Is your Panasonic plasma television broken, blinking red? - Page 2

My 9 year old (3rd generation) 50" industrial monitor (branded JVC but OEMed by Panasonic) has started to resist being turned on. I get red blinking when I first try to power it up with the remote. Teasing the power switch and/or hitting the side of it usually gets it up and running and it stays up once it starts. Picture is still fine (or as fine as the 3G picture ever was, which is not nearly as fine as a contemporary plasma).

I am struggling with the question of whether to have it fixed or not. I paid a *lot* of money for it in 2001 and it has given me good service. It probably still has 10,000 or 15,000 hours left before the panel itself gets too dim.

I recently set up a brand new system including a 50 in panasonic plasma, home theater and hd cable box. I immediately had trouble with the system shutting down....red light blinking 12 times and the unit would not turn on. After looking into all....

1. TV could be reset by holding the power button in for a few seconds.
2. TV worked fine while watching dvds and basic cable channels.
3. TV had problems with HD channels....shutting down.

Bottom line - the HD Cable box was faulty which caused the tv to shut down and go into the 12 blink mode. Once the cable box was in order - no problems.

If you have a problem similar to this test all thats connected first as an outside cause is a LOT easier to deal with than an internal problem with your plasma.

I can see a signal from a cable box giving an on screen error, or more likely a no picture situation. Causing the set to not turn on is pretty unusual.

I've got the 7 blinks issue right now, on a 4-month old G10. By the way, this is not caused by a "stressed out" power supply. (Why would it be "stressed out?" Was it not designed to supply the required voltage and current?) It's caused by the scan driver boards, or apparently in my case, by the panel itself.

I agree with the general point that electronics can fail. What happens next makes the difference between a happy customer and an irate one. In my case, it took the 3rd party service company selected by Panasonic two trips (and one destroyed replacement SU board) to determine that the panel is bad. Each time he comes with a single part, and when it doesn't fix the tv or when it immediately fries after he installs it he scratches his head and calls the office on his cell, then says, "We have to order a different part. See you in a week." Right now I'm not even sure when the third visit to replace the panel will occur.

I don't understand the logic of this. What's Panasonic's gross profit on a TV? Even at 30% or so we're talking $300. They are obviously going to write a bigger check than that to this crappy repair company, so why not just swap out the TV right away with a new one and not make me wait 2-3 weeks and be available for in-home on at least three seperate workdays while they do nothing but trial and error attempts at repair?

My story could have been "my 4 month old TV died but Panasonic was awesome," instead of "It was a great TV but when it broke in 4 months Panasonic didn't lift a finger to help." And it would have cost them less money.

The company I work for is both a Panasonic Pro dealer and Consumer dealer.
We also carry Samsung Plasma product, and we are authorized 'service' for Pioneer plasma as well. By far the least repaired units are in fact the Panasonics. By fluke my own Panel failed after 6 months of use. (Yes I did get the 'red' flashing indicator) for panel failure. Panasonic
replaced the panel to the tune of $1893.00 dollars, I know I saw the bill, which is more than I paid for my 46" 'Z-850U' series set at our dealer cost.
Now I have had NO issues since that replacement panel was installed, and
it actually runs a lot cooler than the original panel did. We have had 0 issues
with 'fading black levels' on both Pro and Consumer products going back 4 years.
Pioneer was buying both the drive boards and glass from Panasonic as I'm sure most of the people on here are aware of.

Had this problem found lc4371 on dg board shorted this is where 9 volt supply enters dg board.

This poll is meaningless..mostly people with trouble will post here. Consumer Reports latest survey of thousands of owners shows a mere 2% of Panny plasmas needed repairs in the first FOUR years of use. This would put them among the most reliable products of ANY type surveyed. Flat panels in general have been very reliable products. Of course if YOURS is the one that fails the overall percentage means nothing. It is never fun to have to fix or replace a failed product.

It's funny you say that. My 2006 model 42 inch 6U (Costco model) clicks like it's going on a lot. It's kind of scary at times since it's in my bedroom. I'll be almost asleep and then hear it and quickly turn around at the tv.

