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General discussion

Samsung LN46C630 46" LCD flickering...

Mar 13, 2011 10:26AM PDT

Alright and now I turn to the forums... I just bought a Samsung 46" 1080p LCD TV. I only have one source from my HTPC (Dell Studio Slim 540s w/ Intel G45 graphics). For the most part, the picture is fairly good at 1366x768 through VGA. However, there is a intermittent flickering on the screen that takes up about 1/4 of the screen in a vertical line. This line flickers in and out while watching TV in Windows 7 Media Center. It doesn't matter if the content is HD or not. Also, while on the desktop, the line becomes visible if any windows are placed or dragged through this region on the screen.

I have also tried hooking my laptop, changing out vga cables, checking drivers, changing resolutions, etc and nothing seems to work. I checked the tv by hooking a Roku DVP via HDMI and there seemed to be no issues.

Help! The TV is 2 days old and I am getting hassled be Samsung and the retailer about replacement!

Discussion is locked

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Samsung LN46C630 46" LCD flickering...
Mar 13, 2011 11:09AM PDT

scottaudiosc,

I'm sorry to hear that you're having this issue. It sounds like you went through a lot of the troubleshooting that I would have initially suggested (such as checking the video card drivers and making sure that their up-to-date, checking the cable, changing the resolutions, etc.), so at least we know the basics are out of the way. Happy

The best recommendation I can make would be to connect the TV to the HTPC and then going to the following menu with your remote:

Menu > Input > Edit Name > PC > [options]

You'll see that there are several options that you can choose after choosing to edit the name of the PC input on your TV. Scroll through those options to see if that vertical line disappears as you're going through them. If it does, choose that option and press [ENTER].

Those options are there for different devices that might be hooked up to the television, and since devices can vary, these additional presets can sometimes help with connecting your device and getting a good picture. It may not matter if the name is accurately describing the product that's connected (although, it usually does), because if it works, then that's the selection you want to go with.

Does that help?

--HDTech

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Samsung LN46C630 46" LCD flickering...
Mar 15, 2011 3:06AM PDT

Thanks for the suggestion... I had already tried naming the input to no avail. I have been scouring the forums for solutions and this appears to be a widespread issue with Samsung and Windows video card drivers through VGA. I believe the flickering is do to refresh rates and the only solution is to hook the pc via HDMI. This wasn't too bad, although it did require the purchase of a 30' HDMI cable. However, now everything seems fine. I am getting 1080p from the pc on the HDMI/DVI input.

With that said... I am extremely disappointed in the level of technical support from Samsung! I might be a CEDIA certified installer, but most people are not. We, the consumer, should not be made to feel that we are in the wrong for requesting service. I was told by Samsung the TV was defective and to call the retailer (beachcamera.com) for replacement since it was under 30 days of purchase. Beachcamera.com blatantly LIED to me saying that they don't refund on TVs. After reading through their return policy, in fine print and through another link it appears they don't. So I was back to Samsung and was argued with repeatedly from customer service, however they still didn't hold up to their guarantee. I would also like to add that their returns department never even called me back after leaving a message!

Simply put... SAMSUNG CUSTOMER SERVICE IS HORRIBLE AND THIS IS THE LAST SAMSUNG I EVER BUY! I DO NOT RECOMMEND BUYING ANYTHING FROM BEACHCAMERA.COM EITHER! THEY ARE HACKS AND DO NOT HOLD UP TO THEIR 100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEE!

Why should I have to hook up the TV differently only because your TV can't decode a VGA signal properly? I have had this PC hooked up to a 42" Panasonic plasma for 2 years @ 1366x768 (720p) with no issues. Samsung needs to get in the game! I shouldn't have to resort to troubleshooting and teching out a problem that is yours! You've lost a customer for good since now I'm STUCK with the TV!

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Samsung LN46C630 46" LCD flickering...
Mar 15, 2011 4:21PM PDT

scottaudiosc,

I'm sorry to read about your experience.

Do you have a transaction number from your call to the Samsung service center?

Just so that there's not a misunderstanding, what did you want the Samsung call center to do? Repair your unit? You noted that Samsung "didn't hold up to their guarantee", so please help me understand so I can escalate this.

