Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

[titofune]

Hi! Y'all! at first the tv has no power at all. checked voltages coming out of power supply but all i get was 5 volts. Started reading badcaps forum about it and found a blown fuse (3A) in the main board. I don't have fuse to replaced it with so i jumper it with a very tiny wire. Now the amber light comes on but blinking. don't know what's next to do. Please help!

[titofune]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

Hi! Y'all! at first the tv has no power at all. checked voltages coming out of power supply but all i get was 5 volts. Started reading badcaps forum about it and found a blown fuse (3A) in the main board. I don't have fuse to replaced it with so i jumper it with a very tiny wire. Now the amber light comes on but blinking. don't know what's next to do. Please help!

and now 5 volts is fluctuating from 1v to 4.5 v. please advise.

[Dgtech]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

Dont jump out fuses before you find the problem. There is a reason why the fuse blew. Just replace the board now. You may have damaged other parts. Search ebay. Good luck.

[titofune]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

Thank you Dgtech, i don't have whole lots of money to spend for this tv that i inherited from the trash man and i'm sure you have more to advice than replacing the board. To start the right way of troubleshooting, where can i buy the fuse? and what's a good way of troubleshooting if a fuse is blown out? thank you!

[tom66]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

First, please provide good pictures.

Secondly, there is a reason the fuse is there. I have been known to jumper fuses too, but it is entirely at your own risk; the fuse is protecting something. If you jumper it you defeat that protection. You must ask yourself what caused the fuse to blow. Was it something shorting out? In which case jumpering the fuse might blow up something which would have otherwise survived. If you supply us with pictures we can tell you the fuse you need.

[titofune]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

i copied this picture from other post. please disregard notes in the picture. the fuse is f2. thank you.

[Dgtech]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

F2 blew but F1 did not? This should be enough of a clue if you can find a schematic in a service manual. Digikey should have the 3 Amp fuse that you need in that same package size. I wouldn't change the fuse without finding the problem first though or it will just blow again.


Of course, if you don't want to spend too much time on it, there's always ebay. Theres a board on there for 44.95 with no shipping fee. Small price to pay instead of time spent trying to fix this.

[titofune]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

Thanks again Dgtech. Yes just F2 blew, F1 did not.
I have more time to gain knowledge in fixing electronic stuff.
I'll try to find free service manual and order the fuse and you'll hear from me again as soon as i get the fuse and install it, fix or not.

[titofune]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

Hello again! got the fuse and install, did not blow but stnadby power still flashes on and off. Found 5v from power fluctuates from 4.5v down to 1.2v like seesaw. Don't know what to do from here. Please advise what to check.

[titofune]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

Hello again! got the fuse and install, did not blow but stnadby power still flashes on and off. Found 5v from power fluctuates from 4.5v down to 1.2v like seesaw. Don't know what to do from here. Please advise what to check.

i would like to replace U8 (AMC1117) does anyone knows where i can get it? Digikey doesn't have it.

[musjim]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

http://www.mouser.com/Search/Default.aspx

[Dgtech]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

Of course, if you don't want to spend too much time on it, there's always ebay. Theres a board on there for 44.95 with no shipping fee. Small price to pay instead of time spent trying to fix this.

These boards are getting cheaper and cheaper.

[titofune]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

Hello again! got the fuse and install, did not blow but stnadby power still flashes on and off. Found 5v from power fluctuates from 4.5v down to 1.2v like seesaw. Don't know what to do from here. Please advise what to check.

Does the flashing standby power means something other than bad board and replacing mainboard? I am willing to spend time to check everything that anyone can advise me to check. thank you!

[Dgtech]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

First you had a problem with a fuse that blew - high current. Then you replaced the fuse with a jumper - now high current running past to other components. Now after replacing the jumper with a fuse, it displays different symptoms and doesn't blow the fuse.
Conclusion - You didn't fix the fuse problem, you just hid it. You may have damaged something else when the jumper was installed. Now you may have two problems. I may be wrong.

[titofune]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

how do we come to conclusion that i may have damaged something else by my jumper. it may have blown out fuse by something and caused the power light to flashed.
Someone out there may have better advice than replacing the mainboard. where can i find a schematic?

[tom66]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

What caused the fuse to blow?

Maybe it was something shorted, or failed.

Jumpering the fuse now makes that component fail further, perhaps destroying other components.

Good luck in locating the other failures.

[titofune]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

Thanks!

Where can i find a schematic?

[tom66]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

Thanks!

Where can i find a schematic?

You will probably not be able to get a schematic for a Vizio.

[Shane711]

Re: Vizio VW37L HDTV10A with blinking amber light

If anyone reading this post experiences this problem with the amber light blinking it is 100% a Power Board problem and not the main board. I know because I have 4 power boards in front of me and 1 of them is causing this problem. I have another that doesn't work at all and 2 that work perfect. So it is a Power Board problem for sure.

Because these boards are $10.00 to $20.00 on eBay might be a good idea to just buy another power board.