I speak of repair of the hardware, not the industry. A while back our brand spanking new Philips 27″ television mysteriously began denying that it had any knowledge of electricity. Our GE died after 12 years, so we expected the Philips to last a bit longer than four months. So, we called Philips regarding the situation, and, so sorry, we only cover labor for 90 days, feel free to take it to Stanton TV in Danbury, CT, for repair.
The unit has two components: the CRT and the circuit board. It’s simply a solid-state, single-purpose computing device attached to various means of I/O. It took longer to unscrew the back than it does to remove the board and swap it. But, after arguing the point with “Support,” it appears Policy prevents them from sending me the part. I might shock myself, after all. (Maybe I shouldn’t mention the Macintosh SE/30 lying disassembled on the floor of the basement.)
So we took it in. It’ll be $75 for the labor, they say.
Time passes.
“What’s taking so long?” I ask. “We’re waiting for parts.”
Time passes.
“Well?” “We’re troubleshooting the problem.”
Time passes.
“And?” “We’re waiting for parts; they should be here by the end of the week.”
Time passes.
“Oh?” “We’re troubleshooting the problem.”
Right.
They called today to tell us that it’s ready. If they think we’re paying for four weeks of labor, they have another think coming. I can pick up a Bigger, Better, More Feature-Rich Boob Tube at Wal*Mart for under $300. Why would I pay to have this one repaired?
Why doesn’t Philips do as Dell does, and send a guy to swap parts? Or, like IBM, just send the part?
Wow, I have also experienced your pain! 3 days ago my then just under 4 month old philips 27″ (27pt6441 – different model than yours, mine is flat screen) just died, no power, nothing. Customer service is a joke! Posted on the doityourself.com forum and heard from someone this am that said their tv did the same thing. This is just so unacceptable! I’m thinking of contacting microsoft directly (I read in a news post while searching for repair tips that microsoft just signed a 7 year contract to provide customer service for philips!
No more philips, ever!
I have a PHILIPS 32PT5441/37 TV. It is 6 months old, and won’t turn on. No high voltage.
It is out of labor warranty, and will cost more to fix than it is worth. Service was no help at all. I guess it will make an excellent boat anchor!
I have the same problem with the above model 27pt6441. How can I get it fixed without paying an arm and a leg? I had it for about 4 months when it died on me. Support couldn’t help me other that drive it 1 hour away from my house for the closest repair shop, and pay for the labor myself. the 90 day warranty is up.
The repair shop did not charge more than their initial quote for fixing the problem. Their suspicion was that the problem was related to the quality of power on the line: apparently these models are more sensitive to electrical fluctuations than previous models. But it could have been a component failure that they were unable to diagnose locally.
When making the decision to repair the unit or to purchase a new one, it’s really quite simple. Does the repair cost more, in time and money, than buying a new unit at your favorite retailer?
Should we have purchased the extended warranty? Perhaps next time. But we do have to remember to take that cost into account when comparing prices.
Well I wish I’d seen these prior to our purchase! We went to turn on our tv today, the 27PT6441, and lo and behold..no power! It never acted up and was purchased beginning of September frmo best Buy. This is not acceptable!!!! So did anyone get a definitive answer on how to fix it. Apparently we should have opted for the service agreement too… but given that our old tv is 25 years ols and still working figured that was a waste of money. Live and learn! So I’m not too familiar with this new flat screen technology. I wonder if this has something to do with it. Would be eager to hear how much repairs costed. I hate to think of more waste in the landfill! Thanks.
Much like everyone else posted here, I bought a 27″ flat screen philips TV in September. The other day my tv just shuts off while I was watching and now the thing is dead. It won’t turn on or anything. Best Buy said I should have bought the extended warranty for another 100 bucks and that the parts are covered but labor is not. And if I take all the way to Best Buy it will also cost me another 24 dollars to send it out. What do I do? Should I take it Best Buy, go to my local tv repair, or cut my losses and never by philips again? How much am I looking to pay here?
