Found this on YouTube:

MY GOD! That guy is damn lucky that he didn't snap that panel lifting it like he did. THEY CANNOT SUPPORT THEIR OWN WEIGHT! Go to Harbor Freight and pick up two of these:



Place one about 20% in from each side. Lift the panel with these - DO NOT FLEX THE PANEL. Also, DO NOT TOUCH THE INSIDE of the panel WITHOUT A GLOVE ON! While you're at HF, pick up some of these. Set the panel VERTICALLY against the wall and REMOVE the suction cups. Also, DO NOT TOUCH ANY OF THE DIFFUSERS WITHOUT A GLOVE! The oils in your hand and fingers will show through once reassembled and the set will have to be disassembled and cleaned. Now, proceed with replacing the defective LEDs.

A quick way to find out which strip has the bad LED, film the power on flash and locate the strip that ISN'T flashing.

Watching his video made me cringe.

 

Haven't gotten so far as to removing the panel yet. Hoping I don't have to. But if I DO have to I will keep in mind your advice. Thanks for the warning about finger oils.

[edit] reviewed the video. I didn't see him lift the panel at all. Still, I'll heed the warning for sure.

At present my TV is resting face down. If (or when) I have to remove it to this level I will lift the back panel off of the screen leaving the screen to rest flat on the bench.
[end edit]

 

At present my TV is resting face down. If (or when) I have to remove it to this level I will lift the back panel off of the screen leaving the screen to rest flat on the bench.

It won't work that way, and if you could, you couldn't reassemble it that way. Always remove the panel with the set lying on its back.

 

[QUOTE="Tonyr1084, post: 1445616, member: 285953"At present my TV is resting face down. If (or when) I have to remove it to this level I will lift the back panel off of the screen leaving the screen to rest flat on the bench.

It won't work that way, and if you could, you couldn't reassemble it that way. Always remove the panel with the set lying on its back.
[/QUOTE]
The only position to gain access to the set is with it face down. And that is the position to use for checking the LEDs. At least on the sets that I have investigated.

 

@MisterBill2, your post doesn't make sense, probably because my post that you quoted didn't make sense due to formatting errors.

To gain access to the main electronics boards, a flat screen has to be on its face. To gain access to the BACK LIGHTS, a flat screen has to be on its back. @Tonyr1084 wants to access the back lights by pulling the chassis off the panel, leaving the panel (and everything else that will come crashing down) flat on the table. Under the panel there are diffusers and polarizers and reflectors that a lot of times are just held in by the panel. Sometimes, the manufacturer will hold everything in place with double-sided tape around the edges. All the tape has to be removed - I use a hair dryer to soften the glue and remove the tape.

Another method that I have successfully used in the past, is to place the set on one of its short sides against a wall and tilt the set so that the panel starts to fail forward. Once the panel is clear of the chassis, lift it using gloves and lean it again a wall. To REPLACE the panel, use two people - one to lift the panel and one to guide it into its channel.

Just remember that a panel CANNOT be forced. Forcing one is the fastest way to render it useless.

 

@MisterBill2, your post doesn't make sense, probably because my post that you quoted didn't make sense due to formatting errors.

To gain access to the main electronics boards, a flat screen has to be on its face. To gain access to the BACK LIGHTS, a flat screen has to be on its back. @Tonyr1084 wants to access the back lights by pulling the chassis off the panel, leaving the panel (and everything else that will come crashing down) flat on the table. Under the panel there are diffusers and polarizers and reflectors that a lot of times are just held in by the panel. Sometimes, the manufacturer will hold everything in place with double-sided tape around the edges. All the tape has to be removed - I use a hair dryer to soften the glue and remove the tape.

Another method that I have successfully used in the past, is to place the set on one of its short sides against a wall and tilt the set so that the panel starts to fail forward. Once the panel is clear of the chassis, lift it using gloves and lean it again a wall. To REPLACE the panel, use two people - one to lift the panel and one to guide it into its channel.

Just remember that a panel CANNOT be forced. Forcing one is the fastest way to render it useless.

OK, I was thinking about the process of removing that back panel from the LCD portion of the seat. I have done that, and now it is clear to me the reason that replacing the LCD portion costs more than replacing the whole set. That is a bit discouraging because I have an ASUS laptop computer with a cracked LCD and I would very much like to repair it. And dead ASUS computers with a good screen are rather rare. I would just replace the whole lid section with a working one, if I could find one.

 

Thanks all. Today I hope to find some time to reassemble the board to the backplane, power it up and check for voltages across what appears to be L1+ & L1- and L2+ & L2-. Like the one in the video he found three open resistors and three lines of LED's. Of course he also found a blown LED, so if I have a blown LED I won't have a successful repair. Not until I attempt to go inside the flat panel and all its glorious guts.

To say the least I'm glad to hear all these opinions on the matter. I won't be in any hurry to disassemble the flat panel from the backplane. But if I have to - I may attempt. But I suspect I'll probably end up scrapping the thing - likely because I'll damage something beyond repair.

Got it for free, so no huge losses other than my time and learning experiences with such things.

Thanks again all.

 

I won't be in any hurry to disassemble the flat panel from the backplane. But if I have to - I may attempt. But I suspect I'll probably end up scrapping the thing - likely because I'll damage something beyond repair.

Don't let the thing intimidate you. Here is a 65" Sony panel ready to be lifted off the chassis:



And here it is resting against the wall (while I wait on a 5 cent part to repair it):



I rested all the diffusers against the panel here, too.

 

When I got as far as lifting off the steel panel with all of the LEDs, I could have checked each LED at that point and replaced or bypassed whatever needed replacing. It is the LCD connections that are so very many, one for each row and one for each column. That is a lot of connections.

 

When I got as far as lifting off the steel panel with all of the LEDs, I could have checked each LED at that point and replaced or bypassed whatever needed replacing. It is the LCD connections that are so very many, one for each row and one for each column. That is a lot of connections.

Not sure what you are referring to, but the white connectors in the center of the panel shown in the picture above are the ONLY connections to the panel.