52& RCA HDTV review: Repair is a nonsense! 168

Thank God I didn't buy an RCA, I don't think they are even made in country anymore. Maybe it's Radio Corporation Asia, now I don't know. I bought a toshiba 42 inch, about 3 years ago, and the extended warranty just ran out. I got a letter from Sear's offering to cover it for another 3 years for $754.00, LOL I told them no thanks I will go buy a new one for 599. when this one goes out. It really sucks that nothing is made to last like it was 40 years ago, it truly is a disposable society!

I too have an RCA model number HD61W66 television and last week it started making a fizzing noise and the screen went black and the television shut itself off. After fifteen I turned it back on and everything was fine, so I thought it was my cable box. Then today the same thing happened and I tried the same method as before, I let it sit an hour and still black screen fizzing and then it shut itself off. I mean this television was not cheap by any means of the word, and yes I've had it for about three to four years, but one would think that when one pays that much money the product would last. The first problem I encountered with the television was when the connector in the back had to be sautered back to the television after not even a year. I swear if I had the money to purchase a new television I would and I would only enjoy it too much when I carted this P.O.S. to the curb and proceeded to break it apart! I will never buy RCA brand again!

Hi everyone I got the same problem and same TV I'll try the blow dryer but just to mention I also bought a LCD RCA TV L37WD22 (37") in 2008 the end of 2009 the video inputs stopped working unusable signal cable hook up don't work and I can get picture using comp 1 and 2 and VGA but no sound theres 3000.00 dollars worth of TV's that are useless I have an old 32 inch table top RCA tv my parents owned since the 80's and you can't kill that one your rite RCA knows they have a problem and won't fix it. We should all just voice our concern with them and just say " Hey fix these issues or we will never buy your product again if we wanted useless chineese made [censor] we would have bought it and if you don't fix it thats what we will do is buy the made in china no name tv's they work just the same and a hell of a lot chaeaper" maybe just maybe thay will wake up smell the coffee build a better product for the price we paid and stand behind it like the RCA of yesterday not thanks for your money now get out of my face like most corporations are doing now building useless [censor] if we wanted to buy throw away we sure wouldn't have spent the money we did I'd rather burn my next 3000.00 dollars then spend on the crap we bought.

Just my opinion thou LOL

I tried the hair dryer trick, Digty Dang, no luck here! Its a 3 year old HD tv a $1800.00 piece of junk, we thought RCA meant QUALITY, no it means PURE JUNK! We have replaced 2 bulbs so stick another $500 on the original price tag, just replaced the bulb 2 weeks ago worked fine for 2 weeks, now nothing, Thanks RCA for crushing our dreams and wallets!

I was having the very same problem the power went off and only thing to happen was the green light flashing 3 times then nothing so we kept pressing the power button for hours and hours and still nothing. But thanks to the little hair dryer trick it's finally back on and will never go back off again. If their is a law suit please inform me on it so I can join the suit.

Same exact issue...Left home with TV on we back home it was off and it wont turn back we tried the blow dryer trick didn't work...I am so mad...1500 and it only worked for 3 1/2 years. BS... Please someone sue RCA and include us...I will hold on to the POS so I can throw it on RCA's Doorstop and demand our money back...MAD AS HELL... kristidixon@hotmail.com

The Hair Dryer worked we bought our TV in 2004 also, I'm glad I found these post. THANKS SO MUCH...

I have read all of these complaints, and it saddens me that, we bought our TV in 2008, and now we are experiencing the same issues. Our power light comes on, and blinks three times and never comes on. When it first started this, some how another it would finally come on. Now it want buzz...I'm very irate about this and feels something seriously should be done. We as customers have purchased this product and there is truly an effect of this product!

i purchased a 52" rca hdtv 3 yrs ago green light comes on but nothing i paid $60 for the repairman to tell me it was a transformer gone bad and it would be between $200-$700 to get fixed i am too pissed i wanna no bout that lawsuit as well!

I agree with everyone...I believe we should file a class action suit against RCA! We are having the same problems as everyone else our green light would blink on and off and it would take a long time to get the tv to turn on. We left our tv on all the time because we were afraid that if it turned off it wouldn't turn back on. Our electric bill was over 400 a month and our power went off now the tv wont come on at all. It just shows a red dot in the center no picture or sound. I'm so angry that this company does nothing to help us out. We paid so much money for this tv and now it's just junk. We have three other tv's that are over 10 years olds in our house that work great it's ashamed that the newest most expensive doesn't work at all.

WE ARE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS(3X BLINKING, NOW IT WILL NOT COME ON)WAS WATCHING TV TONIGHT AND IT WENT OUT.WE WILL TRY THE BLOW DRYER TEST, HOPEFULLY IT WORKS.ONE THING I AM SURE OF IS THAT R C A (RIPOFF-CHEAP-ACCESSORIES) WILL NEVER MAKE ANOTHER CENT OFF OF ME.PURCHASED 52" HDTV DEC.2005, WE HAVE LESS EXPENSIVE AND OLDER MODEL TV'S IN THE HOUSE WHICH ARE WORKING GREAT.