I have three Panny plasmas, 2006 50", 2006 42", and 2009 42"....all running strong and issue free, despite HUGE usage hours, typically 6-8 hours per day

I waited til 2006 to make the first purchase, one, to wait for the first big price drop, and two, for consumer reports to gather enough flat panel reliability data. From that initial rating to this day Panasonic tops the charts, and I haven't been disappointed.

I have no proof of this either, but have felt that part of the drops in plasma price came not just from economies of scale, but cheapening of internal component quality and sending manufacturing to "low cost" countries. I fully expect my 2009 plasma and it's more plasticy exterior to fail before my 2006 units

Hey All,

Thanks for sharing all of this great information to get a handle on the mystery of this blinking light issue on the Panasonic plasmas. I'm a factual researcher for a law firm that is working on a class-action lawsuit. I would love to hear more about each of your personal experiences and what came of the issues you've had. If you would be inclined to share your story, please contact me at kiaeger@levjen.com.

There is no mystery - when any one of the dozens of components inside a flat panel TV fails, the LED will blink - regardless of brand or model. It's not some mysterious Panasonic issue - all TVs do this when they fail. Hell, my old 1990 Sony Trinitron tube TV's LED light started blinking when the power supply failed, then again a year later when a video board failed.

Since there's already a class action lawsuit against Panasonic for the rising black level problem, is the Levetown & Jenkins Law Firm suing Panasonic for some other issue?

FWIW, i have three Panasonic plasmas that have never suffered any sort of failure, and i know probably two dozen of people who own at least one Panasonic plasma and as far as i know they've never had a failure either (or i would have certainly heard about it )

Oh god... don't even mention that name. You might lure him out of hiding. When that guy surfaces he turns "av science forum" into av _____ forum with a different s word in there and I think you know how to fill in the blank.

Costco models are cheapo versions of real plasma models. They skimp on the electronics to offer a lower price. It doesn't surprise me that a costco model of any brand should fail. I would expect reliability to be lower than a standard model. One of those cases where you get what you pay for.

Actually the Costco/Sams Club Panasonic PX6U's internal components had the same part numbers as those in the PX60U and PX600U when i checked them on Panasonic's parts website a few years back. The only real difference was the Costco model had a few less features and one less input or two.

mine died about 3 weeks ago... Best buy will be exchanging it... I am not really happy now... I am hoping I can choose my replacement... Lol I can't remember what's out there... It's been a while since I've been on... Any one have any suggestionsan sammys still buzzing? And I can't remember, did the upgraded panisonic models, g25 and up have proper 24p playback and/or 3:3 pulldown? And dare I say it... But are there any lcd/led worth looking at?

I stand corrected. I know for other brands, they tend to be dumbed down/cheaper electronics.

My two month old TC-P50G20 went to the 10 blinks just after haveing it calibrated. Best Buy is telling me that it has to be looked at by a Panasonic tech before they'll do anything??? I knew there was a reason most high end electronic dealers stopped carring Panasonic.....they have gone to the mass market. Forget quality and just build as many as you can before anyone notices...........

Welcome to the new world,

JD

I think I have it for 3+ years
Yesterday morning, everything was fine. Can watch TV just fine (via comcast STB thru component)

then in the evening it's "busted"

TV will turn on, and it stays on Channel 5 thru TV's tuner
Remote: only power key work
TV: only power key work

None of the keys are working
I can't change volume
I can't change channel
I can't change video source
I can't access menu via remote

In short, I can turn it on and watch Channel 5 thru TV tuner only. Nothing else!

And when I turn it off, the light blinks 20 times!

So far I have not seen any report of 20 blinks. 12 is the max I have seen so far

Very strange failure

Given the price of plasma nowadays, I might be tempted to just get a new one, rather than repair it, even though it's a perfectly fine TV, when it work!

Model # TC-P50G10

Took a crap in the middle of watching a movie last night. Set will not come on, and has the 2 blinking red light code. Set is 1.5 years old, I THINK we bought the extended warranty, but not sure. Doesnt matter as it's Sunday and wont be able to do anything until tomorrow.

Guess I'll be watching the football today on my very reliable Mitsubishi that is 6 years old and never once given me a problem.

Edit: Apparently there is a reset button on the TV? My TV is in a cubby hole above the fireplace, and hard to move around (by myself), I'm having a hard time locating this button, little help?

