Viera TC-P55GT30: Shuts off, not blinking lights.

[pepsiaddict]

No blinking death lights but my 55gt30 is being troublesome.

A few weeks ago we were in the middle of watching a show and the tv shut off on it's own. Remote would not work, power button on the tv would not work. No clicks, buzzes or blinking lights.
Unplugged for 10 minutes, air-canned all the holes on the back, still completely dead. Came back 40 minutes later and it turns on and works as it had for the last three years with no signs of anything amiss.

That exact scenario happened a week later, then again yesterday and now today.
Yesterday and today's scenarios we didn't unplug or touch it. It turned itself back on after 20 or more minutes.

Since no blinking happens and the tv ends up working perfectly after waiting I'm assuming it's overheating and self preserving as a failsafe? I haven't read anything suggesting anyone else has experienced this problem.
As of today's episode I have a small fan blowing across the back.

The tv is wall mounted, the middle about 8 inches away from the wall, the bottom is 18 inches above the components, nothing to the sides. It's mounted to the support wall of the house and there are not heating vents anywhere near it. Basically I'm saying there's no heat from anything else and this thing has PLENTY of breathing room.

Suggestions/ideas?

[electronicsurplus]

Re: Viera TC-P55GT30: Shuts off, not blinking lights.

Hello Pepsi Addict

I would check to see if the fans are working properly. I have seen many of these TV's shut down like this because of failed fan(s). This is a safety feature which was added due to Law since, it was discovered that a majority of Home Fires were due to overheating or shorted Televisions was the cause sometimes. There are Thermal Sensors which when they are tripped act sort of like a fuse or, self resetting circuit breaker and, shut the power down to the TV and, when cooled reset themselves.

You might also want to consider moving the TV a bit away from the wall because, these TV's do generate quite a bit of heat. IF not you will end of causing much more damage.

I have also installed additional cooling fans inside the TV's using a simple Computer Cooling fan (blowing the hot air OUT of the TV) and, finding a stable 5 or 12 Volt DC source and, use a couple Small screws to attach to the back cover of the TV. I personally have installed fans inside 100's of these TV's and never had one come back as of yet

Also, remember, ALL electronics do generate heat and, since, heat does rise UP adding to the heat the TV is already producing

I hope this helps

Please let me know if it helped at all

IF not there are some other additional test and solutions which may help. I have personally successfully repaired 100's of Panasonic TC-xxxxx TV's

Good luck

Aimee

[pepsiaddict]

Re: Viera TC-P55GT30: Shuts off, not blinking lights.

I would check to see if the fans are working properly. I have seen many of these TV's shut down like this because of failed fan(s).

The two fans in the TV are spinning, not sure whether the rpm has retarded over the years due to wear, tear and dirt.

I have also installed additional cooling fans inside the TV's using a simple Computer Cooling fan (blowing the hot air OUT of the TV) and, finding a stable 5 or 12 Volt DC source and, use a couple Small screws to attach to the back cover of the TV. I personally have installed fans inside 100's of these TV's and never had one come back as of yet

I am extremely interested in doing this and would appreciate any help in this matter.
Will I be replacing the oem fans AND adding an additional one, or just replacing the oems?
I did place a tabletop fan blowing across the back of the TV and it hasn't overheated since. The problem is the noise that fan produces.

Please let me know if it helped at all

IF not there are some other additional test and solutions which may help. I have personally successfully repaired 100's of Panasonic TC-xxxxx TV's

Good luck

Aimee

Between my own observations and your insight it is safe to assume your diagnosis is dead on and I greatly appreciate your help.

Further information such as pictures, sources, detailed information would be highly appreciated. I have dabbled with electronics but not so much as to have over soldered. Pretty much just plug-and-play but I have basic understanding of electrical concepts.

[sunflashx]

Re: Viera TC-P55GT30: Shuts off, not blinking lights.

My TC-P60S30 exhibited the same behavior, and then after the 3rd time, it wouldn't come back on at all. I used the manual from This Thread to diagnose that I had shorts in my SC, SS and P boards.

I sourced replacement boards for those and for about 45 minutes had a beautiful flawless picture back. Then it shut itself off again.

I turned it back on a few minutes later, and it powered back on correctly, but now I'm afraid to use it for any extended amount of time, lest I burn it out completely like seems to have happened last time. I'm not terribly interested in buying 3 new boards, plus whatever else is wrong.

I'm going to tear it apart again and retest everything, and this time check the fans too.

[tom66]

Re: Viera TC-P55GT30: Shuts off, not blinking lights.

@sunflashx, did you actually check and see if you had shorts on the SC/SS/P with a meter or just use the diagnosis flowchart?

Most likely your fault has always been the A board. The fact that it came back to life after removing boards is likely just a coincidence.

[sunflashx]

Re: Viera TC-P55GT30: Shuts off, not blinking lights.

I used a meter, and followed the flow charts. Possibly incorrectly.

The notes I wrote on it are at home, but off the top of my head I had a short for sure on the P6 connector, and after disconnecting the SC board it would power up and give me 8 blinks, where prior it would not power at all. I'm pretty sure from there the 8 blink code diagnosed the SS as bad.

The A board was where I was headed next for whatever troubleshooting the manual offered. I had no one around to help me pull it back off the wall after it quit working, so no more troubleshooting has been done yet.