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Hey guys...

My Vizio (VW46L FHDTV20A) has started acting up on me, after about 1 1/2 years of ownership. As you can see from the pic, the right side of the
screen has a dark shadowy tint. It will "fix itself" and go away after 15 or 20 minutes, and then will be fine for the as long as I have it turned on.

It only does this after a "cold" start. Any suggestions or advice appreciated!

Backlight on the fritz?

Welcome to TR, pal!

This does look like a backlighting issue. Your model has an LED backlight which is a bit trickier to replace than a bulb. I'd call the manufacturer or check with a local repair shop to see if you have other options, but it looks like you'll be replacing the backlight soon.

FireGryphon wrote:

Welcome to TR, pal!

This does look like a backlighting issue. Your model has an LED backlight which is a bit trickier to replace than a bulb. I'd call the manufacturer or check with a local repair shop to see if you have other options, but it looks like you'll be replacing the backlight soon.

Thanks for the welcome and quick reply!

Hmmm...I was thinking bulb, because I noticed a slight flickering similar to what a fluorescent bulb might do when it's dying. I looked around the net for Vizio parts, but couldn't find any bulbs. You don't happen to have a link
to a parts site that sells this backlight, do you?

I'm not too sure what exact part you need to find, but eBay or Google Shopping are good sources for repair parts.

Good thinking! I always seem to forget good ole Ebay. Found this guy selling backlights for up to 55" displays. Ebay Backlights.

Thanks for the little push in the right direction...

If I could get this bad boy fixed for $26 bucks, that would be sweet...hehe

Jugador wrote:

Good thinking! I always seem to forget good ole Ebay. Found this guy selling backlights for up to 55" displays. Ebay Backlights.

Thanks for the little push in the right direction...

If I could get this bad boy fixed for $26 bucks, that would be sweet...hehe

These are not the backlight parts you are looking for.

As FireGryphon said above, you are needing parts for an LED backlight, not a CCFL backlight.

It is more probable that you have an inverter board failing, since an entire section of the screen is failing. Something like this might be closer to the correct replacement part.

ludi wrote:

These are not the backlight parts you are looking for.

As FireGryphon said above, you are needing parts for an LED backlight, not a CCFL backlight.

It is more probable that you have an inverter board failing, since an entire section of the screen is failing. Something like this might be closer to the correct replacement part.

Ah...okay, I see. Well, that wouldn't be too bad, either. Just $80 bucks...Thanks for the heads-up!

Vizio sells it own parts. Check out http://www.vizparts.com/ or look at these two: http://www.encompassparts.com/ http://www.ued.net/website/

Hey guys...looks like I found a temporary fix, and thought I'd post it in case someone else is having the same problem.
A Tv repairman on another forum suggested I try lightly touching the outer edges of the panel and see what happens.

I pushed a little on the upper right corner, and viola, screen cleared up!

He says he sees a lot of this with vizio lcd's. Apparently the panel comes unglued (or something like that). It's just
a temp fix, tho. The permanent fix is replacing the panel. Sounds like $$$$ to me, so hopefully this temp
fix will last awhile, until I can upgrade to a bigger Lcd later down the road.

Thanks for the advice and suggestions...

Hey guys...felt like I needed to add an update to this problem in case someone else was trying it and getting different
results. It worked a couple of times and then sometimes it wouldn't work.

So, what I discovered was the panel "bad spot" can be at random places. So, what I do now is
grab a soft cloth (in my case a sock), and rub all over the monitor like your cleaning a window, and it will
fix again.

Sometimes the "spot" will be on the right side, sometimes on the lower left side! Anyways, if you tried tapping the
edges and got nothing, try wiping the whole monitor like window with light pressure. That's working here...cheers.

That was nice of you to update this thread. I'm sure it will help others with this problem.

So did he say whether it was the whole panel moving since it was unglued, or are the separate layers of the panel itself moving apart?

No problem...just trying to sow some positive Karma!

boboobles...quote..." bonding issue on the display connections" was all he said.

Here's the thread if you want to read it. Hope this helps.

The process that you refer to as gluing is actually called "Tab Bonding". The lcd gets its signals through something that looks like old 35mm film, very flexible and thin. They are called tabs and they are usually located along the top edge of the screen, but can also be at the bottom. They are bonded to the glass panel using a tab bonding machine, and once they seperate there is no easy fix. You can apply presure to the edge but if you do this you are better to use a C-clamp to apply the presure, and leave it in place once you find the spot. Any repeated movement will make it worse. Think of it like tape stuck to the front of the panel once any spot lifts it will not stick again, but if you hold it in place it can make contact. Thats where the C-clamp comes in handy. It is not pretty but if its black and small it may get you through a tough spot. I saw this trick performed by one of my customers to get them by until they coulld afford the new screen. If you really want it fixed you will need to purchase a new TV as the cost for the LCD panel itself will be more than a new TV.

I may have a solution for this issue.. I am having the same problem with mine. but mine is on the left side.. I am going to try to take it apart and use Styrofoam between the main frame and the panel to see if I can put a little pressure on the panel.. Just wondering what every thought of this idea..???

It's a good idea about Styrofoam, did it work?

Thanks in advance.


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