Is this problem with my TV likely to have a fairly easy or affordable repair or is it just not worth the bother?

Get a new universal remote, sounds like the button is stuck on the old one

If the button is stuck, then why is there no problem using it to turn the TV OFF? It’s the same button for both functions.

And if the problem were being caused by a faulty remote, then why would the TV turn itself off spontaneously?

Because the button is not stuck all the way. Easy to check. Just pull the remote batteries and see if it stops shutting itself off. Worn out buttons on a remote act like this.

OK I’ll give that a try (taking out the batteries) and see what happens.

I doubt it’s the remote. The way to test—put the remote in another room and in a drawer, and see if the TV self-extinguishes.

My guess is that their is a resistor (or some electronic part) that is overheating and shorting (with the effect of the TV going off) and then cooling, to turn it on. I think it’s in the TV.

But universal remotes are cheap at WalMart…. invest the $9.00 and try it. could be wrong

If it was the TV then getting up and walking over to turn it on would not work.

Update: I took the batteries out and so far it hasn’t shut itself off. All night on it had been shutting off every 5–20 min so I just left if off for a few hours.

I’m going to the dentist shortly so if it’s still on when I get back then I’ll start hunting for another remote.

If it turns out to be just the remote I will be so enormously relieved.

Well, unfortunately it just shut itself off again. I had taken the batteries out of the remote so I guess that rules out that the problem is being caused by the remote.

Any other ideas or things I could test?

I’m going to the dentist shortly so I’ll likely leave it off while I’m out and see how long it stays on after I return.

That is unfortunate. This is likely the power supply. One long shot would be to place a piece of black tape over the IR receiver on the tv, could be from another device but unlikely.

Darn it!

Can this be temperature related? The power supply might be getting hot and turning off becasue the vents are all closed up with dust and animal hair. .
You can try vacuuming out the air vents. If you have a compressor you can blow into it as well. Vacuum first so you don’t make a total mess of your house or do it outside.

When we track down intermittent circuit problems we spray with something like Freeze Spray . If a solder joint is marginal that spray will usually make it open up. It helps isolate the problem.

If vacuuming and blowing it out does not fix it I say it’s not worth going through the repair effort.

Still try the tape. Someone could have one of these nearby

I am leaning towards a temperature problem.
After it shuts off, if you leave it alone for a day, can you then turn it on with the remote?

I think @elbanditoroso got it right – thermal problem in the TV.

Hopefully this post won’t disappear.

After it was off for 6 hours, I assume that’s long enough for anything to cool down. Plus, my room is usually on the chilly side.

Anyhow, I came back from the dentist and turned it on. Five or six times in a row, it shut off again 5 mins. later. So I just gave up and it’s off now.

Regarding overheating, in the past the pattern has been that it gave the most problems the longer the period of time it had been off (overnight 8 or more hours, for example) then it would shut off around 3 times in a pretty brief period. If I turned it back on promptly enough each time then it would be good for a long while, days, weeks or possibly a month.

But now it seems like nothing I do helps at all. And it just keeps shutting off. It just seems like it’s totally worn out.

@LuckyGuy
I have no idea where the vents are nor where I would spray that freeze spray. I assume I’d have to take it apart?

But if it were heat related then keeping it off for a long period should do wonders but all along its been the opposite.

From what several people have written I’m assuming that tracking down a short or whatever could end up being pretty expensive if I bring it to a repairman.

And whenever even @LuckyGuy (the Great Recycler) is suggesting getting another TV then maybe it’s time to throw in the towel.

I’m going to be scouring the Internet for a good deal on another but if anyone has any other input, I’d welcome it.

Oh yeah, I didn’t try the tape because the TV is in my bedroom and I know there’s no other device like what was described.

Plus, even when it was working properly, it required a pretty direct line of sight to aim the signal from the remote.

Unlike the DVR box which was so highly sensitive, you can bounce the signal off the walls or even ceiling, the TV was just never near that sensitive.
.you had to really have it precisely aimed in a straight line for the TV to respond to the signal of its own remote.

Extremely doubtful it would respond to some random device. The only other device in my room is the Direct TV remote and it’s always under the bedcovers next to me.

I so wish it were as simple as a random signal doing all this.

Life would be so much easier :)

@Buttonstc The vents are all the holes that are all over the back cover, top and bottom.. Just turn the TV around so you can see the back clearly. The holes might just be filled with dust and cat hair. The TV is warm so Felix likes to curl up behind it. The increased static from our dry climate attracts loose hair and fills the holes. (Or it could be a bad power supply)
It is easy so please try the vacuum cleaner before adding another 15 pounds to the world’s industrial waste pile. If that doesn’t work then pitch it and get a new one with all the new features like: positraction, dual exhaust, and 4 valve OHC.

When it switches off check the power button to see if it blinks an error code.

It doesn’t blink. Sometimes it just shines blue but that’s normal for when it gets shut off. Other times it isn’t glowing blue at all but obviously does when I push it in prior to starting up again.

I guess that sounds a bit odd and it was to me. This is the first TV I’ve had where there is anything glowing after you shut if off

Did you vacuum it yet? “Enquiring Minds” want to know.

Ive been a bit preoccupied with a raging dental abcess so that wasnt my first priority :) Finding the right dentist who knew enough to prescribe more than just amoxicillin was.

Plus, theres a dusrbuster somewhere around here (cuz im not lugging a heavy canister vac around) the TV is in a corner of the room witbout exactky easy access so its either a handheld dustbuster or nothing.

Ill definitely do it cuz I’m not in the mood to toss money down the drain.

However, i don’t have a lot of optimism about it. It really has been acting like the total opposite of a problem with overheating (even tho thats the first thing i thought of),

The longer it had been off the more difficult it was to get it back to acting properly. However, if i turned it back on immediately it would only shut off once or twice more and then be fine for days or weeks. I know that sounds sort of strange but that was the consistent result.

Thats why i thought it was more likely a problem with the on/off switch itself. And i had no idea whether thats an expensive fix or not. But at this point i think the power supply is far more likely.

But I do appreciate everyone’s input and your taking the time to try to help me solve it.