Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

[uininer]

My house was suffered a lightning strike and my Panasonic plasma TV isn't working. If I leave it unplugged for a while, then plug it in, the picture will come up for about 20 seconds then shut off. When it does this it makes a clicking sound every 2-3 seconds similar to the one you hear when you plug the unit in. The LED shuts off after the 20 seconds and doesn't blink like some others have noted. I took the back cover off and the clicking sounds like it is coming from the upper left corner of the P board (see photo). Any help in diagnosing the issue would be greatly appreciated.

[tw2005]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

really tough one since it does turn on ,

no error blinks, just clicking and lightning. i would be leaning towards A board.

Strange how it kind of works then quits but could even be corruption in an EEPROM .

A power supply I would expect to work or not work but the A board is a microprocessor so a lot more variables and it quits with no error blinks.

No blinks can be shorted SC but you'd never get the TV on if SC2 connector was shorted.

Maybe get a meter and a manual , check all the voltages in standby and when running.

Remove the P & A-boards and have a good look at it for any burns especially around HDMI ports.

With the P board there's about 200-400v hiding in caps in places after it's turned off so be careful or they'll discharge their contents into you.

[ljintexas]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

Did the lightning strike hit your power distribution as in your breaker panel/meter/main service or did it come in through the cable or satellite coax? Did it affect other appliances? if so, which ones?

[ljintexas]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

I have fixed two LCDs that were lightning victims..both took the hit through the coax to the satellite or cable box..both were main board problems..I agree with tw..P either works or it doesn't but A could easily have corrupt eeprom.

[Moreno83]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

I fixed a panasonic plasma after lightning with a new mainboard.

[ljintexas]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

Best guess would be that it is going into a protective shutdown, an IC on the A board sees something it does not like.

[ljintexas]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

http://www.shopjimmy.com/panasonic-t...tc-p55st30.htm

[uininer]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

Not sure what the lightning hit but it fried the receiver's HDMI ports so it likely came through the HDMI to the TV. I lost a number of other items such as my range so I can't pinpoint how it entered the equipment.

I pulled the P board and I don't see anything that really stands out on the back. There appears to be a dark discoloration around one of the pins that go from the P board to the A board but I don't see any issues with the solder at this pin. I then pulled the A board and may have found the culprit. There is a square chip just below the HDMI ports that has blown. Thanks ljintexas for the post showing a replacement board, I'll swap out the board.

(I've attached photos of the discoloration at the solder joint on the P board as well as (2) photos of the A board.)

Any way to know if the swap will work vs. blowing the same chip on the new board?

[uininer]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

I've replaced the A board and found a good news/bad news situation. The good news is the TV boots up, finds my antenna signal and I'm able to watch TV without any issues.

The bad news is if I plug anything into the HDMI ports the TV works for about 10-20 minutes (independent of me watching what's on the HDMI or TV) then shuts off and blinks 6 times. I can unplug the TV, unplug the HDMI, and plug the TV back in and it will work fine. Once I plug the HDMI back in it repeats the process.

I've tried to plug in different devices and different cords and it's really hit and miss. Some devices make it happen every time while others make it happen sometimes while other times it seems to be fine.

Any advice??

[tw2005]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

I wonder if this is unrelated. Can you check that all the mounting bolts on the SC & SS are firmly tightened. This series does have an issue with these working loose and arcing of the boards , then usually blows the SC.

Otherwise, no idea i have not read of a HDMI causing 6 blink before.

[ljintexas]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

Sounds like a grounding issue. Make sure that the safety ground (ground wire) in the receptacle and power cord are connected well. Especially to whatever device is HDMI source..Also check ground block on coax. I had a Sammy and a Sony both act this way and when I provided a solid ground, issue was gone. HDMI ports were acting as the ground and the excessive current was overloading main board causing shutdown. It was a brain buster.

[ljintexas]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

Usually what kills HDMI ports is sustained ground differential beyond the spec since they are not galvanically isolated.

[uininer]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

Usually what kills HDMI ports is sustained ground differential beyond the spec since they are not galvanically isolated.

I'm not sure what that means but what can I do to fix the possible issue? How do I check the grounding of everything? Does it ground through the case or through the board to the screws?

[nicholas1110]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

Have you tried a device that was not from the house that had the lighting strike? I recently replaced a main board on a samsung for a customer who had a lightning strike. I advised them they needed to replace the cable box that was hooked up to the failed tv. He did not listen and we ended up having to replace the main board 3 times before he thought it was a good idea to replace the cable box. He said the tv would work about 4 hours before the tv failed each time we replaced tw main board. So it's possible you could have damaged the main board you have just installed. Hope this helps.

[uininer]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

Have you tried a device that was not from the house that had the lighting strike? I recently replaced a main board on a samsung for a customer who had a lightning strike. I advised them they needed to replace the cable box that was hooked up to the failed tv. He did not listen and we ended up having to replace the main board 3 times before he thought it was a good idea to replace the cable box. He said the tv would work about 4 hours before the tv failed each time we replaced tw main board. So it's possible you could have damaged the main board you have just installed. Hope this helps.

I thought about that and tried some items that were not plugged in at the time of the strike such as my laptop and an old BR player. The laptop didn't seem to have any issues while the BR player did. I've unplugged all of the HDMI connections and am using the TV as a TV only until I receive replacement items in the mail at which time I'll re-pull my wiring to ensure everything is new. Hopefully you are on to something and it's either a device, HDMI cable, or wall jack.

[tw2005]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

Apart from looking at other things please check out those board bolts regardless unless you've already done so for preventative measure or better still, replace with conventional bolt,spring washer,washer arrangement

[uininer]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

While looking at the A board again, I noticed a tear in the ribbon cable directly below the A board. I've attached a photo of the cable but can't seem to find a replacement online.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a site that I could purchase a replacement cable from? It is the C23 connection that goes up to the SS board.

[tw2005]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

there is no c23

https://danby.encompass.com/item/955.../TSXM234/Cable

http://www.searspartsdirect.com/pana...9/0333500.html

c33-ss33

[Alastair E]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

That damaged ribbon wouldnt cause the HDMI fault. You would see some stripe or loss of picture in a vertical band down the screen --if the tear had damaged the conductors in the ribbon.

Sounds to me you have bought a dodgy A board.

[uininer]

Re: Panasonic TC-P55ST30 Clicking

That damaged ribbon wouldnt cause the HDMI fault. You would see some stripe or loss of picture in a vertical band down the screen --if the tear had damaged the conductors in the ribbon.

Sounds to me you have bought a dodgy A board.

Ok, the company thinks it was a bad A board as well and have sent another to replace it. I just wanted to be sure I didn't have another issue prior to swapping it out in case that was crashing the A board.

Thanks for the input.