Panasonic Plasma TV's - power supply problem?

Add me to the list of extremely disappointed purchasers of Panasonic plasmas from Crutchfield.  I bought my TH-50PX600U in September 2006.  It went out a couple of weeks ago, Novemter 2008, with a one-blink code.  The repair technician has been to the house 3 times, replaced the "D-Board" and the "P-Board" in succession and had no luck in repairing the television.  This has cost me $280 in addition to the $3,599 I paid for the unit just 2 years ago.  The next step is to send it in to the shop for an estimate of an additional $700 to repair, but no guarantee that it can be repaired for this price.  Basically, Panasonic and Crutchfield have both declined to do anything about the defective product they sold me.  I have been a Crutchfield customer since the 80's and referred many new customers to them over the years.  I am extremely disappointed in both Crutchfield and in the Panasonic product.  I will never buy another Panasonic product again, and I will most likely find another retailer to purchase from.  Even though they have revised their return policy for large electronics recently, if I had purchased a plasma from Costco, I would already be watching a replacement, and not wasting my time writing to blogs. Check out my posting on Yelp.com, and think about adding your experience about Crutchfield and Panasonic to Yelp. Maybe we can get these companies to do the right thing and make good their defective products.

Our Customer Support Team is currently working directly with GregT and Panasonic to determine what options there may be to resolve these issues with a TV that is out of the manufacturer’s warranty period.

In response to my Panasonic problem, I am very happy to report that Crutchfield has gone way beyond the call, for a large retailer, to resolve this for me.  My Panasonic plasma was out of warranty, and Crutchfield stepped to the plate and gave me the best deal I could have hoped for under the circumstances.  I am still out of pocket a lot more money than I wanted to be, but sometimes that's the way it goes.  Thank you, Crutchfield, for doing what you could do.  Panasonic, however, declined to do anything.  As a matter of fact, Panasonic could not provide an authorized service shop to even look at the unit,  refused to authorize any other qualified repair shop to work on the TV, and refused to participate in the resolution of this problem. Outrageous position for Panasonic to take, if you ask me.  I'm done with Panasonic for life.  On the other hand, I will be a return customer to Crutchfield for my next non-Panasonic electronics purchase. Thanks again, Crutchfield.

You've got to be extremely lucky if you're still under warranty when the blinking lights start. My 42PZ700U is blinking seven times - and it's curious this started one week after the one year warranty expired. Panasonic recommended three techs and whoever shows up first will get the job. Panasonic  support also acted surprised by the blinking lights - like they'd never heard of anyone with this problem. I'm hoping I get it repaired at a reasonable price then sell it for a more reliable brand. This is the last Pana I will buy.

I perchased 50" Panasonic Plasma this summer.  This morning I turn on the TV it.  Power button keeps blinking int RED on and off 7 times.  What's wrong with it?? 

dont know if you still need help on this but e-mail me on vernondsingh*yahoo,com (where * is @ and , is .)

<Mod Edit: Modified E-mail address to foil Spam-Bots.  Thank me later.>

I have the Panasonic TH-42PZ77U.  I started getting the seven (7) blinking lights today.  I pulled out my receipt, and it turns out that I bought the unit on Jan 12, 2008.  I'm less than 1 week out of warranty!  Does anyone have any suggestions? 

I have the same model TH-42PZ77U, about 15 months old.  Started getting the (7) blinking lights today.  It was working fine till today afternoon,  and later in the evening it refuses to start.  Need to pull out the receipts and start making calls.

Reading the reviews, it looks like I should be prepared to be without the TV set for SuperBowl......

 

 

 

Update ----

 I called the warranty company, faxed all the receipts and everything.  Now the repairman is suppose to call me back to setup an appointment.  Its been 5 days.  Still waiting.....

 

I think I had it with these small shops, or ones with few locations.  The warranty company is a seperate company and has nothing to do with the store.  I think going forward I am going to stick with the nationwide chain stores or specifically COSTCO.....

Or how about Crutchfield?  Any time someone has posted about a problem with a product purchased from them Crutchfield has either taken care of it or prodded the manufacturer or service provider to.

I purchased this exact same model June 2006 and the same exact problem just happened 2/20/09.  I guess I'm not so lucky b/c my extended warranty is up and I'm furious.  Do you have any idea of what it would have cost to fix the problem on your TV should it not have been under warranty?  Who I should call to fix it should the estimated cost of repair be worth it versus buying a new TV?  Thanks.

Add me to the list.   Panasonic TH-42PX60U purchased from Crutchfield. Was working fine until the picture just went out last week. Only difference is that I'm getting 2 blinks, not seven.  I went to the Panasonic website..under FAQ's it suggests you unplug the TV and plug it in again... that did nothing.  I called the Panasonic Plasma Concierge customer service number, but they just suggested I call a repairman.  I spoke with Crutchfield on the phone.  The technician was nice enough, but couldn't find any information on the blinking light (???seems strange since I found this blog??).   Any help will be appreciated

The number of blinks does indicate a particular fault. I am not by any means a TV expert.. but have some basic Electronics knowledge and I've been digging around the net and asking people about this problem. I believe 2 blinks may mean either the power supply board in the TV is dead or the DC-DC converter board (which also should include a lot of other components such as the HDMI inputs, Digital Signal Processor units) or both are dead. I had the blinking LED problem (blinking 10 times, pauses... then blinks again) and I believe that it's power supply board. I can't fix this problem myself, I just don't have the needed work station or the Technical confindence in fixing TVs.. but It's probably worth fixing. My opinion is that as long as your Plasma Panel is OK, then it's just replacing one of the defective boards. At any rate, be prepared to spend at least between $250 - $400 in repairs (parts & labor). For whatever it's worth, nearly everyone I talked to who had this problem (even a TV repair person) says that Panasonic Plasma TVs are the best, I tend to agree with this statement.

I tend to agree. While I haven't purchased may items from Crutchfield, I've had nothing but good experience with 'em.

I have been following this thread on more than one site regarding Panasonic plasma TV sets with their power supply problems. Also, became interested in Crutchfield's handling of this customer (Greg T). I am about to purchase a new HDTV set and had narrowed it down to Pioneer (even though I know they are getting out of the plasma TV business) and Panasonic, or a Sony LCD . Two things have become obvious: Panasonic has a big problem that they are handling poorly and Crutchfield came through, as best they could, for this customer. I will seriously consider Crutchfield as a vendor and have decided not to purchase a Panasonic product.