Chosen Solution
I was watching my Vizio M50-C1 television when then screen went black (no back-light), and a chirping / clicking noise was heard. the TV would not respond to the power button on the remote or on the back of the TV. When the TV was removed from power, the noise stopped. I tested the outlet with other devices, those worked fine. Next, I opened the back panel of the TV, and tried to identify the location where the sound originated. The sound appears to be coming from the same board that the power is plugged into, but on the opposite side (red circle is area where sound is).
There does not appear to be any damaged components - capacitors do not look bulged or leaking. what would be the best way to find / replace any defective component? Thank you in advance!
Great news! I had the same exact problem as Brian, but replacing the main board has solved my issue. The TV is back working again. Even though the chirping sound is coming from power board the problem is actually on the main board. So if you have this problem don’t bother changing the power board until you’ve changed the main board first. I hope this helps. Good luck!
What is happening is there is a shorted diode or transistor that is loading down the SMPS (switch mode power supply). You can take an ohm meter and check the components around the area where you hear the chirping sound for a short. That means there is zero, or close to zero, ohms of resistance. I don’t want to discourage you because sometimes these problems can be cured with one component needing replacement at a cost of under five dollars. However there are usually some components associated with the circuit in question on the reverse side of the power board that are surface mounted. These are trickier to test and replace than ones with leads on them. Additionally one component may be what is termed “leaky” and may not show as defective under a static test but may in fact be the cause of other component failure. So even though you find the “bad” part and replace it, it may last a few days or so and fail again. One good resource is shopjimmy.com. For some power boards they have kits for 20 or 30 dollars and you simply ( hopefully simply) replace the components and see if it cures the problem. You can find out by entering your model number on their website and look for the kit in the parts listed.
