Expert: Rick Montgomery - 11/8/2009

Question
I have a 37 1/2 inch Sanyo. It was working great and lightening hit somewhere close to my house, did not hit the house but we lost power. The tv was plugged into a surge protector and everything still works but I cant get the tv to come on. Is there a way I can check to see if there is a blown fuse?  

Answer
Ginger,
  Lightning damage, power surge damage, and physical damage are the 3 most difficult types of damage to resolve. Without having the set in front of me, makes it that much more difficult. Because of this, I need every bit of information you can give me, the most important being the model number, which you omitted. What I do know is that no company has made a 37 1/2" TV. Many have made a 37" set, and of these, all are either LCD or Plasma. Sanyo has made both types.
Yes, you can check to see if you were lucky and only a fuse blew. You will have to take the back off and locate the power supply module. It will have at least one fuse on it. If you replace it, and it immediately blows again, you will have a shorted power supply module. Although they are relatively easy to replace, unfortunately there is no way to determine if you have other damage, or to what extent, without replacing it. Lightning damage is too random, and there is no "normal" with respect to the area or amount of damage. Good luck,
regards,
Rick