Yesterday, I saved a TV by checking the standby voltage first

I had a customer bring in a flat screen that was totally dead. I mean, instead of going straight for the main board, I just checked the standby power with a multimeter and found a blown fuse. Do you often start with power supply tests for stuff that won't turn on?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan.jamie2d ago

Oh nice, that's the best kind of fix. I mean, it reminds me of this old stereo amp I messed with last year. Everyone online was talking about recapping the whole board, but it just had a single cracked solder joint on the power input. Felt kinda smart for like five minutes before I messed something else up.

the_charlie2d ago

Ha! My buddy did something like that with a game console last month. He replaced the whole power board before realizing it was just a bad cable, which is kind of the opposite of @morgan.jamie's smart fix, honestly.

the_stella9h ago

What makes us skip the easy check and go straight for the hard repair? I spent a whole afternoon taking apart a laptop because it wouldn't turn on, only to find the power button was stuck. It's almost like we want the problem to be big so the fix feels more worth it. But then you end up with extra parts and a bruised ego. Maybe we should all just start with the dumb stuff first.