Samsung TV makes a strange clicking sound
My Samsung TV (52″ LCD) started clicking several times before finally switching on after 30 seconds, this relay clicking gradually got worse each time I turned the set on. ( It turns out that this is quite a common problem with Samsung TV’s of all sizes). The problem seems to start after the TV is a year or two old (normally outside guarantee) and sounds like a relay clicking on and off. Samsung deny there is a design problem, so I thought rather than spend money on an engineer, I would try and fix the problem myself.
I thought the first place to look for a problem like this is in the power supply.
- I unscrewed the back cover of the TV (20 screws)
- Removed the metal cover of the power supply (4 screws)
- I carefully looked over the power supply looking for anything out of the ordinary, low and behold I could see a few capacitors (the cylindrical shaped components) that had raised tops. These raised tops are caused when the capacitor breaks down and forms hydrogen gas, if left, eventually the capacitors will blow, and hopefully the top will split open and release the gas pressure, if not, they may just explode.
Check out Capacitor Lab for more details on what to look for when a capacitor fails.
I checked out the replacement cost of a new power supply board, I couldn’t find the exact power supply online but this company has ones for smallers TV starting at around £160. So I was guessing it would be around £200 for a new one. Ouch, definately time to DIY.
I decided to replace all the capacitors in the power supply, I guessed if some were bad, then probably Samsung use cheap or poorly designed capacitors and at some point the others would go bad too. and replacing all the capacitors wouldn’t cost much more .
Each Capacitor has 3 important values
- The capacitance measured in μF (micro farads) eg (1000μF)
- Voltage (eg 50V)
- Temperature (eg 105°C)
This particular Power Supply Unit (PSU) has 3 different types.
- 1000μF 105°C at 10V
- 1000μF 105°C at 25V
- 47uF 105°C at 50V
RS Components have a good selection, so I opted to buy from there. It cost about £12 including postage for a 5 pack of each of the capacitors. I took a few photos of the circuit board so I wouldn’t forget what I was doing and set to work.
I re-opened the TV, and completely removed the Power Supply Circuit Board, you need to remove several connectors, again, I took some photos just in case I couldn’t work out where they all went when putting it back together. I made sure the Power Supply didnt have any residual power stored in the capacitors by unplugging the TV (whilst it was turned on) from the plug. This is very important as messing with a power supply even 30 minutes after it has been turned off can still give you a nasty shock.
I then drew a simple diagram marking the polarity of each capacitor. To remove each capacitor takes a little time, you need to heat each pin using a soldering iron and whilst it is still molten pull or wiggle each leg out in turn. I found it easiest when I used the other leg as a pivot and rotate the capacitor around the fixed leg.
Anyway once removed, you I used the de-solder pump to clean up any solder that was clogging up the hole and then I inserted a new capacitor (checking the values again) and making sure the polarity was same as the one I had just removed. turning the board over, I bent the pins a little, soldered the joints, and snipped off any left over wire.
I put the board back in and hey-presto it all worked beautifully. Job took about 2 hours in total and excluding tools £12 for the components and postage.
[Added 21th May 2009]
If you snap off the solder connector on the PCB when doing this replacement, it is worth noting that you can re-attach your component in another place as long as it is electrically equal. The Red Line in the diagram below shows where an existing component was, this component could then be re-soldered into any of the positions marked in green. But in the case of a capacitor which has + positive and – negative legs, you must make sure that the leg is re-attached to the same track, I have marked with a + plus sign which track it must be re-attached too.
[Added 7th Dec 2009]]
After replacing the capacitors a few people are still having problems, it appears that this can be fixed by resetting the EPROM chip (apparently – a simple matter of shorting two of the pins). http://www.tv.quuq.org/forum/index.php?topic=2377
and http://www.tv.quuq.org/forum/index.php?topic=1744.0 both detail the procedure, although it hasn’t worked for everyone who tried it. (Thanks to Jason for these links)
[Added 10th March 2010]
You are not alone, there have been almost 65,000 visits to this page in the last year. The answers to many of the questions people are asking are scattered through the previous comments, Most people with little experience have been successful in fixing their TV’s although for a few, it didn’t work, the symptoms were similar but cause was different. A few of the more recent comments reveal that people are becoming more successful with getting Samsung to repair their TV’s, its definitely worth trying before you launch into a self fix.
