Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

[tha_bandit]

Hey all, so I have a ran into a problem with the set. It went while it was on, and shows no blinking lights, etc. I read around here and took it apart and snapped some photos. I went ahead and ordered the LCD controller (TCON i hope) as that seems to the first thing to try out, as there are no power related symptoms. I have sound from inputs and the picture did come back (for a short while) when I squeezed the top part of the tv once (where the board is located).

I've attached the pics. So the board had a part number on it and thats what I have ordered (T400HW01 V3), hopefully that was the right one. Anyone seen this sort of problem? or know anything else?

[daguy33]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

Most cases this is your t-con board, however when you said you squeezed the top part of the bezel where it is located and it fixed it for a short while, usually that indicates that the lcd ribbons are not making direct contact. To make sure what you would do is carefully lay it on its back side with the screen facing upward and take off the bezel and metal casing (be very careful while doing this) and once you have all the top ribbons exposed you then would want to go down the line and gently press down on each ribbon (while the tv is on, again be very careful, and you want to use something as small as a baseball card because it will not conduct any electricity) and see which one resolves the problem. If it does resolve the problem then there are 2 options you can do. A. you can try to find some foam of sort and set it in place so when the bezel is put on it will put pressure on the ribbon causing it to fix the problem or B. Get a new panel. The reason i say get a new panel is because if it is the ribbon issue, its usally due to the connection not being very well and in essence you have a bad panel. Its more of a temporary fix but hey it beats buying a new tv again. Hope this helps!

[tha_bandit]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

the board hasnt came yet, so if thats a no-go then ill try out what u suggested. thanks for the reply, appreciate it. ill update as i go along, if anyone else ever runs into this problem

[mbates14]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

Also if its very dirty and dusty, heat carries dirt and dust, and it can get inside the ribbon connections that connect the TCON to the panel. ive seen this on a sharp aquos LCD once. cleaning the ribbons fixed it.

but if its a bonded ribbon issue, your pretty much up crap creek without a paddle.

[tha_bandit]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

So the part arrived today, replaced the board (T400HW01 V3 40T02-C04 Ctrl BD), its the main lcd controller board on top of the tv. I ordered this from company called usefulparts. So anyways, I swapped the boards and the entire screen lit up, but the lines were begie/very light colored, so i thought I had gotten the board for another tv (as this board is used in other tv's as well, the 40z4100 for example.) After almost giving up, I again unhooked the board, and put it back in again, this time trying to get the ribbons perfect. And guess what, it worked!

So there it is, full screen of lines, TCON or LCD controller board fixed it. Hopefully someone can use this info in the future.

[daniel93245]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

I also have the same model lcd KDL-46Z4100 with the same random vertical line across it, I ordered a used but working T-Con board. Unfortunate after replace the T-con board the problem still the same.. any other suggestions could it be a bad ribbon to the lcd panel ? thanks

[selldoor]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

Its always worth trying to clean /reseat the cables.

[cashkennedy]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

This threads original author probably just had badly seated cables all along, and not a Tcon issue, but no way to be sure unless he puts back in the old tcon.

Might also have tab bonding issues that somehow randomly positioned better after he took it apart third time. Since 46" sonys are notorious for that if made in the 2008-2010 time frame.

[Braviuh]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

Is this thread still active?

I also have a Sony Bravia KDL-46Z4100 that's about 4 years old. Coupla weeks ago, it failed. Argh.

It responds to the remote correctly, and because I reset it as described in the owner's manual, it prompts for Initial Setup, Step 1 of 6, which is language selection. I then continue to Step 2, which is Auto Program. The TV then displays Step 3, a pinkish background that tells me that it's scanning for channels, even though the coax isn't connected now. At that point, the screen turns black, and the Initial Setup cycle begins again. The cycle takes about 10 seconds. Sometimes, but not always, just before the screen goes black, vertical lines appear on the screen for coupla seconds.

I checked the Sony website and found a firmware upgrade for the KDL-46Z4100. I downloaded the firmware to a USB gizmo and inserted the USB storage thingy in the rear socket. I followed the instructions and cycled the power. The LED on the USB gizmo flashed, but after a few minutes, I was a message about "error reference A2-3," and the firmware update failed.

I decided to call Sony. The tech said that the A2-3 error indicated that the USB gizmo wasn't read. The tech then promised to send me the firmware update on a USB stick by mail.

The USPS delivered the USB stick today, and I tried again. No improvement.

I found a copy of the service manual as a PDF, and ran the Self-Check Diagnostic by keying Display, Channel 5, Volume-, TV Power. No errors have been detected by the firmware; all the parameters are 000.

