mitsubitshi 50" tv model vs-45607

Hi, I have a mitsubitshi 50" 2000 tv. Model number; vs-45607. This tv was givin' to me, by a lady that stated, It was working really great, Great picture and ect. Then she said that it started shutting off after it was on for a little while. Then one day it didn't turn on at all. When I got it, I hit the power button, And it blinks three times, and turns back off again. The blinking lights are where it says timer. A friend that has worked on tv's, told me he believes the lights are blinking out somekind of code, refering to what the problem is. Does anybody have any info. as to where to check, to fix this? I would truly appriciate any kind of help I can get on this. Or is there any where I can buy a code book for this model? Thank You!, chaos