As an aid to troubleshooting LCD televisions, don't overlook any odd issues such as previous tampering by others.
Recently, I was asked to look at a television for a friend. It is a 37" SHARP probably a 2002 year of production Aquous top of the line model that cost >$3K at the time. It had performed flawlessly until just recently when suddenly it would no longer power on. My friend took it to a Sharp dealer who diagnosed the problem as a faulty power supply that would cost about $350 to repair. My friend told the dealer that he didn't want to spend that much money (the right call for sure) then told the dealer he would just come by to pick up the set. That's when my friend asked me to take a look in view of the fact he had paid so much for this leading edge set and simply wanted another opinion. Remember, this set had never had any issues and was never worked on by anyone. I discovered the no start problem and also discovered a problem my friend did not state. There was no sound either.
Focusing now on the no sound issue I discovered the output TA2024 36 pin chip was missing from the AV board. The set had definitely been sabotaged by the dealer who either removed the chip or more likely, simply swapped the entire AV board with one that a missing audio output stage.
I originally made the assumption that the set contained no missing parts-- something you don't want to overlook.
As for the dealer who did this, we plan to give him the opportunity to make right by replacing the AV board since it doesn't appear that the IC removal was a field removal--it's just too neat, like there was never a chip installed, which is simply impossible. Otherwise, if the dealer pushes back we plan to file a complaint with Sharp and seek recovery through them or in small claims
Court.
We feel that the dealer likely assumed the customer may have decided to simply not repair the set but that gave them no right to remove parts for their benefit.
Anyone else have a similar situation?
Recently, I was asked to look at a television for a friend. It is a 37" SHARP probably a 2002 year of production Aquous top of the line model that cost >$3K at the time. It had performed flawlessly until just recently when suddenly it would no longer power on. My friend took it to a Sharp dealer who diagnosed the problem as a faulty power supply that would cost about $350 to repair. My friend told the dealer that he didn't want to spend that much money (the right call for sure) then told the dealer he would just come by to pick up the set. That's when my friend asked me to take a look in view of the fact he had paid so much for this leading edge set and simply wanted another opinion. Remember, this set had never had any issues and was never worked on by anyone. I discovered the no start problem and also discovered a problem my friend did not state. There was no sound either.
Focusing now on the no sound issue I discovered the output TA2024 36 pin chip was missing from the AV board. The set had definitely been sabotaged by the dealer who either removed the chip or more likely, simply swapped the entire AV board with one that a missing audio output stage.
I originally made the assumption that the set contained no missing parts-- something you don't want to overlook.
As for the dealer who did this, we plan to give him the opportunity to make right by replacing the AV board since it doesn't appear that the IC removal was a field removal--it's just too neat, like there was never a chip installed, which is simply impossible. Otherwise, if the dealer pushes back we plan to file a complaint with Sharp and seek recovery through them or in small claims
Court.
We feel that the dealer likely assumed the customer may have decided to simply not repair the set but that gave them no right to remove parts for their benefit.
Anyone else have a similar situation?
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