Master thread for Panasonic plasma not turning on - Page 13

Add me to the chorus of HTPC-connected 50" Pannys with the 10-blink issue.

I used my TH-50PZ80U for about a year with a Mac Mini attached via DVI to HDMI #2 with no issues. I just upgraded to the newest Mini, which uses the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M video card, and immediately got the 10 blink issue.

I'll call ABT and then Panasonic to try to get one of those extenders. Any ideas on if there will be other issues caused by this issue?

MC

Also, do we know if there's a different behavior between the Mini's mini-DVI and its mini-Displayport outputs? They're both going to HDMI eventually, but maybe there's a difference in the handling of the signals on MDP that won't cause this issue?

In other words: nothing is broken, it's just the TV not liking the signal from the HTPC and protecting itself by shutting down. If I get the HDMI extender from Panasonic, is that video board in the TV still in jeopardy?

AFAIK, supplies of the extender/repeater to fix this issue are exhausted.

No sweat, the item is a stock MONOPRICE HDMI repeater. Search te old threads for the exact part number.

TW

Called Panasonic and they'll ship the part out when I call back with the serial number and date of purchase (I'm not at home at this moment). So it sounds like they have them back in stock, although I'll believe it when I have it in my hands.

When I explained my setup to the person on the phone, right away he said, "connecting a pc to the hdmi may give you the ten blinks issue". He kept saying, "it is the mac that is the problem, not the tv" and we went back and forth on whether that matters or not. I kept saying it's an incompatibility between two devices and it doesn't matter who's the culprit. Regardless, it looks like they'll send out the part.

Well the extra parts and service warranty is for 3 years plus the 1 year manufacturer.
So basically the tv good for 4 years...after that if it needs a $700 repair throw it out.

Thats the economies of the new televisions

I own a Panasonic TH-42PZ77U plasma that I bought in Dec. 2007 (so I'm 8 months out of warranty). Unfortunately, last Sunday, I turned on the TV to discover the "7 blinking lights" problem like many others have.

I called Panasonic on Monday morning and they reminded me that I would be responsible for repairs (since I'm out of warranty) and forwarded my information to the local repair shop. The repair guys called to schedule an appointment for Wednesday (he seemed pretty confident it was the SC board based on the symptoms).

At this point, I started doing some research and happened upon this thread. After realizing that many others were having the same problem as I was, I called back Panasonic. After some haggling, they agreed that, if the blown part was the SC board, they would pay the cost of the part and I would be responsible for the service charges.

Sure enough, the repair guy came yesterday, identified the SC board as the problem, and had the TV working again in < 30 minutes. He told me this is a very common problem and he also did a firmware update that supposedly stops it from reoccuring. He then prompted charged me $200 for the service call (apparently, the part costs another $200 but I told him Panasonic was covering that).

I must say, I was impressed by Panasonic's customer service. They were cordial, prompt, and accurate.

What I CAN'T understand is: If Panasonic was aware that this problem existed, why didn't they advise owners to update the firmware in order to prevent this problem from occurring? I can find NOTHING on their website that indicates this issue whatsoever. I specifically bought Panasonic because of their high level of reliability (and quality). I understand that any manufacturer can produce lemons, but according to the repair guy, this is a VERY common issue. What gives???

Anyways, I'm out $200 (at least I didn't have to pay $400) and I'm seriously reconsidering whether or not I'll ever buy another Panasonic TV.

They are probably just covering their collective butts by not advising people to update their firmware. That would have given people documentation of a design flaw in the product and they probably would have sued to get their repairs covered, or the warranty period for these sets extended.

Both options are bad for Panasonic.

Update to my original post (#349):

It took a week for Panasonic to get back to me (partly because they had my phone number recorded incorrectly), and another few days to schedule a service appointment, but as of 8/18, a tech had come out and replaced my SC board. Even though I was out of warranty (original purchase was in 11/07), they didn't give me a hard time and only asked for a copy of original receipt. Also, this is the second instance of the 7-blinking light error I've had.

However, the tech DID NOT install a firmware update - and I forgot about asking until after he was gone. Is this the same 2.09 update available on Panasonic's support site? If not, is there any way for me to download and install this other "secret" firmware update myself?

I really don't want to have to wait for another LED error to show up (if it does, I'm going to press Panasonic to replace the set entirely, but that's a different battle).

