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Get out the 3D glasses fellas, it's convergence!

7K views 32 replies 2 participants last post by  redfury 
#1 · (Edited)
UPDATED!Get out the 3D glasses fellas, it's convergence!



Mitsubishi VS 50603 serial 134043

Okay, So here goes my story. I received this TV from my Mom after it stopped working for her. She figured I would be the only one in the family that would be willing to take a stab at it. I was.

So, it didn't get a picture when video was fed through the coaxials. Fine, I brought it to the local place I've had repair a couple of 25" TV's for me in the past. He's usually pretty reasonable, and quick.

I brought it in and told him that he could take his time with this one, I wanted it fixed right, I had heard about coolant leaking in these sets...let me know what he thinks. I don't feel like lugging this thing back and forth for anything. I figured that was fair...no pressure from a customer makes for a happy repair guy.

The next day he calls me and says that he needs to replace the circuit board the tuners are on. He calls me 2 days later, it's fixed! Yay! I was happy, and on my way home with my new 50 inch Mitsubishi ( finally, a big screen! ). Got it downstairs, hooked it up and watched a little TV. Hooked up the game cube for the kids....Super Smash Bros on the big screen...AWESOME!

A week later, the tuners start acting up, then the set starts shutting off immediately after powering it on. I take off the back cover to see what's going on - if I can. Sure enough, there's coolant on the new board. :scratch:

So, I call him up and let him know whats up. He tells me to bring it back, and he'll R&R the gaskets and put a shielding in there to avoid troubles in the future. I'm good with that. Not happy I have to drag it up the stairs and 35 miles to the shop, but what can you do? So, I drop it off. I tell him to take his time, be thorough with it. I understand that personal warranty work makes you no money, and this guy is up to his elbows in Plasmas and DLP's in on warranty. Again, the TV isn't paramount to my happiness, I just don't want to rush him.

So, 3 months goes by and I haven't gotten a call. I'm none too happy about not even getting a word from him. So, I call. Oh, it's in the shop. One of the gaskets came finally, but he didn't get the other two and wants to replace all of them. Okay, semi plausible excuse. When its all said and done, he says it will be done on Friday, I tell him I'll pick it up the next Monday, and when Monday comes, it's not ready ( has to let a sealant dry? ). So, I get it on Tuesday.

Well, Tuesday it's 25 degrees outside and I have about an hour drive before I get done with errands and the commute home.

I drag the thing in with my buddy. Now, here's where I thought I'd get smart. I had cut two lengths of chip board for my staircase so I could roll the set down to make it less ackward. Well, it was, but the gap between the two pieces busts the front wheels off the set :wits-end: We get it down, take a skateboard and roll it over to its spot and lift it up and set it on a 5 gallon pail so I can replace the wheels. Set it down and leave it unplugged ( frosty condensation on the screen told me to let it sit a while ). So, I let it sit unplugged for 2 1/2 hours while we went to a friends house.

A little impatience on my part ( I'd been waiting 3 months to get this thing back! ), I plugged it in and hooked up my first set of RCA cables from the satellite box. Looked pretty good! However, I bought a nice new little Phillips DVD player with HDMI and progressive scan and I wanted to see if the picture was better using the YBG cables in the DVD port of the TV. I hooked them up and heard a buzzing noise from the speakers ( no audio cables hooked up to the TV, that's all through the Denon Receiver ) and walked around to look at the "better" picture.

Might have been better if I was wearing 3D glasses, something was wrong. Not even running for 5 minutes and I get this?! :explode: So, I freaked for a minute there :duh: What did I do wrong?! I unplugged the cables and went back to the RCA's...no difference. Everything was wrong, something happened, but what?!

I figured convergence was screwy...maybe I could fix it with the TV's controls. Well, even with 64 points to control and quite a bit of adjustment, I got to the picture at the beginning of this post. I don't know what to do. After doing a bit of research, I read that the coolant can cause all sorts of troubles, and I read that the IC's in these can go out ( hey, it's a 10 year old set! ).