Just like everybody else, I bought a 27PT6441 in October, and then last week (about 4 months later) it stopped working- no power. Since it was over 90 days, target couldn’t reprint the receipt. And no receipt meant that no warranty work would be done. Any idea how to fix this? I think there’s a capacitor I need to discharge….
Same problem. Purchased a 27PT6441 for my parents on the day before Christmas. Never thought it would only last barely over 3 friggin’ months. How convenient. What type of pact with the devil (repair men) did Phillips make? They know how long their products will last. The 3 months just is festering and I can’t stand it. I must bring my mind to nicer things. I now have to see if I can find the receipt. I would be suprised if their replacement part lasts over 3 months. If it does then they likely fixed the problem in the original part in which case they should fix the problem for free since it was in the original design.
Signed,
Unhappy with Phillips
Another reader, whose comment I accidentally deleted, writes,
I purchased this TV the day after Thanksgiving, but did not open it until Christmas. The TV worked just fine for about three months. However, less than four months after being put to use, the TV does not work. It does not respond what so ever. It does not indicate as it is receiving any power. Sure there might be a parts warranty left, but the minimum cost to service this tv is more than a third of what I paid for it. After reading the reviews on Amazon.com, I discovered that many people suffered the same problem as me. Usually a few days to two months after the labor part of the warranty expires, many people have been experiencing units that cease to power on. What I have experienced does not seem to be an isolated incident! Something was obviously overlooked in the manufacturing of this product. To a certain degree it almost seems too “convenient” for the company to get out of the labor obligation just days before the product dies. I purchased this unit as an upgrade from my 20″ Magnavox, that is still functioning as well as it did when I received it over 15 years ago. Generally tv’s are expected to last 5-10 years. For this model of TV to rarely make it past 5 months of life indicates that something is seriously wrong in the craftmanship of this television. Although it may technically be beyond 90 since the unit was purchased, I feel that Philips should really pay for the cost of parts and labor for this issue as it appears to be a defect in the circuitry of the product. Having a product function perfectly and then suddenly become dysfunctional just moments after the warranty period expires seems a little odd and raises red flags, especially since the problem appears to be so wide-spread. Maybe the product need to be recalled in general. I really do not know, all I can say is that it seems that a large portion of consumers that purchased this product are destined to become the victims of costly repairs.
Apparently the fuse mentioned above is a 4 amp fuse, available on-line or at any Radio Shack.
If you do not feel comfortable opening your equipment, do NOT do it. The CRT contains a huge amount of static electricity, and discharging that into your body could cause severe injury and possibly death.
A out-of-warranty repair should run about $75 to $100, which, while annoying, is certainly cheaper than a hospital bill.
Hello Will Cox,
Do you have any diagrams or pictures that I can follow to replace the fuse? Is there anyway to ground the CRT so it will not discharge?
I bought a Philips 32″ 32PT5441/37 last October. Now 7 months later the thing won’t turn on. I get sound for a couple of seconds, then nothing. Warranty only covers labor for 90 days- what! I guess Philips have little confidence in their product, and rightly so.
I bought my Philips 32PT5441/37 in August 2004. It stopped working in November, only a few days after the expiration of the labor coverage. I had to argue with Philips for a month for them to pay for labor which they eventually did. I got the TV back in Januray. Now (May 2005), the TV is not turning on again. This is ridiculous.
