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Westinghouse 32w3 lcd tv flickering problem

Everyone,

I am having issues with my Westinghouse 32w3 lcd tv that was purchased about 1.5 years ago. About 2 months ago, I started noticing that when I watch tv, sometimes there is a constant very fast flicker between bright/dim contrast. At first, because I was watching OTA tv, I thought it might be the HD tuner...however, it even happened when I was watching a movie through a DVD player....

Now I have two options. (1) Send to the repair center at Westinghouse even though the warrenty has expired after 1 year. They had indicated that this tv there are no parts anywhere to obtain and the ONLY option is to send it in to CA. They said that this is an exchange tv so they won't repair it, they'll exchange it (my thoughts...a refurbished one...i've read somewhere that sometimes they send back a bad one and you gotta send it back). My estimate of shipping plus insurance is $150 at the slowest shipping via UPS. The shipping cost will be on me. (2) My credit card which I purchased the TV on has an extended warrenty...so I am good for another 6 months. They said that I can go to a service center and get an estimate and submit it and they will (hopefully) approve the claim. Now, the cost for initial diagnostics after tax is about $80, which, if I get repaired, will be applied to the billing. However, I fear that they will either not be able to capture the problem (it pops in from time to time but is NOT consistent at any rate...one week it was SOOO horrible, and now, I dont' see the problem but maybe once a week) and then I am at a loss of the cost of the diagnostic, with the problem still there. However, if they find a problem and fix it, I can get the cost reimbursed. But, based on Westinghouse's comments, and based on what I read, I fear that even if they find the error, they cannot find any Westinghouse parts to fix it.

Has ANYONE heard of this problem and know what the problem is, and does anyone know if Westinghouse parts can be obtained to fix the error if found? What risk should I take, shipping in (with loss of cost of shipment) or taking it personally in to get diagnosed?

Thanks for your help!

Reply to
kimvan.pham
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Sounds like it might be a backlight problem, does the room temperature have any effect on it? Do you have a camcorder to capture video of the problem? That would be better than a description for helping a tech narrow it down.

Reply to
James Sweet

I have a camera that can record the problem, but it has stopped occurring for the time being (pretty convienent, huh?). I called Westinghouse and their response is that they will exchange the TV if i sent it in for a refurbished because they don't even manufactur this anymore. AND they said that no service center will be able to repair this because no Westinghouse parts are available nation wide. Is this a load of fake things they are saying, or will I be wasting my time and money if I try to take it to someone? I was told to try to call them again, talk to manager, and demand a new set sent. Not sure how my negotiations/demanding skills will play out on that scenario :)

Will be on the lookout for the tv acting up again and if it is, I'll try to record.

Thanks again for the help!

Reply to
kimvan.pham

I bought the same TV around the same time and my problems sound similar. After the TV is on for a while (>30 minutes), the screen starts to flicker. This gets worse over a few minutes until the whole screen eventually turns a flickering shade of blue. After turning it off and waiting a half hour or so, the tv is watchable again, for a while. No warranty means I'm out of luck too. This tv is to cheap to fix at a repair center.

Because it never happened from the start, that it is wall mounted pretty high up on my wall, and that I heard somwhere that it may have to do with an overheating problem, I tried to cool it down with a fan from the moment I turned it on. I noticed a clear decrease of "garbled blue screen" incidents. The TV would have to be on for many hours for it to happen again. I am trying to replace the ugly and noisy rig I am currently using (old bathroom fan blowing from below the tv towards it) with a home built array of quiet PC fans that I plan to place on the vents above the TV to pull the heat out. Wish me luck. I'll reply with my findings.

Reply to
mannybas

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