Should I be worried about this sound coming from a plasma tv ?

[Seeker47]

I still use a couple Panasonic plasma panels as my main TVs, still like them, and had planned on continuing to use them for as long as possible. (They are 2009 & 2010 models, respectively. This post refers to the later of the two.) I've started noticing a not-very-loud "bubbling" sound emanating from around the lower-right corner of the panel. At times, it can be a bit like popping the smaller-size bubble wrap, only quieter. One needs to be fairly close to the panel for it to be obvious. This sound continues when the panel is Off -- so far, even at least 8 hours after it was last turned Off. Does this indicate something ominous ? Should I be worried about a fire hazard, or anything like that ? Thus far, I have not noticed anything like this coming from the older, larger plasma panel -- which actually gets more use than the "problem" panel.

[Cornucopia]

Sounds familiar. Guessing the capacitors in your power supply are going bad. Sooner (not later), you will need to replace them or it will just no longer turn on.
Some models are fairly easy to do user replacement (esp. if you know your way around a solder gun), but some aren't, so at that point it could be either get it serviced by a technician with proper tools & supplies, or replace the whole unit.

Scott

[pandy]

Same as Cornucopia - sounds like dried capacitors and you perceive sound from magnetostriction. Common failure - don't wait too long before replacing caps.

[Seeker47]

Same as Cornucopia - sounds like dried capacitors and you perceive sound from magnetostriction. Common failure - don't wait too long before replacing caps.

Thanks Scott and pandy. Despite what has long shown in my sig and the maintenance stuff that is unavoidably involved in that hobby, one of the places where I have drawn the line is soldering: haven't been willing to go there. So, I will make inquiries as to the repair options for plasma panels, these days.

[pandy]

So, I will make inquiries as to the repair options for plasma panels, these days.

Repair plasma panel sounds very seriously (lot of plasma suffer from HV driver failure and those parts are expensive as usually not available thus such repair is very expensive) - replacing dried capacitors is quite standard nowadays as equipment is frequently made as planned obsolescence (by placing electrolytic caps close to strong heat source) and it should be way more affordable than real plasma panel repair.

[Seeker47]

Over the last couple weeks, those "Rice Krispies" noises from that panel have subsided to the edge of audibility, and sometimes are not detectable at all. I'm not considering that a sustained reprieve -- I expect that Scott's verdict was on the right track. The panel continues working as expected, with only minor issues of some apparent areas of logo burn-in (like from CNN) or mottled background that seem to come and go, depending on what is on-screen at the moment and the lighting. I suppose a general failure could come suddenly, but there is no sign of it being imminent. Tax season has passed, but things are still quite busy, so I'll probably deal with this . . . later.