The fuse change really does work. We went to Radio Shack and bought 250V 4 amp slow blow fuses. We opened the box (on the 27PT6441 there are 9 screws that need to be undone) and pulled the back panel off. We immediately saw the fuse that needed to be changed, located right near where the power cord entered the circuit board. It was clearly blown. Using pliers and being careful not to touch anything, we pulled it out and replaced it. I accept NO responsibility if you do this yourself, I just wanted to tell you what we did.
i too have a t.v. same model # and it also will not turn on
I just wanted to say I had the same problem with my Phillips 27PT6441/37 27 inch TV…which was also 6 months old with no labor warranty left. I took it to the philips authorized repair shop, where I saw 4 other TVs JUST LIKE MINE. Apparently, the whole part attached to the fuse that blows needs to be replaced….becuase it’s not enough wattage to handle the power surge when the TV is turned on…or something. So it’s not just the fuse, it’s the whole de-magnatizing thingy. In any case….the repair shop said it’d be about $100 to fix. (it actually ended up being $125 for labor). Meanwhile, I wrote the Better Business Bureau (with this site as my proof) about how this set is having problems. Magically, Philips wrote me back (in reference to my BBB letter) and said that they’d gladly offer a concession for labor. So if you have this issue….WRITE THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU! Worked for me! THe Knoxville,TN one is the best to address.
I bought this TV in Feb. I have the exact same problem. I called up the factory service center in Philly and as the product is out of warranty they wanted to charge 15$ for speaking to a technical person. If this is not bad business practice, I don’t know what is.
All i hear is about everyone having the same problem, and the phillips company not cooperating, well i for one would like for us to band together and sock phillips right in the jaw, im talkin class action lawsuit. PLEASE! contact me at l3d@sbcglobal.net. PLEASE, remember strength in numbers!
Same tv as mentioned 27PT6441. After 4 months it would not turn on. Im attempting to fix it myself after dropping my jaw to the $150 fix it quote. Never by Philips again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!! CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Sincerely Nick Olson “Sad Philips Owner”
Same thing just happened tonight with my 27PT6441 Phillips TV. This is ridiculous and Phillips needs to do something about it. It was working fine an hour ago, and now it refuses to turn on.
Same same here. Its a 27″ Phillips, nice TV for just over a year. I haven’t called Phillips yet and after reading your past experiences with Customer Service, I think I’ll opt for the Take it apart and put her back together method, but just over a year makes Phillips look like they’re running a really shabby operation. Thanks to all for the info. Thanks to Phillips for helping me to read more. – Armand Croft
I bought this TV last night and searched the web to see if I got a good price. Thankfully I found this site and will bring it back to the store today! I didn’t even take it out of the box. Thanks for posting you troubles with this product and allowing me to be better informed on my purchase.
Dale P.
This morning I woke up put the tv watch the new for about 10 minutes went out for a run came back went to turn the tv on, no power….. I have the 27PT6441 model was a little luckier than most of you it lasted for a more then 4 months but didn’t last the year. I’m in agreement with Mike Pedley we should all get together and sumbit a class action. This is unacceptable. Can be contacted at sarectin@comcast.net
I’m salty! WOW! Same thing with model # 27PT6441…So does changing the fuse work or the entire part need to be replaced? Also will Wal-mart exchange for store credit w/o a reciept?
I’ve got the 32PT5441, and I guess I’ve had it for about exactly a year. Got up before work this morning, and suddenly it’s dead. Same as others have mentioned, sound for a few seconds then nothing. Seems like that power light flashes a particular “code”. I wonder if it’s supposed to mean something?
I’m so dissapointed in Philips after my TV failed, and I’ve found I’m not the only one. Honestly I’ve loved philips until now. I even understand nothing is perfect, but philips obviously knows this isn’t an isolated issue with a couple TV’s. The fact that they aren’t offering a fix or any type of explanation is what is the biggest problem in my mind. I’ve lost basically all faith in this company all over this TV….in the past I recommended them to everyone. It’s a shame they leave us hanging without a solution. Other than the one post that contacted BBB, has anyone actually contacted Philips and pointed them to this site? I think I’m going to to see what type of response I get.
