Samsung TV On/Off Issue - Repair

A few years ago many Samsung TV models were produced with underrated capacitors on the power board of the TV. The result of this issue is a TV that will cycle between on and off repeatedly and/or an annoying clicking noise while turning on. Time to get informed about the issue and fix your TV your self! 

If you're having this issue click this link below! 

http://www.samsung.com/us/capacitorsettlement/

It seems there is some money available or a possible repair to those with this issue that meet the qualifications listed. If you don't meet the qualifications, you're not interested in the red tape or just like the satisfaction of fixing things your self continue you reading and I will show you how to fix your TV for under 10$!

Some tools you'll need going forward are a screwdriver, a soldering gun and some solder. Time to get this ship sailing! 

Depending on your TV model you will have a different number of screws to open up the TV. They should all be located on the back and should all be pretty easy to spot. If the back won't come off easily you probably still have a screw in so keep looking. Also don't lose these, you'll need them later! 

The board we're after should be a brown/beige color. Your TV might have and extra metal covering over it, go ahead and take that off. The other board you can see controls most of the main functions on your TV while the board we want regulates and distributes power to the TV. I'm going to recommend that you don't touch the main board at all.

Before we get at our board make sure your TV is unplugged. Even once unplugged the TV can hold a lethal amount of energy in some of the bigger capacitors so press the on/off switch on your TV a couple times to help discharge some of that. Even still, be very careful with what you touch paying special attention to the HOT section of the board and all big mad scientist looking components, especially if you don't know what they are or what they do. 

Now that you've got an idea of what you're looking at go ahead and unplug all the wires connected to the power board. Each wire group should have a different number of headers and should only fit back into the slot it came from but take note of where they did come out of so you don't have to fumble the board when you're putting it back in later. Next unscrew the board and lift it out. 

Set the board on a nonconductive surface and we'll check it out! 

The bad capacitors should be pretty easy to spot. They'll have a notable bulge on the top and may even be leaking some electrolytic fluid. In my case two capacitors had gone bad, as seen in the picture. We're going to need to take these out in order to put some new ones in. 


If you're a super safety freak you may want to discharge these capacitors before you try to take them out. You can do this by touching the ends of a resistor between the two ends of each capacitor on the bottom of the board. But unless you have a massive capacitor that is your problem child it really shouldn't be an issue. 


Before you remove the capacitor identify first identify its polarity in the circuit. The capacitor should have a white stripe up the side, note where this is as you will want to put in the replacements with the white stripe on the same side. 


To remove the capacitors first identify the where the leads attach to the circuit at the bottom of the board. Warm up your soldering gun and heat the contact point on the circuit while gentle pulling the capacitor out of the board. Don't be too forceful pulling it out and don't hold the soldering gun at the contact for too long, both could damage your TV. Just be patient and you'll get it out. Remove all the bad capacitors. 

Your bad capacitor should have a few numbers on it including a capacitance rating, a voltage rating and a temperature rating. You're going to want to find a capacitor with a similar capacitance and temperature rating to the one you removed. But go ahead and get one that has a higher voltage rating as you don't want to replace an underrated capacitor with another underrated capacitor. Also try to find on that is a similar diameter so it can fit in the spot it came from. Also make sure its a radial capacitor, axial leads will be too difficult to deal with. Look up prices on line, but you should be able to find what you need at your local radio shack or Fry's for cheap enough. 

Place the capacitor back into the circuit remembering to orient the capacitor so it is has the correct polarity. Bend the leads out so it will stay in place as you solder. If you've never soldered before peep an instructable for some handy tips! Solder the sucker in place and be sure that your solder is not touching any other connection on the board (you don't want any shorts!). Repeat for each capacitor you need to replace. 

Since you kept track of all your screws and connections, putting the TV back together should be a cinch! ;) As soon as the power board is connected again and screwed back in place plug in your TV and try to turn it on... Voila! Your TV should turn on and off just fine. If the problem persists, you may have over looked a bad capacitor so take it off and look a little more closely. Put the back of your TV back on and you should be ready just in time some Sunday morning cartoons! Enjoy