Panasonic THP50GT30A - 7 blinks of death

[Cubic25]

Hey all,

So our 2011 built Pana decided to poop itself last night. It turned off, then the red LED flashed seven times, continuously.
A google search found a large number of people with the same issue, but this was on '08 built TV's.

I did come across a few people with similar Panasonic models with the same issue, who replaced the SCAN DRIVE PCB. After doing so, all came good. It was actually a thread on this very forum, but it was a slightly different TV model.

Issue is, for every person that replaces this part and gets it to work, there is another bloke who does the same and it doesn't work.

Apparently, the seven blinks can relate to a few boards.

How do I test to see which board it is?

On a side note, which may be related, the fan directly above the possibly faulty board has been noisy for a while. I have cleaned it a couple of times, but it always remains noisy. Could the possibly faulty board have over-heated from a dodgy fan?

Thanks for any help.

......Patiently waits for reply from Chriss........ :-)

[iwacelect]

can be either scan SC or scan pcb or buffer pcb's SU or SD (SU and SD are the Upper and Lower scan pcb's),

all servicing should be done by a competant technician to avoid electrocution, the other reason is he'll swap the pcb's to find out which ones causing the issue.

it's not going to be the fans fault, where do you live, near the coast?

[Cubic25]

can be either scan SC or scan pcb or buffer pcb's SU or SD (SU and SD are the Upper and Lower scan pcb's),

all servicing should be done by a competant technician to avoid electrocution, the other reason is he'll swap the pcb's to find out which ones causing the issue.

it's not going to be the fans fault, where do you live, near the coast?

I was hoping to avoid the cost of taking to a techy, as it's $80 gone just for them to take the back cover off. I am pretty competent at this stuff, as I've built a few PC's, played with electronics and am an electrician by trade. Also, this youtube clip is a help . If it's just a case of swapping out a PCB, then I may as well have a go.
I'm in two minds about this thing. On one hand, I really don't want to spend that much on getting it fixed, as TV's seem to be such a throw away item these days. How do I know that once I fix this, something else isn't going to go wrong? Then again, it would be good if I could avoid spending another $1K+ on a new TV.

I live in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne.
Which PCB of the above mentioned is the most likely to fail?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[tw2005]

I was hoping to avoid the cost of taking to a techy, as it's $80 gone just for them to take the back cover off. I am pretty competent at this stuff, as I've built a few PC's, played with electronics and am an electrician by trade. Also, this youtube clip is a help . If it's just a case of swapping out a PCB, then I may as well have a go.
I'm in two minds about this thing. On one hand, I really don't want to spend that much on getting it fixed, as TV's seem to be such a throw away item these days. How do I know that once I fix this, something else isn't going to go wrong? Then again, it would be good if I could avoid spending another $1K+ on a new TV.

I live in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne.
Which PCB of the above mentioned is the most likely to fail?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Info from a 2011 guide.

1.
Missing Vsus.
2.
Abnormality of the scan circuit output, the 15V_F, the scn_pro, and Vscn circuit.
3.
Defective Panel.
4.
Loose or open Connection between the SC board and the SU/SD boards.
5.
Wrong diagnostic by the A board

Cautions: Disconnect the AC Power prior to making any disconnection or connection.
If the power LED continues to blink even after the TV is unplugged, press and hold the power switch on the TV for a few seconds until the LED turns off.
When taking voltage reading, place the voltmeter probe at the test point, component, or connector’s pin indicated before connecting the TV to the AC line. This will ensure voltage reading accuracy before the TV shuts down. (Since the TV is shutting down, expect the voltage to only come up a couple of seconds.)

Preparation:
Disconnect AC Power prior to making any disconnection or connection.
Wait at least 2 minutes before the removal of any connector.
Remove the front cabinet and expose the panel to a bright light for a thorough visual inspection. Check for cracks and blown pixels or any other abnormalities.
Check for burnt panel driver ICs on the SU and SD boards.
If the panel is defective, the SU, SD, and/or the SC board may also be defective.

Warning: The Vsus line has large capacitors that hold the charge for some time even after the TV has been turned off and unplugged. When disconnecting P2/SC2 or P11/SS1, bleed the remaining charge of the Vsus before reconnecting the cable.
Use a 500 ohms/ 5W (At least) resistor to discharge the Vsus line before reconnecting P2/SC2 or P11/SS11.

Will most likely be SC/SD/SU boards.

How sure are you it was the fan that was noisy and not a loose Sc buzzing / possibly arcing?

