week to repair the Seven Blinks problem. He did some sort of upgrade with a wee card.

Even with the online instructions I'm not even sure where an SD card slot might be on my computers--or even IF there is one on my eight-year-old desktop or 11-year-old laptop. My wife's has a newer Mac and plugs her digital camera into it, but can one even use Macs to download these upgrades? Or does one insert an SD card into a USB slot? Just a thought.

I am almost 4 month owner of the TH-42PZ80U-A
Yesterday (Friday) I had the 10 blink error & now it is completely dead. Called Panasonic Concierge & have an appointment for service on Wednesday afternoon. TV was purchased online from Bestbuy 12/12/08, delivered 12/17/08.

Phone service was pleasant & informative. I asked about the HDMI Extender & was told that it did not apply to the "A" model. I have been using the TV primarily as a monitor on my HTPC & have always used the HDMI 2 rear input without issues. I am using a cheap ATI HD 2400 vid card & have only been able to keep the PC stable without using the ATI catylist, using the automatic installed Windows XP drivers. But that is non issue with the TV itself.

I will update wednesday, after the service. Hopefully typing from my reliner, looking at the 42in screen.

Thanks to all for the information provided in this post. I purchased the TV because of what I read on this site & now my google search for th-42pz80U "10 blinks" returned me to this site again. I will try to be informative with all info absorbed from the repair tech.

TH-50PX75U failed today with the 7-blink error. And of course, it is about 3 or 4 months out of the 1 year warranty.
I called Panasonic and was told that while they are extending the warranty for this problem on the 42" sets, it does not apply to the 50" sets! Anyone know how I might appeal this? I imagine the circuitry is very similar if not identical. The symptoms are the same.
Any others having the same failure on the 50" version?

I have had my TV for 2 monthes. It shut down last night. Now it just blinks 7 times in a row. I have the TH-46PZ85U. It seems to me that Panasonic has a pretty big problem with these TV,s, judging by all these posts I have just read here. All the reviews were great on the set, that is why I chose it. Does anyone know if this a common problem with plasmas in general, or is it isolated to just Panasonic?

Power Supply failures have been plaguing various types of TVs for at least twenty years; it's not just a Panasonic thing. My top-of-the-line 1990 Sony Trinitron tube TV had two separate power supply failures (both times out of warranty but covered under and EW), and the RCA tube monitor it replaced blew it's power supply before that. Vizio had their famous "Pop of Death" power supply failure problem, Pioneer had such a big power supply problem that they were fixing them at no charge for about 3 years after the factory warranty expired. Samsung and LG and Sony and every other brand have the random power supply failure too. Power supplies are the most commonly failed component in a TV regardless of brand or model or technology.

Panasonic is the most reliable TV available, you just got unlucky. The number of complaints you see here is very small compared to all the other Panasonic owners here who have not had any problems.

I'm happy to report some positive news. It appears that Panasonic is indeed taking steps to address this recurring problem, even if the set is slightly beyond its warranty period, as ours is. While this is a well-known fact on this forum for the 42" sets, I had not seen any similar reports regarding the 50" models.

Since my earlier post, I called the "concierge" service a 2nd time and obtained a Fax number. Then I faxed them a brief note explaining the situation and attaching my sales receipt and serial/model number info. Panasonic called us back a couple days later and asked that we contact the local authorized service center, to have them evaluate the problem. They came to our house and took the TV with them, and we wrote them a check for the diagnostic fee. Less than a day later, the service center called to say they'll be returning our check because Panasonic has agreed to pay for the repair.

We are very happy campers 2 thumbs up for Panasonic! They're doing the right thing... and because of the way they've responded to this problem, I'm certain that in another year or two when we move up to a 58" (and relegate the 50" to the family room) Panasonic will be at the top of my list again.

That is great news, thanks for the update.

Someone please help! I have a TH-58px600U that I have had for about 2-3 yrs. Just came home today to find out the wife was having problem with the picture. I went to look at it and the unit is unresponsive. No controls work, and there is no picture or sound. The unit doesn't "click" anymore when it is turned on or off like it used to. It just quietly turns on and goes to a grey screen.

I checked and there are no blinking lights when I turn the tv on. (Do I need to do anything special to get the blinking lights?) I also tried unplugging the tv for a while and tried again, but get same result.

I hope I am in the right thread, as this seemed to be a similar issue to what some others were having. I haven't posted in a while, but I used this site extensively in making my decision to buy a panny in the first place.

Please help, I am in full panic mode right now!

You don't happen to have contact info for the Foster City repair service that Panasonic sent do you?

I live in Foster City and my TH-42PZ77U just failed with the 7 blinking lights on Fri (4/24).

I already called Concierge on Sat (4/25), and I'm waiting for the promised call back. But it would be nice to have a direct phone number to their Foster City technician, just in case I don't get the call back in a reasonable amount of time...

Update -- I unplugged the tv from the surge protector, and let it sit for a few minutes. Plugged it back in, and it is working again? So far so good, it has been about 15 minutes. I think I will call for the firmware update just in case. Anyone have any thoughts?