Asus ve205

[ishelly404]

I have an ASUS VE205 that was given to me with the 2 seconds to black symtoms. I replaced all of the caps (They were Lelon and Elite garbage) with Panasonics, but the problem still persisted. Then I tried checking the CCFLs with another monitor, and they worked fine. I also tried a known good spare, and when I plugged it in to the top connector, the monitor stayed on. With it plugged into the bottom, it still shut off after two seconds.

Then, just to see what would happen, I plugged the bottom ccfl into the top connector, and the top ccfl into the bottom connector, and lo and behold, the monitor stayed on!

So, my question is this, is it most likely a ccfl problem, or is it something else? I read another thread on this monitor, and someone had a problem where the CCFL would short out ageanst the frame of the LCD panel, could that be causing the same symptoms? Also, would it be ok to leave the CCFL connectors swapped like this?

[ishelly404]

Re: Asus ve205

I just disassembled the panel, and found the problem. One of the CCFLs was shorting to the frame of the panel, just like the other thread.

Photos:

[selldoor]

Re: Asus ve205

Hi - I will go out on a limb with a possible explanation which you might shoot down in flames if the top connector does not go to the top bulb.

Anyway the idea is that the bulbs in the top of a monitor get a lot of heat from the whole of the monitor as the heat rises to the top. As a consequence they wear out
quicker. This has a knock on effect on the circuits that drive the top bulb so they all become a little weaker which cumulatively results in a low performance which flags up on the fault detection cutting power to the bulbs.

By changing the leads over the slightly worn out section has an easier job as bottom bulb is in better condition. This balances with the slightly worn top bulb on the slightly better bottom wiring so as it balances the fault detection says its ok.

So Yes it probably is a CCFL problem but still could be in the circuits. It is ok to leave the leads swapped as long as they will reach without being stretched too tight.

Having replaced all the caps will improve the voltage supply all round so could last
a long time. You may be able to find in the service menu how many hours the ccfls have done and if excessive you could consider getting new bulbs though they are often not easy to fit.

EDIT

HAHAHA well I said you would shoot my theory down