I feel like I bought a used car. I fixed the tail pipe, but now the catalytic converter is clogged!

Was it something I did? Is it something that happened out of the blue? Or did my tech not do a thorough enough job fixing it in the first place ( again ). I don't want to call and accuse him unnecessarily, I know what it's like to have a nagging customer that's being unreasonable....I won't be that guy. But I do want a second opinion before I call him and let him know what happened.

Dragging this thing out of my basement again just isn't something I plan to do. If I have to pull the entire circuit assembly out myself and bring it to him to fix, I'd rather do that that drive that TV 35 miles to him and asking him to drive out to me for an in house visit isn't necessarily fair to him either.

The other problem is, I can't afford to spend much to fix this thing again...and it's at the point of whether it's worth it. I mean, it's a 10 year old TV that is NON HD. I've got 350 invested, that's half a decent 42" Vizio LCD with my wifes Discount.

I'm not necessarily asking anyone here to lead me through fixing this thing, but I sure would love some opinions on how I should proceed. I've got enough soldering knowledge to take a stab at it, but I'm also just smart enough with electronics to do something stupid :nerd:

So, to recap. Originally was told he replaced the circuit board to fix the original problem. Then fixed leaking CRT's and repaired the set .( replaced the circuit board again, I don't know...after 3 months in his shop, the inside has a layer of dust on everything again ) Now, I've got a warped screen.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Redfury111/PicasaUploads#5273560333814759954

That link is to a picture of the "innards" of my TV if you wish to view a large picture.
 
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#2 ·
#3 ·
Already have sir! I purposefully lurk in new forums and read the stickies and any threads that seem pertinent to the reason for me lurking in the first place :reading: Your status here is already apparent to me just in my 2 days browsing.

however, I wasn't aware of the Mitsubishi forum, I somehow missed it ( that and I found this forum through a google search that put me in this forum, which seemed appropriate to post in at the time )
 
#4 ·
Well, I plan to do more investigating on my own after re-reading those stickies again. Being that there was a service guy in there, I'm hoping that I won't be finding corrosion, but then again...who knows right?

I wish he hadn't been out on a service call when I picked it up. I'm going to call him on Monday and tell him what happened and see what he has to say about it.

I'm trying to figure this out for myself, just for my own understanding though. It seems that since only the red is out of whack that some value got knocked way out of whack. Resistor, bad connection, cracked solder joint, something internal on one of the two convergence IC's?
 
#5 ·
There is no way to know which of these without some traoubleshooting. YOu may have a very difficult problem if the tech did not repair the leak damage properly. Notice how I emphasize the importance of mapping the coolant, washing the board, and verifying EVERY connection in the area. It may take lots of patience and skill to sort out this mess. You might also just have a bad IC. I would verify with the tech whether he resoldered the convergence ICs. IMO, it is foolish not to anytime one repairs a set that has them.

BTW, there is no reason to move the entire set. The chassis with the CRTs comes out as a unit for shop service. You can't align the set in the shop, but other repairs can be done and tested.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Well, since there wasn't a convergence problem, I'm pretty sure he didn't touch it. I did some more searching/prodding and really looked harder for evidence of the signs of the coolant being on the board and the only thing I really noticed was areas where the dust was removed from handling the board ( I get the feeling he may have a few of these in his shop collecting dust ). I used a camel hair detailing brush and brushed the green circuit board carefully after inspecting it as closely as I could with the circuits pulled slightly back as a set ( took out the board mount screws and slid the chassis back a few inches ).

I did unscrew the metal plate that holds the IC's against the heatsink. From what I saw, it didn't seem that the plate holds them very tightly against the heatsink, so I wonder if it was something that was a catalyst to it having this problem.

Since the board could be removed and brought to the tech, I'm curious as to how you would feel personally to have a client do that. What provisions would you place on such a repair? I'm completely confident I could pull the chassis out and deliver it to him, I'm wondering more what the reaction would end up being.

The only thing that I saw that looked off visually was one of the between board connectors.
 
