Should I Attempt to Fix a TV Struck by Lightning?

In July a television in our rental home was damaged by a nearby bolt of lightening. According to renters the TV smelled burnt the morning after a heavy lightening storm and wouldn’t power on. The TV is a Sanyo LCD 42 inch TV that we paid a little over $1000 for a year ago. We brought the TV back home with us from North Carolina but now I’m not certain whether I should have it repaired and if so who might be able to repair it.

Since the TV was over $1000 it seems crazy not to try to fix it. There a couple of TV repairmen that make house calls but I was unable to contact any of them for pricing information. I have a feeling that more than one part in the TV will be fried and that in the end it will be nearly as expensive to fix the TV as it will be to purchase a new one.

I hate to go down the repair path if we’re ultimately going to need a new TV anyway. I actually paid a repairman in North Carolina to investigate the problem, but apparently he did nothing. He came to the house recognized the smell of burnt machinery and then told us to buy a new one. Amazingly I still had to pay him $135 to receive that information.

Has anyone ever had good luck repairing a TV? Everything on the Internet tells me to abandon my hope of repairing this one.

5 thoughts on “Should I Attempt to Fix a TV Struck by Lightning?”

  1. Surge protector? If so, it might have a guarantee up to a specific dollar amount. Check their website.

    If not… well, I certainly don’t want to be mean or anything šŸ˜‰ All of my electronics are through surge protectors.

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  2. @jake stichler — Actually it was on a surge protector and none of the other electronics on the protector were damaged, so we’re assuming the surge actually came through the cable not the outlet. We found a cable surge protector so we’re doubly prepared for a future strike.

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  3. Since the TV was over $1000 it seems crazy not to try to fix it. There a couple of TV repairmen that make house calls but I was unable to contact any of them for pricing information. I have a feeling that more than one part in the TV will be fried and that in the end it will be nearly as expensive to fix the TV as it will be to purchase a new one.

    Reply
  4. Check if the warranty is still good and if you had it connected to a surge protected it should be covered under the plan.Dont forget that if you bought it witha credit card then the warranty maybe extended

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