psycho wrote:Possible good news. First, and I should have said this before, the case is not broken - I cannot tell where it hit. But better than that, I did the little test that externet told me about and we could see an image! I moved the maglight around to several parts of the screen and we can't see anywhere where it is cracked.
So, since I see an image, does that mean that the glass is NOT cracked (i.e. is it an all-or-nothing test result)???
Thanks!
Kevin
First off....
Check every part of the screen!
Make sure there has been no damage to the LCD glass.
Even if it is cracked, some areas may still work.
But any dead area's on the screen will be hard to see, or make out.
If you can, connect up a Color Bar Generator.
Set the Generator for a White, or Gray Screen.
Thus, with the flashlight carefully go over every square inch of the screen.
Once your fairly sure the LCD glass is okay.
Then get a blanket, double fold it.
Place the Television on it, face down.
Now start removing the back cover.
This can be tricky, as you may find some parts of the set are mounted to the back cover.
IMPORTANT: Take pictures of what your doing as you disassemble the set.
Have small bags on hand to put the screws in and label them.
If you don't have a camera handy.
You can do simple diagrams of the set.
Showing what screws went where.
Connector wire diagrams.
{Even if you have a Camera, having a diagram is a great help!}
With the back cover removed, look for the CFL lamps.
Pay attention to the ends where the wire attaches.
See if it is loose, or the end of the glass tube has snapped.
Check the ends to see if they are blackened.
This is an indication that the seal on of the lamp has failed.
If you can't see any physical damage.
The next step is to carefully remove the shielding around to tubes, checking for breakage.
If the tubes are intact, you'll then need to check the voltages from the backlight inverter.
If voltages are missing, consider replacing the backlight inverter.
{If it is on a separate board from the rest of the set.}
Otherwise...
Start testing the driver transistors, and checking for popped Capacitors.
Burned or open Resistors, and Diodes.
Note: Most of the components are going to be SMD type.
So, if your at this point, your probably going too need to find a schematic.
Just to know what some of the SMD components are.
Good Luck!
Signed: Janitor Tzap