Watching TV this morning (Panasonic THD-42PWD6UY 42" plasma), an odd thing happened. The picture suddenly went blank and the power light (green when lit, red in standby) was flashing red. Attempting to turn it back on via remote control. I cycled power from the front (remote goes in and out of standby while the front panel actually turns it off) and nothing happened. Finally, I left it off for 20 seconds, turned it on and everything was back to normal. 10 minutes later it happened again. And then again.
So I'm contemplating that my plasma has failed and I'll be fighting for a warranty replacement. A visit to my toolkit proved me wrong. Using a simple circuit tester showed that the outlet was ungrounded, along with the other three outlets on the string. The power strip also indicated not grounded (although it only flickers elsewhere in the house that the tester says is grounded). An extension cord from another outlet solved the problem. Apparently the Panasonic plasma automatically shuts itself off if it detects an electrically unsafe condition and starts flashing the red standby light.
So I'm buying a Ideal 61-155 SureTest Circuit Analyzer from mytoolstore.com. I haven't experienced their service but they have a great selection of high-end and specialty tools at very good prices. I've wanted to buy a high-end analyzer for a while so this was the perfect excuse. It's unclear what it will tell me -- I'm hoping one of the outlets will read differently (and need replacing). Or I can troubleshoot at the breaker panel. Otherwise its down to the crawlspace (difficult in the depths of winter) to take apart the electrical junction for the string of outlets. Probably corroded or nibbled by critters.
Just a contribution to googlespace. Couldn't find anything similar.
Edit: About 2-3% of all Panasonic plasmas manufactured between June and August have this problem. It has to do with an out of spec component in the power supply. It's exhaustively documented on avsforum though Panasonic has not acknowledged it publicly or with a service bulletin. It's amazing how big 2-3% of people can sound when they're perturbed and have all gathered in a specialist community -- sounds more like 80% (which would be ten thousand posts instead of several hundred). I'm wishing I hadn't bought the broadcast model now -- warranty requires delivery to a service center.
I am having exactly the same issue with exactly the same Panasonic plasma TV. As I have no electrical skills, I shall be calling Panasonic today for assistance. Of course I am one month out of warranty. I'm just hoping that since you posted this ten or so months ago Panasonic has been forced to come up with an easy fix for this. Thanks so much!
Posted by: Leslie | December 27, 2004 at 10:00 AM
Having the same issue.
TH-42PWD6
Great display, First occuarance was 14 months after purchase.(5 days ago) Display started shutting off. Initially after extended use(12hrs), but progressively shorter, now in 20 minutes. Hear a brief high piched whine when starting it up which was not there a week ago. Also get the whine when it shuts down. Green power indicator light goes to red. Appears to be blinking a code, but not sure. Planning to take it in. Has anyone heard about a recall? Please contact if you have any information.
Posted by: john | January 11, 2005 at 01:10 AM
Exact same model and exact same problem. Now 15 months since purchase (3 months out of warranty). If anyone hears of a recall or Pansonic sponsored fix I'd appreciate a quick note back. What's pathetic about their actions to date - is that once the lawyers get involved in a class action - they'll spend many millions more than just doing the right thing now. Thanks
Posted by: Rob | February 06, 2005 at 12:14 PM
Having exact same issue with TH42PWD6 - 18 months old - going to contcat AV-Sales /Panasonic tomorrow - absolutrly gutted!! Plesae pass on any info if positive result found on out of warranty fix!
Posted by: Chris | May 08, 2005 at 06:28 PM
Day two for me. Played ten minutes of a video then screen shut off and blinking power light started. My first plasma and this is what my money gets? (th-50phd8uk)
It now shuts down after a minute or so.
Posted by: Mike | December 24, 2005 at 05:45 PM
My monitor receives ONLY video signals from 3 sources, depending on use--cable, VCR, Playstation. VCR and Playstation can go for days without monitor shutting down. But on Cable signal, monitor goes on standby in 20-30 minutes. There's a digital cable box in there tho, so I bypassed the cable box with a VCR and resolved the issue. THUS, something in the cable box appears to be causing the issue. Note--the cable box does not have a grounded plug, but it isn't sending power to the monitor, only a video signal.
Posted by: Randy | February 12, 2006 at 09:02 PM
Experiencing the same problem with our TH-42PWD6. Sometimes we get 4 hours out of it, sometimes it's 20 minutes. Out of curiosity, I did notice that after changing the power source from one outlet to another, the performance seemed to improve... I also noticed that the surge protector we have isn't lighting up anymore on the rocker switch. I am going to try plugging the strip into a different power source to see if there is a problem with the outlet or the surge protector. Depending on results, we may try a new surge protector to see if that helps the situation.
Posted by: Randy5280 | March 28, 2006 at 09:09 PM
Anyone have any updates on this issue? My TH-42PWD6 has suffered the same illness after about 2 years of use. It would be great to direct the technician to the exact problem. Thanks.
Posted by: Ryan | April 04, 2006 at 06:58 PM
I have TH42PWD6, it is just short of 3 years ols and has just this weekend started exhibiting the same problem. I will check the electrical supply in the room in case it helps.
Posted by: Paul Stafford | July 16, 2006 at 08:51 AM
I have the 50" Panasonic, brand new.
