Panasonic TH-37PX80B Blown?

[admin_exported]

Hi all,

In October 2008 I bought 2 of these plasma sets but today my bedroom set stopped working.

I was watching it and it just went off, rather like what happens when you have a power cut (which is what I thought had happened).

Now there is no power to the set at all.

I checked the plug fuse and it had blown so I replaced it.

When I plugged it back in it blew again, this time tripping the switch on my circuit board.

I presume, therefore, that something is wrong with the set.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance

Capitan

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

Sorry to hear that your TV seems to have developed a fault, First try disconnecting all external inputs to the TV. If the Fuse still blows then the set would need to be looked at by one of our authorised service centres.

You can find your nearest one using our service centre locator here: http://bit.ly/o6jpwo

Hope this helps

Adam

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply Adam.

Since posting this I did a bit of research on the Internet and found that there seems to have been major problems with the power supply boards on Panasonic TV's

Is this the possible cause of the problem?

It is a bit worrying considering all the TV's in my house are Panasonic (2 Plasma's and 2 LCD's).

I've had TV's for 20 years without a problem and I'm very alarmed and disappointed that this has developed an obviously major problem in 3 years.

 

[Anonymous]

Any other comments or input on this?

Thanks

 

[Oldboy]

There has been a thread in the past on this issue Capitan with a G10 Panasonic plasma that developed the same fault (i will through and post the link to it when i find it) and the resolution was indeed a new power board installed in the tv, the poster had a bit of a fight getting the repair done free of charge and had to stump up cash up front just to get the tv looked at by his retailer (Currys).

It's an issue that is widely reported on the web with those people affected claiming that the set fails after a year or two, unfortunately a repair is the only way of solving your issue and this may mean you have to pay to get it done. Where did you purchase the tv from?

Of course you can argue that under the sale of goods act the tv has developed a fault that makes it unfit for purpose or that the tv was expected to last longer than this which is what the OP in the thread i refer to done and got the repair for free, for more info on your rights in this situation contact consumer direct here:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Consumerrights/index.htm

You can phone them and get immediate advice by clicking on the contact consumer direct link near the top of the page, as soon as i find that thread i will post the link.

Hope that is of some help to you.

EDIT: here is the link to the other thread which should make interesting reading, give it a thorough read through as it should be of some help in your situation:

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/tvs-and-projectors/panasonics-red-light-of-death

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply and the links Oldboy, it makes interesting and useful reading.

I too purchased my Panasonic from Currys (Infact I bought two at the same time).

Having read that thread, I rang Panasonic just to gauge their thoughts on this.

The lady I spoke to said that the power board problem is not widespread or inherent in their sets and they have only heard of it in isolated incidents.

I was a bit surprised at this as a cursory search of the problem on the Internet shows that this is just not the case.

I too was given the same guff about it being 3 years old and that as it was out of warranty it was chargeable.

When I pressed her a little she then said I would need to take it to an authorised dealer to be assessed and that I MAY be able to get some help with the cost from Panasonic depending on what the problem was.

I asked her if I would get the repair done free if indeed it was the power supply board but she would not comment.

She did however state that it MUST be an authorised dealer and NOT the retailer otherwise I couldn't take advantage of the POSSIBLE financial help.

Now in the UK my contract is with the retailer so I'm not sure what to do about it.

Should I go to Currys first which means I can't get the POSSIBLE financial help, or should I take it directly to an authorised dealer?

Perhaps Adam would like to chime in here. How much do Panasonic value their customers?

4 TV's, all Panasonic, and now I'm left wondering if this is a ticking time bomb in all of them.

 

[Oldboy]

Capitan,

Well you have been given a load of guff there imo by Panasonic and your situation sounds incredibly similar to the thread i pointed you towards, infact it's the same retailer!

In that thread you already have a point of reference of what to expect from Currys in this situation so you know if you contact them then it will initially cost you about £70 for them to look at the tv BUT you have an idea of what the final outcome may be if you take the same course of action (send letters/emails stating your case and claim the fee back if successful).

If it was me i would go through Currys, you could give them a call and sound them out about the issue before you decide what to do and even mention the offer from Panasonic to see if that helps your situation with them. A precident has been set with the other thread and i would go down that route as it's more likely that the repair will be free in the end, plus all the info is there and you can just copy and paste all your communication!

The choice is yours of course but i can tell you that consumer direct will say that your contract is with the retailer first and foremost and that any claims should be directed towards them even if the tv is out of warranty, it's a case of which you feel is the better option really and i can't really help there.

Panasonic must know of the power board issue...there are a few sites devoted to just this issue for crying out loud so what you were told over the phone doesn't add up but then all manufacturers are more likely to deny a fault than admit to one eh!

Get yourself armed with as much info as possible, contact consumer direct about the issue and then phone Currys and decide what to do after you have spoken to them...i think this is the best course of action.

Hope that's useful and keep me updated with what you do and how you get on.

 

[Anonymous]

Thought I'd update you on what happened with this.

Having been given the royal runaround by both Currys and Panasonic, my brother in law took it into work to let his TV techs take a look at it.

Neither Currys or Panasonic will, or more likely can, repair at component level and kept insisting I would need new power boards (yes, it was the power board that had gone, as I expected!)

Having looked at it, his tech (who deals with all makes of TV's) said that the components they used were really cheap.

He fully repaired it, with upgraded components, at a cost of....£18!

Shame on you Currys and shame on you Panasonic.

If anyone from either company reads this you can be sure that I will never buy a Panasonic product of any type again and will never buy anything at all from Currys or their associated companies again.

Furthermore, I will go out of my way to let everyone I know, and meet in the future, about your appalling lack of interest in your customers once you have taken their money.

I will also be using this as an example of how NOT to provide customer service as I teach it to youngsters and adults alike at college.

That will be a whole raft of potential customers, every year, learning how shoddy your two companies deal with their customers.