I reviewed their return policy, which excludes TVs. I can't comment on a retailer's specific policy, but here's what I can do.

If you post your transaction number, or call up 800-SAMSUNG, give your information and post a transaction number from your call (that will reference your information for the service team to contact you if service is approved), I will forward it up to one of our service center managers to review the situation.

While I can't promise anything (I don't have authority in service matters), I'd like to look into this and see if we can assist.

--HDTech

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Poor customer service...
Mar 16, 2011 2:50AM PDT

I am done with this hassle. Samsung said they would repair the tv, but why should i have to live with a repaired tv that i just bought. I told them I wanted a NEW one! I told the agent I wished to speak to a supervisor and was disconnected after holding for 20 mins. As far as beachcamera is concerned, their policy does state they don't replace TVs. However, they do guarantee customer satisfaction and clearly I was not satisfied! I wanted a refund and was going to purchase a different TV elsewhere.

In short, I'm done!!!!!

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Samsumng LN46C630 Flickering
Sep 29, 2011 5:17AM PDT

Hello,

I was trying to find some info about my flickering LN46C360 online and came across this tread. We received the TV as a christmas present last year. About 2 months ago, it started flickering, but goes away after a few seconds. The it got progressively worse, longer flickers. After a week, the problem just went away. 2 weeks after no flickers, it came back, this time it doesnt recover. We tried changing the input to dvd player, thinking that it might be our cable service, but the problem persist. The tv is hooked up to the cable box and dvd player with hdmi cables. Then we figured out that changing the picture mode helped, for some reasons it doesnt like being in dynamic, the only place it wont flicker is movie. But last week, it started flickering and nothing would make it go away.

I called samsung support, but they needed the serial number which is "conviniently"located on the back of the tv. However, my tv is mounted on the wall and we tried many different ways to read the serial number with a flashlight and mirror with no luck! I really dont want to take the tv down just to get the serial number, it was a real pain in the bottom when we mounted it.

Do you have any suggestions of how to fix the problem?


Thanks in advance!

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Flickering
Sep 30, 2011 11:15AM PDT

Hey I have had the same problem. I did some digging and came to the conclusion that it was the backlight inverter so I ordered a new one from shopjimmy.com and replaced it myself. It fixed the problem for about 2-3 months and the tv just started flickering again this week. I'm going to try and replace the power source and the backlight inverter this time. I'm thinking maybe the power source isn't working right (I've read that Samsungs have capacitor problems) and is frying the backlight invertor. If this doesn't do it I'm calling it quits on the tv. I've read of a lot of people having lots of problems with this tv starting just after 12 months. Mine started almost exactly at the 12 month mark. I'll let you know if this works once I do it.

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Flickering
Sep 30, 2011 12:11PM PDT

mongo0se,

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Me too (3): LN46C630 Flickering
Nov 14, 2011 11:35AM PST

Hi,
I also have the same problem as described by plimbruck and mongo0se. It started in late June, but was very intermittent for the first couple months.Then in September the flicker occured ~ 75% of the time. Now it happens almost 100% of the time and the screen gets darker overall, fading to black on the right side. After it has been on for about 10 minutes, the entire screen goes black! The all black stage just started happening 4 days ago. So much for Sunday football.

At various points along the ride to black, I found that the following would sometimes cause the TV to "flip states", meaning if it was flickering, it would stop, if it wasn't, it would start. Sometimes:
changing P-mode, any video frame that was black - usually between commercials, going from Tivo recording -> to live Tv, power cycling the TV. The black screens most consistently started the flicker. The longer this has gone on, the worse it got, the less effect any of the above had.

What had no effect:
Changing tivo input from HDMI to component, switching input to DVD source via component, bypassing Tivo by connecting the coax cable (comcast) directly into the TV.

I purchased the product on 5/31/2010 from Best Buy, but didn't register the product with Samsung until I was forced to accept that this problem wasn't going away. That would be around Sept. 18th.

I have submitted a repair request via Samsung and have been routed to their local vendor. I will call tomorrow for a price on an evaluation. I do not expect it, nor the resulting repair, to be cheap.