The Standby LED is off.

Now that I have the service manual, I'm ready to remove the cover and start fixing. But the service manual doesn't include a fault tree to isolate a failed board. Nor does it include even basic procedures to check voltages or currents to debug a failed board. The LCD panel seems fine and power appears to be steady. Logic boards must be OK, as it keeps stepping me through the Initial Setup.

I have pix of the screen that I can upload.

Where do I go from here?

Thanks much, y'all. I like this TV and wanna keep it out of the recycling stream.

[drpj23]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

So do you have an actual image with overlaying lines?

Pics would be nice.

[Braviuh]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

Please see attached pix . They're a bit blurry, but I didn't have much time before the screen went black.

I think that the Initial Setup loop may be caused by a watchdog timer that resets the TV. I don't hear a power relay cycling when the Initial Setup restarts. But that's just a guess; nothing was mentioned in the service manual.

After the coax was disconnected, I didn't see the firmware update screen. Other than the LED in the USB gizmo flashing when I plugged in the TV, there was no indication that the firmware was being update.

Thanks again for any repair hints.

[drpj23]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

That look like the T-CON board as you still get an image so main is processing data correctly it seems. It looks like (if you pictures are a progression of what happens) it works then progressively goes down hill from there. Take a good close pic of the T-CON board please.

[Braviuh]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

OK; will do, Dr. PJ23.

What does the T-CON board do? I can't find much of a description of it in the service manual. Much more verbiage about the BU board. The block diagram shows a bus interface between the BE Micro board, and "TCON HFR (18h)," which seems to be a component of the "FHD Panel with HFR."

The service manual also contains several pages about "wire dressing," which means the use of sheet core, UL tape, and LCD tape. Are these required for re-assembly of the TV?

It'll take me coupla nights to get it apart, and macro photos of the T-CON board posted.

BTW, might I hear audible clues when juice is flowing that the T-CON board is flaky? Strange noises are more common as power transistors or caps fail, I know, but sometimes these things are almost obvious.

Thanks again for your help.

[drpj23]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

It basically takes your video signal from the main and converts it to a signal for the LCD panel. The panel works by allowing light to pass through your RGB filters which is controlled (refracted) by your liquid crystal controlled by voltage. The liquid crystal has very predictable effect to voltages so it sends a voltage to (x,y) for the pixel to produce whatever color.

If you're careful, you can re-use the tape used in the set. It's usually there to hold the cable down (I suppose less stress) but usually not unless it is a conductive tape but in your case it'll just be holding down the LVDS.

No worries and you won't usually hear anything...well if you do then that might be something to worry about

[budm]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

See PDF.

[Braviuh]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

Excellent; thanx much. Do I deduce correctly that "TCON HFR (18h)" refers to 18 hex, or 24-bit color in my TV?

[drpj23]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

"TCON HFR (18h)," which seems to be a component of the "FHD Panel with HFR."

If I had to guess what the idioms of Sony are,
I'd say FHD would Full High Definition and HFR is High Frame Rate

Sony seems to be the only one to use HFR with the use of the TCON board.

The 18h I am not sure about. According to budm's pdf it uses 8 or 10 bit LCD info. But since this is HFR with FHD ....perhaps.

I'm pretty sure I'll be corrected but If I had to make a guess.

[Braviuh]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

Hi again, y'all,

Still trying to determine what's wrong with my Bravia KDL-46Z4100. I removed the rear cover and vacuumed thoroughly, though it wasn't that dusty. Carefully checked all of the screws for any that were loose.

I tried disconnecting and re-connecting all cables. No improvement. Self-check diagnostics still shows no errors.

I don't think that it's the T-CON board. I think that it's the BU board because I see good pix when I power on the TV and the firmware starts the Initial Setup sequence. Initial Setup gets to step 3, the channel scan, and then restarts.

I noticed a small green LED on the BU board, just to the right of the heat sink. When power is present, it's flashing, but it didn't seem to be a sequence of flashes that I could count. Can't find anything in the service manual about it. Please see attached pix.

I appreciate your tips about this annoyance.

[sonevitran@gmail.com]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

I think Sony set a date code so that the TV will fail. It a business, so we have to purchase the new TV. I bought Vizio that has 2 years older than the Sony, but still going normal. I bet Sony play dirty trick on us. Any suggestion what we owners of this set would do to the Sony corporation?

[tom66]

Re: Sony KDL-46Z4100 Vertical Colored Lines

There aren't any death counters in commercial TVs. Sony have reliability problems on some models, but I would put them far above Vizio. Vizio have a lot of reliability problems; far more than Sony do. It's the luck of the draw...