[nonoise]

I have an almost, two year old Samsung LN46a650 LCD TV and it is exhibiting some rather errant behavior upon start up. At first I thought it was my cable box but now I know its the TV itself. At first there was no reaction to turn on for a few seconds and then all was as it should be. Next time was followed by a series of turn on clicks which can now be as long as a few minutes.
A quick check online and on youtube shows it to be some faulty capacitors on the power board. They are 10V, 2200uf and rated at 105C on a 12V rail. They simply overheat, expand and sometimes leak. Nothing more than a good old design flaw.
Several people on youtube have tutorials for those who's warranty has expired so don't let anyone soak you on repairs. One lady with no soldering experience did it for less than $40! Its also good to know when calling the repairman when under warranty so as to not get ripped off.
I hope mine goes smoothly as I can't reach anyone until Monday.

[nonoise]

Just an update on the Samsung. All it took was a replacement of 2 capacitors of the 10V kind with 2 of the 16V kind. Both were pushed out on top and it took all of 20 minutes for the repairman to do it under warranty. He was very aware of the problem and said that it has kept him busy for some time now.
If not under warranty, it could set you back $250 if you're not handy (like me) with a soldering iron. He also told me that it happens to just about every Samsung and Sony made as they are made on the same assembly line and share most of the same parts.
Just remember to not use the caps with the same 10V value and all should be okay.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Good information, thank you for that.   

Bob

[Doublej]

If you used a credit card that doubles the warranty for purchases this repair would have been free!

[Bob in St. Louis]

Quote:

it took all of 20 minutes for the repairman to do it under warranty.

[groovybassist]

I have a 40" Sony Bravia and it's been working fine for over 3 years.  I wasn't aware Sony and Samsung were made on the same assembly line - any way to verify this?

[nonoise]

I have a 40" Sony Bravia and it's been working fine for over 3 years.  I wasn't aware Sony and Samsung were made on the same assembly line - any way to verify this?

Sorry, its been too long since I researched this but it was from several sites and from conversations with dealers and repairmen. It seemed to be a given. hdguru.com is one that comes to mind along with cnet.com. I believe it around 2006 that they collaborated with manufacturing and around 2008 Sony went with Sharp. Its all rather incestuous: their sharing of resources and making and breaking of ties.
Here's something:http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/nov2006/gb20061128_546338.htm
The problem isn't endemic to all models, just a lot of them that were made around the same time share the same power supply boards and those two, pesky, undervalued capacitors. The time frame seems to be about two years at most so if nothing has happened, chances are nothing will.
Hope that allays your fears.