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Vizio P50HDTV Plasma troubleshooting

post #1 of 12
2/16/12 at 6:30pm
Thread Starter 
4 year old set, tonight DTV input was blank on switching on. It runs HDMI input from the dvd player fine. Checked antenna input and feed, no problems. It won't even bring up the menu options on DTV input selection. It only comes up with the little green DTV input marker, doesn't even come up with a "No Signal" notice, just a blank screen. Will a hard reset help? Is the digital tuner dead? Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks
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post #2 of 12
2/17/12 at 7:21am
By DTV setting do you mean DVI connection or do you mean coax connection that is connected from an antenna or directly from cable?
What happens if you disconnect the connection to the DTV input connector?
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post #3 of 12
2/17/12 at 7:33am
Thread Starter 
Hi thanks for the response. The antenna was connected via the coax. If I disconnect it nothing changes, no picture on DTV input. I even attached some old rabbit ears to the coax which normally pick up the local channel 8 and still no picture/no sound on DTV input. When that input is selected it just acknowledges its been selected with a green DTV logo in the top left hand corner but no picture. It won't even access the menu on DTV input select, which is where I would have re-tuned the tuner in case that was the problem. Via HDMI input from my dvd player the set works fine, sound and picture. Sounds like the tuner board to me, but I've really no experience with these things.
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post #4 of 12
2/17/12 at 9:24am
it sounds like the tuner chip since it will not receive OTA or cable digital.
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post #5 of 12
2/25/12 at 3:27pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks Walford. Got the tuner circuit board from discount-merchants great price very fast regular cost delivery, fitted and problem solved. The folks at Vizio have yet to get back to me with any useful advice..... each of their self congratulatory emails says they have excellent technical support, but all you get is a telephonist with an FAQ manual...useless.
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post #6 of 12
2/27/12 at 7:36pm
Thanks for reporting back. I may try the same install as my DTV input stopped working recently. Was the install pretty straightforward? any special tools needed?
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post #7 of 12
2/29/12 at 6:17am
Thread Starter 
Hi, the install was very easy, in fact couldn't be bothered to go to the workshop and used my wife's multi-head screw driver. A few Philips screws. There's a copy of the service manual at http://www.scribd.com/doc/36893692/V...Manual-061107t, with a nice pick of the many screws to get the back off. With the back off, the circuit board is right there, 4 philips screws and two connectors to disconnect. The most difficult part is the safe moving of this TV, nearly 150 lbs, so you might need some help to get it safely laid down to remove the stand and back. Good luck, let us know how it goes.
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post #8 of 12
2/29/12 at 6:28am
Thread Starter 
This was a new TV ( 6 years ago ) that had never been serviced, but the dead tuner board had a black wire added from one leg of what looks like a power regulator over the side of the board and re-soldered underneath. Does this mean that after manufacture of the board it didn't work and Vizio patched it before selling as new? Does that mean the printed circuit board was from a defective run? Could that have been the weakness that eventually killed it after a few thousand heat and cool cycles. If so, are Vizio obligated in any way? Or is this normal practice in today's industry, I'm just becoming more aware of. Any experts out there want to educate me on this one?
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post #9 of 12
2/29/12 at 7:17am
There is no law that I am aware of that says "new" boards can not contain fixes to problems using parts including wires and/or firmware updates. In fact years ago before printed circuit boards became common all connections on PCBs were made with wire jumpers. These boards were called "wire wrap" boards.
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post #10 of 12
2/29/12 at 10:52am
Thread Starter 
I figured as much. Even the best tube amps are hard wired. I just wondered what else might be wrong with a mass produced circuit board if all those now tiny threads of copper linkage don't turn out right. They fix the bits that have actually malfunctioned, but what is the standard for the connections that remain. At least wrap wire had a defined gauge, if soldered correctly it did the job. I wonder how QC works in the electronics industry for this type of defect and pc boards in general.
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post #11 of 12
4/1/12 at 4:18am
I am the proud owner of a 5 Year old Vizio P50HDTV10A which just started exhibiting Purple & Green Lines/Bars with all inputs disconnected. I've attached a couple photo's of the problem (hope they upload).

I shot a video of the problem and posted it to YouTube, so here's what it looks like with Composite and HDMI inputs connected:

So far, Vizio TS said they couldn't help and ITI haven't responded on what they can do. I'm getting the feeling it will be deemed un-repairable, which is unacceptable ... considering I paid $2K for this beauty.

I'm an electronics engineer who repairs x-ray/medical equipment, so ... I feel comfortable around high voltage (150K).

Can anyone help me fix this beast? Thanks so much in advance for your help.
LL
LL
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post #12 of 12
8/3/12 at 5:40pm
I have this same DTV problem on the same model TV. Can anyone tell me which board is the DTV tuner?

I think this is it.

http://www.shopjimmy.com/vizio-3850-0012-0187-video-box-board-assy-rebuild.htm

Is that correct?
Edited by rx7carl - 8/3/12 at 6:09pm
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