Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

[jehuie]

Hi All - I'm new to this. I have a Vizio 50" LCD TV that is 18 months old. It has stopped working. It will power on, displays the VIZIO logo on the screen, then within a few seconds powers off and the white power light slowly fades out. Of course the warranty is up. I have tried to reset, uplugged all external devices, unplugged from power source, held the power button for 60 seconds, plugged into new outlet, etc. I would like to attempt to fix it myself due to the cost of service vs. a new TV.

I saw another thread about the exact same issue that I modeled this thread on but it was a different Vizio model here: https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=22001

In that thread most people say it's a firmware issue. I talked to Vizio support and they insist that it's a hardware problem and that they will not help but will refer me to someone who I can pay to repair it. I'm fairly handy and can solder and such but I need some help! So glad to find a community like this one!

[jehuie]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

Oh....one more thing....several times I have unplugged the TV for 30 minutes or so and then it will come up again and work fine for hours at a time. But as soon as I turn it off it's stuck and will no longer power up again and behaves like I stated above.

[ozzy214]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

Sounds like a bad eeprom or corrupted eeprom chip to me. You can try using a can of air to freeze the chip. If cold, it comes on every time, then change it.

Sadly it doesnt look like anyone is selling on at this time.

[jehuie]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

Sounds like a bad eeprom or corrupted eeprom chip to me. You can try using a can of air to freeze the chip. If cold, it comes on every time, then change it.

Sadly it doesnt look like anyone is selling on at this time.

Is there a part number or something that I can search on to try to find one? Or is it commonly used in certain models that I may be able to find at the local electronics recycling place so I can borrow one from another broken TV?

Also, I work on old arcade games as a hobby and I'm pretty good at soldering and desoldering on those. But most modern electronics have much smaller components and are difficult to repair unless you have specialized tools. Do these fall into that category?

Thanks for the help!

[slickrickybobby89]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

What are your board #s i have all boards from a e500i A1, sadly the panel was damaged, but all the boards work great.

[jehuie]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

What are your board #s i have all boards from a e500i A1, sadly the panel was damaged, but all the boards work great.

I don't know because I haven't yet disassembled it. I'm not afraid to do so but I didn't want to do it unless I was fairly sure I can repair it. I can get it to work. I just end up leaving it unplugged and then when I want to use it I plug it back in and just wait a bit and it works.

Which board would that eeprom be on? And how much would you want for the board? Is it pretty easy to get to the board to get the number off it? Like a half hour job? Or much longer?

[Malachi]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

Shopjimmy has plenty of mainboards.

[slickrickybobby89]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

If its similar to the e500a1 you will have to remove the base, then lay the panel on a flat surface, prefereably a clean, carpeted area, or large table, then remove all screws around the edge of the panel, there will usually be a few hidden around the input area, if you start to ift the back and it hangs, look for more screws, the back should lift off fairly easy on this set. If the boards are interchangeable, you can have them for what it will cost me to ship them mate. The set was given to me, so it would just clear some space for me.

[jehuie]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

This place is awesome. Well, the people here are. Thank you! I'll give it a shot!

[slickrickybobby89]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

No problem, once you get it opened up, take good clear pictures of the boards, and the white stickers on them, ill check your #'s against the ones i have.

[jehuie]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

Here's what I assume is the main logic board:



And what I'm assuming is the power supply:



I'm not sure which sticker you need on this board though. This one?

[jehuie]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

Here is a better image of the sticker on the main board:

[slickrickybobby89]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

You nailed it with the pics man, unfortunately we have completely different mainboards and power supply's, sorry im not able to help ya there man. But you have them labeled correctly. Maybe someone will be able to offer better insight as to why you have the issue with not being able to restart your set.

[jehuie]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

Bummer. Well which board do I need? I think it's the CPU/main board. I can look on shopjimmy. I found that place. What number do I look it up by? There are stickers all over the place.

[jehuie]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

Never mind my last question. I found it. Looks like a replacement board is about $80. Do these guys fully test their boards and stand by them? I'm torn between risking $80+shipping on something that may fix it....versus going and buying a new TV for $500. If I felt confident that the board would last a long time then it's a no brainer for me. $500 is a lot of money to spend every year and a half for a disposable TV!

[jehuie]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

Sorry for rambling here....

I also found this on eBay. It looks identical and says it's for the 500i-b1 which is what I have. But the numbers are different. Does anyone know if it will work?

$40 + free shipping and guaranteed return sounds promising to me.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/3018689...&ul_noapp=true

[Malachi]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

Sorry for rambling here....

I also found this on eBay. It looks identical and says it's for the 500i-b1 which is what I have. But the numbers are different. Does anyone know if it will work?

$40 + free shipping and guaranteed return sounds promising to me.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/3018689...&ul_noapp=true

I copied and pasted the number from your link into the shopjimmy search bar.
It says that board if for an E500i-B1 with a certain serial number.
Look on shopjimmy for the one that matches your serial number then look for it on eBay if you want to buy there.

[jehuie]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

Well....I've been running it for a couple days now with the back off and it doesn't seem to be having any problems. Perhaps because it's running cooler with the back cover off? I may just leave it that way since I can't see the back anyway.

[jehuie]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

And now it's doing it again. I guess I need to buy a board after all.

[culcuhain]

Re: Unhappy VIZIO E500i-B1 Powers on then shuts off within a few seconds

Shopjimmy should give you a 6 month warranty with the option to buy a 1yr or 2yr warranty. They are very reputable.