This article provides some details about the testing and diagnostic procedures and fees used by Coppell TV Repair LLC.
They refer to testing electronic modules (boards) such as power supply boards, main boards, sustain boards etc.; they are NOT about testing individual cmponents such as transistors, capacitors, resistors etc.
DEFINITION
The terms testing and diagnostic are used as synonyms in the context of this article and refer to the simple identification of whether a particular module is functional and can be used or not.
They do not mean identifying the source of trouble if there is one.
We do not advertise identifying the source of a problem on a board (component level diagnostics) for the simple reason that it is not economically viable. Of course we ourselves do that daily, but only as part of our repair services.
Again, a testing (aka diagnostic) fee refers to the cost of a simple verification of a functionality of a board.
PRICING STRUCTURE
Our pricing model is as follows:
We charge a $20.00 flat fee to test the first module from a set that we are sent and $15 for each subsequent module from the same set.
Exceptions apply from this rule when listing clearly states that a number of boards are all treated as one or that certain boards are tested at no extra cost (e.g. certain Samsung Y-Main and buffer boards which should be and are treated as one unit due to the high dependancy on each other).
Since testing is inevitable part of the repair process and therefore factored in the repair price we waive the above testing fees (high to low) for any module we end up servicing.
For example if we are sent three boards from the same set that all turn out working fine we will charge $20 +$15 +$15 for testing them.
If we end up servicing one of those boards then the total cost would be the cost of the repair plus $20 for testing the other two boards.
HOW ARE MODULES TESTED
Pretty much all modules that come in for testing are first tested with a meter for some apparent signs of failure, most commonly shorted power components and/or open fuses.
If a module passes this test it doesn't mean a thing yet, but if it fails it then we do not proceed with testing until the discovered failure has been addressed.
Next level of testing is either simulated test or actual device test.
In simulated testing we test a module not in the TV it comes from, but either independantly (if it is a power supply board) or with the help of a testing stand created for that purpose (testing jig).
We trust our jigs and power supply tests and rarely ever have to proceed testing a board in an actual set if it passes them.
However if we have to or for boards for which we have no testing jigs then we put the board in an actual unit and see if it works there.
This includes pretty much all plasma TV sustain boards.
We test boards after we take them out of the box they arrive in and also before we send them back.
Some modules - mostly power supply boards - are usually tested on a bench, i.e. not in an actual set.
We do that whenever possible, which is to say whenever we believe there is a sufficient certainty that the test allows to determine the module's functional state.
Bench testing
