Samsung plasma PS-42S5 sound no picture

[PowerAmpFreak]

Sound but no sign of picture. When powering up the set, ONE of the Y-buffer chips get really HOT while the others stay cool. Fuse on Y-SUS board is OK.
I disconnected the faulty Y-buffer board and power up the set, still no picture. Wouldn't I get half a screen if everything else was ok, then?
This might indicate a problem with the Y-SUS board after all.
Advice, please!

[PlainBill]

Re: Samsung plasma PS-42S5 sound no picture

Sound but no sign of picture. When powering up the set, ONE of the Y-buffer chips get really HOT while the others stay cool. Fuse on Y-SUS board is OK.
I disconnected the faulty Y-buffer board and power up the set, still no picture. Wouldn't I get half a screen if everything else was ok, then?
This might indicate a problem with the Y-SUS board after all.
Advice, please!

My advice - sell it to someone looking for a challenge. It's not worth fixing. New 42" 720P plasmas are around $500. Used ones are available on Craigslist for $300 and up.

This sounds like the classic buffer / Y-sustain failure. Buffer shorts, takes out the Y-sustain. If you're feeling lucky, you can replace the shorted buffer and the Y-Sustain. There is a good chance that the remaining buffer will short and take out the new sustain, so that's not the safest approach.

There's someone selling the sustain on eBay for about $60, but he thinks it's from an LCD tv, so I wouldn't trust him. Going rate seems to be about $160 for that board. I'm not sure about the Y-buffers but you are probably looking at $75 each for rebuilt ones. You MAY be able to replace the bad components on the Y-Sus, but I wouldn't want the job. If the buffers use the chips I think they do, I wouldn't even consider replacing one unless you have a good rework setup.

PlainBill

[PowerAmpFreak]

Re: Samsung plasma PS-42S5 sound no picture

yes, I was suspecting the usual Y-SUS for failure, which took one of the buffers with him...
IF, the Y-SUS was ok, I would have got a picture of half a screen when only have one buffer installed, right?
In this case I get none.
I realize doing any more work on this will be totally waste of time, and a great amount of cash, and a lot of risk involved.
As usual, I appreciate your valueable advice, Bill! Thanks.

[thompseg]

Re: Samsung plasma PS-42S5 sound no picture

Bill... or any other willing help? First of all, thank you for creating this forum thread. I think your problem may be very similar to my own but I am hoping for clarification. I have a 50 inch zenith that has very similar structure and board design. My plasma had a very loud pop and now we have no picture but we can hear sound. I too pulled off the back panel, thinking it was a blown capacitor on the power supply board. Only to find the board to be in good shape. Ceramic fuse is also fine. I am now thinking that is could be the y sus boards causing the pop because of all the online forums I have read. My question is to clarify your rationale for removing one of the y buffer boards. Would I be able to do the same to test my boards? If so, how did you test them to know which to remove. Someone told me that the buffer chips can go bad and the driver chips... I am not sure I know what those are or how to test for those problems. Any help is appreciated. We love the plasma and hate to spend another 1500.00 on a 50 inch plasma. I am somewhat technically inclined and would rather repair the tv if possible. Thanks so much

[PlainBill]

Re: Samsung plasma PS-42S5 sound no picture

Bill... or any other willing help? First of all, thank you for creating this forum thread. I think your problem may be very similar to my own but I am hoping for clarification. I have a 50 inch zenith that has very similar structure and board design. My plasma had a very loud pop and now we have no picture but we can hear sound. I too pulled off the back panel, thinking it was a blown capacitor on the power supply board. Only to find the board to be in good shape. Ceramic fuse is also fine. I am now thinking that is could be the y sus boards causing the pop because of all the online forums I have read. My question is to clarify your rationale for removing one of the y buffer boards. Would I be able to do the same to test my boards? If so, how did you test them to know which to remove. Someone told me that the buffer chips can go bad and the driver chips... I am not sure I know what those are or how to test for those problems. Any help is appreciated. We love the plasma and hate to spend another 1500.00 on a 50 inch plasma. I am somewhat technically inclined and would rather repair the tv if possible. Thanks so much

Here's the deal: If you have a problem with an identical model of TV, use the same thread. Since you have a Zenith, START A NEW THREAD!!! It's free, nobody will call you a sissy or accuse you of being presumptuous. While you are at it, include the model number, a clear picture of the back of the TV (with the cover removed), and the part numbers on one of the cards (I prefer the X / Z sustain on the right side of the TV (as viewed from behind).

PlainBill