Once you’ve invested in a professional LED display for your business, the last thing you want to have to worry about is repairing it. After all, one of the selling points of LED signs is how long they last. Sadly, nothing lasts forever. Given enough time (or just some bad luck with the weather), your sign will eventually need some repair work.
Fortunately for you, you purchased your sign from National Signs, and you’ve got a five-year warranty. But what happens when you need to pay out of pocket? How much is the LED repair cost to get you back up and running? That’s going to depend on a few factors, but first, let’s discuss why it’s crucial that you get your sign repaired quickly.
The Importance of a Working Sign
Whether it’s a large outdoor sign or an indoor display, you bought an LED sign for a reason. LED signs are a cost-efficient, energy-efficient, professional way to advertise your business and increase your customer satisfaction.
Outdoor LED signs are perfect for attracting customers, announcing sales events, and serving as a landmark in your community that people will remember. Indoor screens can help guide visitors around your business and convey important information. If your sign isn’t working correctly, your business loses all of these benefits.
A broken or malfunctioning LED sign can also leave customers with a bad impression of your company. That blank or flickering screen can easily give the impression that you don’t really care. If you’re using an outdoor display as your primary business sign, things get even worse. You can’t expect people to even find your business without a working sign in place.
Factors to Consider
If your warranty has expired and you find yourself needing LED sign repair, the costs can vary significantly. In order to have a reasonable guess at how much you’ll need to spend, you’ll need to take several factors into consideration.
Size of the Screen
While it’s not always the case that larger screens cost more to repair than smaller ones, it is true that the larger LED models indeed have more LED modules and power supplies that may need to be replaced.
Nature of the Problem
Some repairs will take more time or costlier parts to fix. If you don’t have an excellent knowledge of the inner workings of your LED sign (and, let’s face it, most people don’t), it can be impossible to determine what’s going wrong. You might have something as simple as a loose wire or as complex as a software malfunction.
Physical Damage
Sometimes, it’s all too obvious why your sign needs to be repaired. For example, physical damage from things like hail, wind, or vandalism leaves clear evidence behind and may lead to very costly repairs.
Small Repairs
If you’ve got a black square on your LED sign, it’s likely that your problem is a module. Often this is simply a loose wire, and repairs will be quick and inexpensive. However, if the module needs to be replaced, you can expect to pay a little more. Typically, this will cost a few hundred dollars or so, but this is only an estimate.
LED bulbs don’t simply “go out” but instead slowly dim over time. If your bulbs are going dim too soon, the modules may be to blame here too.
If an entire section of your sign has gone black, you’ve probably got a problem with one of your power supplies. Loose or bad wires can sometimes be the culprit here, too, so you may still be looking at an easy fix. Of course, replacing the power supply will cost you a bit more.
Other common but relatively small problems include communication issues between your controller and your sign. These issues can be the result of a damaged antenna (ice is often to blame), exceeding the recommended distance between the controller and the sign, or a bad controller. If it’s the latter, the unit may need to be replaced.
Larger Repairs
If your entire sign has stopped working, you may have a much bigger repair bill coming your way. Your repair technician will be able to determine if the problem is with the power supply to the sign itself or something with the sign’s inner workings.
You may end up needing costly work such as replacing the motherboard but don’t start panicking just yet. The problem might just as easily be a tripped breaker.
Physical damage can be tough to repair if it’s too extensive. Minor damage such as a few nasty hits from hailstones may be fixed with a few module replacements. However, if the damage is too severe, say from hurricane winds or targeted vandalism, you may need to replace your sign altogether. Speak with your insurance agent about coverage that can help mitigate these costs.
National Signs Will Get You Back in Business
The good news is that LED signs usually require very little in the way of maintenance. The best news is that since you bought your LED signage from National Signs, you don’t have to worry about LED repair costs for a full five years. Our warranty covers parts, labor, and all signage.
Contact National Signs today so we can get started on your LED sign. It’s an investment that you’ll be proud of for years to come.