Regarding the warranty, if this is a common problem with this model at 1yr+ age, I would expect Samsung to make some exceptions to the standard warranty. I am an engineer who lives in the world of failures. I understand that "things happen", even with the most well engineered and manufactured products. I don't expect perfection from anybody. I do, however, expect to be treated fairly if I am one of the unlucky few..

Samsung_HD_Tech,
Do you have any advice on how I may escalate with Samsung?

Thanks,
Shawn

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Woohoo!! Easy fix!!
Nov 14, 2011 12:37PM PST

I continued my Google search after posting here. I found the below post on the Amazon forum:

<i>"
Denise says:










i have the LN46C630 model with same flickering problem occuring just
after warranty expired. technician fixed it by cutting one "jumper"
(metal wire about 1/2 inch long) located on the power supply circuit
board. takes 5 minutes to fix. technician said samsung issued service
bulletin that told repair techs how to fix it. you can do it yourself
with a screwdriver, small wirecutters. i could send a photo if you wantok, not sure how to post the photo here, but here's what the technician did for $150...unscrew 17 screws, remove the back cover to the TVfind
the power supply circuit board, that's the one your TV's power cord
plugs into. On the power supply circuit board, upper left corner, to
the right of and below the large 46", there is a metal jumper labelled
JP852 that is no more than 2 cm in length. it connects something
labelled 'Input rating' and another labeled 'COLD'. the technician used
wire cutters and cut the JP852 jumper. that solved my flickering
issue, TV works great now. tech said that every size TV in this class
of samsung has the same design flaw and can be fixed like this. good
luck. i would post a photo, but can't figure it out."</i>

source: http://www.amazon.com/review/R1PD14XKZ7MKCZ/ref=cm_srch_res_rtr_alt_4

It works. I can hardly believe it, but my TV went from a complete black screen after a few minutes of flickering, to good as new with the clip of a tiny wire!!! It took ~ 15mins to complete. I thought for sure it was one of those "too good to be true" moments, but since I was assuming I wouldn't get warranty support, I figured why not. When has the internet last led me astray...? Ok, we won't talk about that Happy

Samsung_HD_Tech, any chance you could inquire within and let us know what this does? The post says there was a service bulletin. If so, they know about it.

This seems like a solution for a lot of people who are out of warranty or don't want to deal with the hassle of service even if under warranty.

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It DOES work!
Dec 14, 2011 11:24PM PST

YES!! This worked. Super easy fix. Doesn't seem right that it should be this simple. I'm just hoping that this fix doesn't cause further issues but if the Samsung tech performed this that makes me feel OK with it! Thanks!! You saved me $$$ and more importantly frustration. Don't see how such a widespread problem has been a mystery for this long?

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Picture Please
Dec 15, 2011 5:08AM PST

chawnskie: can you please send me a picture of the fix to jfrank_21@yahoo.com? I think the description from the Amazon link is good enough, but having a picture would make me feel even better about opening it up and cutting the jumper. Thanks.

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(NT) It's true! So far so good!
Jan 4, 2012 2:14AM PST
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Great fix
Jul 6, 2012 2:36PM PDT

I followed your instructions and in 15 minutes I was up and running without the flicker. I wish I had seen this post 3 months and several phone calls to Samsung earlier.

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chawnskie is my hero!
Jul 8, 2012 6:11AM PDT

THANK YOU for posting this! Worked like a charm with minimal hassle. My TV is way past warranty, so I was very pessimistic about its prognosis. Can't thank you enough for sharing the surprisingly easy fix!

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A big thanks to Chawnskie!
Jun 28, 2013 8:53AM PDT

our 40 inch Samsung is 3 years old and it started the flashing/flickering and kept getting worst, we
got no where with Samsung 1-800 folks, so we almost chunked the tv and was ready to buy another tv, (another brand) then we googled and read where tons of folks are and had the same issue, and
Chawnskie's write up tip on cutting the 1/2 wire... we did it and it WORKED!!! OUR TV IS BACK TO
NORMAL.. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU...

