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Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

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    Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

    Greetings Peoples!

    I'm new to this forum, but not new to forums in general, or to electronics. I have a long history of fixing PCs, though this will be my first attempt at replacing caps on a PCB. So right to the issue:

    First I'll start out stating that I'm broke. Like my wallet is so empty the dust mites in it are going "WTF man, seriously?"

    Yesterday I got an I-Inc IF281D 28" LCD monitor in exchange for some work I did. I knew going in that these screens often have issues with bad caps, but there's no dead pixels an only one small scratch on the very top of the screen so I figured, what the heck. Got it home and sure enough, it runs for maybe 15 minutes when starting up from cold, then it blinks/flashes and then goes black all together till I let it sit for a while. While it's displaying video via the VGA D-sub port it's grainy and jagged. On the HDMI it's very clear with one exception: If I put up a busy image, like any picture that has varied colors, it displays artifacts in a way that reminds me of very, very light analog TV static. With an all black or all white image there are no artifacts and the screen is clear. If the picture I view on it is surrounded by white, the picture has artifacts and the surrounding white is clear. Sometimes, shortly after turning it on, I get vertical banding that sort of crawls up the screen to encompass the whole image, but then goes away after about 60 seconds. It's also made a couple light pop or click sounds as I'm writing this waiting for it to go out so I can check if there's an image visible with a flashlight pointed at it from the side. Started flashing after maybe 10 minutes and there's no image visible with a flashlight when it's black.

    I've read some of the threads here about this monitor (specifically the one started by AloofOne) and it sounds like I have bad caps on the logic board. This seems to be common enough that there's even three people on eBay that sell a capacitor kit for the logic board for around $13. One of them also sells a capacitor kit for the power supply board.

    **If someone here thinks the power supply board is my problem and NOT the logic board from the description I gave, please let me know and I'll refocus my attention there.

    Now on to the tricky part. As I mentioned, I'm very broke. One of my not so polite friends made a wise crack along the lines of why am I bothering with this monitor because I can't afford the parts to fix it even if it's just caps. I said that I think I can fix it for 10 bucks including buying a soldering iron (mine disappeared several years ago). He laughed at me and made another not so polite comment about my finances, or lack there of. So now I'm on a mission with 10 bucks in hand ($10.63 to be exact), which really is all I have to allocate to this project.

    And now finally to my main question. My apologies for being long winded. In this thread https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showth...t=18375&page=4 Mockingbird gave a very excellent shopping list at Digikey.com for Dennylee, who was also having problems with his IF281D. The caps for the logic board at Digikey.com come up to $8.50 shipped. Great parts but that doesn't leave room for a soldering iron. I can get a 30W soldering iron from a reputable seller on eBay for $3.85 shipped. That leaves $6.75. Also on eBay there are lots and lots of caps. I can get the ones I need from China for about $3.55 shipped. The ones I'm looking at are as follows:

    SANYO 16V 470UF, 3 each
    DZ252 25V 10uf (looks like a WCF part), 12 each
    ELNA 16V 100uf (picture shows a STARGET part), 5 each

    Those are the three types that the logic board requires. The only issue, other than eBay not being reliable, is that the STARGET part is 85 degree and not 105 degree. I can get 105s but they're more generic looking. So, what do you guys think? Use eBay parts from China, or let the monitor sit on my desk for another month or more (while my friend laughs at me) till I can scrape together another 10 bucks?

    Or, is it possible to test the caps to see which ones are bad instead of just replacing them all? I know when they're visibly bulging it's obvious, but I read that caps can be bad without any visual signs. I have a cheap Walmart multimeter, but that's all I've got for testing components.

    Any input, comments, or suggestions are greatly appreciated. If anyone needs any additional information, please don't hesitate to ask.

    #2
    Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

    Just try to pick up the needed caps in brands like Nichicon, Rubycon, Panasonic.
    Get the same capacitance value.
    Get the same voltage value or one step higher, NEVER lower.
    Always use 105c rated caps in power supplies.
    Use low ESR types where (financially) available.

