How to test power supply R0804-0901 from Polaroid FLM-3232 / Polaroid FLM-323B

Since we repair those power supplies (contact us for repair if you need yours repaired!) I am often asked how can it be tested if it works.

"My Polaroid just died and after some research I found that it's usually the power supply and then I found your blog and learned that CoppellTVRepair repairs it. I opened up the TV, looked at the board and I indeed have R0804-0901. There are no swollen caps or broken elements that I see...I want to use your service, but I want to know I actually need it before I pay."

That's a fair statement. To start with, only about half the time it's the power supply that goes bad. The other half it's the main board and , at least for the time being, we can't help with that...with more than the helpful information I already posted a while ago about cross-referencing main boards from Polaroid and Memorex.

So it makes a lot of sense to test the power board instead of assuming it is dead.

And here is how:

The R0804-0901 is extremely simple in regards to operation and outputs. Unlike most TV power supplies its only standby circuit produces 24V and those can be measured at any time - on or off - at connector CN3, where the first three pins are ground, the second three are +24V and the last one is used to turn on the secondary power source for the back lights:

I measure the voltage by simply feeding power to the supply and sticking the meter probes in the connector:

Most of the time, if you have 24 volts there, your power supply is good.

Now if you want to be sure that everything works, then you also need to test the secondary output, which is at connector CN2 across the board.
It is even simpler as it has 5 pins ground and 5 pins 24 volts (separate from the first ones!):

 

In order to do that, though, you need to turn that circuit on, which is done by connecting the PS_ON pin on the first connector (look above) to the primary +24V through a resistor. 

Anywhere 1 kOhm to 10 kOhm should do.

On the picture below I had used a simple cable from another TV to allow me to easily connect the lowest pin to some of the ones above it through a resistor.

You will likely not have such a cable handy...but then again you only care about this test if your TV powers on and off, has sound, but there is no back light.