Dwain
This is out of hand. Granted my Phillips 27PT6441 is 2 yrs old – it was turning itself off randomly and now no power at all. I just wrote Phillips website so we’ll see about an answer. I am in the class action push for sure.’
spfinmission@aol.com
I also have the same problem with my philips television 32PT5441 . It’s about 9months old, and suddenly stopped working while watching the tv. It looks like some manufacturing defect and philips doesn’t want to pay for labor nor they want to recall. The labour estimated price is $150 and we can get a new televion of different brand for this price. This is outrageously crappy support from philips to manufacture such tv and then not support it
I too bought the dreaded 27PT6441 in February of this year (five months ago). I had been watching the news and shut it off to feed the kids. Once they were in bed I turned the TV back on and heard a pop. I went to the Philips website to request service, where they boast contact within four hours. After I entered my serial number it said the labor was covered until 8/8/05. After twenty-two hours I still had not been contacted. I decided to email them and I received an automated response not a response from a service representative. The next day I called the number in the email. After giving my serial number the representative stated that labor was covered until 8/8/05. She gave me the name and number of a Philips authorized repair center, but it had gone out of business, which I didn’t know until today when I tried to call. Then I called again, received a different repair center name and number. I called them and they initially stated they wouldn’t call Philips on my behalf if they had to be placed on hold. They did call Philips and a Philips representative said my labor warranty had expired. This burns me because they know the problem with the fuse housing exists, yet they have done nothing about it. I will NEVER buy another Philips anything ever again and will discourage everyone I know from buying a Philips.
I bought the 27PT6441 on 11/28/04 and on 8/7/05 it decided to die like the rest in this list. I had called Philips and they stated it was out of labor warranty and I needed to pay that. I called the local repair joint they recommended and got a quote of at least $80. That was just to look at it. I decided at a whim to open it up and look at the fuse (I hadn’t hit google at the time). I had a Sony have a power supply go dead (after 5 years) but with it, you could at least hear a click. The Philips did nothing. I pulled the fuse, it was blown, replaced it, and now I am watching TV. But what I wonder is for how long? Will the fuse blow again in 8 months or sooner? I don’t want to have to do this again. I knew I should have saved a little more and bought a Sony.
To those who have had the repair done, did that fix it for good? Did they replace more than just the fuse? I am almost thinking of putting the blown fuse back in, keeping the appointment and having them repair it but if I do that, I want to make sure it is worth my while and money. Or will I be forking out more money down the road to have another bum part replaced.
On the other hand, I am seriously thinking of taking a picture of this set and throwing it on craigslist or something to sell it quick and buy that Sony. I’m sure I can get something out of a set that is less than a year old. I know that may be seen as “wrong” but I can’t fathom having to open a TV every few months to replace a 63 cent fuse.
From what I have noticed here and on other sites is that we all bought them around the same time. I only wish these reviews had been around when I bought this TV. I know my decision would have been different.
I am glad to see that I am not the only one who has be taken to the cleaners by Phillips. I purchased a 32PT71B1 as well and only a few months the thing started going crazy. It would turn on and off by itself at all hours and the sound would go up and down as well. After several phone calls to Phillips for a service center in my area I was finally contacted by them. My “television” , in which I have better names for it was at the repair shop for over a month. When it was returned to my home after only two days of use it started doing the same thing all over again with a few added problems that wasn’t even occuring when it went into the shop. I call the TV was returned and after another two months I received the television back and yes you guessed it. The ****ing thing was doing it again. I called Phillips about the service contract I had purchased with them. Received the run around as uaual and after about two weeks of being placed on hold being transfered from department to department. They were finally convinced to honor up to the terms of the contract with a replacement Television but only after I had informed them I was contacting the Consumer Protection Agency and the local BBB. I have just received the specs and Model number they wish to replace my Televison with 32PT5441/37, which from what I have found out on here from other consumers that have been taken advantage of, may offer the same head aches as before. We should all lodge a complante with what ever agences we can to place a wake up call to Phillips that we the consumer will not be taken advantage of any longer. Call your local BBB and they can direct you to the agences that can help out on this matter.
