Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

[tibimakai]

Yesterday I have picked up this TV which has colored vertical lines on the right side of the screen on all inputs and also on the menu.
I have tried cleaning the LVDS cable ends and the ribbon cables, but there is no change.
It has video on the remaining "good" part of the screen. It also has good audio.
I'm thinking T-con board, but before I rush buying one, I would like your opinion on this.
Here is the picture of the screen:

[budm]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

There is no 100% on this, I would try new T-CON first. Even Toshiba does not know for sure, see their troubleshooting guide from their service manual.

[tibimakai]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

Thank you.
There is nothing to check on the T-con?
I have checked a regulator(at least that what it looks like-A1718) which has these voltages: 3.3V, 1.85V and 2.6V.

[budm]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

That looks OK, I would think if it has bad regulator, the whole screen will be affected.

[tibimakai]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

I was thinking the same thing, but I'm surprised that we can't check anything.
I will get another board then. Do you have a good source of boards? There is any company out there that would accept returns?

[tibimakai]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

What do you think about only 1/3rd of the screen has these lines? If the T-con would be the issue it wouldn't had 1/2 the screen lines?

[randtek]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

What do you think about only 1/3rd of the screen has these lines? If the T-con would be the issue it wouldn't had 1/2 the screen lines?

You really can't state this for certain, I have seen many different symptoms for T-Con failure. There really is not much you can check on a T-Con board. It is just a bunch of lines carrying digital data and timing signals. No manufacturer that I know of has provided schematics for their T-Con boards, so you really have no idea what to look for, or where to look for it on a T-Con.

[vinceroger69]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

whats the part number on the tcon you are looking for?

[tibimakai]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

FHD60C4LV0.3
I guess I don't have a choice, I will have to order one.
Thank you.

[bikerbuddy]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

Tibi I have just fixed a Vizio VX37L with vertical lines , I swap T con board
wiggle the t con cable that did not work ,then I saw a post on this forum about voltage regulator on the main board ,I checked all the Voltage regulator and three of them were under voltage ,I change the U33 regulator and the vertical lines disappear.
Are all vertical lines caused by low voltage?

[tibimakai]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

Thank you. I have fixed another TV the same way as you, but to tell you the truth, I haven't checked any voltages on the main board or the power supply.
The only voltages I have checked is the 12V for the T-con board and the regulator on the T-con board, which are all OK.
I guess I should check all the voltages and also all the capacitors on the power supply. Tomorrow I will pick up Mike's ESR meter(got the notice in the mail).
Man I'm fighting with the same Vizio TV, the VX37L's power supply. I can't seem to be able to fix it, but I'm not giving up. Just taking breaks with it since I'm getting other TVs in.(budm I'm not over with this, just taking a break)

[tibimakai]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

I have replaced the T-con with another one purchased from Ebay and the screen looks exactly the same.
Now, how do I know if the T-con that I have received is good?

[tibimakai]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

Per that troubleshooting document from Sony, if I play with the T-con cable it should change something on the screen if the T-con is not the issue, but on mine nothing changes. There is video and lines or there is nothing on the screen(black). It looks like a bad T-con, am I right?
Most likely the replacement is bad too. Not sure what to say to the seller.

[david37g]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

It is unlikely that the replacement board would have exactly the same problem as the original. I had half of the screen show vertical lines on a vw42l when the ribbon cable became frayed. I replaced the cable and it was fine.

[tibimakai]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

Thank you for the input, I will consider it, but I would appreciate any other inputs too.

[cashkennedy]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

As the guy above said, its extremly unlikely the tcon you got would have the same problem. Almost every tcon failure is in someway unique.

I could have also told you ahead of time that this was probably not a tcon error because like ive said before on this site > tcons output every 60th line or so from the chips individual drivers. So an error with a bad driver causes a line every 60 pixels. The other issues with tcons / or the boards on the edge would be 1/2 the screen being affected.

Since your set has like 2/5th affected and its not evenly spaced lines, it appears to not be the tcon at fault.

In regards to the jiggling the tcon to test if its bad > i think they mean like seriously tugging on the ribbon cables / or inserting them crookedly so that you get the issues that are common with the ribbon cables being inserted wrong.

If anyone has seen a problem with lines on less then 1/2 the screen that was fixed by replacing a tcon please tell me so i know this is not a fool proof assesment, but so far im pretty sure it is a good rule of thumb.

In regards to whats actually causing your problem, no idea, but possibly the lvds converter on the motherboard ? or a voltage? You can use a oscope to check all the lvds signals i think, but thats beyond my knowledge.

[tibimakai]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

I agree with you, but I said what not try it, since this is the cheapest to do.
Now it would be nice if I could send it back and get a refund for it. Not sure what to say to the Ebay seller.
I have a scope, but unfortunately I don't know how to use it yet and I wouldn't know if the signal that I'm seeing what that means.

[cashkennedy]

Re: Samsung LN-52A550 vertical lines

If the seller has a restocking fee (like 20%) i consider that fair and its best to just be honest that you tried it and it wasnt what you needed.

If the seller has no returns unless DOA, then youd have to say it was DOA... but thats not the "nice" thing to do. lol

I dont know what to look for either on the lvds signals, hopefully budm does and can tell us.