RCA TV power light flashes on / off / on / off...

[jonmiles]

I have a 32" RCA TV Model F27450 or something like that. It has worked without any prob. for approx. 6-7 yrs. When we turned it off last night it worked fine and then when we tried to turn it on today the power light flashes on and off over and over.

We have Panomax power surge units covering all inputs Elec. and cable so I don't think it was a power surge since no other equip. was effected. Satellite, DVD, VCR, Sound System, phone, etc.

Any idea what the flashing light means ?

Thanks
Jon

[mrcaptainbob]

Unplug the tv and wait for a few minutes....plug back in. Hopefully it'll reset itself. If not, try reprogramming the remote and use that making sure there's good batteries in it.

[jonmiles]

quote:Originally posted by mrcaptainbob

Unplug the tv and wait for a few minutes....plug back in. Hopefully it'll reset itself. If not, try reprogramming the remote and use that making sure there's good batteries in it.

We have unplugged for 10-15 min. and plugged back in. Tried turning on from TV power button and nothing except the power light flashing over and over. We unplug again for 10-15 min. and try turning on with the manufacturers remote and 1 time out of 5 of unplugging and then attempting to turn on TV with remote the TV sounded like it was powering on but then the power light started flashing and it never did.

If the TV powered on and there wasn't a picture the screen would say unavailable signal or something like that. We have a black screen and the TV never tried to power up except that one time I mentioned above.

We have tried the Sat. remote that has been used with the TV for the past several yrs. and it won't power on the TV.

It doesn't seem to be a simple solution of just unplugging to reset.

Any ideas ? Thanks

[HayZee518]

Pull the back off and look around for a fuse near where the power cord is connected. It may be a circuit breaker too. Locate but DON'T TOUCH the large black wire going into the side of the tube. Follow it back to the flyback transformer or voltage tripler. Look for a fuse here on the circuit board. Reason I say don't touch the wire is that it could be charged at about 28,000 volts which is normal for a color tv. The TV glass and the outer coating forms a capacitor which stores DC current. An open fuse would mean the power supply is not functioning.

[HayZee518]

There is also a device called a thermistor in the power supply path. Its function is to absorb the line shock AC applies to the power supply. As it heats up its resistance goes down and limits current.

[jonmiles]

Thanks HayZee, I'll try that and let ya know how it turned out.

[jonmiles]

I took the back off and checked fuse with tone meter and it test fine.

I didn't see any other fuses or anything by sight that may be the problem.

Any other ideas ? Thanks

[X Y Scaling]

I've got an older RCA and I would suggest this........
You mentioned:

quote:If the TV powered on and there wasn't a picture the screen would say unavailable signal or something like that. We have a black screen and the TV never tried to power up except that one time I mentioned above.

If you can get it to come on again and it displays the words "Unusable Signal" push the input botton on the remote and see of you can get something, anything on the screen.

Also, see if the number of "blinks" is the same every time you try and turn it on. Yes, count them and see. Or does it just keep blinking on and on and on???

Vinyl and Laserdisc Fan

[jonmiles]

The TV did not power on, what happened was it clicked and sounded like it was starting to power on but then it never did.

Every time other than that it does nothing but blink for an extended period of time. Sometimes it may blink for 10 sec. and other times minutes.

[X Y Scaling]

Jon,
With 32" TVs dropping in price as much as they have, I'd consider a new set. Around here the minimum cost for just about any repair would be $100 to $150 to get anything done. I don't know how you use the set, but if you watch many movies,especially on DVD, the new digital 16:9 TVs are fantstic. Especially in the 32" and up size. If you haven't notice, the prices are unbelievably low now.

I paid $1,600 for a Sony 32" back in 1990. Same set now. digital and widescreen is less than half of that price plus they are now flat screen. Not talking about flat TV (LCD).

Yea, I know this is a Home Repair Forum and not a Replacement forum, but I've faced this same thing many times...
Something to think about. Tom

Vinyl and Laserdisc Fan

[jonmiles]

Thanks Tom,

This is the first TV I have ever had a problem with. 6-7 yrs. of use is much less than the 10 I expected to get out of it. I still own one TV which was purchased and used a lot over the past 15 yrs. picture is not that great, but it still works.

So now I'm faced with spending approx. $200+ in repairs for a TV that cost $500 new, then you have to ask yourself will it have another problem or last another 5 yrs. ?

If you purchase a new higher end TV your investment would be much greater than the repair but, offer a much better picture. Although the little time I have to watch TV seems hard to justify $1,000 for a new TV if I can repair the old one for $200 which worked well enough.

Decisions, decisions, We still have 3 other TV's so we don't need to rush out and make a decision right now. Just thought I would ask if anybody had any ideas as to what the problem may be with the RCA not powering on...

Thanks Jon