Panasonic Th-C50FD18

[Caleb]

Scored big time today, got 7 tvs in various states free, among them 2 50" Panasonics with 10 blinks
So got them home and got one up on the cart a little dash of freeze spray on mc301 and mc302 and she booted right up. After I got into the menu I could hear a little buzz from the upper middle of the sc board. I shot a little freeze spray in the area below and to the left of those large caps and it went away. Any idea if this could be caused by the bad caps on mc301 and mc302 or is there something else going on?

[capkid]

Re: Panasonic Th-C50FD18

If it's a slight buzzing that you can only hear from the back when you're close to it, it's probably normal. I have two of these TVs, and I have a slight buzzing coming from the SC board.

[tom66]

Re: Panasonic Th-C50FD18

The buzz is due to the inductors on the sustain board and is completely normal.
Excellent score! These are awesome 1080p plasmas.

[Caleb]

Re: Panasonic Th-C50FD18

Thanks guys, when I started up the set I couldnt hear any buzzing. As I was going through the menus it started- not loud at all, but the other one I just fixed last week didnt have it so I was curious. Guess I will have to wait for my caps to get here to know for sure. Thought it could possibly be caused by the 15v malfunctioning as the mc boards came back up to normal temp. Tom those inductors you speak of would be the row down the right side of the sc correct?

[tom66]

Re: Panasonic Th-C50FD18

Yes, that's them. There's two pairs of five for the energy recovery circuit, which makes the panel a lot more efficient.

The panel will buzz a lot louder with the case off, or with loose screws, because the case is used to damp the noise. In that case the noise is actually coming from the slight vibrations of the plasma glass and metal back plate.

I also notice some missing screws on SC, is that you? Make sure they are secured too. Loose ground screws can sometimes cause additional buzzing and in rare cases SC failure.

The inductors experience peak currents of 50~200 amps during the sustain process, so can't be blamed for making a little noise in doing so!

[Caleb]

Re: Panasonic Th-C50FD18

Lol I didnt notice the screws were out, I put them all back in the buffers. The guy I got them from gave me a pile of tvs, most of them completely disassembled and a giant bag of screws to go with. I bet thats exactly what caused the buzz. I guess thats what happens when you work a 60 hour week then work on tvs in your "spare" time. I was scratching my head wondering why someone would take the whole thing apart when a google search will tell you the 10 blinks is a power board error? I guess his ignorance is my gain : )

[jetadm123]

Re: Panasonic Th-C50FD18

a google search will tell you the 10 blinks is a power board error? I guess his ignorance is my gain : )

Great work on getting the free tvs. And you would be surprised at the number of people that still don't know how to properly use the Google search engine.

[capkid]

Re: Panasonic Th-C50FD18

Great work on getting the free tvs. And you would be surprised at the number of people that still don't know how to properly use the Google search engine.

Yeah, this issue and its fix are fairly common now - it wasn't widely known 2+ years ago. Coincidentally, I used Google when I had this issue a few years ago after I'd drilled down to the MC301 module.

Most people will not take the time to do a thorough search - it's too much work in their minds. Frankly, it also gives them an excuse to spend money they don't have on a new toy they don't need.

[Caleb]

Re: Panasonic Th-C50FD18

Most people will not take the time to do a thorough search - it's too much work in their minds. Frankly, it also gives them an excuse to spend money they don't have on a new toy they don't need.

Too true, I have gotten many, many toys for free simply because someone didnt want to bother fixing a simple issue. The last tv I bought was a 32" crt about 10 years ago...and now I have 8 flat screens with less than 200$ invested in parts. Got my new parts ordered through digikey, probably have them in hand by next Wednesday. I got some 35v 1uf 105c 0603 caps only .20c each, should be able to fix 10 tvs for 2$

[capkid]

Re: Panasonic Th-C50FD18

Too true, I have gotten many, many toys for free simply because someone didnt want to bother fixing a simple issue. The last tv I bought was a 32" crt about 10 years ago...and now I have 8 flat screens with less than 200$ invested in parts. Got my new parts ordered through digikey, probably have them in hand by next Wednesday. I got some 35v 1uf 105c 0603 caps only .20c each, should be able to fix 10 tvs for 2$

Very nice.

[Caleb]

Re: Panasonic Th-C50FD18

Got my order from digikey today. Replaced both those caps on the Mc boards. Very difficult to solder in those little bitty buggers. Wow what a difference in picture quality from the samsung .

[capkid]

Re: Panasonic Th-C50FD18

Yeah, that cap is a bit tricky to solder on the board without burning up one of the other components. I replaced the ceramic caps with electrolytic caps. The picture is very nice on these TVs for being around 5 years old. I have two of these, and I'm hoping to be able to fix a TH-58PZ700U I've had lying around. Panasonic plasma TVs are definitely at the top of my list.

[Caleb]

Re: Panasonic Th-C50FD18

Probably would have been easier if I had bothered to unsolder the mc modules, Just made a new tip for the iron and bent it to fit. Still find it truly amazing they got 1uf into that tiny cap, put in 35v caps so hopefully they will last awhile.