Help needed regarding repair of Philips 42PF9964

From London, 3 posts

We have a 42PF9964 which we purchased from Sevenoaks Sound and Vision in January 2003, for just under £4,300, and have experienced a continual problem with the on/off switch.

When I switch the TV on, it appears as though it is going to start i.e the green light comes on, then after about 10 seconds it switches itself off and the standby light flashes red. It takes 10 /12 times before it starts and eventually does not work at all.

Apparently, the problem is caused by three faulty capacitors - 2663, 2664 both 100µ/25V and 2662,1000µ/25V.

The problem first occurred early in 2005 and eventually rendered the set unusable in April of that year.

When I first contacted the Manager of the shop from whom I purchased the unit he said that he would speak to Philips and get somebody there to contact me - This never happened and after several more calls he told me that they could arrange an out of warranty repair for around £400!

After a lot of telephone calls emails and letters to Sevenoaks, enclosing a copy of the Sale of Goods Act, ending with the Assistant to the MD, Philips arranged for the machine to be repaired in July 2005, completely free of charge!

However, the same fault developed again in February of this year but, whilst deciding what to do, we were able to get around the problem by leaving the unit switched on and connected to the pc screensaver when not in use.

Unfortunately, we experienced a power cut earlier this month and although it only lasted about 15 minutes it was enough to put the unit completely out of action.

I haven't spoken to Philips because, from previous experience, their out of warranty service is completely non-existent and I have not contacted the retailer because I am sure they will no longer be interested as we have had the tv now for four years and three months and am now resigned to purchasing a new one.

However, it still riles me to think that a perfectly good tv, costing several thousand pounds will have to be scrapped because of substandard parts being used in the first place and the fact that we have also got to pay for the disposal of the unit only exacerbates the situation!

The Sale of Goods Act basically says that goods such as this should work as they were intended to do for at least five years but it is between the purchaser and the retailer to resolve the situation, whereas the Manufacturer of the sub-standard goods is not liable after the initial warranty period.

Philips must be aware of the problem because I can't believe that we are the only customers that have experienced it and, surely, they had a moral, if not legal, duty to either recall the units to effect a proper repair or replace them!

I now have nothing to lose by getting someone to replace the capacitors as suggested but I have not got any idea as to where I would be able to purchase the parts.

I would therefore very much appreciate any help that anyone is able to give me on this.

From London, 3 posts

I sent an email to Philips pointing out the problem and the apparent solution, explaining that whilst not expecting them to repair the unit, I would like some help in finding a supplier of the capacitors that I need in order for me to arrange a repair at a reasonable price.

Their service agents quote the cost of repairs at £400 and then will only guarantee the repair for three months!

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This is the reply I received today from Philips:-

Thank you for your recent e-mail.

Please accept our apologies for the difficulties you are experiencing with your model 42PF9964.

I'm sure you will understand that without a physical examination of your unit, we are not in a position to comment specifically.

As it would appear that your equipment is not currently covered by warranty, we would suggest that you contact our third party service provider Anovo who would be pleased to attend to your unit on a chargeable basis.

Anovo can be contacted on ............

Should you require any further information please contact our Customer Care Centre (details below) quoting customer reference number xxxxxxxx.


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This "Non-existent Customer Service" is, almost, unbelievable in this age of huge competition from companies in this particular home entertainment field!

Unfortunately, I am old enough to remember when Philips had a respected name and that alone was enough to choose them over other manufacturers!

Sadly, judging by my own and a huge number of other disappointed Philips customers that I have actually spoken to, exchanged emails with, or posted on various forums, this is not the case any more.

I will go out of my way never to purchase another Philips product and to prove this I have just purchased a Samsung PS42Q97!

I just hope their after sales customer service is better but, after all, how can it be any worse?

However, when I purchased the 42PF9964, I was never offered any form of extended warranty option. With my experiences I have opted for a 5 year extended warranty with the Samsung for an extra £219.00 and I would strongly advise anyone buying a plasma/lcd tv to do likewise!

From London, 3 posts

The main components that wear out are the capacitors which, with a minimum amount of electronics knowledge and a suitable soldering iron (you need one with a tiny point, preferably a butane gas powered one) and a powerful magnifying glass. This must be self supporting or one that hangs from a neck cord.

The capacitors and any other parts you need can be purchased very, very cheaply from rswww.com and they offer a free delivery service or, for an extra fee, a next day service!

When you remove the back panel from the TV, you will see a few circuit boards and you need to locate the one for the power supply.

On mine it is really obvious as it is situated at the top just left of middle. They all have numbers printed on the circuit board. Mine are 2662 (25V 1000 uF) 2663 and 2664 (both 50V 100uF)
The ones originally fitted are '85 deg C' but it is best to replace them with ones that are '105 deg C' because they will last longer.

These '85 deg C caps' normally have a guaranteed life of of 1000 hours, whereas the '105 deg C' ones have a guaranteed life of 2000 hours!

This being the case, when Philips build the sets they know that they will probably break down after a minimum of 1000 hours of use. If we suppose that the caps last for twice their minimum life span (2000 hours) and the TV is switched on for an average of 5 hours per day over the year one, ore more, of them will probably fail in the second quarter of the second year.

With this knowledge, for high cost items such as this, you would always be wise to take out an extended warranty and Philips, or any other manufacturer, should be obliged to include an information card warning consumers of this fact!

The Aluminium Electrolytic - Radial capacitors in question are, usually, 2 x 100uF. The voltage, I believe, depends on the screen size. My 42" screen requires 50V whereas the 32" version uses 25V caps.

There is also a larger 1000uF capacitor, of a similar type, that will be sighted close to the other two. This seems to be 25V, whatever the screen size!

The only thing you must remember when replacing these caps is that the longer leg on the capacitor is 'Positive' and the shorter one is 'Negative' and you must ensure that you do not damage the circuit track!

If you are careful and have a steady hand it is quite an easy job but if you are not too sure, you will probably be able to find a local repairer that is able do the job.

However, you have to beware of the Companies that offer a service where they come and collect the tv for a set fee, usually just under £100! They then work out the cost of the repairs and, if you give them the go ahead, they deduct the amount paid from the overall repair cost.

I have looked into many of these and, even if you agree to the repair estimate, usually in the region of £300, they never seem willing to guarantee the repair for longer than three months, six months at the very most!

When you consider that these components cost a matter of pence you can see the value of trying to repair it yourself.