Samsung One Connect Bn94-07687b Fried?

[Trevtron]

I had just rescued this HU8500 TV by replacing the inverter board, the previous one(s) having succumbed to a strange moisture issue covered in another thread. (https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showth...619#post953619)
A friend was desperate for a "decent" TV so he took it away and even rang me back later in the day to tell me how thrilled he was with it.
Sadly the elation didn't last. The following day (now that he was satisfied it was a worthy replacement for his old Panasonic) he wired everything in more 'permanently', hiding the spaghetti-style wiring away out of sight. And that is when a new problem appeared.
The set would now come on after the normal flashing of the standby LED but thereafter it wouldn't respond to the remote commands. It still displayed the last channel watched along with the list of recently-used apps along the foot of the screen, then shut down after less than a minute.
I thought (hoped?) maybe it was an issue with the joystick control on the rear of the screen locking out the IR commands and told him to give it a good old wiggle. Nope. Still the same. Then he mentioned that the attached 'One Connect' box felt quite hot. So I suggested he try the screen without that connected and it worked just fine, albeit just a graphic asking for the One box to be connected. The remote was now able to put it back to standby.
So it's back with me now. I opened up the One Connect and with my strong specs I noticed a small shiny blob on one of the HDMI processor chips (see 2nd image). I checked with my finger nail that it wasn't just a stray bit of flux from production but it wasn't for shifting AND there is a small brown stain next to it which looks suspiciously like it has been letting the smoke out.
I do not have the skills or tools to replace this IC so it looks like we are on the hunt for a replacement One box.
But before throwing any more money at it I just want to know if this is likely to be a 'natural' fault or has something one of us has done instigated it.

[diif]

Re: Samsung One Connect Bn94-07687b Fried?

HDMI ICs can be damaged if cables are hotplugged.

[nomoresonys]

Re: Samsung One Connect Bn94-07687b Fried?

Something to try, take the lid off the one connect box, hook it up and see if it works, that is if nothing else is wrong, they're known to run hot and heat kills.

[diif]

Re: Samsung One Connect Bn94-07687b Fried?

Something to try, take the lid off the one connect box, hook it up and see if it works, that is if nothing else is wrong, they're known to run hot and heat kills.

It's not heat, HDMI ICs don't get particularly hot and it would have been cold when it was turned on in the OP's wokshop. The OP also reports physical damage to the HDMI IC and it happened right after the cables were moved.
It's common on consoles and I did it to my Tivo and it's the same on a friend's TV (he uses scart instead).

[nomoresonys]

Re: Samsung One Connect Bn94-07687b Fried?

Right dif boy, there's only 10,000 reports of one connect boxes overheating and failing But I guess you never heard of it, might not be in this case but happens quite a lot. Don't know what you're reading but the OP never said he hot-plugged the hdmis.

[Nick's Tvs]

Re: Samsung One Connect Bn94-07687b Fried?

If that is a hole in the chip, then most likely you will find it to be shorted as well. One thing you can do is plug everything in, put your finger on it, and boot it up. Does it get as hot as lava within a second or two? If yes then that chip is shorted, and make sure to unplug it quickly. That chip should get warm over time, but you should be able to keep your finger on it without burning yourself. If it gets hot enough that you can't keep your finger on it, then it's the source of your issue and you need to replace it.

Also I am unsure what this Hot-plug situation is, there is a possibility that is a design flaw on some lesser known brands and devices, but that would never be the case with any major brand such as Samsung's consumer products. These One connect boxes, cables and TV's are designed to be hot plugged without any problem. You should be able to connect and disconnect your one connect box while the TV is on without any issues. If that was not the case 99% of these devices would break and be returned for warranty as almost everyone user/customer would accidentally do this at some point in the life of the set.

[nomoresonys]

Re: Samsung One Connect Bn94-07687b Fried?

If that is a hole in the chip, then most likely you will find it to be shorted as well. One thing you can do is plug everything in, put your finger on it, and boot it up. Does it get as hot as lava within a second or two? If yes then that chip is shorted, and make sure to unplug it quickly. That chip should get warm over time, but you should be able to keep your finger on it without burning yourself. If it gets hot enough that you can't keep your finger on it, then it's the source of your issue and you need to replace it.

Also I am unsure what this Hot-plug situation is, there is a possibility that is a design flaw on some lesser known brands and devices, but that would never be the case with any major brand such as Samsung's consumer products. These One connect boxes, cables and TV's are designed to be hot plugged without any problem. You should be able to connect and disconnect your one connect box while the TV is on without any issues. If that was not the case 99% of these devices would break and be returned for warranty as almost everyone user/customer would accidentally do this at some point in the life of the set.

Indeed, nice explanation, I also hot-plug quite often, looks like that other guy was chasing shadows again, might be a 420 situation.

[diif]

Re: Samsung One Connect Bn94-07687b Fried?

Also I am unsure what this Hot-plug situation is, there is a possibility that is a design flaw on some lesser known brands and devices, but that would never be the case with any major brand such as Samsung's consumer products. These One connect boxes, cables and TV's are designed to be hot plugged without any problem. You should be able to connect and disconnect your one connect box while the TV is on without any issues. If that was not the case 99% of these devices would break and be returned for warranty as almost everyone user/customer would accidentally do this at some point in the life of the set.

It's not a design flaw, as you say there would be lots of failures and hotplugging is bound to happen. It's usually cheap or worn cables or ports or a combination of both perhaps with a dash of exuberance and not paying full attention.

There aren't the protection diodes on that HDMI port that there are on the other three. I wonder if that played a part ?

[Trevtron]

Re: Samsung One Connect Bn94-07687b Fried?

Many thanks for all the suggestions guys.
I wasn't present when the connections were being made but I would think it unlikely in this case that anything was powered up as the chap was taking the opportunity to tidy up the jungle of cables (which I am sure most of us are all too familiar with!) so would most likely have had the power unplugged at the time.
But the other suggestion of a worn (perhaps shorted?) HDMI cable is more plausible as he does have a habit of swapping things about a LOT.
I don't have the equipment (or expertise) to change an IC like this so the board is away to a colleague in Spain who does jobs like this for a very reasonable price. I did have a look on the 'Bay for a replacement box but they're pretty scarce & one with a good history (i.e. opened/unused) is asking silly money.
So we will see what my friend comes up with, hopefully it'll be back in the next ten days or so & I will update as and when.