Sony TV Red Light Blinking 6 Times: 5 Quick Fixes (2023)

You invite your friends over to watch the NBA finals.

With Budweisers on one hand and the remote on the other, you press ‘On’.

But neither Giannis nor Steph Curry appears on your TV. 

Instead, everyone’s eyes are somewhere else.

Staring at a single red light.

Repeatedly blinking 6 times.

Timeout! Coach, what can we do to fix this?

Keep reading to discover:

• A comprehensive guide to opening your TV for repair.
• 5 reasons why your Sony TV has a red light blinking 6 times.
• What power cycling your TV is and how to do it in case of red lights.
• And so much more…

Why is my Sony TV blinking red 6 times?

Your Sony TV is blinking red 6 times because of a broken backlight. You might also be experiencing power supply issues or a broken mainboard. It could also be blinking because there’s dust or dirt all over your air vent. Or your TV has a glitch and it simply needs a power cycle.

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Sony TV red light blinking 6 times: 5 ways to fix it

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#1: Replace your backlight

Does your TV turn on along with the blinking lights?

If so, the reason why your Sony TV has a blinking red light is because of its backlight.

The backlight of your TV acts as its flashlight. It’s responsible for the brightness.

When it breaks, it can usually manifest in a lot of different ways. It could lead to discoloration, a dim screen, or white dots across your screen.

And, along with it, Sony TV has also installed a system where your TV’s standby light blinks when your TV has a problem. 6 times means that your backlight has either fallen or is broken.

What to do

The best way to fix a broken backlight panel of a Sony TV?

By replacing all the lines of diodes that make your backlight. Even if only one is broken.

You can do this in 4 steps.

But first…

You’ll inevitably open the LCD panel when you’re replacing a backlight. 

To prevent further damaging your TV… 

Here are a couple of do’s and don’ts when handling the LCD panel:

• Disconnect from power.
• Don’t scratch the panel.
• Avoid contact with water.
• Don’t expose the LCD to sunlight.
• Always clean using a soft cloth material.
• Be gentle when handling wires and cables.
• Repair in under one hour to lessen burn-in.
• Don’t press on the panel to avoid electric shock.
• Protect the panel from electrostatic discharge or ESD.
• Don’t leave the panel in a high temperature or humid area.

Once you have that in mind, you can now start replacing your backlight. This starts with opening the back of your TV.

Open the back of the TV

The back of your TV doesn’t hold your backlight. However, you need to open this to loosen up the bezels. This will allow you to open the front of your TV.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Flip your TV so that it has its back part up.
2. Unscrew all external screws.
3. Open its cover using a thin non-flexible material.
4. Unplug all ribbon connectors and wires.
5. Remove the aluminum tape that’s protecting the front of your TV.
6. Flip the TV to its front.

After doing all the steps, you can now proceed to access your backlight.

Open the front of the TV

The front of your TV houses its backlight. This is how to safely remove it:

1. Using the same thin non-flexible metal, remove the bezels from the screen.
2. Unscrew the metal part at the bottom.
3. Remove the ribbon cables at the front.
4. Gently unlock the LCD from the metal holding it at the top and the bottom of the screen.
5. The green board at the bottom is your source board. Tape it to your screen to avoid pulling it.
6. Lift the screen off the TV.
7. Unclip the binds that hold the plastic reflector.
8. Remove the plastic reflector.

Replace the backlight

Now, it’s time to finally replace your backlight.

If you don’t know what it looks like, a backlight should look like 3 to 4 strips of diodes. To install new backlights, do:

Note: When replacing a line of backlight, it’s better to do so with all of them. When one diode dies, it’s likely that there’s more to follow.

1. Check your Sony TV model.
2. Buy a replacement backlight that is compatible with your TV.
3. Remove the old backlight by unclipping it at its sides.
4. Place the backlights. There should be labels on the new backlight that corresponds to where you should put it.

Put it back together

Once you’re done with replacing the backlight array, put everything back together. 

It’s important that you do this in this order:

1. Place the plastic reflector. Make sure it’s laid flat with no lumps.
2. Clip the reflector binds.
3. Put the LCD back and remove the tape from the source board. Clip the LCD back.
4. Screw the metal at the bottom.
5. Put the bezels back.
6. Flip the TV on its back.
7. Plug all the cables that you removed.
8. Push the back cover back.
9. Screw the back cover.