I get a great picture for 10 minutes. Then the screen (not the power light) goes red - bright red. If I turn it off and back on immediately, it stays red. If I turn it off and leave it off for 15 minutes, it is a good picture again for 10 minutes, until it goes red again.
Anyone experience this problem? It seems different from the green light to red light issue everyone else has posted about.
Posted by: Paul Bazil | September 12, 2006 at 09:46 AM
installed a 37" panasonic plasma in customers home. It shut down after 30min with HDMI hooked up from Panasonic DVD player. Sent to service, they could not reproduce the problem for a month. Put it back in the customers home and problem started again after a few weeks. sounds like the power issue is the problem. will update when solved.
Posted by: Justin Burkhaulter | November 21, 2006 at 12:08 PM
If anyone finds any information on this could they contact me. i got a 58" plasma just bought it and this light keeps blinking 7 times then restartes the blink sequence.. plz contact me or i am also on msn messanger under the same email
Posted by: Kirk Davis | November 27, 2006 at 01:09 AM
I have just experienced the problem on my TH42PE50 Plasma. Bought on 18 November 2005 so again just 14 months old. I will be calling out the local service centre tomorrow. Set was working great in the morning but, when I tried to turn it on at night, it tried to switch on but then it clicked and the standby light started flashing red.
Posted by: Jim Brown | January 14, 2007 at 01:17 PM
My panasonic plasma TV shut off and the red light started flashing. I called a tech and he counted how many times the light blinked and was able to tell what the problem was. He ordered a new power supply, but the part took so long to arrive, I was given a new tv. I now have the part and looking for a buyer. PANASONIC TH-42PD25 OR TH-37PD25 TNPA3266 POWER SUPPLY. I have it listed on ebay at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:31&item=160075067536
Posted by: Danny | January 17, 2007 at 09:54 AM
I have the same problem. what do i do? I bought my Panny in the USA but have since move to the Philippines.
Posted by: Benson Ng | January 17, 2007 at 08:10 PM
I have a 42" Panasonic purchased 15 months ago and the picture went out and the light blinks 11 times.
Posted by: jon | January 31, 2007 at 11:29 AM
My Panasonic is almost 4 years old. 1 year ago, started the high pitch whine and red flashing light as screen went black. Then it stopped doing this and worked fine for last year. Just started doing it again last week. TV shuts down every 30 min to 1 hour with the flashing red light. Is it worth repairing? I am in Atlanta.
Posted by: GANTT | February 04, 2007 at 07:30 PM
Watched my Panasonic TH42PX600U for 5 minutes before it shutdown and the power LED blinked 7 times. Service tech said that it's either the SD, SC, or SU board in the TV. Basically a major failure in my opinion. Someone else posted that it cost them $550 to replace the SD board. Thank God I mentioned the blink code because they wanted to send a PSU instead of the boards. Would have taken longer to fix...
I love buying a high ticket item and not being able to use it. Next time I'll wait for a local deal so I can swap.
Posted by: Steve | February 06, 2007 at 02:39 PM
Same thing just happened to me last night that happened to Steve. Watched my brand new, just delivered Panasonic TH42PX600U for maybe 15-20 minutes -- looked really good by the way -- then poof, nothing. Same blink code: seven red blinks. Hopefully this can get fixed before March Madness.
Posted by: Mark | February 17, 2007 at 10:35 AM
I had the same issue as GANTT. My Panasonic is 3.5 years old, and I had the same problem a year or so ago and it magically fixed itself. This time, no such luck. The only way to turn TV back on is turn off power from circuit breaker (easier as TV is mounted to the wall). Sometimes this works for a day, other times works for a minute. Retailer suggested first try unplugging the TV for an hour, then plug back in. TV will reset itself. Didn't work. I too am looking for a solid solution.
Posted by: Patreekio | February 26, 2007 at 02:11 PM
hey guys, havingg the exact problem, anyone closer to a solution or an exact part number to replace.
Posted by: David | February 28, 2007 at 09:05 PM
Just had mine fixed to the tune of $400. The part for the power supply only costs $50 and looked pretty easy to fix... The tiny part is called an INTEGRATED CIRCUIT #C5HABZZ00123. I guess you would need to make sure it fits your model....
Posted by: faye | March 01, 2007 at 05:53 PM
I have spent the better part of 2 days trying to get some answers. I can not even find my model on Panasonics web page. When I called customer service they wanted to sell me a power cable. I digress. My issue is the same as others on this thred. 5 blinking lights then shuts down but not totaly off. I believe the 5 blinks says that the problem is on the P-Board. Which one electronic repair wanted to charge me $800 for. However the actual problem is with the SW PC Board. Part # TNPA2841AH which you can buy from panasonic for $321.00. Now I believe the detailed problem is with the Sustain Voltage Control. I will check tonight.
Posted by: John | March 13, 2007 at 04:51 PM
I have included the Schematic for the P-Board
Posted by: John | March 13, 2007 at 04:54 PM
Same thing here with Panasonic 39 inch, 3 years old, when she turns on the whine, when she shuts the whine, time she lasts is sporadic, solution has been to pull the power cord and wait.....
Posted by: Julien | March 14, 2007 at 08:55 PM