Troubleshooting CRT TV Power Problem
Troubleshooting CRT TV Power Problem
Troubleshooting CRT TV Power Problem
Of Television Sets
Contents:
22.8) Internal fuse blew during lightning storm (or elephant hit power pole)
22.9) Fuse replaced but TV clicks with power-on but no other action
22.12) Reduced width picture and/or hum bars in picture and/or hum in sound
bad cordset.
* Plug a lamp into the outlet to make sure it is live. If the lamp works,
then
the problem is the TV. It not, the outlet is defective or the fuse is blown
or the circuit breaker is tripped. There is another very simple explanation
that is sometimes overlooked: This is a switched outlet. You always
wondered what that wall switch was for that didn't seem to do anything and
you flipped randomly :-). Well, now you know!
* Try wiggling the TV's cord both at the outlet (also push the wire toward the
plug) and TV (also push the cord toward the TV) with the set on and/or while
pressing the power-on button. If you can get a response, even momentarily,
the cord likely has broken wires internally.
Beyond these basic causes, troubleshooting will be needed inside the set to
determine what is defective. Also see the section: "Intermittently dead set bad cordset".
power cycling can lead to much more serious and expensive problems down the
road.
should not be that low. A reading of only a few ohms may mean a
shorted rectifier or two or a shorted Posistor.
* Test the rectifiers individually or remove and retest the resistance.
* Some sets use a Posistor for degauss control. This is a little cubical
(about 1/2" x 3/4" x 1") component with 3 legs. It includes a line
operated heater disk (which often shorts out) and a PTC thermister to
control current to the degauss coil. Remove the posistor and try power.
If the monitor now works, obtain a replacement but in the meantime you
just won't have the automatic degauss.
If these test good, use an ohmmeter with the set unplugged to measure
the horizontal output transistor. Even better to remove it and measure it.
* C-E should be high in at least one direction.
* B-E may be high or around 50 ohms but should not be near 0.
If any readings are under 5 ohms, the transistor is bad. The parts
sources listed at the end of this document will have suitable replacements.
If the HOT tests bad, try powering the set first with your light bulb and if
it just flashes once when the capacitor is charging, then put a fuse in
and try it. The fuse should not blow with the transistor removed.
Of course, not much else will work either.
If it tests good, power the set without the transistor and see what happens.
If the fuse does not blow, then with the good transistor (assuming it is not
failing under load), it would mean that there is some problem with the
driving circuits possibly or with the feedback from the voltages derived
from the horizontal not regulating properly.
Look inside the TV and see if you can locate any other large power transistors
in metal (TO3) cans or plastic (TOP3) cases. There may be a separate
transistor that does the low voltage regulation or a separate regulator
IC. Some TVs have a switchmode power supply that runs off a different
transistor than the HOT. There is a chance that one of these may be bad.
If it is a simple transistor, the same ohmmeter check should be performed.
If none of this proves fruitful, it may be time to try to locate a schematic.
A blown fuse is a very common type of fault due to poor design very often
triggered by power surges due to outages or lightning storms. However,
the most likely parts to short are easily tested, usually in-circuit, with
an ohmmeter and then easily removed to confirm.
If you find the problem and repair it yourself, the cost is likely to
be under $25.
However,
surge was enough to jump the gap between the switch contacts, or it was
just a coincidence (yeh, right).
If the TV was operating or on standby or has no actual power switch, then
a number of parts could be fried.
TVs usually have their own internal surge protection devices like MOVs (Metal
Oxide Varistors) after the fuse. So it is possible that all that is wrong is
that the line fuse has blown. Remove the cover (unplug it first!) and start
at the line cord. If you find a blown fuse, remove it and measure across
the in-board side of fuse holder and the other (should be the neutral) side
of the line. The ohmmeter reading should be fairly high - well certainly not
less than 100 ohms - in at least one direction. You may need to unplug the
degaussing coil to get a reasonable reading as its resistance may be 25 or 30
ohms. If the reading is really low, there are other problems. If the
resistance checks out, replace the fuse and try powering the TV. There will
be 3 possibilities:
1. It will work fine, problem solved.
2. It will immediately blow the fuse. This means there is at least one
component shorted - possibilities include an MOV, line rectifiers, main
filter cap, regulator transistor, horizontal output transistor, etc. You
will need to check with your ohmmeter for shorted semiconductors. Remove
any that are suspect and see of the fuse now survives (use the series
light bulb to cut your losses - see the section: "The series light bulb
trick".
3. It will not work properly or appear dead. This could mean there are
open fusable resistors other defective parts in the power supply or
elsewhere. In this case further testing will be required and at some
point you may need the schematic.
If the reading is very low or the fuse blows again, see the section:
"TV blows fuse".
Look for blown fuses and test for open fusable resistors in the power
circuits.
If you find one, then test the HOT and/or switchmode transistor for shorts.
Other possibilities: rectifier diodes or main filter capacitor.
While you are at it, check for bad connections - prod the circuit board with
an
insulated stick when the problem reoccurs - as these can cause parts to
fail.
Then it comes
A couple of possibilities:
1. The main filter capacitor or other filter capacitors in the low voltage
power supply is dried up and this can cause all kinds of regulation
problems.
2. The power supply regulator is defective (or marginal) allowing excessive
voltage on its output and then the X-ray protection circuitry shuts
you down.
If you can get access to a Variac, it would be worth bringing up the input
voltage slowly and seeing if there is some point at which it would stay on.
If there is, then if the picture has serious hum bars in it the main filter
cap could be bad. If more or less a decent picture with minor hum bars then
it could be the regulator.
Once you are sure of the AC connections - measure across them while it is
off and also while it is on. While off, you should get 110-125 VAC.
While on and working - 0. While on and not working either 110-125 VAC
if the relay is not pulling in or 0 if it is and the problem is elsewhere.
We can deal with the latter case if needed later on. Note the even if the
relay contacts are not working, the problem could still be in the control
circuitry not providing the correct coil voltage/current, though not likely.
It may be expensive and/or difficult to obtain an exact replacement, but
these are pretty vanilla flavored as relays go. Any good electronics
distributor should be able to supply a suitable electrical replacement
though you may need to be creative in mounting it.