Sony OLED XR-77A80J - 5 Flashes But Turn On After Hard Reset

[odie34]

I am a hobbyist (not a professional) so please be gentle...

I recently received an XR-77A80J that wouldn't turn on. (Repeating 5 flashes when plugged in.)

I did a hard reset by holding the power button for about 30 seconds until the set powered down. I then tried to turn it on and it powered up, bringing me to the setup screen. There's not a lot of detail on the setup screen but the picture didn't have any distortions, so at least a cursory examination suggests no physical damage to the screen. The set appeared to be working normally, but it shut down after about 15 seconds, this time repeating 4 flashes. I then unplugged it, plugged it in again, and I was back to 5 flashes.

Interestingly (to me at least), this appears to be completely repeatable. The TV will start up after a hard reset, will function normally for about 15 seconds, and then will shut down with 4 flashes.

I searched the forum and found some troubleshooting provided by Diah in another thread...

I disconnected the 2 black sockets on the TCON board (from the PSU) but that didn't stop the flashing, so I pulled the PSU, measured 3.51V on pin 6 of socket 6401, connected it (in order) to pins 5, 1 and 3, and read 12.85V on TCON_12V and 21.6V on EVDD. (I couldn't find the referenced sockets 501 and 601, so I measured the voltages from the pins of socket 6601.)

I don't know if I should be concerned with the fact that TCON_12V is a bit high, but I proceeded to the next step which was to leave pins 1, 3, 5 and 6 connected, unplug the cable from socket 6401 at the main board, disconnect both LVDS cables from the TCON board, and plug in the TV. I expected the screen to come on and show me something that might help me to determine if the problem was in the display, but the screen remained dark.

I then removed the jumpers, plugged in the LVDS cables and the cable to the main board, and the TV returned to its original condition (working normally after a hard reset for about 15 seconds).

I assume that I did something wrong in the TCON/panel test or something would have shown on the display. Did I leave something out? At this point I feel like I'm back at square one...

The power supply may be bad because it's putting out 12.85V rather than 12V on TCON_12V.
The main board could be erroneously shutting down the set.
The TCON board could be failing.
The panel could be drawing too much power.

I'm hoping that the fact that the TV consistently works for about 15 seconds after a hard reset might be a big clue to someone. (15 seconds seems like an awfully long time for a protection circuit to detect a failure.) I'm not in a position to buy a whole new set of boards, especially if the problem may be in the panel.

I would appreciate any insight you might be able to provide. FYI, there is no indication of physical damage to any of the boards or the display. Thanks!

[EazyBone]

Disconnect the PSU connector to the main board. Then disconnect the main board connections to the TCON.

Then jumper PS ON, stby, and tcon on. Then you should get a pattern on the screen.

Also use your finger and run it along the bezel of the TV of the whole screen and look for any damage spots that may have occurred. It should be smooth along the whole TV.

I was the guy who had the other 77 TV that was busted so I've done a lot of testing on it.

You should get a color pattern on screen with the jumper method. Take a picture of how you have the test setup and we can tell you if your doing it right.
12.85 on 12v pin is perfect and not to worry. 21v is also correct for evdd.

[odie34]

Hi EazyBone, thanks for the reply! I wasn't sure what the best way was to "jumper" the pins on 6401 because the connector isn't one I'm familiar with (and the jumpers I normally use don't fit), and I didn't want to solder anything to the socket itself. In the end I decided to use the other side of the connector (since it wasn't supposed to be plugged into the main board). I used an ohmmeter to identify the pins on the connector at main board side that correspond to the 6401 connector's pins 1, 3, 5 and 6. Then I connected them one at a time per Diah's original instructions to you, testing after each one. (That's how I got the voltages I reported on the 6601 socket.)

I've attached pictures with everything attached the way it was when I tried the test. The first picture is the PSU, which should look normal because the other end of the 6401 cable is jumpered. The second picture shows the TCON board with me holding the 2 cables that I detached. The third picture is of the main board with the cable on the other side of the PSU's 6401 detached, and the last picture is the other side of the PSU's 6401 cable with thin wires (the same size as the pins) attached to the pins that correspond to 1, 3, 5 and 6 on 6401. I soldered these together to enable POWER_ON, TCON_12_ON and EVDD_ON.

I may or may not have done something stupid, but either way I've clearly missed something if the panel should be displaying something. I don't appear to have done anything too harmful, as removing the "jumper" and putting everything back gets me exactly where I was when I started. (TV turns on and works for 15 seconds after a hard reset.)

So what did I miss? Thanks!

[EazyBone]

Yes the TV should display full color RGB cycling. The test you are doing looks perfect.

Question, when you turn the TV on after hard reset you say, do you get a normal picture of something? Can you see the full screen that shows no damage or lines or anything?

I only made it to the point that something showed up on the screen and it was no bueno. Unfortunately no fix for me. If your panel is showing something after a hard reset and the screen in fact looks fine then it probably could just be the TCON board in fact.

5 Blinks is tcon issue or panel per the manual. PSU is ruled out. Take a chance and match up the board with exact numbers and order a TCON. Get from a place with free returns, that'd be my suggestion IF the screen works as you say for that 15 seconds.