Hi all,

I bought my Panasonic TH-42PZ77U back in March of 2008 and had no issues with it until a couple of days ago (December 2) when it would not turn on and gave me 7 blinking lights repeatedly. I originally bought it from Future Shop here in Canada and luckily had the foresight to purchase the 4-year extended warranty from them. I put in a warranty claim the same night the TV died and they said that a company called Nexicore is going to be handling the repairs. I received a phone call from Nexicore on the morning of December 3rd telling me that they ordered the necessary part (based on the 7 blinking lights) and a local repair technician will call me in about a week to set up an appointment when they get the part. For now, I am stuck using a 14" tube TV! I will post again with my repair experience when the time comes to do so.

However, I have to say that I am somewhat disconcerted to see the number of people who apparently have had this issue with Panasonic and I admit I would be reluctant to buy their TV's again. When I went shopping to buy a new TV in 2008, I paid premium dollars for this Panasonic over other choices that were out there. I realize that any TV from any maker may have issues, but reading about this experience more than a few times from other people and having it happen to myself does not boost confidence. But having said that, this is the first time I've had an issue with this TV and I am otherwise pleased with it. The picture is great. Sound quality could be better, but this is true of most HDTV's from what I've seen.

I'm almost positive this was the same "tuner lockup" issue that affected some of 2006 units like yours where the TV would suddenly not react to any key presses except for Power. I think it was correctable by applying the tuner firmware update to fix the problem. Before you give up on the TV, search these two PX60U threads from 2006 for this issue (maybe try different search string combinations using keywords such as FIRMWARE, UPDATE, DOWNLOAD, TUNER, LOCK UP, LOCKUP, POWER, KEY, BUTTON, etc) because i know i've seen posts back then that describe the same problem that you're having. See post #5516 from cmburke99 for instance:

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...n#post10173792

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...ighlight=px60u

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...ighlight=px60u

If you determine that it can be fixed with a firmware update, remember to only download and apply the update for your specific model (don't use one for the PX60U or PX6U) and aquire the instructions for applying the update from the SD card.

This firmware page has the various updates for your model, and i think the first one is the one you want even though there's no description.

http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-e...-42PX600U.D#ts

YES! If I remember correctly (I am @ work now), the TV sticker on the back is Sep 2006!

For better or for worse, this gave me an excuse to get myself a Panny 42 inch G25, and it'll deliver tomorrow!

Still, I will use this information and see if I can fix the PX600U. If yes, this can be my second TV, or give it away to relatives

Thanks for the tips Randy!

Well my TCP54V10 just crapped out. It was playing a Christmas Story and after about 2 hrs something popped and it went black.
I couldn't do anything with the remote or on/off button on tv. Unplugged-plugged it back in and it came back on, for about 5 mns. Popped again and now nothing.
It blinks 10 times and no matter what you do to it, it blinks 10 x.

Got the tv in Feb 2010, sat in the foyer for about 3 months while I started building the theater, finally got it set in theater area but the surround sound had to be sent back so it sat again. Then I had to complete the theater so it sat again. The paint was still wet on 12/16 for the grand opening and that is the longest the tv was ever on, about 12hrs. I bet I got less then 50hrs on this pretty boat anchor.
The biggest killer is got 300 on BR in my Xmas sock this morning.

Below is Panasonics reply to my email in which I provided them with all the info I had.
----------
Thank you for your inquiry. We regret to hear that your product is not working properly. Please test the power source by plugging the TV directly into the wall bypassing any surge protectors or power strips. Also ensure that all hdmi cables are removed (if any) before plugging into the wall. If this does not resolve your issue then based on the information you have provided, we recommend having the product evaluated by an authorized Panasonic service center. Please contact our PanasonicCustomerCallCenter at (800)211-7262. The hours of operation are Monday through Friday 9AM to 9 PM. Saturday and Sunday 10 AM to 7PM Eastern Standard Time. A representative will be available to assist you in locating a servicer. Please have your case number, which is listed at the top portion of your email, available at the time of the call.
------------------------------
Now they have to know that this isn't going to work based on the information I provided to them(blinking light and how many times - 10)

While waiting for their reply I went to ABC were I bought it they gave me an 800# to call. I called that and they had a tech call me back in about 20 mins. I told him what was going on and based on that he ordered the parts so he has them without having to come out and then ordering them.
If the tech knows the issue based on what I provided you sure in the heck know Panasonic is aware of it and chose not to acknowledge this problem.

