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Hmm, You may be able to help me! I Have 2 really nice IBM Thinkcentre 19" LCD Monitors, they come on for 5 seconds and then the display dissapears. The power light stays green.

Any idea's?

Yep, easy.

I can almost gtee that if you pull it apart and look at the power board you'll find a blown capacitor, or two. Now don't expect to see a capacitor with it's lid blown off and electrolyte everywhere cause they tend to deteriorate gradually on these switching PSU's; it's usually the large ripple currents at close to their V rating that breaks them down slowly. The thing to look for is cap with slight imperfections in it's lid cause they should be completely flat.

Today I removed the control module from our temperamental washing machine that decides when it wants to spin/empty/fill and does so on it's own accord and guess what... three capacitors on their way out.

Tomorrow or Saturday i'll post up the pictures of a capacitor that's on it's way out, but not blown, and compare it to a new capacitor. The small difference is in the lids, which i'll try and capture close up with my camera.

When replacing these capacitors get ones with a slightly higher voltage rating but ensure the value of the cap is the same. For instance if the broken down/blown cap is 220uF 400V cap then a 220uF 450V or 500V cap will do. And if you can get caps with max temps of 105'C, they are usually rated at 85'C, then go with the high temp ones.
 
That's an awesome idea. I wonder if I could find one of those uber thin ASUS monitors and repair it. I've been waiting for a deal on one for a project. 23 inch laptop anyone?

EDIT: Here's the one I want: http://www.amazon.com/Asus-MS248H-23-6-Inch-Wide-Ultra-Slim/dp/B00407XZ42 It's perfect because it uses DC power, and it would require almost no modding to convert it into a laptop lid. The only real problem would be hinges, but I think I've got that figured out. LOL, if I do that, I should put the mobo from like a 486 laptop in it, just to mess with people.

2EDIT: Gah! Why does the weird crap always happen to me? I was eating some fries, then I heard a noise. When I looked down, the plate was literally splitting in half. WTF?

I'm just curious, have you seen one of those monitors in person? THe stand is essentially a 9-inch piece of circular plastic on the back of the screen which is why they are always shown on an angle in newegg/amazon pictures. Personally, I don't like that but maybe it'd still work for what you want.
 
I'm just curious, have you seen one of those monitors in person? THe stand is essentially a 9-inch piece of circular plastic on the back of the screen which is why they are always shown on an angle in newegg/amazon pictures. Personally, I don't like that but maybe it'd still work for what you want.

I don't like the stand either, but it really won't matter the way I plan on using it.

Yea i'm always looking at faulty stuff on eBay. I missed out on a 42" plasma by £5 two days ago; it went for £72. Again, it was a minter but sometimes wouldn't turn on. I managed to find the service manual for it as well! Would've been sitting in our living room right now. Anyways got a new 100uF 450V electrolytic coming for this monitor. and it'll be as new again.

That's... awesome. I'm gonna start checking for broken stuff more.

Why don't you have a supply of caps? You can buy a huge assortment of them for like $10 on ebay. It'll probably be cheaper than buying them one at a time.



That would be cool. I'd make the hinges a feature of it; like some big shiny ones that double up as feet for the laptop and extended as bars on the lid.

I'm probably going to use a couple bolts and some of those slide hinges at first, but I think I could make some spring loaded hinges like in a laptop later on. For the feet, I'm gonna use a couple blots with rubber on the tips so I can adjust the tilt like on my projector. Speaking of projectors, a pico projector built into the back would be epic. I've actually got a massive list of ideas like that in case I ever actually do this project.
 
I don't like the stand either, but it really won't matter the way I plan on using it.

Ok, just making sure because having not set one up I'm not sure if it ships with that style stand on it already or if it's like other monitors where you put it on after it comes to you.
 
That's... awesome. I'm gonna start checking for broken stuff more.

Serious bargains to be had on eBay. The things people throw away because it 'doesn't work' is un-believable or they sell for peanuts. If your keen in electronics then it's a lot of fun. I'm on the hunt for a seriously large faulty TV as I missed out on one recently.

Why don't you have a supply of caps? You can buy a huge assortment of them for like $10 on ebay. It'll probably be cheaper than buying them one at a time.

Good point. I've seen the assortment deals but I think that the one I need won't be there. I know you got the tolerances and the V rating can be higher but i'd hate to have 100 caps and the one I need I don't have.

I've ordered 4 today and they always do them in 5's or 10's etc, so i'm building up a collection of parts.

220uF 16V E SMT Electrolytic Capacitors Pack Of 50, less than £5. These from Mouser would've cost me more than £20!

2f6787a6.jpg
 
Ok, just making sure because having not set one up I'm not sure if it ships with that style stand on it already or if it's like other monitors where you put it on after it comes to you.

I'm sure I could come up with a way to remove it if needed.

Serious bargains to be had on eBay. The things people throw away because it 'doesn't work' is un-believable or they sell for peanuts. If your keen in electronics then it's a lot of fun. I'm on the hunt for a seriously large faulty TV as I missed out on one recently.

Do you happen to have Sam's clubs in the UK? I got a 120 Hz 47" vizio there for $380 because it was a display model.



Good point. I've seen the assortment deals but I think that the one I need won't be there. I know you got the tolerances and the V rating can be higher but i'd hate to have 100 caps and the one I need I don't have.

I've ordered 4 today and they always do them in 5's or 10's etc, so i'm building up a collection of parts.

220uF 16V E SMT Electrolytic Capacitors Pack Of 50, less than £5. These from Mouser would've cost me more than £20!

2f6787a6.jpg

Some of those assortments on eBay have 220 and 100 uF caps. It's probably worth checking into if you do a lot of repairs.

I've been collecting extra part like that too. Here's my current collection.

2010-11-04114253.jpg
 
The sticker says it was opened. I don't ever remember there being a sticker on any new motherboards, only on open boxes or clearance items.
My Wii Turntable should be arriving soon.
 
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