For a more in-depth explanation as to how you can replace your backlight, please watch:

Further reading: Why Is My TV Screen White? 5 Causes & Fixes

#2: Fix your power board or cord

Your TV will blink red six times because of a problem with the power source.

Usually, this means that either your power board or your cord is broken.

The power board distributes power to the other parts of your TV. It generally breaks due to age (swollen capacitors) or overheating.

What about the cord?

It’s the line that connects your TV to the outlet.

If either one of these is broken, your Sony TV will give you a warning that you need to fix one or both of them.

And this warning comes in a red light blinking six times.

What to do

Power board

The most effective way to solve your power board issue is to replace it.

Note: It’s a good practice to label all your screws when removing them from the TV. This way you’ll easily know how to put it back together later.

1. Unplug your power cord off of your TV and the socket.
2. Remove the back of your TV.
3. Locate the power board, it’s usually in the middle of your TV.
4. Find the 9-digit reference model number of your power board.
5. Buy a power board that corresponds to the model number.
6. Remove all cables and wires from your old board.
7. Unscrew the old board to remove it from your TV.
8. Place the new board, screw it in, and put everything back together.

Power cord

If you have the tools, you don’t have to buy a replacement cord.

You can just as easily splice the cord for less money.

1. Find the damaged part of the cord.
2. Split your cord into two starting from an inch to the left and right of the damaged part.
3. Remove an inch of the sheath. This should reveal smaller wires inside.
4. Remove an inch of the sheath off of the smaller wires.
5. Partner the smaller wires of the two cords over a heat shrink tubing. Use their sheath color as your reference.
6. Heat the tubing so that it can bind the wires together.
7. Repeat #6 for the main cord.

#3: Install a new mainboard

When you try to turn your Sony on, does it only have sound with no picture or vice versa?

If either is true, your mainboard must be damaged.

It controls the inputs and outputs of your TV. Think of it as your TV’s brain.

And, when the brain is either broken or missing, everything else shuts down.

The only difference is that a TV’s brain can still send a signal asking for help if this happens.

What to do

If you suspect that your mainboard is broken, you have no choice but to replace it.

Warning: Replacing a mainboard requires high technical skill. If this is your first time doing so, proceed with caution.

The method of replacing a mainboard is similar to how you replace a power board. This is how you can do it:

1. Buy a replacement mainboard for the model of your TV.
2. Remove the back of your TV.
3. Locate the mainboard.
4. Unscrew all screws.
5. Remove all ribbon cables and wires.
6. Place the replacement board.
7. Plug the ribbon cables back and the screws.

#4: Ensure your TV has proper ventilation

Like us, your TV needs to breathe.

They do this using air vents on one of the sides of your device. This filters out the dust and the dirt before letting the air cool your TV.

And look, we’re all guilty of procrastination. I know cleaning’s tiresome sometimes.

But you should really clean your TV. Or else it might be too late.

What to do

Taking care of your TV should always be your priority.

To prevent damaging your ventilation, Sony recommends:

• Use a wall mount.
• Don’t cover your air ventilation.
• The TV should be 2-6 inches away from the wall.

Note: If your TV already has dust build-up, buy a can of compressed air. Spray it at your vents while everything else is plugged off.

#5: Power cycle your TV

Sometimes, your TV’s working fine, and your standby light suddenly blinks six times.

Don’t worry, it happens and your TV is fine. It’s just acting weird sometimes.

In this case, all you need to do is to turn it on and off again.

Or, more accurately, power cycle your TV.

What to do

Most devices at some point experience an internal glitch. When this happens, the first step to fix it is always to power cycle your TV.

There are three ways to power cycle your TV:

Without remote

1. Unplug your TV for 2 minutes.
2. Plug the cord directly to an outlet.

With remote (using the power button)

1. Long press the power button.
2. Select ‘Restart’.

With remote (using menu)

1. On your remote, press ‘Settings’.
2. Go to ‘System’.
3. Select ‘Restart’ twice.

If you feel too intimidated to fix your own TV, that’s okay. You can always give your customer service representative a call.