The one I had never showed any signs of life, mainly because I found it was friggin damaged.

[odie34]

I’m attaching a couple of pictures of the screen after it’s turned on. Sorry about the glare, but there don’t appear to be any obvious visual issues.

[EazyBone]

The screen looks fine to me also. 5 blinks means TCON is the most suspect from the error code, then of course it lists panel/main/PSU lol (great job Sony)

So you've ruled out the PSU cause all those voltages are correct. Screen looks great to me. You can't get the screen to run the pattern while jumping but it clearly works. So id try a TCON for sure. Like 60-90 bucks on eBay, get one with free returns

[lotas]

Look at the errors and their number through the diagnostic menu
Turn off the TV and use the remote control to successively press [i+] [5] [vol-] [power]

[EazyBone]

That's a good idea, since you can get the screen on. Never knew that existed

[odie34]

I’ve only been able to get the TV to power up after a hard reset. Otherwise it has the 5 flashes. I’ll do my best though. (I assume that a hard reset clears the diagnostics, so I’ll try for a while without the hard reset.) One question… the sequence you gave starts with [i+], but I’m not sure what that is. Is this [Display]?

[lotas]

One question… the sequence you gave starts with [i+], but I’m not sure what that is. Is this [Display]?

Yes.

[Diah]

from yours First post... there are things need to clear--- so you can have correct judgments on the fault.
1- yours first test which it was disconnecting EVDD and T-CON 12V from T-CON side, or any other Test to run the screen & T-CON as stand alone failed with you... its just because you runn those test after the Main Boards generate error register and its already send signal "Deep sleep" to the T-CON and Screen Module as well to the PSU to cut off the rail of 12V and EVDD.
to work around you need after you do the hard rest and screen come on. plug the set out from wall before it goes to error.

2- thought after hard reset yours set remain ON for 15 seconds as you wrote.. but when you did hard reset. and the screen come on.... you need don't go via first setup.... leave it at first screen select yours region .. and check if it remain ON for long of time... if this not the case... you need to remove load from the Main boards... such disconnect WIFI / BT Module speaker also if you dont hear sound at first setup ..then Try.

explain : at time you go with first setup.. the Kernel will loads Module one by one via turn on the i2C power pins for that Module. also if you have issue at Tuner... or WIFI or BT the error will register.

error will high Flag the "Deep Sleep" not only when boards defect.

at the end any test you need to do at yours set right now. do hard reset and then before it go in error plug it out from wall .. wait little time to discharge and run the test.

test you can do:
1- as you did before disconnect EVDD
2- all sockets in place just disconnect only the second LVDS ( the down side one )
3- disconnect wifi/BT

test 1& 2 screen remain black... your sign will be always the Optic out put ports on MB if it lit Red and remain on.
good luck

[odie34]

I have tried to work around the "deep sleep" issue with no success. I did a hard reset to get the TV to turn on and then unplugged it while the setup screen was being displayed. I then put the 6401 jumpers back (with the cable not connected to the main board), unplugged the lower LVDS and plugged the TV in. The screen remained black. It appears that unplugging the TV while it was displaying the setup screen had no effect on any of the tests.

I tried leaving the TV on the first screen after it turned on, but that had no effect. (It still turned off after a few seconds.) Likewise, I disconnected the wifi and speakers, but that didn't seem to have any effect either.

I retried unplugging the EVDD sockets, but that didn't affect the fault. (The TV started with the 5 flashes and the red optic light was not on.)

Then I unplugged just the lower LVDS. This setup did NOT cause the 5 flashes. The white power light on the front of the TV turned on for a couple of seconds and then turned off, but the optic light on the main board remained on.

Regarding lotas' suggestion, I attempted to get to the diagnostic screen by pressing <Display><5><Vol-><Power>, but the best I was able to do was to get the TV to turn on (and go to the setup screen). No diagnostic screen was displayed.

I should mention that something I posted earlier may be misleading... I am able to get the TV to turn on, but it's not consistent at this point (and I'm not sure that it ever was). Sometimes I need to do a hard reset several times, but eventually I can get it to turn on. Also, the length of time that it stays on may be closer to 10 seconds rather than 15.

Does any of this tell us anything? Thanks so much for you time!

[Diah]

I have tried to work around the "deep sleep" issue with no success. I did a hard reset to get the TV to turn on and then unplugged it while the setup screen was being displayed. I then put the 6401 jumpers back (with the cable not connected to the main board), unplugged the lower LVDS and plugged the TV in. The screen remained black. It appears that unplugging the TV while it was displaying the setup screen had no effect on any of the tests.

I tried leaving the TV on the first screen after it turned on, but that had no effect. (It still turned off after a few seconds.) Likewise, I disconnected the wifi and speakers, but that didn't seem to have any effect either.

I retried unplugging the EVDD sockets, but that didn't affect the fault. (The TV started with the 5 flashes and the red optic light was not on.)

