Horizontal Band of varying size

[jimanez11]

I have a Samsung UN46D6000SF that I recently dug up on Craigslist that is having a display issue. The color saturation seems like it is lower (almost black and white) only on the left side of the screen. I have tried resetting the picture settings through the menu screen with no luck. There is a menu option that will allow me to isolate RGB colors which makes it easier to see the issue and, after warming up a little the horizontal band shrinks (jumping up and down by about 4 or 5 pixel rows) and will occasionally disappear completely, only to return in a few moments. There is about an inch of space on the top and bottom of the screen that maintains the proper color, with the other area in-between still showing the issue. The band fades out into normal coloring the closer to the center of the screen it gets. Is this a bad LED panel, or is it something that I can fix on my own. I am fairly decent at soldering and have replaced capacitors before, but I can't find any swollen caps on any board in the TV. Also, you cant see the issue when the TV is black and white I have ordered a replacement t-con board, but am looking for an opinion as to whether that will even help.

I have also attached a few pictures to this post for your reference. I hope these help the diagnosis.
- Normal Coloring is what it looks like with no picture adjustment (there is a low color saturation on the left side of the screen)
- Green Hue is what it looks like with a green tinted screen just on start-up (able to see the bad band a little easier this way)
- Blue Hue Top Left of TV shows a closer version of the top color band, which is not affected by this issue, and the bad color band immediately on startup of TV
- Black and White Pattern show a black and white image on the screen where the issue is not visable.
- Green After Warmup is what the discolored band looks like after the TV has been on for about 5 - 10 minutes. I still have the green hue included on this photo just because it is easier to see the banding. The band has decreased in size. Sometimes the band will disappear completely, and other times it will not...

Any help is appreciated!

[jimanez11]

Re: Horizontal Band of varying size

Anyone have any ideas? Is there any possibility this is a mainboard issue, even though it happens across all inputs?

Thanks in advance.

[nomoresonys]

Re: Horizontal Band of varying size

try re-seating the cable from the main to tcon, and the tcon ribbons, be careful with ribbons, they can be delicate, heres a video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgXQYeISbq8

[jimanez11]

Re: Horizontal Band of varying size

Thanks for the response nomoresonys!

I have tried reseating all of the cables connected to the t-con board as well as the connection to the mainboard. I played around with the t-con ribbons while seated, but not locked in, to see if there was any impact on the banding but no difference. The only thing that seems to help is letting the TV warm up. I have read that a lot of the Samsung D series have panels that go bad and am hoping that this isnt the case with this one.

[nomoresonys]

Re: Horizontal Band of varying size

it very well could be tab bond issue, if the new tcon don't work, you could try tearing it down and try shimming the bad tab/s, in a jvc of mine, it was just one tab, shimmed with half a piece of plastic tube, been good for a while now, was a pain getting it just right tho. did you try holding the bezel/frame with your palm and tap on the back, see if anything changes, if not tap a little harder, if anything changes or it gets better, I'd suspect tab bond/s.

[nomoresonys]

Re: Horizontal Band of varying size

could also try cleaning connections of tcon with contact cleaner or alchohol, guess some use a pencil eraser.

[tom66]

Re: Horizontal Band of varying size

I would say it is a bad panel (tab bond failure or driver IC failure)

[jimanez11]

Re: Horizontal Band of varying size

Thanks for the responses and ideas. I will try cleaning the tcon connections with 97% ISO and then taking apart the bezel to see if shimming will work. If it is a bad panel, it cant hurt trying to shim it. It'll be a good learning experience either way.

I will let you know what the result of replacing the tcon board is, but based on the reviews and feedback of the Samsung D series that are on this site, the panel seems to be shoddily made and tends to fail first.

[jimanez11]

Re: Horizontal Band of varying size

So I just tore down the TV as to take a look at the tab bonds (6 total across the bottom of the panel, none on the sides or along the top) and pressed / fiddled around with all of them and there was no change in the picture. Does that point solely to the IC driver, and if so, is there any way for me to test that?

Also, while the TV was apart, I cleaned up the existing t-con board as well as the ribbon cables with a soft toothbrush and soaking it in a bath of 97% ISO (similar to what I do with pc motherboards). No change in picture once put back together. Is there anything else I can try while waiting for the arrival of the new t-con board, or should I just wait it out until Tuesday when it gets here?

[jimanez11]

Re: Horizontal Band of varying size

The tcon board came in today and after installation, the TV would power up to a blank screen and there was a ticking coming from the tcon board. Assuming this means a bad board? I will return it to the shop and see if they can send me a new one.

[freakaftr8]

Re: Horizontal Band of varying size

Sounds like bad tcon. Return it.

[tom66]

Re: Horizontal Band of varying size

Try with old board first. Panel could have failed short for no apparent reason.

[jimanez11]

Re: Horizontal Band of varying size

Sounds good to me. I will send it back and (im)patiently wait for a replacement.

[jimanez11]

Re: Horizontal Band of varying size

I put the old board back in and the tv went back to doing the same thing it was doing previously.

On a separate note, I noticed last night when I had the tv completely torn down that there is a slight buzzing noise coming the original tcon. Unsure if this means anything, just something that might be worth mentioning.

Also, is there anything else I can do to see if the panel itself is failing, or is that just a "wait until it goes white" kind of game?

[freakaftr8]

Re: Horizontal Band of varying size

Tcons do make a little bit of sound I've noticed on some sets. Probably normal