Just to make everyone feel better, I bought my 27PT6441/37 2 weeks ago (August 20th) when I moved into a new apartment. I had the cable hooked up for a week, and tonight, September 4th, my TV just quit working. So basically, I just paid for a TV with a week expiration date! I really wish I had read all of this before I bought it, I thought it was a great TV at a good deal, but I will take mine back and pay extra to get a different brand. PHILLIPS SUCKS!
I see there is a lot of people with the same problem as me!! I too bought a Philips 27PT6441/37 and it shut off and does some blinking code thing blinks 3 times then 2 then one long blink. I am soooooooooooooo mad Philips does not help me at all!!! But, I found some a web site where someone helped me to get the part to fix it and you need to replace the fuse too. here it is……Remove thermistor #3523 and install part # 2122 6630 0019 into position 3507. Common problem you can order the part from http://www.radioshack.com and it works now and fixed it by myself it took 5 minutes to fix! But, This will be the last philips product I will ever buy!! That is for sure!!
I am the same one that posted on August 8th. I thought I would give an update.
I called Philips 3 times. The first two were unsuccessful like many of the others. On the second call, they gave me more than one repair shop to call. I did. I got in touch with one that said “yeah, we deal with a lot of those TVs and if you fight hard enough, Philips will concede the labor. So I called Philips again and told them that one of their repair shops said that they know about the issue and have conceded labor on sets older than one year. That statement turned into a request for a fax of a receipt. I sent my info as asked and 3 days later, I got a call from Philips saying they would concede the labor and my TV would be fixed for free. It was fixed on September 2nd. I hope it will last beyond December. I guess I’ll wait and see.
Try it, you might be successful.
My husband bought two Magnavox 27 inch television DVD/VHS combos at Home Depot in May 2004. The first televion set starting having problems in December with the picture tube (basically the colors that make up an image were being concentrated into large blue, fushia, and green circles across the screen). We took it in and it was fixed but we had to pay for the labor $ 75.00.
We decided to take the other television set out of the box and try it out. Well, guess what- after using the television for approximately the same amount of time the same thing happened! Unbelieveable, struck by the same problem twice! What are the odds!
Now, Philips which acquired Magnavox is wanting to wash its hands and responsibility by saying that the warranty expired after a year. Believe me, I feel your pain and I’ll be willing to participate in the filing of a lawsuit against this company manufacturing and selling expensive lemons. I’ll be writing a letter to the BBB and Consumer Protection Agency as soon as I can so that other persons can avoid this problem.
The personnel at Philips are well scripted. They will tell you in techical terms that basically “you’re on your own!” I was quoted a price of $632.00 to repair the television set by the repair shop. I paid over $300.00 twice for the two sets.
It’s going to cost more to fix it than to buy a new one definitely from another company. What a shame! It is a real nice looking television. I’ve owned ther televisions manufactured by other companies and paid the same amount of money for them. Some are over eight years old and still working.
I caution anyone considering buy this or any PHILIPS related products. Be ready to get angry and fustrated. I feel sorry for the personnel working there because they are going to have to put up with alot of complaints. (Maybe this just a faulty batch of televisions but at this point in time- I am under the impression that they know that the problem exits but could basically give a ****!)
I guess I’m lucky mine lasted a year before it lost power .Did anyone ever find out what that flashing code ment 3 2 long 1 than it starts over again and will do it about a min. after it’s unpluged.Would get a different TV but this one is so heavy I can’t move it and how do you get rid of it. If I called a repairman and tell him whats wrong can he fix it at my home.
Unfortunately, I’ve found these comments because our Philips 27″ is doing the same thing. Not powering up and flashing an error msg: one long flash (start of sequence), then three short, pause, two short flashes. Philips tech support (if you can call it that) says this error means “vertical hold protect” and “vertical overvolt”. I am a proffesional AV contractor and have never been a fan of Philips products, however this was the only available model that would fit the existing cabinet. I’m currently searching for the part # 2122 6630 0019 to replace the thermistor, but am having trouble finding it. Anybody had any luck? I also know a great paralegal that works with a firm that might be interested in handling a class action case against Philips, as there customer support in this matter has been ridiculously bad.