Then I unplugged just the lower LVDS. This setup did NOT cause the 5 flashes. The white power light on the front of the TV turned on for a couple of seconds and then turned off, but the optic light on the main board remained on.

Regarding lotas' suggestion, I attempted to get to the diagnostic screen by pressing <Display><5><Vol-><Power>, but the best I was able to do was to get the TV to turn on (and go to the setup screen). No diagnostic screen was displayed.

I should mention that something I posted earlier may be misleading... I am able to get the TV to turn on, but it's not consistent at this point (and I'm not sure that it ever was). Sometimes I need to do a hard reset several times, but eventually I can get it to turn on. Also, the length of time that it stays on may be closer to 10 seconds rather than 15.

Does any of this tell us anything? Thanks so much for you time!

1--this is wrong.... after screen come on.unplug from wall socket... do the jumpers and the 2 LVDS should be disconnected not only the lower one
2- disconnect the lower LVDS only the optic lit red and remain on.... this approve the SOS signal caused the 5 blink are coming from T-CON / Screen Module.. the test at No 1 if you do it correct we will know where are the issue.

[Diah]

at yours case ...regards successful run diagnostic mode..
after hard rest and screen come on... before the set go to error put it in stand by mode. then run the code

[odie34]

Okay... I turned the TV on and unplugged it while the setup screen was being displayed. Then I disconnected both LVDS cables and the 6401 cable (from the motherboard side), and I installed the jumpers to connect pins 1, 3, 5 and 6. (I did a continuity test to verify that the correct pins were connected.) I then plugged the TV in.

I heard the relay click (again, suggesting that the jumpers are properly connected) but the screen remained black. I'm not sure what to make of this. Have I done something wrong? I assume that this could be caused by a bad TCON board or a bad panel, but then it's confusing as to why the TV is able to turn on at all (unless the fault has to do with the "deep sleep" circuit). And if there is a problem with the TCON board, that doesn't mean that there's not a problem in the panel as well, right?

I also tried to get to the diagnostic screen again, but the TV won't turn on again after going into standby. (5 flashes again.)

Any thoughts on the next step? Is there a way to determine if there's a problem with both the panel and the TCON at this point? If not, do you have a best guess?

Thanks!

[Diah]

Okay... I turned the TV on and unplugged it while the setup screen was being displayed. Then I disconnected both LVDS cables and the 6401 cable (from the motherboard side), and I installed the jumpers to connect pins 1, 3, 5 and 6. (I did a continuity test to verify that the correct pins were connected.) I then plugged the TV in.

I heard the relay click (again, suggesting that the jumpers are properly connected) but the screen remained black. I'm not sure what to make of this. Have I done something wrong? I assume that this could be caused by a bad TCON board or a bad panel, but then it's confusing as to why the TV is able to turn on at all (unless the fault has to do with the "deep sleep" circuit). And if there is a problem with the TCON board, that doesn't mean that there's not a problem in the panel as well, right?

I also tried to get to the diagnostic screen again, but the TV won't turn on again after going into standby. (5 flashes again.)

Any thoughts on the next step? Is there a way to determine if there's a problem with both the panel and the TCON at this point? If not, do you have a best guess?

Thanks!

at this point its likely you have issue at T-CON... and it could be easy issue... you need to take out the metal shield of the t-con don't forget after taking the shield screw the t-con on chassis again to insure the GND connected to T-CON
keep the test you did last time always jumpers as stand alone and LVDS both disconnected.... measure the V in DC mode with references to TV chassis... check the fuses on the t-CON for 12V and EVDD if they read same value at both side.... do this check to any of R on the boards.... you may have Value changed to high after TV turn on... such R or either Fuse
one clear high resolution photo of the t_CON will help too

[odie34]

Here’s a photo of the TCON. Am I correct that I should attach a wire from the chassis to the middle of the board where the metal plate was screwed in, run the same test I did last time and measure voltages? If so, can you point me to where I should take the readings? (I see f1-f5, although f2 isn’t installed. Are these the fuses you’re referring to? Also, when you say “R”, are you referring to all resistors? (There are quite a few of them. I don’t mind, but I want to make sure that I’m understanding.)

[Diah]

dont add any wire.... the t-con sitting fine on chassis but...
Man, why the LVDS in yours photo show they are connected.... please disconnect them both and never put them back at the test

all in red color messure them from both side... while the test jumpers in place..
also the yellow mark its the error detect check iz it go high and tell the value..
use the same image i upload here to mark yours reading on it and upload again

again for last time " LVDS NUST VE DISCONNECTED

[odie34]

The LVDS aren't connected... It looks that way, but I disconnected them and tucked them under the board. I'll put them on top in future pictures to avoid confusion, and thank you for making sure I'm not doing anything harmful. I'll run the test soon.

[Diah]

any way do the test... however i think all reading will be fine but need to be sure..
yours T-CON the new design from LG. which it operate with eMMC... this why no color pattern at stand alone test..
after you finish from testing V as above... and all V are fine.... put every things back LVDS MB socket... don't install the shield use freezing air can to freeze the chip while you freezing it do hard ... reset.... keep freezing it and see if the set remain on for long time....