My three year old RCA 32" television will not turn on today. I can hear a little humming sound coming from it all of the time when it is plugged in. When I press the power button on the remote or directly on the tv, nothing happens. The three year warranty ran out in June, which REALLY makes me mad.

Does anyone know what could be wrong/why it's humming? It has worked perfectly until today. Could the picture tube be broken? If so, can that be replaced or do you have to buy a whole new tv?

Thanks!

Hi Sarah
All that humming is is the transformer
which proves theres something happening albeit ...best advice geta TV repairman toit look in the evening paper Go for a "no fix no fee"..free estimate guy Some may be able to fix it in your home?
Do get a written estimate for the work if they haven't got the part then if you think thats too high go to another repair shop ask their price and if thats too high wave the original estimate under their noses and 9 out of 10 times they'll drop the price (Only works once)

TIP:Ask your neighbors first. They may know of a repairman who is not going to swindle you
Or B, They'll tell you who to avoid(not a good workman)

Do you have any idea about how much transformers run? I mean, am I looking at around $50 or hundreds? Thanks!

Transformers only distrbutes the power Best indicator its working is the standby light is illuminated (on the on/off switch)
As to what component has failed its sure to be something small
Tubes only go with old age and give many warnings before failure... My TV is over 10 years old (used every day) and the tube's still on the factory settings Had just 1 breakdown with the same fault as yours fixed for about $25 (out of warranty) Had to carry the TV to the repair shop!

No picture, no sound usually means power supply. This could be a simple as no power at the outlet or bad power cord. Could be a loose connection at the power supply. Or as major as the power supply itself.

I could just be the relay that turns the set on when the remote or main power button is press.

Some sets have a circuit breaker on the back that my have tripped. May look like a little red button that you press to reset. Some set have a internal fuse. This fuse is something that needs to be replaced by a professional. If it has a breaker on the back and you set it and it works, no problem. If you reset it and it trips again, have a pro look at your set.

Lastly, and I quote "Electronics these days are throw away. It cost more to repair then to replace." An owener of an electroics store I know once told me that those "Extened Warranties" are just extra profit for the store. They are betting that the warranty will run out before you have a problem.

Anyway you look at it, if it is internal to the set, it will cost you something to have it fixed. There are no "Do It Yourself" repairs to TV sets anymore. Hope your problem is a cheap one.

Thanks for the info guys! I took the tv to a repair place today, and they should know something by Monday. I might post again and ask if the problem is worth fixing, or if it would be better to just buy a new tv. I'll keep you updated.

Interesting fact... the lady from the tv repair place said she swears that the Japanese know how to configure electronics so they will break down in a certain amount of time, and therefore cause the need for a new purchase. I thought that was interesting, I guess there's no way to really test that theory though.