My Philips stopped working after 7 months, thanks to this website I was able to fix it myself. Used a 4 amp slow burning fuse from Radio Shack. It was $2.49 for a packege of 4. 9 screws to remove, took me less than 5 minutes.
damn,,,we thought our 27″ phillips was not working because of lightning. i cannot beleive how many victims there are! amazing. i will certainly not buy anything again with the Phillips name on it again. ever! i bought mine as a gift last x mas from cirtcuit city. i called Phillips and got the runaround. they said it was only covered for 3 months.
Its now sitting in our living room and we just dont have a clue what to do with it. I was wondering if any of you experienced the problems even if it was hooked up to a surge protector. Ours was not.
I too have the dreaded 32 PT5441 and would give it a try with the fuse solution. Please also let me know if there will be a class suit against these people. For the record I bought mine for $545 about 18 months ago – I just saw it on sale for $288 at Best Buy – amazing they keep ripping off people.
I cannot believe that so many people are having trouble with their Phillips 27″. I too am joining the club. I bought my set 10 months ago. Turned my set off and went to bed, tried turning it on the next morning and had no power, no flashing lights, nothing. A large electronics store chain in my neighborhood is having a huge sale on Phillips televisions. I wish I could take this page to everyone that goes into the store and tell them “DON’T BUY IT!!! I will never buy anthing Phillips again.
I bought a Philips 27PT6441/37 less than a week ago and already had to have it serviced. There was a purple spot in the upper left hand corner. I would have sent it back but I only paid $150 (on clearance) for it and knew I probably couldnt replace it for that. I’m seriously thinking about taking it back anyway now that I’ve read your postings. Thx Cathy
I purchased a 27 in Philips TV (27PT8302) in June 2005. The television began having serious picture issues with 3 colored lines flashing intermittedly across the screen. When I called Philips, they told me to return it to the store as the lines meant the picture was going. Unfortunately, it was after the 30 day return window, but within the 90 day warranty provided by Philips so I had ot get it “repaired”. I took it to a local service center who claims they cannot see the problem even though the technician that came to the house sat with me and saw it for himself. It has been into this center twice now and they have “replaced” two parts to no avail. Philips has offered to have it serviced again. I will keep you posted on my progress. This is the second Philips product I purchased this year that was defective. My DVD player broke almost immediately..but it was only $60 and not worth the hassle I am going through now. I will never buy Philips again. I had an RCA unit for 10 years with no problems. I sold it at a garage sale after buying this unit. I wished I had kept it.
I, too, purchased a 27PT6441/37 – back in February 2005. I was able to use it for 8 months with absolutely no problem. Then, like most of the rest of you, it went dead – no power whatsoever. I called Philips twice and got the same runaround “We have no control over what service repair shops charge” blah blah blah. Now, does Philips not have to approve pricing in any way whatsoever? These repair shops just take a course offered by Philips and they are then authorized? That is awful. In any case, I found this site – imagine my surprise! I went to Radio Shack, purchased the pack of fuses, took out the old one and saw where it was blown. One problem – when my hubby removed the back cover, he pulled out a power cable from the on/off switch to something else inside (picture tube maybe?). We cannot get this cable back in, no matter how hard we try. It is in such a weird angle, no one (we had 4 people try) can get it to lock in. Never mind that we’re not absolutely positive of the way/place that it locks in… Does anyone know the trick to doing this, before I shell out the bucks to a repair center? Any help would be greatly appreciated – you can email me at seaellare1@msn.com. Thanks!
I too lost my picture on my 27PT6441/37 last night.
Spent a few hours looking for help such as this site.
On………..
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/electronics/msg0300341010556.html
…………….. there is this fix.
In responce to Carl99’s message concerning the issues he’s having with his Philips 32PT6441/37 TV’s, I think I have your fix. The TV I had was working fine, then after 4 months of use, it quit. The power LED flashed a code; 3 flashes, 2 flashes, then 1 longer flash then it would repeat.
