SONY KDL52XBR4 - Flickers On/Off with Non 24hz Material
Hi Everyone,
I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction with my Sony KDL52XBR4 LCD flickering on/off and/or going dark/black, but only with non 1080p 24Hz material.
Basically, it all started about two weeks when I got back from vacation. I turned the tv on along with my receiver and Tivo. Right away, I noticed the LCD started flickering on and off as if the backlight was not being powered correctly. When the LCD is not flickering the picture is perfect and not distorted in any other way. It's like someone is turning the lights on and off in a room. That's how annoying it was. It was bad enough you could not watch any TV.
At this point, I did minimal troubleshooting by myself. I then proceeded to contact Sony who referred me to an authorized repair person. The repair person came out and got on the phone with Sony Professional dealers support line. The conversation definitely revolved around whether it was the panel itself or a component. At some point, it was determined it had to be either the FB1 main board or the AU board. Voltage measurements were taken and found to be within specs. The tech left and a couple days later quoted me about $750 to repair both boards because him and sony could not narrow it down any further. The TV was purchased in 11/2007 and is definitely out of warranty. After some thought, I declined the repairs and decided to conduct further troubeshooting and attempt to repair myself.
In the course of further troubleshooting, I removed the back cover and have removed and reseated all connectors to and from FB1, UB1 & AU boards. This didn't make any difference. I then decided to cycle through the other AV components that feed into my receiver and was surprised to notice that whenever I feed a 1080p/24Hz signal to the TV all the flickering goes away! I then proceeded to switch back to my Tivo which is setup to output 1080i and the flickering comes back. Next, I turned my Popcorn A-110 which is setup to display 1080p/24Hz and the flickering is gone. I then decided to change the resolution output on the A-110 to 1080i/60Hz and the flickering comes back.
So it seems that my TV only flickers when I play anything that is non 1080p/24Hz. Does this issue seem related to the FB1 board or the AU board? I've also read that the UB1 board is responsible for doubling the 60Hz and suspect it may be the culprit, but the repair person did not quote it as possibly being the issue although he is not privy to my further research and findings.
Any help in pin pointing the problem would be appreciated! Based on my research I am tempted to first replace the UB1 board followed by the FB1 board and finally the AU board if all else fails. What do you thinK, know and recommend?
TV Info:
Sony KDL52XBR4
Serial 8003xxx
DP: 11/2007
Best,
Juan
Hi Everyone,
I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction with my Sony KDL52XBR4 LCD flickering on/off and/or going dark/black, but only with non 1080p 24Hz material.
Basically, it all started about two weeks when I got back from vacation. I turned the tv on along with my receiver and Tivo. Right away, I noticed the LCD started flickering on and off as if the backlight was not being powered correctly. When the LCD is not flickering the picture is perfect and not distorted in any other way. It's like someone is turning the lights on and off in a room. That's how annoying it was. It was bad enough you could not watch any TV.
At this point, I did minimal troubleshooting by myself. I then proceeded to contact Sony who referred me to an authorized repair person. The repair person came out and got on the phone with Sony Professional dealers support line. The conversation definitely revolved around whether it was the panel itself or a component. At some point, it was determined it had to be either the FB1 main board or the AU board. Voltage measurements were taken and found to be within specs. The tech left and a couple days later quoted me about $750 to repair both boards because him and sony could not narrow it down any further. The TV was purchased in 11/2007 and is definitely out of warranty. After some thought, I declined the repairs and decided to conduct further troubeshooting and attempt to repair myself.
In the course of further troubleshooting, I removed the back cover and have removed and reseated all connectors to and from FB1, UB1 & AU boards. This didn't make any difference. I then decided to cycle through the other AV components that feed into my receiver and was surprised to notice that whenever I feed a 1080p/24Hz signal to the TV all the flickering goes away! I then proceeded to switch back to my Tivo which is setup to output 1080i and the flickering comes back. Next, I turned my Popcorn A-110 which is setup to display 1080p/24Hz and the flickering is gone. I then decided to change the resolution output on the A-110 to 1080i/60Hz and the flickering comes back.
So it seems that my TV only flickers when I play anything that is non 1080p/24Hz. Does this issue seem related to the FB1 board or the AU board? I've also read that the UB1 board is responsible for doubling the 60Hz and suspect it may be the culprit, but the repair person did not quote it as possibly being the issue although he is not privy to my further research and findings.
Any help in pin pointing the problem would be appreciated! Based on my research I am tempted to first replace the UB1 board followed by the FB1 board and finally the AU board if all else fails. What do you thinK, know and recommend?
TV Info:
Sony KDL52XBR4
Serial 8003xxx
DP: 11/2007
Best,
Juan
Well, I received the FB1 board and swapped out, but it did'nt fix the problem. All the symptoms remain the same as before. I've ruled out the AU board at this point given that they issue happens with both HDMI & all other connections. I went ahead and ordered the UB1 board and TCON board since they are both relatively cheap. At this point, it has to be one or the other. I will first change out the TCON board given the need to remove the UB1 board in order to install the latter.
