RCA CTC203 blew up

[Mike Richardson]

Last night our RCA TV (25", F25441, chassis CTC203) was making loud
popping noises every few minutes but was otherwise operating fine. I
originally thought it was an extension cord so I unplugged all of it
and replaced with a surge protector. Turn TV on, and it goes POP POP
POP POP, with very bright visible flashes/sparks in the back and a
burnt electronics odor, I unplug it quickly.

Few hours later I take the back off and got this picture:

http://silvernetworks.net/tv.jpg

How much would this cost to repair at a shop (authorized RCA).

 

[Dani]

Flyback is shot, & likely the horizontal output, also, the PWM power
supply is likely damaged. About $ 120.00 plus taxes, depending on where
you live, & where you go to get it fixed.

 

[I.F.]

Last night our RCA TV (25", F25441, chassis CTC203) was making loud
popping noises every few minutes but was otherwise operating fine. I
originally thought it was an extension cord so I unplugged all of it
and replaced with a surge protector. Turn TV on, and it goes POP POP
POP POP, with very bright visible flashes/sparks in the back and a
burnt electronics odor, I unplug it quickly.

Few hours later I take the back off and got this picture:

http://silvernetworks.net/tv.jpg

How much would this cost to repair at a shop (authorized RCA).

If you shut it down before it failed completely its likely only the
transformer is damaged, this fault usually takes the flyback transistor
though!

The transformer can be pricy but the transistor usually isn't much. What
might be expensive is the engineers time to check possible causes, some
makes of transformer are poorly insulated which can cause this type of
failure, but possibilities include faulty flyback tuning capacitors or
regulation failure in the PSU!