#8 ·
If a client brings me a light box to repair, I will usually do it with the requirement that we reinstall it and align it, and the client pays for the return service call. I do not generally accept single circuit boards for repair, as there is no way to test and assure a repair.
 
#9 · (Edited)
So, to avoid the trip cost, you'll allow a chassis to be brought to you for repair, but require your personal attention to reinstall? It makes sense to cover yourself because you don't know if the person reinstalling the chassis would do it right, and then bring it back broken....I can understand that completely.

Here's the dilemma then. If to have the guy come out and put the chassis back together and align the set is going to cost me about as much as the original repair bill ( 350 bucks ), then I might as well spend some time getting to know my TV and making an attempt to repair it myself, because if the cost comes up to being 700 for the whole shebang, I might as well put the 350 towards a NEW TV, because it really just isn't cost effective for a Non HD set. I'd never get a fraction of it back if I were to ever sell it ( not that I would get much for it right now if I sold it in working condition ).

Granted, it was a $2500 set when new, but that was 10 years ago so the value isn't there anymore. I could get an HD set off Craigslist of the same or similar size and a decent brand for $500 ( of course, there are no guarantee's there either )

I bet that's got to be a hard sell for a customer when you tell them the price to fix an older set. It may be a great set, but the intrinsic value placed on it by the owner makes the cost to repair it unjustifiable.

BTW, circuit board comes out by itself if I disconnect the wiring going to the yokes and any wiring on the box itself, I don't see a way to pull the CRT's and everything out as a single unit. I'll have to take a closer look.
 
#11 ·
Well, stopped in and saw my guy today. Showed him pictures and explained what happened. He just happened to have a convergence board for my chassis sitting there, so he gave it to me and said "give that a shot. If it doesn't work, bring be the light box and we'll get you fixed up".

I was a little stunned, to say the least, but I will have to say that the customer support the guy gives is awesome and he absolutely deserves my recommendations. I'm going to give it a shot and I'll post back with results, positive or negative.

Wish me luck! :praying:
 
#13 ·
I'm pulling the old one out before I mess with the new one. ( and exactly why I posted here before I even thought about putting a screwdriver to the set...you'll be a guardian angel when you die, you know that right :D )

I'm also going to use my multimeter to check impedences on all the components to see if there actually is a problem with one or the other.
 
#14 ·
Well, I've got a pincushioned screen with this board. I guess I'll be running the whole light box down to him. I didn't dare run it for more than just a couple of seconds since I didn't have the heatsink installed yet. All of the resistors ohmed out the same on each board. One of the readings I got off the IC's was different, so I figured I had a shot that something would change. Well, it did!

The board he gave me did have ONE of the STK392-110 chips replaced with a replacement 110...that was evident by the traces of flux around the board connection, though the soldering looked good.
 
#16 ·
Just got back from dropping it off. I guess we'll have to wait and see what the problem ends up being. I'd sure love to have been able to monkey with this myself, but sometimes you have to bow to the masters and let them perform their craft.

I do appreciate the kind words and insight. I've always felt that I can be a better customer and a better provider of service to others when I have knowledge to help back me up. I'm sure in this day and age, having customers that can seek out knowledge so easily can be a dangerous mixture of knowledge and inexperience. I get that with customers that have done research on their own in the Hardwood flooring business. The may think they know what is going on, but a few reads on the internet can make a customer dangerously stupid, but it can make them wonderfully understanding too.

I will update this thread when I get an answer from my tech and when I get the set back up and running, or turned into some piece of cabinetry for the house :bigsmile:
 
#17 ·
It is good to hear a consumer with this clear a perspective on the value of professional services and the problems associated with trying to do it yourself. Hopefully, your servicer is a good tech and pays attention to detail. We are unfortunate to have many in our profession that don't live up to the highest standards.

Let us know how it turns out.
 
#18 ·
I'm hoping he serves me well. I do have my doubts after pulling the light box out. I noticed that he had jumpered a connection under the main circuit board, so I assume that he repaired the original circuit board that had gotten leaked on. I'm not sure how thorough a job he did getting all the old coolant out and making sure there would be no more corrosion. I don't know. I dropped it off this time and gave them no specific timeline in which I expected the set back. At this point, I've been without the thing for so long, it won't matter when I get it back, as long as it's fixed properly and won't flake out on me in a month.