I found out that the problem was the H. Drive Transistor (7404) I believe. Order repair kit 483531057673 from Tritronics Inc. I’ve included the link to bring you directly there. The repair kit will set you back $5.70 plus shipping. CHEAP! (Repair at your own risk)
You’ll need to open it up (obviously), discharge the picture tube, disconnect a number of connectors (so that you can partially remove the mainboard to work on it) and replace two resistors (3239 & 3414), and transistor (7404). The kit includes semi-instructions. Just replace the components at the locations identified with the new hardware. It had an additional component (5402) in the kit as well. I’m not sure if it is necessary to replace it as well, but I went ahead and did it anyway.
It looks like this fix is similar for all of the Philips TV’s models for this set design. The only change between them is the resistor value for 3414. The repair kit contains all of the resistors for the sets. The models are:
25PT6341/85, 26PW6341/37, 27MS6341/37, 27PT5441/37, 27PT6441/37, 27PT6442/37, 27ST6210/27, 28PW6341/85, 29PT6441/44, 29PT6441/85, 29PT6541/44, 29PT6541/85, 30PW6341/37, 32MS6341/37, 32PT5441/37, 32PT6441/37, 32PT6442/37, 32PW6341/85, 32ST6210/27, 33PT5441/85
I was told that the transitior in this repair kit is improved versus the old (early) design. Because of the tightly integrated printed-circuit board, soldering on it takes some skill, especially when removing the old transistor and replacing it with the new one. However, I’m no professional and my TV has been back up and running for two months now. Working fine.
http://www.tritronicsinc.com/cgi-bin/onramp.exe?pgm=itemdet_cs.bbx&custnum=RETAIL&password=1130472044&id=483531057673++++++++
__________________________________________________________
I went and bought a slow burn fuse and it worked for about one hour.
Looks like I need to learn a few thing on TV repair.
Just an update on my 27PT6441/37 . I found an email address on another forum (same problem/model TV that is menitoned here) and decided to give it a try. I sent an email to [address removed at owner’s request] last Thursday night. I received a call on Friday requesting a fax of my receipt and was given an ID number to include with this fax. Today is Tuesday, and I still have not faxed the receipt, but I received a call this morning from the local authorized repair center. They came out about 1 1/2 hours later, fixed my television with no questions. He (the repairman) did ask who opened up the tv, and told me that if any damage was done, it would void the warranty – Philips basically extended my warranty rather than granting a labor concession. All in all, hubby only stripped 4 screws and bent 2 plugs inside there (I’m honestly surprised more damage wasn’t done!) The repairman told me that it was a bad vrt (I believe those are the letters) and he replaced it. The set is not yet hooked up to my directv box/sound system, but we turned it on and can get sound and picture from some local channels. The man explained that while the blown fuse was the problem of no power, the VRT or whatever it is called was what was causing the fuse to blow. I am assuming that if one simply replaces the fuse, it will not fix the problem and the fuses will keep blowing.
In any case, thought I’d share that bit of info – email me at seaellare1@msn.com and I can forward the letter that I emailed that got things moving for me! Thanks for everyone’s posts here, they are what made me realize that I don’t have to shell out $$ to have this fixed, that the problem is a manufacturer defect!
Ok here is the best site for help from this problem,
http://forum.eserviceinfo.com/viewtopic.php?t=4537
I found the price for the part was $1.43
Shipping was $7.95
What a joke.
For Joe and Stephen , I had mine plugged into a surge protector and it didn’t help. I haven’t fixed mine yet. I went out to Walmart and bought a AKIA 27 inch flat screen for $169 least if it quits I ‘m not out that much. Would still like to get the Philips fixed.
Just purchased the exact model a all of you guys thanks for your posts I am now well informed of the problems that this unit has. It should and will be returned promptly! Thanks guys.