This pushed me from a Pan85 bluray to the Sony570. Way to dig your own hole.

When you contact Panasonic, you're basically communicating with monkeys that know how to cut and paste a canned response, or read a generic script. They are not technical advisers.



Why did he order multiple parts? The failure is in only one circuit board so if he's so sure which one it is from a phone conversation he would only need to order one part. But usually the technician will bring various circuit boards (power supply board, input board, a selection of video boards) then start switching them out until the TV comes back on. The number of blinks just tells him the most likely place to check first. Sometimes one board failure causes other boards to fail. And this goes for ALL brands of Plasma and LCD, not just Panasonic.



There are only a handful of components that can fail in a Plasma TV and any one of them can cause the LED to blink. They aren't choosing to not acknowledge "this problem" because there is no big secret problem, it's simply a failure of a little capacitor or widget on a circuit board and such failures can occur on every single electronic device made. The failure/return rate on various electronic components that i sell daily is about 5% (overloads, dimmers, fan controllers, ballasts, transformers, trip units, breakers, motion sensors, switchers, etc) and a TV is no different. Modern electronics fail - there's no escaping it.



Good luck with the Sony. I was a hardcore "Sony or Nothing" consumer for many many years, but after having almost every single Sony item in my home fail a year or two (sometimes 3-4 years) after the warrranty expired i finally got tired of it and started replacing my dead Sony stuff with Panasonic and Technics and i haven't had a single Panasonic item fail yet - and they're outlasting all the Sony items they replaced. The final kicker was when my 1991 top-of-the-line $1,200 Sony XBR Tube TV stopped working a year after the factory warranty expired and gave me a blinking light (fixed under my extended warranty) then a year after that another component failed (also fixed under the EW). So i've had one Sony TV that's given me the blinking light message two times, but i have three Panasonic Plasma TVs that have performed flawlessly for years. I also know about a dozen other people who own Panasonic Plasmas and none of them have had a failure either. You just got unlucky. At least yours blew while it's still under warranty.

Well the service man was out today to replace the mother board and that was not the problem. He now has to order the power supply and try and see if that resolves the problem.
He said he tried to get both parts to bring to the service call but Panasonic makes them do the repairs on a trial and error basis. Start with mother board and go from there.
So again in the next couple of days, after the part arrives, either my wife or I have to miss work again for another service call.
What a load of crap.

Well the repair man finally made it out AGAIN!! The power supply did not resolve the problem. He called Panasonic while behind the TV and they had him check multiple things and still nothing.
He now has to relplace a 3rd board and Im not exactly sure which one it is at this time. I was so pissed I coldn't think straight.
So AGAIN, one of us have to miss part of a days work whenever the part arrives.

Fan went out on a new VT25 after 400 hours.

11 blinking lights...got a replacement coming.

On another note, I have a 42PX75U with over 2000 hours on it and not a hint of a problem...except the "black" is now more of a graphite colour.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, I'm happy to finally be able to post a successful conclusion to the problem I experienced back on December 2 regarding the 7 blinking lights issue I had with my TH-42PZ77U.

My TV is under extended warranty (but not through Panasonic), and even though I put in the claim the same day the TV died, the warranty repairs were not approved until December 14. After that, an SC board was ordered for my TV, but because of the holidays and who knows what else, the part did not ship until January 3. It arrived in the city last week, and I was able to get an appointment for today (January 12) for the actual repair to take place in my home.

In a nutshell, it went well. The repairman had to undo a LOT of screws just to get my TV open, and had to undo even more screws to get at the board, but it all worked out. It took some time and effort, but everything went pretty much as smoothly as I could expect and my TV powered up immediately when we tried it. Afterwards, we updated the firmware to the most recent version. 47.80 was installed on my TV and we updated it to 47.82.

I admit that I am upset it took this long for the repair to happen, but at least we had the correct board on the first try and I am pleased my TV is working again. It was harsh going through the holiday season with a 14" tube TV!

Will post again if there are any issues, but I don't expect there will be. Or at least I hope there won't be!