VIZIO TV (Model:VL370M) Display not working

[L3git]

Hi everyone! First I’d like to say I’m a newbie here on the forums and as well as repairing electronics so please bear with me. Just for clarification the only experience I have is replacing batteries in iPhones and also don’t know how to do soldering. So aside from that I’d like to know if it’s possible to repair this TV with no experience/ technical knowledge. The TV is a VIZIO VL370M and had for over 10 years. It was working until one day when I turned on the TV all I see is vertical gray lines and they’re also moving across the screen. I’ve attached some pictures showing it. I have no clue what’s the issue with it and would like suggestions on what I can do and if it’s repairable. Thank you for the feedback and trying to help me out! Much appreciated to you all!

[lotas]

This can happen if liquid gets on the panel and leaks onto the cables with decoders.

[dskall]

Do you get a menu?

[L3git]

Hm I see, haven’t spilled anything on or in the TV ever since I had it. Also maybe condensation got inside the TV?

Also I don’t see a menu as it’s just gray lines moving across the screen

Thank you both for for the feedback!

[lotas]

Check the LVDS cable, its connectors on T-CON.

[dskall]

The good news is this doesn't seem to be a bad panel. But a board or connection issue.

[L3git]

Ah okay, don’t know where to find that cable but I’ll see if I can open up the TV and then I’ll take pictures of the inside. Also that’s good to hear that the panel might be still good, I was afraid the panel is bad.

[L3git]

Hi all I’m back and I got some pictures of the circuit boards on the back of the TV. Let me know if you need more pictures

[L3git]

Here’s more

[dskall]

On first picture. Remove and check, reseat cable between that board and mainboard. Unhook two cables on bottom of picture one at a time and check tv picture. Turn off tv each time before you disconnect cable.

[L3git]

As per instructions , So I reseated the cable between the board and the main board. After that I unplugged both cables at the bottom. Then I unplugged each bottom cable one at a time and turned on the TV. This is what I got. 1st picture is left cable unplugged and 2nd picture is right cable unplugged.

[dskall]

Next I would suggest heating up your mainboard processor. If nothing changes there. It's down to checking voltages. I would start at t-con, first picture. There is VGH,VGL, VCC, VCOM that I see

[L3git]

Um yeah I don’t have a heat gun and don’t know how to do soldering. Sorry if I didn’t mention that before. I was thinking is it possible to replace one of the boards to fix it?

[dskall]

I hope you have a multimeter.

[L3git]

Yeah I actually have a multimeter

[L3git]

Hi there! Just let me know how we proceed using the multimeter, thank you!

[nomoresonys]

Good video there, just be careful what you touch there's DEADLY voltage on the hot side of the powerboard and the inverter, he's checking the voltages in the first part of the video, He is a good teacher, works at a steady pace that even beginners can grasp, consider subscribing and donating: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRDZ...teY5Gw&index=2

[L3git]

Hey everyone, So I have good news I’ve bought a new tcon board and replaced the broken one and now my TV works again! Yay! for educational purposes I’d like to know why the tcon board is broken. I still took down the voltages of broken and working tcon board in the attached pictures. Also another question is the differences in the tcon boards (top is broken and bottom is working) I’ve noticed is some of the test points are soldered in the working one as opposed to the broken one, would’ve me possibly soldering made it work? Just some questions I have as I’d like to get more knowledgeable in this. Thank you for the feedback by the way!

[nomoresonys]

maybe check all the test points and see if there's any differences if you havent already.

[dskall]

Looks like VGH is the problem. Should be 20- 30v.