Hello all, a few weeks ago my LG 55' 55LK520 was damaged during a lightning storm. Now I only get a slow flashing red light when I try to turn it on. The light follows no pattern, just a constant flash. I opened it up and didn't find anything that appeared to be burnt, although a few capacitors on the the Power Board were a little crooked. The TV was plugged up to a surge protector, like the last TV that was taken out during a lightning storm. The funny thing is, both times only the TV was damaged. None of the other components hooked up to the TV were, not the Satellite Receiver, not the VCR player. I've read that all the TV may need replaced is the power board, but if that isn't the issue here, I'd be out of $50. What do you guys think, can it be fixed, or am I out of luck?
Lightning Damaged TV Repair
- Thread starter Chuckn2x
- Start date
You had the TV on a surge protector, did you also have coax going in or only HDMI? If you had just HDMI or the like going in, then look up your surge protector's manufacturer, most will pay for repair/replace up to a certain value if you can prove it was damaged while on the protector. It might be a hard fight, though.
The other devices may have survived because of internal overload protection, or just built to tolerate surges better.
How old was the protector? If it's the same old one that cooked your last TV, then you're looking at paying for repair yourself. Surge protectors are self-sacrificing, they destroy themselves inside to shunt the surge away from the devices plugged in. Small surges will slowly deplete the protector's capacity to protect, and a big surge can leave a protector fully spent. Always get a new surge protector after a major power spike, and in general assume they are useless after about a year to six months (Or however long the warranty lasts.)
For the TV repair, if you're lucky it's just a 20 cent fuse or two on the power supply board. If you're not so lucky it could be parts of the power supply board, which can be a simple replace job. But if it's beyond that if some of the display electronics got fried (Being a name brand like LG, it shouldn't) it could be listed as BER (Beyond Economical Repair)
If the TV also had a coax going in, that can cause damage to the electronics and bypass the surge protection entirely, which is why some surge protectors have coax jacks on them, as well as phone/modem jacks.
The other devices may have survived because of internal overload protection, or just built to tolerate surges better.
How old was the protector? If it's the same old one that cooked your last TV, then you're looking at paying for repair yourself. Surge protectors are self-sacrificing, they destroy themselves inside to shunt the surge away from the devices plugged in. Small surges will slowly deplete the protector's capacity to protect, and a big surge can leave a protector fully spent. Always get a new surge protector after a major power spike, and in general assume they are useless after about a year to six months (Or however long the warranty lasts.)
For the TV repair, if you're lucky it's just a 20 cent fuse or two on the power supply board. If you're not so lucky it could be parts of the power supply board, which can be a simple replace job. But if it's beyond that if some of the display electronics got fried (Being a name brand like LG, it shouldn't) it could be listed as BER (Beyond Economical Repair)
If the TV also had a coax going in, that can cause damage to the electronics and bypass the surge protection entirely, which is why some surge protectors have coax jacks on them, as well as phone/modem jacks.
Not sure if it is the same surge protector as last time, but both the coaxial and HDMI were plugged in. It's my neighbor's TV, not mine. They said I could have it to try and fix it since they aren't too tech savvy(not in the least). I believe there were coaxial ports on the surge protector, but they didn't bother to use them. The surge protector, as well as the DirectTV receiver both function perfectly fine still. Like I said, no burn marks, no charring, the only thing that looks a bit off are some slightly bent capacitors on the Power Board, and barely even noticeably so. No bulging on them at all.
THe surge strip doesn't always char, and will continue to supply power, just no protection if it's used up. THe caps don't need to be totally straight, and don't always bulge if failed.
If the damage was a surge through the coax, then the I/O board could be damaged, and that's going to be what you need to look at replacing. With the two potential points of entry for a power-surge, you're better off taking it to a shop.
If the damage was a surge through the coax, then the I/O board could be damaged, and that's going to be what you need to look at replacing. With the two potential points of entry for a power-surge, you're better off taking it to a shop.
