Panasonic TH-42PZ700U problem, research, repair.

Warning - If you have this TV, upgrade the firmware now. I dont know if it prevents the defect for sure, but others that have repaired this set, and upgraded the firmware, have not experienced the problem again.

A year and a half ago, my wife and I went looking for a new HDTV for the bedroom.

We looked at several in the $1000 range, but ended up buying the $2000 42 inch Panasonic TH-42PZ700U.

It was great.

Until thirteen and a half months later. One month after the warranty expired, the set would turn on, and then shut off. Then the power LED blinked seven times, paused, and blink seven times.

I was disappointed, to say the least. Our Hitachi big screen has been in use for 10+ years without any issues. So I expected more from new technology.

A call to Panasonic was of no help, as the TV was out of warranty, and they didn't have any records of common problems with that model. They told me to contact a service center, which I did, and got an estimate of $500 to $1000 for repair, $300 just to look at the set.

A little bit of research online, and looking through service manuals posted, and a flowchart for the specific issue, and I was brought to the conclusion that it was the SC/SD/SU boards and possibly the SS board. Most likely the SC board.

I found the parts online, so I ordered the SC board.

While that was on the way, I found other discussions saying that it more than likely would be all three, so I bought the SD/SU boards.

I went ahead and swapped out all three boards, and do you think that the problem was gone(it should have been), no it was not.

After discussions with others, I purchased the SS board, and swapped that out on the set.

Still flashing seven times.

Why does that red LED mock me so?

I went through the troubleshooting flowchart again, and it had to be the SC board.

I rolled the dice one more time, and after getting assurances that the company tests the functionality, I bought an SC board via ebay that was salvaged from a Panasonic TH-42PZ700U that had a cracked screen.

I put that SC board in the TV, and voila, the TV powered up and stayed on. The first board I bought was damaged, and sold to me as functioning.

Great, but not all of the lines were on, across my static-y screen.

I was both happy, and sad. Maybe the screen was damaged when the board failed, I was giving up on the set, and looking at pricing for another non-Panasonic TV.

I couldn't sleep last night, so I went to look at the TV one last time before I bought another one. I read a couple of forum postings with people saying that it's rarely a bad screen.

Here's a hint to save you a lot of time. Don't take the ribbon cables off of the SD/SU boards if you are not replacing them, and replace the SC board and nothing else first.

There are eight cables that are split between the SD/SU boards, and they each have one pin for each line on the TV. So you may get areas where every-other line is displayed, and areas where every line is displayed.

The ribbon cables are a pain in the rear to get back in properly, so you will need to clean each one, and make sure that the cable is pushed in all of the way, and then flip the clamp down. Check the screen, and repeat until all scan lines are displayed.

I started from the top, disconnecting the ribbon below the one I was working on to isolate the section of the screen related to the cable I was trying to get cleaned and seated.

I finished putting the TV back together, and if it stays functioning, I will be happy.

The firmware has been upgraded, and the set is ready to go back on the wall.

Based on the customer service experience, and denial of a problem that you can find with a few minutes and a search engine, I would NOT buy another Panasonic TV again.

I just dont understand a company that doesn't bother to do searches to see how they are doing, and publish the findings back to their employees. If I could find a lot of people with the same issue, then so could they.