At panasonic.ca I found the listing for the fw update under customer support-important notices

If you own a plasma TV with model and serial number within the range specified below, please contact our toll-free VIERA Concierge hotline service at 1-866-330-0014. A VIERA product expert will arrange an in-home software update for your TV at your convenience.



Model Numbers Serial Number Range

TH-42PZ77U

TH-42PZ700U **71250001 ~ **80189999

TH-42PZ700UA

I also have a TH-50PZ80U and it is having the two blinks of death. I have of course tried all the unplugging of power, hdmi etc. It's done this a few times lately when we lost power, and today just won't come back on. It is plugged to a good surge protector and we haven't had anything in the house damaged so I don't think it's a surge, it just seems to freak when it loses power.

Reading, it seems to be the 'sos d' board from the two blinks. Does anyone know the panny model number of this board? Thanks a lot!

This might be a dumb question but are any G10/G15 owners running into the same issues? On another forum while doing research for my first HDTV purchase, which I'm hoping will be a Panny plasma, I ran into a lot of owners with a "blinking light of death" issue as they called it and then came here to research further. Most of what I'm reading seems to be with generation 7 and 8 sets and haven't found anything on the G yet, does it mean Panny took some steps to correct some of the issues for newer sets or it's just too early since release to tell? I'm just asking because there have been some owners of previous models that have had a problem within a few days of purchase so I'm curious.

Thank you.

P.S. I'm new here, HI

Probably we will know better in a few months for sure.
While it is possible those sets are still pretty new yet.

Well I'm pretty much decided on the TV so I guess I'll see for myself. I'm a little dissappointed at how short manufacturer warranties are these days, it's like they know their products will break down. Luckily someone on here posted some helpfull info about credit card companies extending manufacturer warranties if you use their CC to make the purchase, I called mine up and sure enough my Panny will have 2 years to break down before the cost is on me.

The 7-blink problem was an issue with the Power Supply on the smaller 2007 10G 1080p models (PZ700U & PZ77U). It was Panasonic's first foray into the small 1080p market and apparently the power supply wasn't quite up to the task of the higher power demand of the new 1080p panel and they had lots of failures. To their credit, Panasonic owned up to the issue and covered the cost of replacement for owners even as much as 8 months after the original 1-year warranty expired.

The power supply problem was apparently corrected with the 2008 11G models (PZ80U/PZ85U/PZ800U) and the few power supply failures you see for these models is just regular old defective part like all the other brands get from time to time. I have only noticed a few reports of power supply failures on the current 12G models.

That's encouraging news, I was a bit surprised to read about the issue since I've always had great experiences in terms of reliability with panasonic products in the past.

Yes it is encouraging news

Which translates to lots of the previous models had defective power supplies and were poorly designed and implemented from the get go!

The consumer was the guinea pig.

No double speak or coloured wording can excuse shoddy design and manufacture!
Which is exactly what this was.
Had the tv models in question been tested properly in the engineering labs this would not have occoured

Alternately maybe it was identified as an issue but decided to ship them out.
In the corporate hierarchy its amazing what can go on in the politics of a company.

But Corporate proactive good will action is required to right the wrong!

Canon Cameras does this when they have a problem
Canon apologizes publicly then takes action.
I otta know, I do a lot of photography with Canon cameras they even will ship both ways at no cost.
AND coverage to another user if sold and within the extended extra warranty service they give you for "goodwill"
Canon has learned its cheaper to retain customers than to P*** them off and loose them.
It costs way more to gain them back if you ever do.
Something Panasonic executives should give their collective heads a shake about!

Panasonic should be going around and replacing ALL the boards and bring the known tvs up to the proper design. They will know which ones.

At No cost to the unsuspecting end user, even if has been resold to another user.

Not just a well "we will pay a half of the part BS" like they have with me and collectively P***** me off.
I, the consumer didn't cause the problem in the first place...Panasonic you the manufacturer did!!

Update:

The technician came today replaced the board and voila no repair.

Same problem
He then wanted to take it to the shop.
Good.

They, the repair shop will contact Panasonic and see what they, Panasonic say, is wrong...so the tech claimed

service still working on set.
still can't get it going.

