Toshiba FireTV image jumps every two seconds. Can it be fixed?

[nomoresonys]

Re: Toshiba FireTV image jumps every two seconds. Can it be fixed?

Good points indeed, could also be an issue with that half of the tcon.

[Lisanimaux]

Re: Toshiba FireTV image jumps every two seconds. Can it be fixed?

Here's my daily update:
I think I'm slowly getting closer to a solution. It looks like the clock pins are the first 8 on the left side of the ribbon cable, because blocking the 8 on the right side turns the whole screen black.

Blocking all 8 pins with tape prevents the whole image from jumping, however it creates black horizontal lines that quickly move around. This new issue doesn't really show up when I record it, so I photographed it instead and attached the image below. It's not super noticeable when seen from afar, but it's noticeable if I'm sitting on my couch and quite annoying. Obviously, it's better than having a broken TV, but I'll like to get a better result before giving up!

I cut the tape a little bit to free one pin at the time to locate the culprit. After trying one pin at the time and trying different combinations, I have yet to find it. The image either looks worse right away, or looks perfect for 10-15 minutes and starts jumping after. However, instead of affecting the whole TV, it seems to affect the bottom part now.

Is there a better way to figure out which pin(s) need to be blocked? Perhaps a multimeter? Again, I have no experience with electronics and fixing them, I apologize if my questions are completely stupid!

[Lisanimaux]

Re: Toshiba FireTV image jumps every two seconds. Can it be fixed?

Another daily update:
After trying different combinations of blocked and free pins, the best results are when pins 1 and 2 are blocked while the remaining others are free. The whole screen no longer jumps or creates ghost images with this method.

However, it creates black horizontal lines every two seconds, which slightly darkens the screen at the same time. The issue is also more prominent on the left side (the same side with the faulty ribbon cable), while it's barely visible on the right side. You can see two pictures below. The first one is on the right side of the screen and the second is on the left side. Both images were taken when the black lines were showing up.

At this point, I think I reached the limit of what I can do with the tape cut off method!

Before giving up, would it be worth ordering a replacement T-con board? I found a few places that sell brand new models. While taking shipping and price exchange in consideration, I can either get a T-con board for 35$CAD or a whole repair kit including a T-con board, a main board, a power supply board and a Wi-Fi module for 70$CAD.

Thank you all again for your help, I truly appreciate it!

[Lisanimaux]

Re: Toshiba FireTV image jumps every two seconds. Can it be fixed?

Final update: I fixed the TV!

For anyone who may stumble on this thread in the future while experiencing the same issue, here's what I did to fix my Toshiba FireTV.

Watching this tutorial from FrugalRepair was very helpful to temporarily*improve the jumping image.

As I followed his steps, I unplugged one ribbon cable at the time from the T-CON board*to figure out if these components could be at fault. The image was still jumping when the right cable was unplugged, but the issue fully disappeared when the left cable was unplugged. Thanks to this quick test, I figured out the problem was most likely coming from the left side of the T-CON board.

I then followed the tape cut off method as instructed in the video tutorial. To be honest, it was the most tedious part of the process! I spent close to 8 hours trying different combinations of tape VS. free clock pins to see what would improve the image. In most combinations, the image would appear normally after turning on the TV, but would start jumping after 10, 15 or 30 minutes. A lot of time was wasted waiting for the issue to show up haha! If you want to try this method, having a magnifying lens and washi tape will be very practical. You can use the magnifying lens to makes sure the tape only covers specific pins. As for washi tape, it's almost*the same thickness as clear tape, but it's*much easier to cut and manipulate (especially when strips need to be 0,5mm large!)

In the end, blocking clock pins 1 and 2 on the left ribbon cable gave the best results, although they weren't perfect. Thin black horizontal lines would appear every 2 seconds on the whole screen. It also seemed to interfere with back lights because black shadows appeared on the left side of the screen too. At least it allowed me to watch TV for up to 3 hours at the time. After this period, the image would start glitching too much.

Clearly, the tape cut off method wasn't enough for my needs, so I ordered a brand new T-CON board as well as two extra ribbon cables on Ebay. In a normal world, I would probably have began with new cables only, but since my area is currently in full lockdown and all stores are closed, I ordered everything at the same time. While taking the exchange rate and shipping in consideration, they cost me around 35$.

Three weeks later, I finally received the components. Replacing the T-CON board was a breeze. You only have to remove two small screws, unplug two ribbon cables and one LVDS cable. After replugging everything carefully, I turned on the TV. Drum rolls... The image is normal again! It's been working for a few hours, but everything works fine for now. Hopefully I'm not speaking too soon haha!

If you encounter the same issue and are a patient person, it's definitely worth trying to fix it yourself before purchasing another TV. If I could do it without any prior experience with electronics, you should be able to do it too!

[nomoresonys]

Re: Toshiba FireTV image jumps every two seconds. Can it be fixed?

Yep, I mentioned it in post #21 then after just seeing your pictures in post #23, was pretty sure it was bad tcon, just had that same deal with an old Sanyo. So when they say horizontal lines are never the tcon...do not believe them. Nice save.

[Lisanimaux]

Re: Toshiba FireTV image jumps every two seconds. Can it be fixed?

Yep, I mentioned it in post #21 then after just seeing your pictures in post #23, was pretty sure it was bad tcon, just had that same deal with an old Sanyo. So when they say horizontal lines are never the tcon...do not believe them. Nice save.

The wait was worth it! Thanks again for your help!