I'm affraid I got myself into a bit of a snag here, getting a little cockey and thinking I could repair anything. oops!
I went out and bought a non-working Westinghouse 42" LCD TV (Model TX42F430S) the other day for $90 in hopes of repairing it and having a nice big TV to watch. Then I started reading about the apparent problem it has and got sick to my stomach.
This is a very complex computerized TV. First of all, when you plug it in it automatically goes into "Standby" mode. It powers up and draws upwards of 25W of contunuous power when it's "off". This is so that when you turn it "on", it comes on immediately, with absolutely no delay. Just BAM - ON.
Here's what this one is doing: First, he power light will come on when you plug it in. Shortly thereafter, the screen will light and a big "W" Westinghouse logo sits in the middle of a black background in a nice bright, crispy white color.
Then, within <=5 seconds, the W dims a little bit... to a not quite as bright, crispy white color. This stays on for about 10 seconds, then the backlight goes off for about 10 seconds while the power light stays lit.
Then, the screen comes back on, the power light goes out and the W logo appears in an even more dimmed white color. You can then see some of the screen mesh texture on the white of the W. As it sits there, over a period of about 4 or 5 minutes the W slowly fades to black, becoming a ratty and textured gray color just before it goes away. The backlight stays fully lit and never goes out. You can turn the power off by pressing the power button, then turn it right back on again... but the W never comes back. You have to either unplug the TV or hold down the power button for a hard reset to get it to reboot. When it does, the power light comes back on and it acts the exact same way all over again.
No control buttons work other than the Power button. No video inputs seem affect it.
I have read on the Net about a "Power Save Mode" glitch that occured with these frequently, where if you one day decide to use this mode it will lock the TV into a continuous "sleep mode" where all you get is the W logo. That sounds like what's going on here. The big bummer is, the motherboard (yes, they call it that!) is about $170 and up, has been discontinued and is unavailable from any suppliers I've found (out of stock). And from what I've read, it sounds as though it may happen even with a replacement board.
What I'm wondering is, could this have anything to do with the capacitors on the motherboard? Perhaps they used some counterfeit Rubycon and other caps. And also, does anyone know if this thing is salvagable?
I've tried looking for a Firmare update, but Westinghouse is about the most illusive company on the face of the planet. Their website is continually "under maintenance", they NEVER answer their customer service phones even during normal business hours (they tell you that you've called after hours and to call back another day!!!???!!!) And their Downloads page 404s out with an empty link to a non-existent folder on their server. What a joke.
If anyone has any info on and/or experience with this brick, I'd appreciate some input! Thanks.
SK
I went out and bought a non-working Westinghouse 42" LCD TV (Model TX42F430S) the other day for $90 in hopes of repairing it and having a nice big TV to watch. Then I started reading about the apparent problem it has and got sick to my stomach.
This is a very complex computerized TV. First of all, when you plug it in it automatically goes into "Standby" mode. It powers up and draws upwards of 25W of contunuous power when it's "off". This is so that when you turn it "on", it comes on immediately, with absolutely no delay. Just BAM - ON.
Here's what this one is doing: First, he power light will come on when you plug it in. Shortly thereafter, the screen will light and a big "W" Westinghouse logo sits in the middle of a black background in a nice bright, crispy white color.
Then, within <=5 seconds, the W dims a little bit... to a not quite as bright, crispy white color. This stays on for about 10 seconds, then the backlight goes off for about 10 seconds while the power light stays lit.
Then, the screen comes back on, the power light goes out and the W logo appears in an even more dimmed white color. You can then see some of the screen mesh texture on the white of the W. As it sits there, over a period of about 4 or 5 minutes the W slowly fades to black, becoming a ratty and textured gray color just before it goes away. The backlight stays fully lit and never goes out. You can turn the power off by pressing the power button, then turn it right back on again... but the W never comes back. You have to either unplug the TV or hold down the power button for a hard reset to get it to reboot. When it does, the power light comes back on and it acts the exact same way all over again.
No control buttons work other than the Power button. No video inputs seem affect it.
I have read on the Net about a "Power Save Mode" glitch that occured with these frequently, where if you one day decide to use this mode it will lock the TV into a continuous "sleep mode" where all you get is the W logo. That sounds like what's going on here. The big bummer is, the motherboard (yes, they call it that!) is about $170 and up, has been discontinued and is unavailable from any suppliers I've found (out of stock). And from what I've read, it sounds as though it may happen even with a replacement board.
What I'm wondering is, could this have anything to do with the capacitors on the motherboard? Perhaps they used some counterfeit Rubycon and other caps. And also, does anyone know if this thing is salvagable?
I've tried looking for a Firmare update, but Westinghouse is about the most illusive company on the face of the planet. Their website is continually "under maintenance", they NEVER answer their customer service phones even during normal business hours (they tell you that you've called after hours and to call back another day!!!???!!!) And their Downloads page 404s out with an empty link to a non-existent folder on their server. What a joke.
If anyone has any info on and/or experience with this brick, I'd appreciate some input! Thanks.
SK
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