Mits WS-55859, Blink of Death

[tsmith2155]

So I have this blinking timer light issue where the unit will not power on at all, no matter what you do or try. I researched a much a possible and tonight I pulled my DM board out and the caps look fine to me. Not swollen a bit from what I can visually see. I know the swelling can be very slight, but they seriously look fine to me. I know at this point I should probably get it looked at, but what else could my issue be? I fear this outrages bill from some redneck with his butt crack showing. Ok, that's extreme, but I don't want to pay a lot if I don't have to. What else can I check and where? Thanks.

[Telstar]

Hi tsmith2155,

First of all, I'm not a repair tech so, take what I say along with that proverbial pinch of sodium chloride.

We know from the experiences of many that have posted on this board that the problem like the one you are describing has been resolved by replacing those blue, 1000uF16V electrolytic capacitors...with the caveat.."swollen".

What we don't know is, even if the caps show no sign of damage, could the same (blinking timer light, unit will not power on) issue be fixed by replacing those caps. In other words, could your caps, even though they appear to be ok, actually be the cause of your problem?

We don't know and, we won't know for sure unless someone, as in your situation, goes ahead and R/R's them.

So, up to you.
You've already pulled the DM...if you have the soldering skills to be able to work on a PCB, you could try to replace the caps and see what happens.
Worse case, you need to call in professional help, which is the stage you're pretty much at right now.

Good luck! :)

[lcaillo]

So I have this blinking timer light issue where the unit will not power on at all, no matter what you do or try. I researched a much a possible and tonight I pulled my DM board out and the caps look fine to me. Not swollen a bit from what I can visually see. I know the swelling can be very slight, but they seriously look fine to me. I know at this point I should probably get it looked at, but what else could my issue be? I fear this outrages bill from some redneck with his butt crack showing. Ok, that's extreme, but I don't want to pay a lot if I don't have to. What else can I check and where? Thanks.

Uh, how about searching out a tech that is not a redneck, but crack showing yahoo. Some of us are not, and some of us go out of our way to help people like you for free. If you are not willing to try replacing the caps as was suggested above, and you can't troubleshoot the problem yourself, I guess you are stuck with the butt crack guy.

[tsmith2155]

Thanks for the replies and the butt crack comment was a joke and out of fear of getting someone that just wants to charge me as much as possible to fix the problem. I know there are good techs as well and I hope that's who's coming next Wednesday to take a look at the issue. The lady I spoke with said it could also be fuse or something else minor, could that be true as well?

Everyone talks most about the caps issue, I was just wanting your feedback on what else could cause this issue so I could be a little more informed when the tech comes. Thanks again. I miss my 55", stuck watching a 19" tube (yuck). :headb:

[Telstar]

We're most interested in what is found by the tech next Wednesday to resolve your WS-55859 "Blink of death" issue.

By your observation the electrolytic capacitors are not swollen so, let's see just what the culprit is in your case.
Could it be, as speculated "a fuse or something else minor"?
(if only)

Or, will the final solution be to replace the entire DM? (uh oh, now we're really talkin' "big bucks").

For all the other WS-55859 owners who might find this thread through a search and have a similar failure they will be interested in just what was determined to finally return your set back to working order (e.g. cost of the service call/repair, troubleshoot findings, and final fix).

Thanks for all your input tsmith2155.
Good luck!

:)

[tsmith2155]

Tech had to reschedule. But they are coming out for $65.00, which as normal will be applied to any repairs. They have rescheduled for this Friday. Again thanks for the input and I will post the results once we find out what's going on.

[tsmith2155]

Tech looked at the TV, sorta (turned it on, light still blinks, opened the back, got the DM part number and wrote up an estimate). They didn't even take the casing off the DM. Said they need to take it into the shop to fix it. They are just confident it's the DM module and that it would be anywhere from $200 - $400 for parts and $449 for service. That's $850 bucks for this 2002 TV. They seemed somewhat knowledgable, but were very quick to write the quote.

I mentioned I pulled the DM board and none of the caps looked swollen to me and he mentioned some smaller caps or something (silverish) that could also be bad. Does that make sense?

They said it's 50/50 that it can be rebuilt. This #$^@$# sucks. I want Mitsubishi to pay for it since it's so common. These techs said they see it often. So I question the techs lazy diagnostics and the cost for repair on this one. :boo2: Not sure what I'm going to do at this point. Does anyone know where I can buy a new DM board myself? Doesn't look that hard to replace.

