Anyone know a reputable TV repair service in the area? One that might even make house calls? 61" RCA DLP TV in need of repair
Not sure who to use, but I do not recommend CEI (Consolidated Electronics Inc) out of North Raleigh. We used them once to repair one of our tvs. After six weeks of "we're working on it", finally "fixing" it (not really), and refusing to return to get it and properly fix it, we disputed the VISA charge for the repair and finally got it reversed. After that we just spent a little more than the original charge for fixing it and got a new tv. If you do find a good service, PLEASE post it here!! Good luck!
Sounds like the experience we've had with AV Tech out of Zebulon. TV went from being slow to come on to stopping all together. They claimed to have put in some new parts and still doesn't work. I really have my doubts they put anything in but a bulb.
I paid for the bulb, but not the color wheel or ballast they claimed to have put in. I got a 60" LED that works great and takes up a lot less space. Was hoping someone could fix the DLP and give to my daughter.
Raymond Davis 919-839-1725 He repaired a TV for us a while back / well 2 years ago. Try the #, maybe he can help you
Slow to come on and then total failure is typically a power board or cooling fan/ temp sensor problem. When you let the "slow on" problem continue without fixing it immediately, the power supply is providing dirty power to all the components and can cause problems throughout out all the boards. It could be a ballast, but normally the power will stay on for a while and then the bulb sensor will shut the TV off off when the bulb won't light from a bad ballast. The same scenario will happen with a bad cooling fan. And RCA's will normally show a cooling fan error #1 or #2 on the screen before shutting down.
I never got an error message on the screen but other than that, you seem to be on to something. After they put a new bulb in, they said it needed a color wheel and I had to leave it on for 10 days while waiting for the part to come in. They put the color wheel in and said it must need a ballast. Then it wouldn't come on at all, and it made a noise like a fan about to fly apart if you tried to turn it on. They came back with a ballast, put it in, and still wouldn't come on and made that noise. That's when they started giving me the big talk about buying a new TV from them. They called back with some prices, but were way too high. What I found interesting was that they supposedly had a new color wheel and ballast in the TV, but had no interest in even making me an offer on the TV that they claimed to put new parts in. I decided just to buy another and try to find someone that seemed more trustworthy to fix it and just give it to my daughter.
Sounds like he mistook the noise as a cracked color wheel when it was actually a fan? And a temp sensor on top of the bulb holder will give them a false diagnostic for the bulb ballast if they don't disconnect it before the test. The fan that typically makes the noise and goes bad is fan #2. It cools the bulb. If the fan RPM's are low, the fan circuit will turn the tv off after it starts and gives you a picture. If the fan RPM's are zero, the TV won't pass the start check and it won't turn on. A hot bulb with zero fan RPM's may cause a fire and not starting is a good safety feature. The #2 fans do go bad on a regular basis, run about $25, and have a pre-wired plug. You won't find one locally, web purchase only. Takes about 30 minutes to install and the web is full of "blow by blow" instructions with pictures. The entire projection carriage is only held in by 2 screws and it slides out for easy fan replacement. Fan #1 is smaller and cools the projection circuit board. It can be seen from the very back after the cover is removed. Hopefully the repair tech did a dust cleaning while he was in there? That's usually all fan #1 needs. If they "actually" put a new wheel, a new bulb, and a new ballast in the set, it's worth repairing. If you decide not to repair pull all 3 and ebay them. You should easily get about $300 for the 3 parts. Take the money and buy a small LCD for your kid. (And then send a thank you note to the tech who couldn't fix the set.:lol::jester::lol PS: The reason everyone has to wait so long for TV repairs is there is no regional distribution on parts and even the Tech Shops go to the web for parts. You can expedite your repair if you tell them up front you'll pay the special delivery cost on parts. Otherwise, they're getting 3 to 5 day free delivery.
