When watching the TV, it would shut down and sometimes the picture would darken and roll diagonally. It could not be turned back on using the remote. I would have to use the main power button behind the flip-down panel below the screen. Once when I powered it back on a yellow Y appeared in the center of the screen.
A service tech came out and said the blue CRT had a mark burned into it. One month later he replaced the Blue CRT ($750) and showed me the mark in it. He said the tv was fixed including the shut-down problem. Five hours later the tv shut off. When I turned it on again the yellow Y was back.
I called the repair company back and the technician said he needed to see the tv shut down. So on Dec. 13 they picked the tv up and took it to their shop. I haven't seen it since.
They claim they are working with Pioneer and can't figure out what is causing it to shut down. I'm starting the fourth month with no television.
Has anyone had a similar problem? If so, how was it fixed and how long did it take?
Does anyone have any idea what might cause this?
These sets should be repaired by an authorized Pioneer service depot, as they know the problems with these sets. This problem is a common one that would repeat itself if you did not repair the sweep circuit, such as do a Blanking circuit modification when you replace the CRT. I must have fixed 1000 of these sets if not more. If I were you, and these folks were not authorized Pioneer, have them return your money, bring back the set, and call in Pioneer to service this TV set. This is totally unacceptable. $ months is way too long to wait for your TV set to be repaired. Be firm with them. If they are authorized Pioneer TV repair peeps, contact Pioneer and tell them your story. They will get the matter straightned out for you. Good Luck, and please let us know how this turns out.
Thanks for the input. I don't think the repair place is an authorized Pioneer repair facility. However they are part of a dealer I thought was top of the line. Obviously not.
I did contact Pioneer. They assigned a case number almost three weeks ago and are supposedly helping to no avail.
Based on your input I will try to call Pioneer again.
Thanks again and I will keep you informed.
One last update to let you know how this turned out.
I got the TV back 12 days ago after just over four months of hassle. After receiving your input, I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau of Phoenix, wrote a letter the President/CEO of the company and called the local television channel's Call for Action line.
The CEO assigned one of his people to it and the local TV station got involved. As a result the local TV station forced them to give me a loaner. the CEO's man refunded all of the money I originally paid for the repair work and the local repair office worked closely with Pioneer to finally fix the TV.
By my count they blew at least three Blue CRT,s out before they fixed the problem. They replaced three parts in the TV and each time the TV would work for a while and the problem would reoccur. Finally Pioneer had them replace something called a Deflection Assembly and the problem seems to be fixed. I have run the TV every day for nearly two weeks with no problems.
The TV station keeps checking with me because if it fails again they are going after Pioneer for a new TV.
The downside is it never should have taken as long as it did. The upside for me is that everything they did was free (only because the CEO and Call for Action got involved).
Thats a great story, You need to be persistant and these companys will take notice, Good For you!