[lcaillo]

50/50 means that they won't even try to rebuild it and will just order a replacement and hope that it solves the problem. It likely will, as most problems that cause the constant flashing do relate to the DM. If you checked the caps and found that they were OK, however, you don't have much of a beef with Mitsubishi. The common problem IS the caps, and the other possibilities are rare. The DM is a complex board, yet other than the capacitor problems, they have been quite reliable. In fact, even though we likely have hundreds of sets out there with Mits DMs, I have only serviced two for the cap problem over the years. One of those was not even purchased from us.

It always appears that you have a product that is inherently unreliable when you have the problem and read about others that have as well. If it was not for the internet, you would not even know about the problems others have had. Considering the tens of thousands of DMs that Mits sold, the problem may not be as widespread as you seem to think. If it was, we would have seen a lot more of them come back, since virtually all of our clients call us when they have a problem.

Your set is 5 years old. To have a problem that costs $850 to fix is not a happy situation, but it does happen. Things break. In general, however, I am happy that we were selling those Mits sets and not a lot of other brands. I would have a lot more customer relations headaches if it had been most other brands.

[tsmith2155]

So you want to buy a WS-55859 for $500.00?? It needs a DM (probably).

One last question. Is it really difficult to replace the DM board yourself? :sightv:

[lcaillo]

Not really difficult at all if you are the kind of person that can take something complex apart and put it back together and not wonder what to do with the extra screws and parts.

[tsmith2155]

So how do I get my hands on a DM board? Will Mitsubishi sale me one or do I have to go through a repair shop and tell them I just want the part? Thanks for comments by the way.

[lcaillo]

WS55859 DM part # 935C939001 currently shows unavailable. Since the boards are in short supply and in their refurbishing program, they may only sell them through ASCs and require that the defectives be sent back for rebuilding. There is currently not an ETA listed. The board may be able to be field repaired if the servicer is willing to attempt any serious troubleshooting. Also, your conclusion that the caps are not the problem may prove to be incorrect and the DM may not need to be replaced at all. There could also be a problem somewhere else.

The bottom line is that if you can't troubleshoot it properly yourself, you should not attempt to repair it by assuming you need to replace the DM. This is likely why there is a shortage of boards. Too many consumers and techs jump to the conclusion that this is an easy solution. Mitsubishi, unfortunately, has promoted this idea.

[tsmith2155]

As I understand it the first thing in initialization is the DM board (light blinks for 60 to 90 seconds). Since mine never stops blinking, doesn't the problem MOST LIKELY have to do with the DM board? Also, the tech wrote down part number Q594A002 C10 for the DM board. That's different than what you wrote. ??? BUT, he got this number off the DM case (I think), as I said, he never cracked open the DM case like I did.

Thanks for checking for me. It seems this whole thing is going to be too much in time and money for this 5 year old unit. I mean, what do you estimate this set worth, from what I find it's around $700 - $900 at best.

Strongly considering a replacement TV at this point. Thanks again for the input. Looking forward to your next comments.

[Telstar]

the tech wrote down part number Q594A002 C10 for the DM board. That's different than what you wrote.
lcaillo can correct me if I'm way off base here but, the designator on a PCB for the location of a capacitor (e.g. C5, C6, C9,) could be that C10 number.
Or, it could mean something entirely different in regards to what the tech wrote down. And also, you say the tech never removed the DM from it's protective shield so, he wouldn't have been able to locate C10 anyway.
Ok, just food for thought wondering what the significance of C10 is in relation to the tech's determination of the source of the problem and why he recorded that particular number.

And, just my two pesos worth...
$850 bucks is certainly a major financial output to get your set repaired, no doubt about it. If it were a newer set, out of warranty, then perhaps it could be justified but, but since you are considering a replacement TV, if might have been worth attempting to replace those caps that have shown to be the cause of many shutdowns like the one you're experiencing...and maybe, just maybe, it would have resurrected the set. I don't know, this is all speculation on my part of course...that's why it's only valued at two pesos.

:)

[PerfectTV]

We are currently servicing the same model. This particular model will NOT have the cap problem. The whole dm assembly will have to be replaced. The DM is not expensive like it use to be. So the repair is affordable for our customers.

Scott
Perfect Television INC.
Authorized Mitsubishi Factory Service Center

[gadgeteer]

Hi,

I had some problem with my HDTV as well but a different model. I recently found some help in a free tech support site that have live chat support that you can use for free as well... I highly recommend it and I am sure you will find some solutions there as well.

Here is the page for Mitsubishi WS-55859 Support (http://www.fixya.com/support/p153420-mitsubishi_ws_55859_55_in_rear)

Good luck

Gary