Why Did My Tv Screen Suddenly Go Darker?

I have a Magnavox LCD tv that is 2.5 years old. I have had no previous problems with it whatsoever. Earlier today in the middle of sportscenter the screen went significantly darker- to the point that I can barely see what is on it. The sound works fine, the channel changer works fine. I tried adjusting the brightness, got it to the point where I can make out the words on the side if I get right next to the screen. Anyone know why and how to fix this?

Answer:

sounds like the cold cathode lamp has failed these Tvs only last 4-5 years anyway (which they do not tell you when they buy them) against 15-20 years for the old crt TVs plus they are generally unrepairable, there are thousands of tiny solder joints in them and even if you could tell which one it was there is nothing you can do, if it is the backlight it may be repairable but whether it is economic is a different matter you may be able to buy a new TV for only a little more than the cost of repair

{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

It more than likely has internal problems with the inverter that feeds high voltage to your flourescent backlighting tubes. I have seen several of these problems lately and all the TV's are between 2 and 3 years old. I fixed one today involving replacement of 4 capacitors, one bridge rectifier, one resistor and a fuse. Charges to customer 200 USD.

Try unplugging it for 30 minutes to reset the TV. Hate to give bad news sounds like the light processor went out!

Hope this helps.

I have a magnavox 42 in as well. And as luck would have it right after tha warranty the screen went black one day. So after looking up the problem on the net i discovered there is a real problem with bad capacitors going bad and blowing out. Cheap ones from taiwan and china. After finding out what to look for after opening it it and clearly seeing which ones were blown i ordered replacements, there were three of them. If you are a bit adept with a solder gun you can do this sort of thing. Note of caution though if you open it up be very carefull because the system still holds a charge even when unplugged and can injure you badly. So the replacement parts put in it worked good as new.

Now the darkness problem has come up and from everything I read on a bunch of sites it seems it’s the backlight or the inverter. Might be tricky finding those parts unless you open it up and find the number printed on them and the make etc.

In any case look into it more or end up paying someone a lot of money to fix it. Not all electronics people are honest. You know like auto mechanics :) .

So now my tv is slowly getting darker and have to figure out which part is doing that. Plus there is sort of a long smudge on the screen that looks like a gray cloud that has been there for ages but not noticeable until certain backgrounds come up.

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