You could always swap it with the other fan and see if the noise moves but if the fan was defective and slowing down I would expect the FAN detect to trip 11 blink and shut the TV down

Remove the 4 Vfg (gnd) screws from the SD/SU boards( 2 each, the large ones that bolt to the SC )

Disconnect SD42, SD46, SU41

locate the small connector on the SC board SC50, jumper the 2 pins , I would also check out the SC board mounting screws, if anything like the U30 I just fixed, they are the wrong type and will be loose. Could also be evidence of burning and arcing both on the chassis underneath and the soldered lands on the SC could be burnt off as well where these screws are.

turn the TV on as normal and see if it still 7 blinks, if it does the SC is faulty.

If you're lucky it may just need these replacing, 3 x RJP30H2A, 3 x 30F131(going to depend on the board you have, they fail dead short)

you will still have to check the SD/SU boards for shorts.

[loopyloo]

You can usually save the fan from self destruction and quieten it with a little lube.
Just peel back the sticker and put one drop of a very light oil directly on the bearing then replace the sticker.
Use sewing machine or hair clipper oil. Inox is also very good but spray it on stick, probe or piece of wire first then daub the drop on the bearing and spin the fan with your finger to work it in.

I've done this to lots of computer fans and only had a couple where the lube didn't work, but they were really bad.

[Cubic25]

Info from a 2011 guide.

..............................................s.

After reading that post, I have decided to try my luck with statutory warranty. One would expect a TV to last more than four years. Lets hope the retailer thinks the same.
The issue with Statutory warranty though, is that it doesn't define what a 'reasonable time' is. So if they refuse to fix it, where do I turn?

[tw2005]

After reading that post, I have decided to try my luck with statutory warranty. One would expect a TV to last more than four years. Lets hope the retailer thinks the same.
The issue with Statutory warranty though, is that it doesn't define what a 'reasonable time' is. So if they refuse to fix it, where do I turn?

Office of fair trading or equivalent would be the best place for correct advice.

What happened to you being pretty competent?

Couple of images from the 50U30A

Also keep in mind it's an opinion about the screws but they definitely are not the same spec as has been used in the past, they were loose and burnt and it appears to be common issue globally from what I've been reading 2011 and 2012 model plasmas.

[Cubic25]

What happened to you being pretty competent?

]

That's not the issue. It's more that I want to try to get it fixed for free, before I start paying for parts. Knowing my luck, I'll end up forking out for a new board, only to find out it wasn't the faulty one.

Before I go to fair trading, I'm meant to try to resolve the issue via the vendor. I emailed them earlier today and have so far been good. The issue has been 'escalated'.

[tw2005]

That's not the issue. It's more that I want to try to get it fixed for free, before I start paying for parts. Knowing my luck, I'll end up forking out for a new board, only to find out it wasn't the faulty one.

Before I go to fair trading, I'm meant to try to resolve the issue via the vendor. I emailed them earlier today and have so far been good. The issue has been 'escalated'.

Good luck. It will be interesting to follow with the new laws. Otherwise, I don't think it'll be that hard to fault find. It cost me $6 to get mine running, just depends how much has blown and if the buffers survived and if you like having a go.

In the US it appears they get little assistance from Panasonic.

[Cubic25]

Small update. The retailer has come to the party, along with Panasonic. They are going to assess the TV next week and replace the defective part at no cost to me. I have to compliment the retailer, Big Brown Box, as they have so far been fantastic.
I'll update once it gets assessed.

[lsemmens]

It's always good to hear a positive report about a retailer/mfg. I hope that they sort it completely for you and report what they found. Whilst I consider myself competent in most things, modern stuff just does not come into my thinking.

[tw2005]

The screws, for anyone curious.

[cozzmo]

Think it might be time to crack the back off my 55GT30A and check the screws !!!

[tw2005]

Think it might be time to crack the back off my 55GT30A and check the screws !!!

Can't hurt especially if that board starts to make buzzing noises . I've read a couple of stories from US owners where they heard nosies and image issues which were intermittent then got worse, ignored, then pop. One person we managed to suggest the screws when he had the issue and it resolved his issue and AFAIK saved the TV.
I'm fairly confident any model with these is going to have a problem sooner or later. I'm not a repairer but have an interest in panasonic plasmas. I think the next series still has the same problem with SS boards blowing, same problem bad earth from loose boards. there's even a tech bulletin regarding those.
Most of what i read is US based. I guess all SC boards blow eventually with use.

[Leon Rebrab]

A couple of days ago, my TV stopped working and only a blinking Red Light appeared.
After some Google searches I discovered the blinks had a meaning.
Following a YouTube video, I disconnected the ribbon & power cables from the SC board. I re-connected the power and now the red light blinks 8 times.
Does anyone know what that means. One reference I saw was a list of 14 blinks.
8 blinks refers to Drives SOS3 SS board. (SS energy recovery circuit).
Can anyone advise which board this refers to. Thanks.