I also wanted to drop a quick message about the capacitor issue symptoms and their relation to other problems.
If you have a Samsung LCD manufactured between 2006 and March of 2009 and it is taking a long time to turn on and clicking or getting the startup chime multiple times while trying to turn on, then you most likely (nearly 90% chance) have a bad capacitor on your power supply. Contact your local Samsung Authorized Repair Center or feel free to contact me and we will help you figure it out. The repair could require soldering the board, however we carry pre repaired boards for most of the effected TVs and we can work with you to swap the board out.
If you have a SAMSUNG PLASMA TV manufactured between 2006 and 2008 and it is exhibiting the same symptoms then there is a chance that you have a bad capacitor or 2 on your board. However, our experience is that only 1 out of 30 or 40 of these that we have seen is actually a capacitor issue. There we only a few 50" models that exhibited this and even they were almost never suffering from it. Contact me and we can help you figure out what is happening. According to Samsung's repair specifications for these TV's, we were required to replace the entire power supply if it showed a capacitor problem. They did not sell or provide a repair capacitor list for these but we can work with you to either perform a mail in repair of your board or to order you a new one if you need.
If you have a SAMSUNG DLP TV manufactured between 2006 and 2008 and it is exhibiting the same symptoms listed in the LCD paragraph, then like the plasmas there is very little chance that this is caused by a capacitor problem on the power board. There was only a single model number listed as exhibiting this problem in the Samsung Service bulletins and it is an LED DLP (you'll know if you have one, there is no LAMP) and it has 2 power supplies. Again, Samsung's repair specifications on these were to replace the entire board. We can work with you on these if you need help.
Now for the rest of you. If your SAMSUNG TV exhibits trouble turning on, makes a clicking noise and then does not turn on, etc and YOUR TV WAS MANUFACTURED OUTSIDE THE 2006 to MARCH 2009 TIMEFRAME or if it was a PLASMA/DLP and does not have bulged caps on the power board, then there is very little chance that your issue is capacitor related. There are many situations that cause the TV not to power on and even to click when power on is attempted. Most of these problems (ESPECIALLY IN PLASMAS) cause what we call a "Load Down of the Power Supply". This can be thought of in layman terms as tripping the safety circuit in your TV. When a board inside the TV shorts out because of a manufacturing defect, static discharge to one of the input ports or electrical surge, this can cause irregular voltage or current usage that is detected by the power supply. To prevent a shower of sparks, further damage or a fire, the power supply is designed to "click" off. Plasmas are notorious for this due to the presence of 3 or 4 high voltage "driver" boards that feed power and picture into the Plasma panel (screen). When we hear a clicking sound or TV does not turn on, we automatically order 4 to 5 parts for a plasma and 2 to 3 parts for a LCD/LED. About 80% of the time on a Plasma the culprit is one of the High Voltage driver boards and the power supply is fine. On an LCD/LED it is caused about 50% of the time by Power supply and 50% of the time by PCB Main. Not everything can be pigeon-holed into an issue you read about all over the internet.
If you have questions I can easily answer them for you. Feel free to drop me a message or reply to this posting.
Most of these repairs can be done by the average tinkerer. Plasma repairs will require at least a good Multi-Meter. However, an authorized servicer has access to service bulletins and manuals, new or manufacturer certified parts and lots of experience with a wide range of models and issues. They also have deals with their part distributors and manufacturers that allow them to have all the parts they need in hand and send back what they don't without restocking fees or charges. These simple resources increase the ability to successfully repair a TV to nearly 100%.
Thanks,
John Hamilton
Hamilton & Company, LLC