[Added 28th June 2010]
Before attempting repairs yourself it is probably worth trying to see if Samsung will repair the TV for you, Samsung seem to now accept (unofficially at least ) that there is a defect in these capacitors, and in an increasing number of cases will send out an engineer to fix them. Skim through the comments below to get more info.. A polite but assertive approach seems to yield best results, remember they are in the wrong and there is plenty of consumer law in most countries covering their liabilites and responsibilities.
If you fail to get Samsung to repair it, 100′s of people have had success with the replacement fix I describe above, a few of the failures are probably due to similar symptoms but a different fault. Again if you are unsure read some of the 100′s of comments below
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I (excuse my ugly english – I am German) have the same Problems with my LE-52M87BDX
I think it´s very usefull to know that I´m not the only one.
The Informations here will be very helpful when I contact (or should I say crash) with Samsung.
Linda,
Well done and well written!
Please let us know what the problem was. The power supply on the LED should be completely different than the LCD, but who knows? a lot of us have those great LEDs as well.
Thank you JJ,
What I was told over the phone was that there are two boards in the LED sets and that it is very possible that it is both boards that are malfunctioning. I will let everyone know the final diagnosis after the technician visits.
Followed the instructions above. 1-hour start to finish, not including collection of capacitors from local “Maplins” electronics store. 4x capacitors needed replacement. Total cost £4.00. A lot less than the hassle of dealing with Samsung….. My time is worth more…. Youngest son (30) also has same problem, so this URL link will be forwarded for him to fix his TV.
Many thanks for your advice and cost savings. Philip
had the clicking sound on my tv for quite some months now but past few days its been bonkers!! turning itself on and off sometimes sound no picture, black n white fuzzy with no sound or picture… glad i saw this site and reviews, to notice that a LOT of people was experiencing the same problems.. ive jus called samsung explained wot was going on and there will be an enginner phoning me in the nxt 2 days to come and fix it free of charge if its the capacitors which he said by the sound of things is most likely.. I bought my tele back in march 2008′ and it no longer under warrenty..
After doing the standard protocal of plugging the tv into the wall, and another outlet, they said that if you’re tv is clecking the will pay a one time only service fee for someone to come and fix it, but only if its the capacitors!
I just talked to Samsung and this is there response to the problem.
“If your unit exhibits any of the following symptoms; does not turn on, repeatedly turns on and off with a clicking sound, takes a long time to turn on, or clicks on and off with no picture, Samsung will provide a onetime, free of charge, courtesy repair to replace the capacitors only. If the service center determines the issue is not related to the capacitors, you will be responsible for the service center’s trip charge and the cost of any repairs performed. Do you consent to these conditions?”
I would check with Samsung before trying anything yourself.
Hi all!! This is just an update from my previous post. It took quite a bit of time for the service tech to make it to my home. I was really disappointed in their company. The guy set up an appointment for a specific date and time and did not call to let me know he was not going to make it until 15mins past the appointment time. We then set another time which took a lot of teeth pulling. For some reason he felt like it should be completed at his earliest convenience instead of mine!! Once we finally nailed down another time, he showed up and took about 12mins to replace the two boards. The television works and I am glad. I hope to not have to go through this again (total hassle).
Hi Everyone! Well the service department called back a couple hours later. There is no service available in our area so they would like us to exchange our current TV with another one. It’s kind of funny that we live within an hour of 3 cities and they don’t have anyone to service our TV, but they do have someone to bring us a new one and take the old one away!
I experienced the same problem with my Samsung 52″ TV. After reading tons of posts about this problem & the problems people were having with Samsung I decided to give Samsung a try. My TV is 4 years old. I purchased the 2 year extended warranty & had no problems under the warranty period. My clicking problem got so bad it took an hour sometimes to turn on. Since my warranty ran out a year ago I figured Samsung would not repair it. I called Samsung in NOV. and they ran the numbers on the TV & said it was one of the models that was covered for a free of charge repair even though it was out of warranty. The next day the repair company called me & asked if they could come & repair it….I said great! They came & replaced all of the capacitors free of charge in about 45 minutes and I have not had a problem since. Samsung took great care of me so, I don’t know why so many others are having problems with Samsung. I have 3 Samsung TVs & the other two have not had any problems. I purchased all 3 at the same time. Good luck on getting your repairs done free by Samsung!
Same issue, just called Samsung (UK) on 0845 67267864. Very good service and have organised a repair company to visit and will fix FOC if it is a capacitor problem.
