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Mitsubishi Picture Tube Leak

M

Mark Pfeifer

Jan 1, 1970
0
I just had a serviceman look at my TV. He informed me (and showed be
fluids) on the video board that he said was caused by the seals going
bad on the picture tube. He said the tubes would have to be replaced
and I was probably looking at a lot of money. Said I was looking at
buying a new one instead.

I have a 55" Mitsubishi purchased in 1998. What do people think?

The screen would go black after a short time period when the tv warmed
up. He said the tubes heated up, fluid leaked on the video board and
was shorting out the video signal.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Mark
 
L

Leonard G. Caillouet

Jan 1, 1970
0
Had the set been moved recently? This is not an uncommon scenario when the
set is jarred in transit.

We reseal the tubes rather than replacing. The boards are often not
repairable, depending on the damage. Sometimes they are repairable.

Leonard Caillouet
 
S

Sofie

Jan 1, 1970
0
Mark Pfeifer:
5 years seems a little too soon to be replacing your big screen Mitz.
I would suggest that your obtain another repair cost estimate.... with an
specific estimated repair cost dollar amount so you can make an intelligent
repair decision.
You can't do this on the phone either...... a real tech needs to actually
look at the television and do some preliminary troubleshooting and visual
inspection in order to come up with a half-way accurate repair cost
estimate.
 
J

john

Jan 1, 1970
0
Well he showed you the Fluids...!!!
Call another Guy in so he can tell you the same thing.

kip
 
T

TV Fixer1

Jan 1, 1970
0
Probably Identical to the one I looked at last month. I have repaired these
without replacing the tubes, but it's still an expensive repair, since the
tubes must be removed from the set and disassembled (which Mitsubishi does not
recommend, but hey, only other fix is replace the tubes, with no guarantee THEY
won't leak in a few years).
 
H

H. R. Bob Hofmann

Jan 1, 1970
0
john said:
Well he showed you the Fluids...!!!
Call another Guy in so he can tell you the same thing.

kip


I would be very curious where there are fluids in a picture tube.
Last time I checked, they were under a vacuum. If there is leakage
of fluid, is it from around the safety glass on the front of the
tube?? otherwise, someone has spilled coke or a bloody mary into the
set.
 
J

john

Jan 1, 1970
0
The three tubes are Liquid cooled in there own chambers.

kip
 
T

Tom MacIntyre

Jan 1, 1970
0
I would be very curious where there are fluids in a picture tube.
Last time I checked, they were under a vacuum. If there is leakage
of fluid, is it from around the safety glass on the front of the
tube?? otherwise, someone has spilled coke or a bloody mary into the
set.

It's a PTV.

Tom
 
M

Mark Pfeifer

Jan 1, 1970
0
Everyone - Thanks for your responses.

Yes, about a 1 1/2 months ago I moved, so the TV was moved as well. I
imagine that is what caused any sort of problem.

From what they told me and wrote down - "Leaky CRT" - leaking picture
tubes that require to be replaced, the video board cleaned and the
picture re-aligned. Total cost $1211.

Also, the person turned something which made the screen light up again
- except only in one color with some lines. That is how he was
narrowing it down to the video board shutting down to "protect" the
tubes. Not sure just trying to relay what he said. May not have been
related but when he did clear off some of the fluid, the screen did
try to comeback on.

Any more thoughts on what to do? still call in someone else to check
it out?

Thanks,
Mark
 
L

Leonard G. Caillouet

Jan 1, 1970
0
Call Mitsubishi Customer Relations at 949-830-8364. They might give you
some relief. If not, find a servicer who has done these before and re-seals
the tubes and refills them. The board may need to be replaced, the tubes do
not, unless Mits wants to buy them. I have more confidence in the ones I
re-seal with RTV than new ones.

Leonard Caillouet
 
M

Mark Pfeifer

Jan 1, 1970
0
Leonard G. Caillouet said:
Call Mitsubishi Customer Relations at 949-830-8364. They might give you
some relief. If not, find a servicer who has done these before and re-seals
the tubes and refills them. The board may need to be replaced, the tubes do
not, unless Mits wants to buy them. I have more confidence in the ones I
re-seal with RTV than new ones.

Leonard Caillouet

Thanks! I did call and they said to fax in the issue with the service
report and proof of purchase/serial number. Once they get that, they
stated to give them 2 days for a response.

We'll see what happens. As luck would have it, my brother's 50" had
the same issue (same model year) and Mitsubishi paid the service
company. We'll see if they are generous again.

Mark
 
J

john

Jan 1, 1970
0
--
"> We'll see what happens. As luck would have it, my brother's 50" had
the same issue (same model year) and Mitsubishi paid the service


So why ask here ??


dah

kip
 
B

Bill Webb

Jan 1, 1970
0
I would be very curious where there are fluids in a picture tube.
Last time I checked, they were under a vacuum. If there is leakage
of fluid, is it from around the safety glass on the front of the
tube?? otherwise, someone has spilled coke or a bloody mary into the
set.

It's a front- or rear-projection TV. While the CRTs are under vacuum and
don't contain fluid themselves, a projection TV uses 3 CRTs (one each of
red, green, blue) and a set of lenses to converge them into a single
image. Between the tubes and the lenses there will be a gel or fluid to
provide optical coupling between the two as well as cooling (since these
run much brighter and hotter than standard TV CRTs).
 
H

H. R. Bob Hofmann

Jan 1, 1970
0
john said:
--
"> We'll see what happens. As luck would have it, my brother's 50" had


So why ask here ??


dah

kip


Depending on who did the moving, there might be insurance for damage
to goods moved (in this case your tv set). On the other hand, if it
was you and your buddies for a case of beer, sounds like you're at the
mercy of Mitsubishi.

H. R. (Bob) Hofmann
 
J

john

Jan 1, 1970
0
Maybe moving brought on the leaks which were already started but
No way was it done in Moving...


jmo
kip
 
C

Curmudgeon

Jan 1, 1970
0
Obviously this message board is WAY over your head
 
M

Mike

Jan 1, 1970
0
without the fluid, it will go into phosphor melt, or possibly melt the glass
and its gone then.
 
L

Leonard Caillouet

Jan 1, 1970
0
john said:
Maybe moving brought on the leaks which were already started but
No way was it done in Moving...

What a silly statement. Of course it was done in moving. That does not
mean that the mover should necessarily be liable. The basic design is less
than optimal.

It would be more correct to say that moving brought on a leak, but that the
integrity of the seal was marginal and anything that slightly jarred the
CRTs would likely have had the same result. I have seen several of these
that had no problems until they were moved, then when examined carefully the
coolant had migrated completely from the tubes to a small spot on the board
and corrosion had started. Sometimes you can't even find where it leaked
from with the CRT removed.

The basic problem is that the frame that holds the crt to the coolant
chamber is too flexible to maintain even and sufficient pressure on the
seal. Many never leak. All are marginally sealed. When we do one that
Mitsubishi is paying for, we don't replace the tubes, we reseal them using a
very thin film of RTV on both sides of the rubber gasket. I believe this to
be a better seal than even a new tube from Mitsubishi.

Leonard Caillouet
 
L

Leonard G. Caillouet

Jan 1, 1970
0
No magic, just observation, logic, and experience.

Your statement "No way was it done in Moving" seemed to be based more on
clairvoyance than any of the above. It suggested a simplistic view of these
problems and a dangerous assumption. One must be much more careful with
some RPTVs than people assume when moving them. I have seen quite a few
Mitsubishis(VZ series chassis) and RCA (PTK195 chassis) that had coolant
leaks shortly after being moved.

Leonard Caillouet
 
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