RCA 36" TV blows fuses

[David G.]

I have a 36" RCA TV (Model F35673MB) that has not been working for
some time now. It started when the TV just turned off one day and we
couldn't get it to come back on. We took it to a local repair shop
and when we got it back, he said that they fixed the problem and had
had the set running for a day with no problems. We got it home and
plugged it in and it went off within 15 minutes. We took it back and
told the repairman what had happened and he fixed it again. We picked
it up and he said it tested out fine after the repair and the same
thing happened, off after about 15 minutes. We weren't in dire need
of it at the time and we were pretty tired of lugging this behmoth
back and forth, so we gave up on it.

A few days ago I decided to look into fixing it myself as a project.
I opened the back of the tv up and found out the fuse at the power
supply was blown. I picked up a package of 5 amp 125 volt fast acting
fuses and put one in. I plugged up the tv and blew it right away.
Same thing with two more fuses. Does anyone have any ideas on how I
might go about troubleshooting this?

 

[john]

Chopper is S/C plus plus.

kip

 

[James Sweet]

I have a 36" RCA TV (Model F35673MB) that has not been working for
some time now. It started when the TV just turned off one day and we
couldn't get it to come back on. We took it to a local repair shop
and when we got it back, he said that they fixed the problem and had
had the set running for a day with no problems. We got it home and
plugged it in and it went off within 15 minutes. We took it back and
told the repairman what had happened and he fixed it again. We picked
it up and he said it tested out fine after the repair and the same
thing happened, off after about 15 minutes. We weren't in dire need
of it at the time and we were pretty tired of lugging this behmoth
back and forth, so we gave up on it.

A few days ago I decided to look into fixing it myself as a project.
I opened the back of the tv up and found out the fuse at the power
supply was blown. I picked up a package of 5 amp 125 volt fast acting
fuses and put one in. I plugged up the tv and blew it right away.
Same thing with two more fuses. Does anyone have any ideas on how I
might go about troubleshooting this?

The fact that you tried another and yet a third fuse after the first one
blew right away indicates to me that you probably shouldn't be poking around
inside a TV yourself, I'm guessing you lack a decent multimeter and
soldering equipment, as well as basic understanding of how a switching power
supply works, without which you have zero chance of fixing it.

 

[John Del]

Subject: RCA 36" TV blows fuses

From: [email protected] (David G.)
Date: 2/15/04 3:43 PM Pacific Standard Time

I picked up a package of 5 amp 125 volt fast acting

fuses and put one in. I plugged up the tv and blew it right away.
Same thing with two more fuses. Does anyone have any ideas on how I
might go about troubleshooting this?

Why did you quit at just three fuses? Maybe a different brand?

Okay, that's my stock smart ass answer. The reality is the shop who did the
work has no clue on how to fix this type of TV. Any repair (especially a
repeat one) that doesn't measure the temp of the replaced parts and a full burn
in is woefully incomplete.

My guess is either they didn't check the electrolytics in the circuit, didn't
check for abnormal circuit conditions (including bad smps trans) causing the
smps IC to run hot, or are using cheap generic parts. Any one or combination
of these will lead to an unreliable repair. Unfortunate indeed as this type of
repair is a black mark on the rest of us who perform repairs to last a
lifetime.


John Del
Wolcott, CT

"I'm just trying to get into heaven, I'm not running for Jesus!"
Homer Simpson

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