Vizio TV Repair

So my Vizio TV was flashing on & off rapidly every time I switched it on. I would have to give it a smack at the back to get it to stop. I know it's not a good way to get something to work, but it got things working until I had time to repair it. After some Goggleing it was clear it was most probley some capacitor that where damaged. After opening it i found 4 caps on 2 of the circuit boards blown. I replaced them and now it works great. 

1. VIZIO Model  VW42L  HDTV10A
2. Replacment capacitors 470μF

Step 1: Finding the Problem

1.  The first step was to find a safe place to work on the TV. I put a moving blanket on our dinning table and put the TV face down on that.

2.  Next I unscrewed all the screw that i could find and removed the stand and back cover.

3.  I inspected all the capacitors and found 4 of them were damaged on 2 of the circuit boards on the left and right of the set.  You can easily see when they are damaged when the ends are bulged out and/or split open.

4. I unplugged, removed, repaired and replaced one board at a time.

Step 2: Repairing

1.  First thing to do is get replacement Capacitors. After a quick look on line I found my local Radio Shack had some in stock. I when and got 4 of the  470μF 35v capacitors the temperature rating was a bit lower than the originals but should work fine.

2.  Next I desoldered the old capacitors, cut the mounting silicone with a sharp blade and removed them.


3. After cleaning up the the old solder flunks with an old tooth brush and some WD40. I bent and cut the new capacitor leads  to size making sure the polarity was correct.

4.  I then soldered them in place and cleaned with WD40 again

5.  Then used hot glue to replace the silicon mountings.

6.  Finally put the board back and plugged back in.

I put the back cover on and put all the screws back, plugged it all in and it worked great with no problems and is still working now.