That's what I figured. If it's the main board that is fried, then will it even be worth the price to get the TV checked and buy a replacement board? I believe it was almost $1000 when they bought it, but they bought a replacement model for around $600.
You are ready to learn what protectors really do. Read its numeric specs. Its near zero numbers say it does not claim to protect from destructive surges. Worse, an adjacent protector can sometimes make surge damage easier. Start by learning how a surge works.
Lightning is a connection from the cloud to earthborne charges maybe five miles distant. A shortest path may be three miles down to earth. And four miles through earth. If that path goes inside your house, a surge then hunts destructively for appliances that make a best connection to those distant charges.
First that current is everywhere in that seven mile path. Much later something in that path (ie your TV) is damaged. If lightning strikes AC electric wires far down the street, then a surge is incomng to all household appliances. Are all damaged? Of course not. This is called electricity. Current only flows if both an incoming and an outgoing path exists. Incoming on AC mains. What is a best outgoing path to distant charges? TV cable. Damage may be on a TV's cable connection since that is a best outgoing path to earth (due to surge protection routinely installed by the cable company). Adjacent appliances (ie Tivo) did not make a better path. The TV protected those other appliances.
Many see a damaged cable connection. Ignore the exist cable company installed protection. Then only assume a surge was incoming on cable. That damage was on the outgoing path. Evident only by first learning how surges do damage. Note that another made a conclusion without first learning this stuff.
Smarter is to connect electricity to earth BEFORE it enters a building. But that means obscene profit margins attached to plug-in protectors would be harmed. They will say anything to keep you confused. The original and effective device, called a surge protector, actually provided protection. But if two completely different devices (the effective and the ineffective) have a same name, then you will buy one with more expensive advertising. An adjacent protector can only block or absorb surges. Its hundreds of joules will absorb surges that are hundreds of thousands of joules? Of course not. That two centimter part will stop what three miles of sky could not? Many make that assumption rather than first learn 100 years of well proven science.
Protection is never provided by a protector. Protection is where hundreds of thousands of joules harmlessly dissipate. That is single point earth ground located at the service entance. Connect every incoming utility wire low impedance (ie 'less than 10 feet') to an earthing electrode. Cable already has that connection (best protection) via a hardwire. Cable needs no protector. But AC electric cannot connect directly to earth. So we do a next best thing. Connect via a 'whole house' protector using a same low impedance (ie less than 10 feet) connection to earth. Hardwire or protector do same - connect hundreds of thousands of joules to what absorbs that energy.
Protectors that are 'used up' were grossly undersized to increase profits and to fail frequently. A surge too tiny to damage an appliance can destroy the protector. That gets the naive to recommend those undersized and obscenely profitable protector.
Remove the TV and a surge will hunt for earth via the air conditioner, clocks, dishwasher, refrigerator,
A surge earthed BEFORE entering the building will not go hunting for earth destructively via your TV or any other appliance. This superior solution, that unfortunately shares a same name, costs about $1 per protected appliance. How much did you pay for a plug-in protector that also does not claim any such protection? Tens or 100 times more money?
Surge protection means direct lightning strikes without damage to anything. You learned the hard way that plug-in protectors do not claim that protection. In some cases, those protectors can make appliance damage easier or even cause a house fire if a 'whole house protector is not properly earthed.
Protectors are simple science. Protectors do not do protection. Protectors only connect to what absorbs energy. The 'art' of protection is the device that so many ignore due to advertising. A protector is only as effective as the other device - the protection. Single point earth ground. Not knowing this is why damage occurred.
Took it to a TV repairman. Told me that there were a few blown capacitors on the power board, as well as a bad main board, then proceeded to tell me that the cost to repair would be over $300. I did a quick search on ebay and found that both the power supply and main board could be replaced for around $100, and replacing the main doesn't look much more difficult than replacing a motherboard in a pc.
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