It’s very nice to hear that many of you are getting satisfaction from Samsung. Even after I pushed the issue with them I received no satisfaction. I contacted their recommended repair service but had a negative experience with them in the past, on a Samsung DLP TV. I decided to manage my own solution. I contacted a local repair shop, after reading very positive reviews of their service on the web. They replaced capacitors and the power supply for a reasonable cost. They picked up the TV, repaired it, and had it back to me in 3 days. They even assisted me in placing it on the wall. It’s nice to know that service is alive and well. As the technician mentioned to me; If Samsung saved $1 per TV and they sell 1 million, it adds up. It’s cheaper for them to deal with the complaints.
I’m very glad that some of you have had success in getting Samsung to repair your defective TVs. As I’ve whined before on this site, I was unable to get them to fix mine. I went through all the correct channels and remained calm even when the customer service reps got mouthy with me and even even when they sent me in circles. We paid for the repairs ourselves, and the result is I will NEVER purchase another Sony product again. If I have prevented just one person from purchasing a Samsung product, I have achieved my goal.
Samsung KNOWS they had defective components in their products but allowed consumers to purchase them anyway. This goes against everything they teach us in college about ethics and morals. Down with Samsung!
OOOPS!!!
Above I mistakenly said I will never purchase another Sony, but I meant SAMSUNG.
Total crap components, and even worse customer service. Buy a different brand. You won’t regret it.
p.s. I have a 1991 Sony CRT television that I used when our SAMSUNG was in the shop. Twenty years old and never ONE problem with it. I bet the Samdung we got fixed dies again soon. I’ll let you all know when it goes on the fritz again.
SAMSUNG SUCKS!
@Sonylover,
I have a similar experience. Samsung knew they built a crappy product and that they would all eventually fail. They just hoped they would fail after the warranty expired, like mine did, and that the buyer would just eat the cost. Samsung is just lucky their sub standard product has not been catching on fire.
All I can say is thank God for the internet purchased my samsung Dec 2008. Its been playing up a few weeks now taking ages to come on and now not coming on at all and of course out of the year warranty.
I emailed samsung last night and highlighted the fact I have done my re-search and this is well known problem with this model. Im amazed they responded today asking for my address and number and they will schedule an engineer visit. Im from the UK the only problem Im having is emailing the person who mailed me back directly I have to go through the samsung website to email back which is so annoying as have to explain the problem again. Im going to call them direct tomorrow but it looks like they will repair it just gutted its a few days before Xmas and Im using a portable TV. Donna UK
Ok just an UPDATE just called samsung and okay I went through a few departments but have been booked in for a repair straighaway. Someone is coming out tomorrow to fix my TV free of charge if its the caps which im 99% sure it is! As soon as I mentioned the caps on the phone I was booked in.
My TV is three years old and out of warranty but Samsung have recognised the fault and sorted it asap.
It has restored my faith in customer service but to be honest I was sure what the problem was and let them know I had done my research. Thankyou for this website
Well after a lot of back and forth with Samsung. We have decided to try to fix it ourselves. Since we aren’t in there service area they want to do an exchange for a new tv. The catch is that we have to pay $350 for the new tv. So if you aren’t in Samsung’s service area watch out for the so called exchange program. They’ve lost our future business and everyone we know. Pretty unfortunate since we loved our TV.
I’ve had my Samsung 40” TV for about 5/6 years. After 3 years I had this same clicking on and off problem and paid heavily for a repair, now I find last week It’s started the same problem again. I did a bit more research this time and found these postings. I followed the advice of one post and rang Samsung UK. They couldn’t have been more helpful, I explained that I had done my homework and that I knew that it was a capacitor problem on the power supply and that it was a known fault with Samsung. They arranged for a Samsung engineer to come within 2 days and fix the TV free of charge. He said that the TV would have a lifetime cover if the same fault happened again. If this is an example of Samsung customer care then I think it is excellent, they are a shining example to other companies I would buy another Samsung TV and I told them so. I agree we should all be quick to complain about poor service but when we are treated well lets shout it from the rooftops. THANK YOU SAMSUNG!!
December 2012 UK – my TV is a UE46B6000VW. Same problem – clicking and nothing else. As I am so close to Christmas and Samsung refused to repair I bought a replacement however I am now going to take legal action against them. They claim that this model has no known issues of this type and it is thus not a manufacturing issue. Clearly I disagree! If anyone has a similar problem please contact me so I can gather evidence against Samsung and maybe even join a few more of us together (although I am so enraged about this I am going to go after them regardless).
Cannot believe my tv clicking on christmas day, now whats the chances of gettn an engineer out! Nitemare! has started a couple of days ago. TV isnt even that old, not impressed!