Today i was watching a Movie on my Panasonic TC-P42G10 and about half hour into the movie i heard a loud "pop" from the TV set and the TV no longer turns on. When i attempt to turn the set on i get four blinking lights... It is only 19 days old.

What does the four blinking lights mean? It just keeps blinking four times and repeats.

Sometime bewteen my late July call to Panasonic, and when I was finally able to take the TV to an authorized repair center (they had EXTREMELY convenient M-F 9-6 business hours) Panasonic is "officially" extending the factory warranty to 2 years for the dreaded "7-blinks" issue.
I received a call that my TV (TH42-PZ77U) is ready and all I need in order to pick it up is the original sales receipt. I was assured that there will be no charge if the date is within 2 years.
I will update further if something goes awry... but it is looking like this was annoying, yet Panasonic is doing the right thing and fixing it.
btw, I was assured that it received the necessary firmware update, as well.

Cheers,
Dave

9/1/09 update: Set retrieved, no charge, Parts & Labor covered by warranty (Date of purchase was 11/2007, so Panasonic extended the standard warranty to cover this issue).
Service performed: Replaced defective SC PCB and updated the D Board's firmware.

The details probably don't matter much. The set needs servicing. The pop you heard means something in the set blew.

Call Panasonic and get a repair guy out. They'll know what the 4 blinking lights mean and should bring the appropriate part to get you running again.

I just got off the phone with them over an hour ago and i am scheduled for repair on Wednesday. I also found out that the four blinking lights indicates a power supply failure.

Interesting!

Seems that plasma makers are trying hard to get away from the "energy hog" label that plasma technology has earned in the past.

Of course getting your product an Energy Star compliance rating is a good way to do this. Unfortunately, it seems like the decrease in the power use has caused increased buzzing in the power supply when the set tries to produce a prinarily white screen, and the need for power limiting circuitry that often makes whites look "dirty" compared to LCD sets.

Almost like trying to run a Ford F150 pickup with the engine from a Toyota Prius - it might work, but it ain't going too fast.

I'm sure the power supply is a commonly available part and that the repair guy will get you up and running quickly.

I'm having issues with my TH58PX600U which was purchased over 2 years ago. I bought an extended warranty based on the fact I couldn't afford to easily replace it if something happened.

A couple of nights ago I switched it on and changed the input (via Harmony remote activity). Watched a movie on the Apple TV. I then went to switch it back to TV (satellite feed) and it wouldn't switch input. I tried manually switching it via the front panel. No go. I then went to power it off via the power button and it wouldn't shut off. I finally unplugged it and then plugged it back in. Power on/off functionality returned but it still refuses to budge off the input for the Apple TV.

Tried everything from leaving it unplugged for 30 minutes, etc. No dice -- still the same issue. Phoned the warranty service and they put an order with a local repair service. The company says they'll have to haul it to their shop. WTF? So much for in-house service. This is a heavy, big set. I made the warranty company verify that it is protected even if it leaves the premises.

The last couple of days while off it blinks the light in sequences of 20. Any ideas on what the issue is for that sequence?

My Panasonic TH42PZ77U had the red light that blinked 10 times. Took it in to authorized repair shop 3 days ago. I checked with them late yesterday.

He said they had worked it on the better part of the day and had not yet found out what is causing the problem. He said it would take some time.

Should not the problem be easily found with the proper equipment?

************************************************
Update: Friday I checked on my TV and repair person said they had been on the phone with Panasonic support and they think the problem is the DG board.

Don't know until they replace it if that will fix it. They can't get a price until Monday and they will call me and let me know the price.

They said it may be more than 1 board.

Is this board expensive?

You would think. I get the sinking feeling they are using my 58" to enjoy the opening of college football season and the NFL. It should be me but I'm staring at a blank spot where my TV used to be.

Update

On the third board,now a D board to try and still they would call if got going.
Service tech have been in touch with senior Panny techs over the no go.

Sevice techs re install the old boards on each new board tried that doesn't get the set functioning according to tech people.

How do they know it isn't a couple of boards gone

Ding Ding

No call yet that its fixed.

I've been tempted to pick up Model TC-50PS14, the 50" plasma from Panasonic at Costco as it currently goes for $999 after $200 rebate. Any blinks of death from this model yet??

Howdy, Does anyone have a working link to the service manual posted back on page 8?

My 42pz700u is doing the 7 blinks thing.

Thanks!