We to had this problem with our RCA, and it went out RIGHT after our warranty was up. We went and bought new TV. Still have RCA and was going to try to fix it, until we saw all these comments. Now I think RCA should have to pay..

@helpNu I don't think we expect that but it should last longer than a year at the prices we pay!

I agree with all the previous post. My husband I and bought the RCA 52' HDTV for $1000 3 years and 1 month ago. This evening our 2 year old turns on the TV and it comes on at first like normal. I was looking for her favorite show and a loud crackling sound and the picture went out.. I immediately turned the TV and moved the baby. I tried to turn it on again after that and still heard the crackling and no picture. We are furious. Will NEVER purchase RCA again!

I have the RCA 52" HD and the same problem with the light on and off 3 times but not turning on. For a few weeks it would eventually come on after 30-45 minutes of trying, but now not at all for days! I want in on the class action suit! And if there isn't one, lets start one! Any lawyers out there? We all got a bad deal and deserve something back! My bedroom tv is an old generic Sears model and it's still working after 20 years! This is ridiculous!

I also have a JUNK 52" RCA tv it does the same thing, turn it on, 3 blinks, and nothing.RCA should have to pay for a new tv and pay to have this piece of trash hauled to their business so they can look at their handy work for a while.

This hair dryer trick worked ! Thanks Elaine :) I have the same 52 INCH RCA D52WD20 TV. Now we can wait until after Christmas to buy one and definitely not RCA.. I didn't want to spend our Christmas savings on a new TV. Happy Family of Five now!

Have 56" (D56W20) same 3 beeps and out.
Blowdryer trick worked. Did not have to remove back. I just vacuumed the vents then applied blow dryer to lower left back for about 8-10 minutes. turned right on. Taking to Pawn Shop this weekend to at least get something for it. Wrong I know.

After the fix how long did the TVs work?

I bought this RCA 52inch HDTV model D52W20 at a yard sale and i was wondering why it was only 15 bucks! thats right 15 dollars, lol. Well the problem im having is similar to all of yours. I can turn the the t.v. on and it would stay on for like 15-20 minutes then turns itself off but im not able to turn it on again for like 20 minutes.If someone has had the same problem and had it fixed please let me know what the problem was, i think im goin to become a tv repairman.

wow MY 52 INCH WONT COME ON AND STARTED SMOKING OUT THE BACK, IVE ALREADY HAD THE MOTHER BOARD REPLACED ONCE AND THE GUY TOLD ME IITS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THESE, IM GONNA CALL THE RCA PPL AND VENT IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN CRAPPY [censored] TV..

I bought a 46" rca lcd tv in may of 07, In just a few weeks it started getting a scrambled picure on ch 13, just a a single frame usually from ch 8 with sound from ch 13.repairmen made 3 trips to fix it and couldn't then I was told it was just some kind of local interference, now that the warranty is gone it now does the same thing on ch 2.A 1300 dollar tv which is basically a piece of junk.

Hair Dryer trick worked! AFTER I pulled the motherboard out and identified the capacitors I THOUGHT I was going to re-solder...I read about Elaine's trick...Don't know how permanent it is..but I look like a hero and since the start-up problem we haven't been turning off the TV anyway. I highly recommend you try the hair dryer trick BEFORE paying some [censored] to come re-solder capacitors. BTW...I had the back off already...but I wouldn't doubt it works without removing the back. Capacitors were domed, too...but...looks like I don't need to fix those just yet. THANKS ELAINE!

We have a 2005 d52w25 floor model. I'll be honest it did it's work, I suppose. Purchased in '05 and it's not '11 and it just barely gave out. It was a sad thing to see! I was going to get it checked out but after reading through most of these posts I see that I am going to have to buy a new tv. It really sucks. It used to shut off and come back on but now the power light turns green shuts off and comes back on doing it back and forth a few times but never a picture or sound. It was a good run... I'll keep searching for a solution if at all possible.

Most of the complaints I see here are about the power light coming on and going off 3 times and the TV never turning on. This is USUALLY caused by a capacitor on the Deflection (High Voltage) circuit board. There are 3 Capacitors that usually cause this problem. For about $10 if you know how to solder /de-solder on a printed circuit board, this can be fixed at home. If the Flyback is the problem, it is on the same circuit board. I bought my D52W20 about 1½ years ago for $50 (yes, fifty) in a non-working state. I researched the problem and pulled out the deflection board myself. At that time I decided to take the board to a TV repair guy and have him do the soldering, even though I could have easily done it myself. He replaced the Flyback and one of the 3 capacitors that I was talking about for $125 I put the TV back together and it has worked fine for 1½ years. Recently it blew out another one of the capacitors and I just pulled the board and replacedthat myself for $1.50. If you have patience and decent soldering skills, these problems are relatively easy to fix. If you search online you can find people that talk about repairing these TV's themselves and where to get the parts, I just went to Radio Shack and bought the capacitor. Search on google for things like "D52W20 flyback" or "D52W20 Cp 114 CP120 and CP150"
Most of the TV's I see here are built on the same Chassis (ITC222) whether it is a D52W20, D52W15 (same TV, no screen protector) or other similar model. These problems are very common to this chassis it would seem. I agree, an RCA tv used to be something that was high quality, not so much anymore, if this TV is any indication.
Hope this helps someone.

