Samsung UN65AU8000FF fried by water

[x_orange90_x]

I was given this tv today. It was purchased just last month and only used for 3 weeks until recently when water leaked down the back and behind the cover. I removed the boards and WHOA 😲 did this thing get fried. Unfortunately the water got directly onto the backlights portion of the PSU. The board appears to be completely unrepairable, but I'm not certain about the backlights. I managed to get the probes of my tester into the slits of the plug and I DO get readings from both strings. I'm getting 26v from both. The PSU says LED Output is 167.4v however. Would this indicate that the backlights got damaged, or is this some sort of partial reading condition or something like that? If it's only the PSU I may purchase a replacement, but if it's backlights too then I'm not going to bother.

[x_orange90_x]

Any suggestions? I'm reluctant to order the boards if these readings indicate bad backlights too..I don't want to replace those simply because this is a bezel less design and last time I replaced backlights in one of those the double sided tape didn't hold right and it was all bad from there.

Is it possible that 26v is since sort of low power state? I would expect tho that they would be full voltage when connected directly to the tester.

[tiki66]

I would cut out plastic from that connector to get to the pins and then solder a piece of wire on them to test them correctly. Then, if they work, I would use these wires to solder that connector to PSU directly.

[x_orange90_x]

I would cut out plastic from that connector to get to the pins and then solder a piece of wire on them to test them correctly. Then, if they work, I would use these wires to solder that connector to PSU directly.

Ya I tried going in through the back of the connector with the probes not they're not long enough, so I tried stuffing don't short wires in there as seen in the pictures but that didn't work either. Are you thinking I'm not getting good enough contact in the slits thus only giving 26v?

[x_orange90_x]

No one knows? I asked on Reddit as well and no one had replied there either.. I want to order the boards before someone else does, but I'm hesitant because these backlight voltage readings are not what I would have expected.

[nomoresonys]

Myself I wouldn't invest too much in it, being edge lit the picture quality isn't that great.

[x_orange90_x]

Myself I wouldn't invest too much in it, being edge lit the picture quality isn't that great.

I don't usually invest for personal use. I repair and resell. I didn't pay a dime for it so 20 something bucks for the boards is more than worth it as I'd easily resell it for close to 300. Even if the backlights ARE bad, 25 for those would still be worth it BUT it's the bezel-less design that deters me. I replaced backlights in a bezel-less Toshiba earlier this year and used the proper type of 3m electronics double sided tape, but the screen still didn't hold and it ended up getting damaged because the customer let it hang instead of taping up the corners like I asked. I don't want to go through that again.

I'm thinking I'll try to clean up the burnt corner and try to repair the traces to the connector. If I can get it working and get backlights on then I'll go ahead and order the boards. Btw, the fuse didn't blow on this board, so I suppose that means the rest of the components may be okay.

[x_orange90_x]

After cleaning the area with electronics cleaner it looks more manageable than I had thought. I see the ground trace is broken, as well as a trace from the left side of the connector.

Edit: so I found a picture of the bottom of the board on an eBay listing. It looks like all that's been severed is the ground that goes across in front of the plug. Would soldering a wire across here be enough, or is this also the ground trace for that connector?

[x_orange90_x]

Here is the picture of a good board from eBay. I was "not authorized" to add it to the previous post for some reason.

[R_J]

The ground is not an issue, but all that black carbon will need to be removed, or it will likely arc with 167vdc, also water may have entered the panel around the connector, hopefully not.

[x_orange90_x]

The ground is not an issue, but all that black carbon will need to be removed, or it will likely arc with 167vdc, also water may have entered the panel around the connector, hopefully not.

As it stands the board does not power on, it produces a clicking noise when plugged in. Why wouldn't the ground be an issue? Something on the top side is almost certainly grounded to it, right? As for water getting in around the connector, I hadn't thought of that! BUT, if it did I didn't think it would be an issue. It would be behind the backlight reflector sheet and probably run down and out of the bottom frame without touching the driver boards as they're mounted on an upward angle on the back of the tv.

If the ground isn't the issue, what should I be checking or looking at in this damaged area?

[nomoresonys]

I don't usually invest for personal use. I repair and resell. I didn't pay a dime for it so 20 something bucks for the boards is more than worth it as I'd easily resell it for close to 300. Even if the backlights ARE bad, 25 for those would still be worth it BUT it's the bezel-less design that deters me. I replaced backlights in a bezel-less Toshiba earlier this year and used the proper type of 3m electronics double sided tape, but the screen still didn't hold and it ended up getting damaged because the customer let it hang instead of taping up the corners like I asked. I don't want to go through that again.

I'm thinking I'll try to clean up the burnt corner and try to repair the traces to the connector. If I can get it working and get backlights on then I'll go ahead and order the boards. Btw, the fuse didn't blow on this board, so I suppose that means the rest of the components may be okay.

I see, must be a geographical thing, in my area midwest they are practically worthless when in perfect working condition, maybe 50-75 bucks.

[x_orange90_x]

I see, must be a geographical thing, in my area midwest they are practically worthless when in perfect working condition, maybe 50-75 bucks.

I'm about 15 minutes north of Metro Detroit. For a cheap one like TCL or Onn I would get about 140 for a 55" whereas a Samsung (despite them still being a garbage brand) would get about 180. I recently inverested about $40 into backlights in a 75" Sony I was given and sold it for $400. It's usually a pretty decent side job for me, but I have to deal with a LOT of people before selling one. And usually if it's not smart, they won't buy it. Too cheap to get a $20 Roku for their tv 😆

This Samsung in particular is literally a few months old and it's 65" so it's worth investing in for me.

[nomoresonys]

Oh, my bad, I read the first post but must have forgot it was only 3 months old when I commented, So used to dealing with old tvs on this site. For sure new ones are worth the investment. Think I got it mixed up with the one from 2020.

[nomoresonys]

I hear that, I think some folks don't realize that a lot of times they only support the apps for like 3 years and that's probably being optimistic and even on some of the high end tvs the apps are still pretty clunky, I never use them.

[x_orange90_x]

It's alive!

I cleaned up the carbon on the board and hooked it back up. At first it was making fizzle and crackle sounds then stopped and I noticed I had a standby light. There was no backlight, so I checked with my flashlight and could see an image. I removed the boards again and wire brushed the contacts of the connector and plug, sprayed them with contact cleaner, and reinstalled them. Powered right on with backlights! I'm going to order a replacement power supply now that I know the backlights are good.

[x_orange90_x]

I got a new power supply yesterday. Unfortunately the LED connector is too damaged to make a consistent and reliable connection, so the lights will only come in when I'm applying pressure to the connector. I'm not removing the panel, diffusers, and light reflector just to access this stupid plug.. So I'm trying to come up with a way to improve it's connection. I'm going to buy some Deoxit and clean inside the best I can, and then I'm going to put some .001" steel shim stock inside each of the terminal slits to "build up" the connection. 🤞🏼