I understand the value of a professional simply because I've 1. Matured in my views of what I can do in a DIY fashion vs. When it's time to have it done right and 2. I work in an industry that has similar customers and deal with them on a one on one basis frequently. You'd be surprised at the conversations one can have over something that is as seemingly simple as having wood floors refinished. Some make it more complicated than it really is.

So, I'll update this when I eventually get the light box back. In the mean time, I'll float around the various forums around here and educate myself and try to interject a different perspective when/if I can.
 
#19 ·
BTW, just for information sake, the other "board" that I used that gave me a pincushioned screen....

I couldn't adjust the convergence AT ALL. the crosshair part was stationary, the advanced section that looks like the top picture in my post, wasn't there at all...just the "press for info" text. AND, the set "blinked" repeatedly ( I did all of this after reinstalling the heatsink so I wouldn't cause further damage ).'

I can only assume that the board he gave me was messed up.
 
#20 ·
UPDATE!

Well, after a couple of months at the shop, waiting for an answer I finally called the guy. He gave me some run around about having to order parts and it the light box would be repaired on Tuesday for me to pick it up. Well, I got around to showing up today and he was out on a repair. The wife called him ( she runs the front of the store ) and he offered me a better deal that monkeying around with my old Mitsu.

For $250 he's offering a Toshiba 65HC15 as a replacement, and after reading the product manual, I'm inclined to take the offer. Being that it's a 65 inch HDTV monitor ( I could care less about tuners ), I have to make sure it can make the bottom of the steps, and he's willing to help me get it into the basement.

So, I'd have a grand total of $700 and half a year invested in this "Big TV" acquisition. The 50" Mitsu apparently is more of a thorn in his side than he wants to have come back, and I'm pretty sure he picked up the Toshiba off craigslist and repaired it, but he will give me a 30 day warranty on it, as he does all of his work.

I'm not particularly fond of the speed of service or communication I've had with them. They are focusing on doing warranty work for local retailers more than the guy bringing in a tv for repair out of warranty since that side has dried up some, so I can understand to a degree why they are doing what they are doing...guaranteed money from the manufacturer is not something you want to lose. Meh, whatever. If the TV will make the turn at the bottom of the stairs, I think I will take him up on the offer. It's outfitted with an HDMI connection, so it's not that old of a set compared to the non HD Mitsubishi I've been fighting with which is at least 10 years old.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? I'm not in a position at the moment to shell out for a new LCD at the moment, but the 250 price tag is doable.

Anyone have a reason why I shouldn't pull the lever, or a reason why I should pull the plug on the whole thing and just call it an 350 dollar lesson in electronics repair?
 
#21 ·
I would not buy anything from this guy unless you see it running several times in his shop and check it thoroughly. This is the kind of shop that does not do the homework nor the proper testing to get the job done right.
 
#22 ·
That was the impression I was getting after reading on these forums how you (obviously) good technicians go about your repairs. Seems to me that they fix the problem instead of fixing the problem after finding out WHY the problem existed in the first place in order to get volume out the door.

I actually saw the set running, it looked great, it sounded great..the resolution was superior to the TV I had. The overall condition of the set was decent, though the screen had a bit of a scuff that wasn't visible when the TV was actually "ON".
 
#24 ·
That's what I was thinking initially. I've only been able to view the set for a total of 2 hrs since I got it from my mom and back from the initial repair. AFAIC, that investment is a complete loss..it's been long enough that I don't feel the loss of the money as being the larger factor, at this point it's the loss of the TV, or the fact that I have an unusable hulk in my basement with an old 27" tube tv sitting on top of it as my entertainment area...it's quite ridiculous really. For 250 and a warranty, it might be worth pitching to the wife to take a stab at. I'll let her be the decision maker on this one since she has less patience for the whole ordeal than I have had.

I'll keep the thread updated until I have a final resolution.
 
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