I am having the same problem with an RCA 52inch HDTV. It first had a red picture then it would just turn off while I was watching it, and now it just squeaks every few seconds if I turn it on but there is no picture or sound at all. I am having a hard time getting it out of my house, I will never buy anything from RCA again! I don't even know why they have a customer service line because they don't help at all, I just have this big piece of junk sitting in my living room and I want it out!

I am having the same issue. I decided to try to find out online before calling a repair man. So glad I did! I think I will be better off getting a new TV. Thanks everyone for saving me money I really dont want to spend. I like my 52' but not this much. As a single mom every penny counts.And when I spend my income tax money on something nice I want to make it last. I thought this would last for many years and that the family could have it around a long time but sadly it has not lasted long enough. :(

I bought a 42 inch rca scenium HD flat screen tv on Febuary 2008. Within 6 months the buttons on top started failling. 1 Year later the side component hook ups do not work. Last night I played some killzone and then turned it off. This morning turned it on. It flashed on for half a second then shut off. Now it has a red light flashing on and off. I do not have the money for a new one right now. I HAVE NOW CONTACTED CLASSACTION.com Any body want to drop them a line.is it classactionlawsuits

Wow! I thought I was the only one my TV blew over 2 years ago and yes I still have it. It is my divorce trophy now! Wonder if the hair dryer will still work? Please any info on the class action suite would greatly be appreciated. Single moms need all the help they can get Live, Love, Laugh & don't by any F$^&ING rca products they suck big time!

About the same problem as the rest of you. Does any one know how to start the class action law suit? I really think it should be done. Let me know if you know how to do this?

WOW, I CANNOT believe it...The Hair Dryer trick WORKED!...Good thing Im not a betting person, cause I would have lost that bet...Geesh! We were about to go buy a new TV...Thanks for the posts.

i got my 52 inch looking goog but not working look up online and found cp150 vented bent it on the board rocking it on the circuit board and on the other side moving the extra metal back and forth lossen the solder then pulled the capasitor brand lelon 2200uf 16v 20%tolerence 105*c l310(m) http://www.mouser.com/Passive-Components/Capacitors/_/N-5g7r?P=1z0wqutZ1z0t6fgZ1z0x63t# feedback soon

Thank you Elaine for your hair dryer trick...we stumbled upon your response by accident and had nothing to lose but to try your suggestion. Prior to using the hair dryer, we called a local tv repair man. After explaining the problem, he said that he wouldn't waste his time in even coming out because the tv was worthless. We then called the RCA support line and they gave us the name of an RCA service repair store. We called them 3 days ago and are still waiting for a call back (which I'm sure isn't going to happen). We are so grateful for your help and vow to never buy another RCA product either!

im beginning to think RCA does not make anything good. i have 2 dead cd stereo players and a tv. stereos didn't even last a year.mrs.a, pottsville, pa nov.1, 2011

I bought a 2006 RCA HDTV Model #HD52W59. The power shuts off by itself after about a hour.
What is the "hairdryer trick" everyone keeps talking about?

I bought a 2006 RCA HDTV . The power goes off by its self after about a hour?

Is this a capacitor issue? What can I do to check this and fix it myself?

I was given the same kind of RCA tv by my cousin and she didnt want it cause she said it might cost to much to repair so i looked for a reset button and could not find one, the little green light goes off and on for about three times and then stays off, i feel pretty confident of repairing myself if i can get a repair manual on it and save some money, so why do these kind of tvs keep doing that ?

Same issue with my RCA floor model FlatScreen TV. The "3X DEATH BLINK"...first it would come on for 2 minutes or so, then turn itself off and wouldn't came back on for a few hours. Now it just blinks 3X with no picture or sound. My TV went out about 3years ago, I called a repair man to fix the problem. Less than 1 year later it went out again. Now it's just useless decor for my front room.

So, I have been reading all these posts, and I guess I have been a little more fortunate with my 52" RCA HDTV projection TV. I bought mine in 2003, and just recently I have been experiencing a lot of the same problems. My TV will turn off and on while watching it. Lately it has been taking longer for it to turn back on, about 5-10 seconds. This has happened after the tv has been on for about an hour. one night it went off and on 5 times in less than 15 min. As I type this, it has happened once. Has anyone found the resolution for this? Thanks

What a piece of crap. Worst tv ever and I will never allow a rca in my house till this is made rite. My grandmother worked for rca for 20 years and is prob turning in her grave from what they have become