Mend > Televisions

Hissing sound after power surge?

I have a Symphonic 32" LCD HDTV, Model # WF37L6

Recently we had a power surge and I quickly snapped the main breaker off in my fuse box. My Microwave and another TV were destroyed but everything else is fine, except my HD TV.

Now when I turn it on, there is a very audible 'hissing' sound, kind of like what crickets chirping constantly would sound like if listened to from far away. The sound is coming from the middle of the TV, on the back. The rest of the TV works just fine. No picture difference, nothing else out of the ordinary.

I read a topic about another TV that had the same problem, but it was standard TV so I didn't know if the solution would work for this TV. The person had said that it was a soldered joint that had got burnt and would be fixed if cleaned and resoldered. I am hesitant to take the case off my HD TV before I even know if that could also be the problem.

I'd rather try to fix it for less than buy a new TV. The warranty is lone gone, so I have little recourse short of claiming it on renter's insurance, which the deductible is $250.

Matt B
December 2008

Symphonic Symphonic WF37L6 Video, Televisions Sound Power Model

blaa blaa blaa

rajat raj singh jhala
November 2009

I'd say it'd be a capacitor as well.

Use your renters ins and use the money less the $250 to repair the broken TV. At the same time I would claim the other broken appliances as well.

Lots of luck.

moo2u
December 2008

You would need to move faster than the speed of light to beat the first surge but throwing your breaker might have saved your stuff from any suges that may have followed...

The hissing sound is obviously coming from a mechanical source - something vibrating and possibly an electronic component and although I doubt that it could be a bad soldered joint it is possible.

One approach you may wish to follow is to remove the back of your TV and use a piece of wood in the manner of a stethoscope (do not use anything conductive).

You can move your listening device around to try and localise the source of the noise - if successful in finding the hissing area you can then decide what to do next.

To examine soldered joints - because of my failing eyesight - I use a watchmaker's eye glass - inexpensive - and a good light source.

My guess is that a relatively large capacitor is begining to fail and this is where the sound is coming from - but that's purely a guess.

Peccavi
December 2008

Oops, model # is WF32L6

Matt B
December 2008