sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

[TigerSaw]

I have a sony kdl-46vl160 and all the sudden it started having display issues. The middle of the screen is dark. I have taken it apart, and tried pressing on the tabs, and the picture doesnt change.

The weird thing is, that sometimes when i turn the tv on, the picture is fine for a few minutes, THEN it goes dark. So I know the panel itself is fine, it seems like there is a board of some sort or a chip that's faulty.

Any idea what it might be, how I might fix it? I am fully prepared to buy replacement parts and do it myself. I just need to know what would cause this.

Any ideas?

[myfastgti]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

Could you post some pictures ? It sounds like bad T-Con board

[TigerSaw]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

Could you post some pictures ? It sounds like bad T-Con board

This is what the screen is doing. I numbered the back so you can easily tell me what you think the problem is, and what part i need to buy. 1 through 7

also the one where the screen looks blurry is my dumb camera, the picture is fine just dark.

[TigerSaw]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

is number 4 the t-con board? anyone?

[triplefour]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

yes thats the board. post close up pictures of that one

[TigerSaw]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

yes thats the board. post close up pictures of that one

this is the front and back of the board. Can you actually tell just by looking at it? .... to me it seems like a potential solder problem from the main gpu overheating because of cheap thermal paste and a poor bond between the heat sink.

But then I've never fixed a flat screen tv before ..... this is just coming from experience with other electronics.

I hope these help, and if possible, can you tell me what we're looking for in these? I'd love to not only fix my tv, but learn as well.

[triplefour]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

well before u get crazy about learning, u might just have a bad TCON board that needs to be replaced. sure u could try to diagnose the problem on the tcon board, but first i would check to see how much a replacement is. if its cheap, just buy it and see if that fixes your problem (as it really does look like a tcon problem but u never know) if something is wrong on the TCON board you will most likely have to replace some tiny pin pitch surface mount chip, and without nice tools and skill with it, its not gonna be easy. if thats the skill you're trying to learn then u would probably start practicing on old dead boards till you're confident to try fixing something that matters!
at least...thats where i'm at right now.

look for the model numbers on the TCON (i cant see them in the picture) and use them to search on ebay as well as trying just the model number of your TV
sometimes the same TCON is listed under a different TV but if the models match and it looks the same, it should be fine.

hope this helps!

[TigerSaw]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

well before u get crazy about learning, u might just have a bad TCON board that needs to be replaced. sure u could try to diagnose the problem on the tcon board, but first i would check to see how much a replacement is. if its cheap, just buy it and see if that fixes your problem (as it really does look like a tcon problem but u never know) if something is wrong on the TCON board you will most likely have to replace some tiny pin pitch surface mount chip, and without nice tools and skill with it, its not gonna be easy. if thats the skill you're trying to learn then u would probably start practicing on old dead boards till you're confident to try fixing something that matters!
at least...thats where i'm at right now.

look for the model numbers on the TCON (i cant see them in the picture) and use them to search on ebay as well as trying just the model number of your TV
sometimes the same TCON is listed under a different TV but if the models match and it looks the same, it should be fine.

hope this helps!

did the close ups help at all?

[Caleb]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

If it seems to be a thermal fault you can try to isolate with a hair dryer and canned air held upside down for freeze spray.

[tom66]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

99% sure this is a bad LCD panel. (Defective source driver.) They are not always pressure sensitive. Sometimes just heat causes them to go intermittent. You should try Caleb's suggestion, on the source drivers (top tabs on panel) and the gate drivers (side of the panel, may be on both sides)

[TigerSaw]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

99% sure this is a bad LCD panel. (Defective source driver.) They are not always pressure sensitive. Sometimes just heat causes them to go intermittent. You should try Caleb's suggestion, on the source drivers (top tabs on panel) and the gate drivers (side of the panel, may be on both sides)

what do you mean on the source drivers? try cooling the tabs themselves down?

[tom66]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

Yes, the source drivers are the chips that are fixed to those tab bonds at the top of the panel (in newer TVs at the bottom.)

[Alastair E]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

Bad panel I would say....

[TigerSaw]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

Bad panel I would say....

even though it often starts up with no issues, then after a few minutes goes dark? ....

[Shinju]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

Yes, Sony panels (Samsung LCD screens) Fail like this all the time.

Do the suggested freeze spray and hair dryer trick to force a defect.

I don't even take Sony Panels anymore as 9/10 I have had all been bad LCD displays.

[TigerSaw]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

Yes, Sony panels (Samsung LCD screens) Fail like this all the time.

Do the suggested freeze spray and hair dryer trick to force a defect.

I don't even take Sony Panels anymore as 9/10 I have had all been bad LCD displays.

can you describe in a little more detail exactly what you want to do?

And if i have to buy a new tv, do you have a suggestion for the brand I should go with? cuz i've had a sony tv for 25 years, and until now they've been quality, but im a little pissed now.

[Shinju]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

If someone beats me to it, I can describe it better once I am off work. But you pretty much take a hair dryer/Freeze spray and heat up or cool down the IC imbedded in the ribbon cable. This will trigger one of 2 things a clear screen or what you are seeing now.


There is not a solid fix for this issue, most are temporary and don't last. Some folks have been lucky and get a year or 2. I have yet to have one last more then 2-3 days.

[splitcrete]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

It's a bad panel for sure. Unfix-able tab bonds are broken right where they go into the top of the panel. Have seen many sorry for the bad news...

[TigerSaw]

Re: sony kdl-46vl160 - dark screen

It's a bad panel for sure. Unfix-able tab bonds are broken right where they go into the top of the panel. Have seen many sorry for the bad news...

where on the panel could i view this, if this is the case, I would at least like to be able to see the problem.