LCD repair

[MikeZZZ]

I have a sharp aquos lcd that was dropped, both lowe corners cracked, the tv still powers on and displays picture, but there is a vertical line in the screen from top to bottom now, on the left side of the screen anout a 1/3 of the way in from the edge, its aonlt about an 1/8 of an inch thick, but is visible. Any sugestions of what it could be and what it would cost me to repair it?

Thanks, Mike

 

[primestar31]

I have a sharp aquos lcd that was dropped, both lowe corners cracked, the tv still powers on and displays picture, but there is a vertical line in the screen from top to bottom now, on the left side of the screen anout a 1/3 of the way in from the edge, its aonlt about an 1/8 of an inch thick, but is visible. Any sugestions of what it could be and what it would cost me to repair it?

Thanks, Mike

Yeah, you said it yourself: Your lcd screen is cracked.

Fix= Install a new lcd panel.

Cost? = You'll have to make some calls... You didn't say how big an lcd this was, but if it's 40" or above, it's probably going to be very costly to replace. Any chance your home owners insurance will pay for it?

If you bought it with a credit card, they sometimes cover these purchases with insurance themselves. Be aware that ALL computer manufacturers, consider lcd cracks to be ABUSE, with NO excuses, and they will NOT cover it under warranty. I'm not sure if that's also true with TV manufacturers, but it probably is.

If the cost is too high, or you can't even get a new panel, consider finding a dead aquos of the exact same model on Ebay or somewhere, that might have a good panel you can swap with.

Last resort, = Black Friday sales day, and yet another new tv for you. Then sell your broken one on Ebay. Maybe somebody else needs everything but the panel! You might make some cash to off-set the cost of a new tv.

 

[bhelms]

Slightly related - I dropped a laptop one time with a similar result. When I powered it up I got to watch a real rainbow of colors emerging as the liquids diffused in the screen! It was completely useless however. So I found the exact model on eBay. That one had a bad HDD and was priced accordingly, but the screen was in 100% OK shape (a condition of the sale). I made the swap myself taking several hours and a few uttered explictives along the way, but in the end I had a fully functioning laptop again...and a few leftover screws...! The repair was considerably cheaper than buying a new screen from the co., and as it turned-out I also needed to replace the keyboard not long after that, so the second repair cost only my time. (The final irony was that about 1 week after the second repair the damn thing was stolen from my car!)

But for me, swapping a TV screen, especially a larger one, is probably out of my league. If I had your situation, I would do like primestar31 alluded and find a dead unit of the same model elsewhere, perhaps eBay or from a repair center. I wouldn't buy it right away, but have someone else confirm that the original display in my TV is indeed cracked, and get a quote from them for swapping the panels. (I would expect to have to absolve the repair center of any liability for a "non-repair" in case there's something wrong with the used display, and agree to pay their full price anyway.) If the total cost seems reasonable vs. just replacing the TV then I might order that used unit and proceed. Only the owner can determine whether or not this makes sense based on the age of the broken unit, total repair cost, prediction for success, and other factors like "Is it time to upgrade anyway?", so YMMV...

Good luck with it, and do report back...!

BTW - I'm not quite as sure that a single vertical line is a crack in the display. It could be a bad connection somewhere, and that could be a rather simple repair...!

Welcome, BTW...!

 

[MikeZZZ]

Thank you also, I was wondering about it more as i think about it, like u said its not like the rainbow effect, the screen itself is not physicaly cracked, the line is perfectly straight like it is in the picture.

 

[primestar31]

Thank you also, I was wondering about it more as i think about it, like u said its not like the rainbow effect, the screen itself is not physicaly cracked, the line is perfectly straight like it is in the picture.

Well, you could always carefully start taking it apart, then reseat any cables you see coming from the lcd panel. There is a chance that a cable got dislodged, but the odds are if one did, you'd have a lot worse issue than a single line going top to bottom.

Make sure if you try this, you unplug the tv set for at least a couple hours BEFORE you tear it apart to see what's going on. That way all voltages should be drained away. Also, this is like working on a computer now, make sure you don't do anything to charge up your body with static electricity, and fry any boards with sparks coming from you while working on it! The best way to do that, is leave one hand on a part of the chassis at all times, (to keep your body neutral) and don't walk away, and come back to work on it later.

 

[MikeZZZ]

I will probably try to open it up and look for anything obvious to be loose and see what that brings me too, Thanks again.

 

[toto]

It could be one or more rows of stuck pixels. While expensive to repair, it's not as bad as a cracked screen. You might try for an estimate. If no there is apparent physical damage, turn it in for estimate, withhout mentioning you dropped it.

 

[MikeZZZ]

You'll have to cut me some slack on this one, but what is stuck pixels, and how do you repair it? A lot of this is all new stuff to me

 

[bhelms]

One of the characteristics of LCDs. Individual pixels can be permanently stuck "on" or "off". In the former case you get a bright spot on the screen in one or more colors that shouldn't be there when that area is black, in the latter you're absent that color in a group of 3 when it should be lit. Sometimes pixels are defective immediately out of manufacturing, other times they develop over time, usually as "infant mortals". There is nothing you can do to repair individual stuck pixels short of replacing the whole screen. Most TV manufacturers have a disclaimer in the "fine print" somewhere that allows for some stuck pixels to exist as an artifact of manufacturing.

 

[toto]

You can also have stuck rows of pixels. Check with a service center before giving up. Get an estimate.

 

[bhelms]

If a whole row is stuck then it is probably not the screen itself. If it were, then the screen would probably be replaceable under warranty (assuming no user damage like a dropped unit). I failed to mention in my last post above (I was rushed a bit) that several random stuck pixels won't usually be considered a defect. Manufacturers will take any such claim on a case basis however. If the number exceeds a certain level and/or they are concentrated especially in the center of the screen then you would probably get the warranty replacement if you pleaded loud enough. A whole stuck row however would probably exceed the threshold no questions asked. Like toto suggested, take it in for an estimate and see where that takes you!

If you're planning a DIY - please heed what primestar31 mentioned about protecting the unit from damage due to ESD (electro-static discharge). And that can be so subtle that you never know it happens! Voltages too low for you to sense yourself are plenty strong enough to cause immediate or latent permanent damage in sensitive components like ICs! When we techs work on sensitive electronic equipment it's generally on a bench with an ESD-dissipating worksurface, and/or we wear proper protection devices like a grounded wrist strap. I'm sure there are many undocumented cases where folks who are unaware of the problems associated with ESD dig into a piece of equipment and cause far more damage than they started out with! Simple ESD abatement measures can prevent all that. If you aren't sure what this is all about, you're better off not opening the unit in the first place...

 

[8bitbytes]

AN lcd panel consists of multiple layers or material. The top layer of glass may be ok but the underlayment is still probably damaged. Can you grab some close-up pictures of the problems? If you are not technically inclined, opening your flat panel is probably not a good idea.

 

[MikeZZZ]

I have to say thanks to all of you, I can't express how much your info means to me, Like I said earlier, this is all pretty new to me, so Its all a huge help, I don't have a lot of free time to do much about it right now, but I will when I can, and will let you guys know how it goes.

Thanks Again, Mike
and if you have any other ideas or notions, please feel free to let me know.