Bill Best,
i have that same TV bought it 2 years ago. Don’t know if it has the same capacitor issue since i haven’t pulled the back off to check.
Before you spend all that emotional energy, have you thought about following this blog’s instructions and having a look inside? Facts will go a long ways.
I am having the tv checked by an engineer and I’ve asked for a report on the cause – not a repair. If, as I strongly suspect, it is a capacitor issue Samsung will get my attention! It looks from the site alone that it’s about time Samsung was on the recieving end of legal action.
Bill, there is a very large class action lawsuit being pulled together by the Abington Cole Lawfirm which works out of Tulsa Oklahoma in the U.S. Not sure if they can help someone out of the country, however, there are thousands of people, no probably tens of thousands that have suffered the problem you have. I personally had to replace a motherboard because Samsung blames the consumer for trying to continue using the set once the clicking/power on power off issue begins. That set me back another $220. Please watch my You Tube video Samsung Power On Power Off problem under my nvdwarrior ID. Lots of good comments there too. This has been going on for over two years now as the older sets (2007-2008) reach the two to three year use period. Watch out for the latest gimmick, Samsung will offer you a pro-rated refund that will work out to be about 30 percent of your purchase price. You have to mail them the power cord and the internal serial number sticker. considering you probably paid almost two grand for your television as did I….what a sinister thing to do. Join the class action lawsuit, ALL OF YOU EARTH INFO members who think Samsung is a nice company for fixing your defective set. They have known about those capacitors from day one!
bought samsung 40 inch 3 years ago.just started clicking when turning on for about 1min then turns.will be calling samsung to rectify this problem.thank for the info.
It’s interesting about Samsung. So many complaints, yet go into any large electroncs retailer and 1/3 are Samsung HDTVs.
Has anyone made a capacitor repair on the LED TV’s? Have to think the internals are different, since it’s at least 30% lighter and thinner than the LCD version.
Greg, I really appreciate your comments. I am making contact with Abington Cole to see if UK people could join the action. I have an office in the USA so I used to handling multi border activities!!! In this case I think it unlikely we can join the action however the information in the USA will surely be helpful in UK actions. Great info – Thanks
Just repaired a Samsung flatscreen for a friend. He provided me with the information about the capacitor problem. The bad caps were obvious after pulling the back off. There were 4 1000uf 10v caps that were bulging. Replaced them with 4 1000uf 16v caps. An hour of time and a couple bucks for parts and the tv works fine again.
I fixed my tv back in fall 2009. Two of the capacitors had gone bad and they were all that I replaced due to lack of confidence in my soldering skills. The tv has worked fine ever since. Does anyone know if the original problem was faulty capacitors or underpowered ones? I was under the impression, I can’t remember where from that the power board had 12v going across it but the capacitors were only rated for 10v. Samsung appear to be blaming the entire problem on supplies of faulty capacitors rather than a design flaw. Does anyone with expertize in this area know if it was faulty capacitors or if Samsung is passing the buck.
What I have been told and this is a quote.
“The issue was eventually determined to be the type of foil being used by one of the suppliers in the manufacture of the capacitors. If you got one of the TVs with a capacitor made by this one supplier, you could have the problem. The supplier has changed the foil, and there has no longer been a problem.”
thanks,
Phil
Wow, I cannot believe this. My Samsung has been doing the clicking for months…Does anyone know where to call int he US? I will be thrilled if they repaired it. I was going to junk it, but I love the picture on it. Also, how do you get in touh with Abington Law Firm? Thanks so much for this forum!
Called Samsung today! They told me my seriel number is one of the television that is elegible for a one time fix, Thanks for this site, or I would have never known about this….Hopefully, my Samsung will be working fine after the technician comes next week!
Hey Mary never mind a one time fix. My TV had the problem and I paid for a repair, then a couple of years later same problem. Insist that they give you a lifetime guarantee, the engineer who fixed mine said it would be covered for life if the same problem ever happened again and to ring the repair people direct instead of going through Samsung UK. Nail them!!
Just called Samsung about my 52″ tv clicking and not coming on Samsung will repair the TV. thanks for the information.
It’s great to see so many people trying and succeeding at repairing their Samsungs. My repair is 2 years old and still the same great picture.
no clicking. about 3-4 months old, purchased through Amazon as early Christmas gift to me from relative. On Christmas night, it just went dark. Had Optimum trouble shoot everything, but to no avail. Since learned power board blew.
seems like even a new set will just go. My mother’s was a year old and it also blew.
