Sony TV - Vertical Lines Instead of Picture

[aesmith]

Hi,

Our TV which is a Sony KD-43XE8396 has suddenly started display only vertical lines. The lines are some form of corruption of the picture as the change if you press buttons or channels. Sound comes through OK. The symptoms are unchanged if all inputs such as aerial, HDMI etc are disconnected. I've tried various sorts of resets as documented, including holding down "On" and "-" on the TV while connecting power, and the reset process initiated by holding down the soft power button on the remote.

Any ideas, or is it simply knackered? I think it is between four and five years old, and I can't remember the warranty period but have logged with Sony anyway.

Screenshot of the issue ...

 

[Lucid]

Most likely a failed T-Con board.

Modern LED flatscreen TVs have very little inside other than the screen, and the backlighting system, a power supply and a couple of signal processing boards. Replacing a T-con is about one step further on than replacing the toner cartridges in a printer. Youtube has tutorials. Parts available from eBay usually.

 

[aesmith]

Thanks. I looked at some of those tutorials and blogs, and it seems like a "t-con" related problem can be either a fault within the panel, or the t-con board itself. There are various things showing blanking off individual clock lines for example. However I didn't realise a replacement board would be so cheap, so I'll just try that and see. Will move the TV somewhere I can dismantle it without damaging it, getting in the way or losing parts.

Do I have to worry about anti-static doing this sort of work?

 

[Lucid]

Unless you're the sort of person who's always getting static shocks then you should be okay so long as you're not prodding around on the circuits.

 

[aesmith]

Update, it looks like this might be going in an unexpected direction. I had already emailed Sony about the issue, not really expecting much assistance. They came back wanting a proper sales invoice, and when I supplied that they sent me a certificate for a five year warranty, ending this September. They are now treating it as a warranty case, and I am told they will be in touch to arrange delivery of a replacement and collection of the faulty TV.

Shame I've already splashed out £3.95 on a T-Con board, but luckily I have actually started dismantling.

I can't really understand where the 5 year warranty came from, nothing indicates that this is standard. But I'm not going to complain if they come through with the replacement.

 

[Lucid]

Good result though and well done Sony for standing up like that.

 

[aesmith]

I'm deferring my celebrations until the deal is actually done. Sony said their service rep would be in contact within six working hours to arrange the exchange, so should hear from them some time Monday morning.

 

[mattylad]

Keep the T-con board somewhere safe with a description of what it is for written on it, you never know what may happen with the replacement TV.

 

[winston1]

I can't really understand where the 5 year warranty came from, nothing indicates that this is standard. But I'm not going to complain if they come through with the replacement.

It is in the Consumer Rights Act. 6 years protection actually, or 5 in Scotland.

 

[denso13]

It is in the Consumer Rights Act. 6 years protection actually, or 5 in Scotland.

After 6 months the consumer has to prove the item was faulty at the time of purchase, even then it might not be enough.

 

[opps]

After 6 months the consumer has to prove the item was faulty at the time of purchase, even then it might not be enough.

True, but it is awfully difficult for the manufacturer to disprove the report from the "engineer". As @winston1 says, you have 6 years of consumer rights. Any case will be in the small claims court. I don't see a judge finding in favour of the retailer in this situation. I really would be surprised if the retailer sent someone to the court to argue their case- it is too expensive.

 

[aesmith]

It is in the Consumer Rights Act. 6 years protection actually, or 5 in Scotland.

I don't think that's it in this case. Sony web pages even now say standard warranty is 12 months, above that only if you buy additional cover ..

Repair and Warranty

Extended Warranty

Extended Warranty

services.sony.co.uk

That corresponds to my hazy memory from when we bought in in 2017. Currys was offering a two year warranty, but was £100 more expensive and I didn't think it worth the extra for one more year. Furthermore if I use their Warranty Checker and put in the correct model but slightly different serial number it says the warranty expired in 2018 - 12 months. Put in my serial number and it says "Your warranty end date is: 14/09/2022" - five years.

Warranty Checker

services.sony.co.uk

I'm pretty sure this is something to do with my fault report. During the correspondence they wanted to see a proper invoice from the retailer, and shortly after I sent that I received an email titled "The service contract for your Sony product has been updated." and including a PDF certificate with start and end date, terms and conditions etc.

 

[aesmith]

True, but it is awfully difficult for the manufacturer to disprove the report from the "engineer". As @winston1 says, you have 6 years of consumer rights. Any case will be in the small claims court. I don't see a judge finding in favour of the retailer in this situation. I really would be surprised if the retailer sent someone to the court to argue their case- it is too expensive.

Which engineer are you referring to? Surely the consumer would not be treated as an expert witness, it would just be their assertion that something that worked OK for 4.5 years must by definition have been faulty from the start.

 

[denso13]

True, but it is awfully difficult for the manufacturer to disprove the report from the "engineer".

How is anyone realistically going to prove that a 5 year old telly which develops a fault had that fault at the point of sale?

My point was though that the 5/6 year consumer protection isn't just an extended warranty. There is much more to it than that.

 

[denso13]

you have 6 years of consumer rights

Sometimes, not always.