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Flickering Samsung LN46C630
Dec 23, 2011 12:06PM PST

Shawn,

I have the same tv and after ~18 moths the flickering started. Can you send me a photo also? Thank you!
engstrom58@gmail.com

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Photo
Dec 27, 2011 5:46AM PST

Were you able to obtain a copy of the photo of the jumper to clip?

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No photo
Dec 27, 2011 8:33AM PST

I'm sorry, I'm not going to pull apart my TV again to snap a photo of the cut jumper. I'd love to help, but it sounds now as if Samsung will come out and snip the wire for you. That's my best suggestion for you other than to follow the detailed instructions about 5 posts up from this. That's what I did and it worked and has worked beautifully ever since.
Good luck!

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Pictures from LE46C580 (Fixed)
Jan 4, 2012 3:46AM PST

Hi, Thanks fro help guys. I have the above model with the identical fault which just managed to wait until the warranty expired before flashing like mad!
Wasn't sure it would work but cured it straight away, tested for past couple of hours and still fault free.

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Works!
Jan 4, 2012 7:11AM PST

Worked for me as well. Thanks for the photos!

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Here is the Fix
Feb 16, 2012 12:00AM PST

I had the problem on a 55" LN55C630. Researching online I found that if the capacitors are good, the EASY fix involves cutting a jumper on the power supply motherboard. For my model this was jumper JP854. For model LN46C630 the jumper is JP852.
Steps to repair:
1. Remove back panel - 18 screws
2. Find the jumper on the power supply board (which is the one the power plugs into) on the upper left. DON'T TOUCH THE BOARD IN 'HOT' REGION.
3. With wire cutters, cut the jumper wire on the motherboard, so that they no longer connect.
4. Reassemble

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Flickering Images
Feb 21, 2012 9:02AM PST

Does anyone have an image of their tv with this flickering problem? I want to make sure it's the same problem I have with my LNT4601F model. My screen is dark on one side; goes away; comes back; then moves to the top of the screen or to the bottom, or back to one side. It happens on all inputs (HDMI, component, RCA). It'll go away after 30-60 minutes, but it has gotten worse over time. If it's the same problem, would it be the same jumper that I need to snip?

Thanks!

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Try this
Feb 21, 2012 12:52PM PST
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZwQ0gRQ9sg

I posted a video on my fix. In the video I provide a link to another youtube video that shows the flickering exactly like my TV was doing. Check out the flicker and fix as the link above.
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Thank you
Jun 7, 2012 12:00PM PDT

Samsung should be ashamed to not admitting to this flaw. We were ready to buy a new tv when we saw this post. We decided to give it a try and followed the detailed video. It took about 15 minutes and it was done. We have the 55 inch samsung. After being on for 15 minutes it would begin to flicker,now just a perfect picture. Thank you for posting the video and detailed instructions. You saved us from buying a new tv, ours was only 2 years old and not often used. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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If this is the clip the jumper fix.
Jun 8, 2012 6:38AM PDT

Samsung has been sending techs to do that for us without charge. It's a shame folk think this is going to result in charges or a new set. Then again, how many folk want to call it in? (no one I know)
Bob

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youtube Video of the fix
Feb 21, 2012 12:52PM PST
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Samsung 46 inch - Same flickering screen issue
Feb 22, 2012 1:44AM PST

Hey, I've got the same issue as the rest of the folks here with the flickering. My question is, does anyone have a link to the service bulletin or a pdf of it where they indicate to cut/remove the jumper on the JP852/854? I want to be sure people aren't getting creative and I don't want to introduce a fire hazard into my house. Happy

Like you said in your analysis gnash11, what's the harm in doing it? The TV is worthless without the fix in it's present state. But I also don't want to burn my place down!

Thanks,

-Ray

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I attest
Feb 22, 2012 3:51AM PST

It works. Plain and simple. If this is the model of your TV and it's flickering, this is the reason why. It take literally 5-7 minutes.

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Please post your comments.
Feb 22, 2012 5:41AM PST

With the fix being so easy, please leave comments on the YouTube posting with model number and experience so that others will know that it works. Just trying to make it easier for others to find the fix that saved my TV.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZwQ0gRQ9sg

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My only comment is
Feb 22, 2012 5:45AM PST

Will you warrant this repair?