Hello. First, thanks again for all the help on this forum, very appreciated.
So I have a GE 31GT660, 8-10 years old. The picture is stretched, or too big. In other words, when watching sports for example, scores and info that is usually close to the edges is pushed off the screen, like it's zoomed in. There seems to be no stretching, it affects horizontal and vertical the same. It just happened all of a sudden one day. The set was having problems turning on and of before that. The other symptom is that certain colors, mostly reds, are smeared to the right quite a bit.
My father suggested it's possibly a voltage regulator, and then went on to give me a simple explanation as to what that does, and it seems logical to me, but I'm pretty dumb. I did find a post here that outlines how to get into the service menus, which I'm tempted to do, but am hesitant. I understand the risks to an extent. If I mess with these menus is there any chance I could screw things up permanently, or just to the point wher a service tech would have to get it right again? And if the problem is a physical component would it be a mistake to try to compensate for the problems with service menu adjustments?
Hopefully I've made myself clear, and thanks for reading, Keith.
Couple of other quick items:
1. There are 2 switches on the back under the designation "Picture tilt". One is polarity (+, -) and strength (Off, Low, High). Just curious what these do.
2. Is there anything dangerous to worry about when editing Service Menu options? I don't mean to the TV, I mean to me. I can't blow anything up can I?
3. I'm not terribly worried if I totally screw this set up. I'll probably be replacing it with an HD set soon anyways. I am more interested in the challenge of correcting these problems, plus it would make a decent second TV for a different room. So I'm not scared to try stuff here.
You may have a fault in the pincushion circuit . is this a ctc177chassi or what ?
Chassis: CTC187CN6
Thanks
Check the 2 transistors in the pin cushion small board.
This chassis is very common for the screen to get big because of bad capacitors in the HOT circuit, and for the HOT to burn out. to burn out. I dont have the service bullitens for this chassis but maybe Dan or MOtvGuy can forward them. Also in this chassis T4401 has bad connections on its primary and secondary legs.
Hi guys. Thanks for the replies. Afraid this is getting a bit deep for me though, I don't really know where to go start looking for these things or what to do about them. I have a techbuddy I may have to get to look at this. Was hoping there might be a quick solution. I still may take my chances in the service menus though, any thoughts there?
No, I'm sorry My freind, on the TV's sets of today , there are no quick fixes, as everything is all solid state, and there are no user serviceable parts inside these TV sets unless you have the know how to service solid state circuits. It is not like in the past, where you could simply replace a tube or even a module. Please Play it safe, and seek out a servicer in your area to give you a hand in this repair. Good luck and keep us informed.
Will do, thanks for the help again Larry/
Well, like an impatient idiot I decided to jump into the service menus. Luckily everything worked by following the instructions here in this thread. Now my TV looks good as new. I'm so happy. Thanks Larry for your time and help here, and thanks to all others who help too.
Well ok, it's not perfect. There is a little pin cushion problem with the picture squeezing, or curving in at the top. But it's so minor it's barely noticable. I'm still happy.