It amazes me that Samsung still has these power board and capacitor failures. They still aren’t servicing customers adequately and I firmly believe this behavior will be detrimental to them eventually. This is the customer relationship marketing era, and they’ve lost this customer for life. I suggest you all remember how you were treated by Samsung when you next consider purchasing any electronics.
wow, just called Samsung USA again – after they previously said my model wasn’t eligible for free repair (that was about 3 – 4 months ago), they’ve turned around and stated that yes my model is now eligible – my model number is LNT4042H which I bought in Sept 2007.
Thanks everyone for encouraging persistence! And a grumbling thank you to Samsung for finally admitting to this problem!
today i turned my samsung 52 inch on and it started clicking for about 2 min before turning on. my warranty is up so i decided to do a goggle search and this post was the first that popped up. after reading all these posts i am postive that my tv has the same problem with the capacitor. i called samsung about 5 min ago and they say they my model doesn’t have that problem. i told the tech to have his manager call me. we will see what happens tomorrow when he calls.
So we are definitely not the only ones having this problem. Are you all getting the red light flashing down the bottom left corner and clicking sound when turning TV on? Our red light keeps flashing and we have not been able to get the TV working at all over Christmas, such a pain. Only get clicking sound initially but TV still will not come on. Have only had the Samsung TV for 8 months !!
Samsung is coming thursday! One time free repair….Can’t wait…
Thank you for all this great information! I have a LE32A457C1D that would not turn on and thanks to this website I contacted Samsung. They were so helpful and this model is on the list for a free repair!!! The children will be pleased and so will I.
Thank you for posting this article. 2008 LCD TV started clicking a month ago when I turned it on and was taking longer and longer to start. Called Samsung and mentioned that I read articles about issues with capacitors and after looking up my model, they offered free repair. Technician came by today, changed the capacitors, and everything is working great!
I have had the same issue. Right outside the warranty. TV makes clicking noise. Rather spend $300.00 for repair I will opt to buy another brand. Anything but Samsung.
This is surely a design issue because this many people having the same issue does not make any sense. I will give Samsung a chance to fix this and if they do not then I will write about my experience.
Pogah and Mary Walsh. Please visit my You Tube Video on the Samsung Power on Power off defect under my You Tube name of nvdwarriorLTC. After reading the comments on my video, please consider joining the class action lawsuit being conducted by Abington Cole our of Tulsa Oklahoma. There are tens of thousands of people going through this pain and Samsung is not being honorable at all. Mary, you will not be visited by Samsung employees. They will send a contract maintenance repair team to your house. Watch them carefully. If they only replace the defective/swollen caps capacitors and do not replace the other UNDERVOLTAGED capacitors on the power supply board, its only a matter of time before the others cook. Tell them you know all about this defect. Please, watch my video and gain some knowledge. The repair people are usually pretty open about this entire mess. REmember, my motherboard also failed and that cost me $220 because samsung refuses to admit its their fault, ergo the lawsuit. They blame us for the mother board failures. Good luck,take notes and join the class action law suit.
Apparently, “Samsung” means Ass-rape in South Korean.
The repair by the local retailer contractor (BrandsMart) repaired by my 40″ LCD was done 3 years ago today. Working perfectly. They just changed out 4 10v capacitors with 16v.
Hello
My 46″ Samsung TV 3+ years old did the same thing, Samsung offered to send out a service tech to replace the faulty capacitors & they did in just a few days & the problem was fixed very quickly & expertly even around the holidays.
Thank you Samsung.
my tv makes a clicking noise and the channel is called “9xxx” please HELP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thought I’d pass on my experience from Canada. I have a 46 Samsung LCD which I purchased in June of 08 and I too was having the “clicking at turn on issue”. It was more of an annoyance than anything as it was generally only taking about 30 seconds for the TV to finally fire up (although I’m sure it was only going to get worse as the components continued to deteriorate). I believe forums such as this are be having the desired effect (knowledge and strength in numbers). When I called Samsung on the 800 warranty number here in Canada and told them I was experiencing the “known power supply capacitor issue” they almost immediately committed to “authorizing the one time repair” as long as I agreed to pay if it was determined to be something other than the capacitors (which I did). I was on the phone no more than 15 minutes. The tech arrived at my home the following day and had the repair completed within a couple of hours. TV works great and NO charge. Thanks to you all!
The same thing happened to my TV. Samsung sent someone to repair it, they changed the capacitators and the TV works fine now. Thank you Samsung!