    You can change the caps with a $4 soldering iron but if after recapping the PSU still doesn't work properly, you definately need a multimeter (DMM) to measure voltages etc.

    I believe that soldering iron and those (branded) caps will cost you under $10, they're not very expensive a piece. Ain't there a local electronics shop at your place where you can buy the parts without the shipping costs / long shipping time?

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

      Even on eBay the good brands of caps are out of my price range. The best I can find on eBay are the ones I listed above. The only place that sells caps around here is Radio Shack and they charge $1.50 apiece. I thought I had found a cheaper place at Newark.com but their shipping charges are insane. It looks like Digikey.com or Mouser.com are the cheapest for quality brands of caps, though they're still slightly out of the range I'm working with.

      After toying with the monitor a little more, I found that when the screen goes blank, the built-in speakers also stop working when using the HDMI input. If I use the VGA input and run sound to the monitor using a 1/8" cable from my phone, it will keep playing sound even after the screen goes out. This enforces my belief that it's the logic board rather than the PSU because the sound signal with HDMI is digital and needs to be decoded where the analog signal from my phone does not. Even more so because, after the monitor goes out while being connected to a VGA port, it will come back on and work for a while longer if I connect it via HDMI. But it will not work again with the VGA cable until I turn it off and let it sit. Again, if there's an error in my thinking, please let me know.

      Is there a way to test the PSU to make sure it's Ok before I go and replace caps on the logic board? Or do I need to ensure I have a properly functioning logic board before I can test the PSU? If we were talking about a PC, it's the opposite. The PSU in a PC has to work properly before anything else will.

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

        Check / Replace capacitors on logic board.

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

          I believe that I-Inc IF281D is a clone of the Hanns-G HG281D. And there's 2 caps that go out on the main board. That's all you need to replace. (most of the time).
          Does this picture look familiar? If so you just need (2) 100uF 16v caps. I'd get them from like DigiKey or just make sure they are quality caps. And a cheap soldering iron. And some leaded solder. Should be able to meet that 10 dollar budget.
          Attached Files

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

            all those tiny caps are shot.just replace them.heat kills them fast.have done 4 of these this year.
            the 100 cure most ills but mine still did stupid stuff like corrupted/partially drawn menus and buttons not responding.

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

              Thanks a lot for the replies. I was getting concerned about whether I should be directing my attention at the logic board or a different board, and you guys have settled that pretty solidly. The logic board it is.

              I actually managed to locate a soldering iron for stupid cheap, so that frees up just enough cash to get all the caps for the logic board from Digikey. W00t!

              Lumberjack, that is indeed my board. It's good to know that I can likely fix it with just two caps. I will definitely start with those two first. However, since shipping is 50% of the cost of obtaining the caps, I'm planning on getting the rest of the caps for the logic board like kc8adu suggested since I have a couple extra bucks to allot to that now. That way if more than those two caps are bad, I'll have the parts to continue the repairs. Otherwise it would be another $3.54 in shipping plus the price of the caps to get more.

              I have 0.8mm tin lead rosin core solder, or at least that's what it says right below all the other words in Chinese. For all I know, "这些美国人是如此愚蠢" actually translates into "These Americans are so stupid!" Will this type of solder work for replacing caps?

              And lastly (for today), When ordering caps, should I be paying attention to other specs like Ripple Current or Impedance? These specs can vary widely between different series of caps. For the 16v 100uf caps I'm looking at a Rubycon ZLH series or Panasonic FR series. For the 25v 10uf and the 16v 470uf I'm looking at a Nichicon PW series and another Rubycon ZLH series respectively. Or am I looking way too deep into caps and their specs?

              Thanks again for all the help. I'm looking forward to rocking this monster monitor soon.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

                You are going to need good 40~50W iron, flux, and good solder remover otherwise you will ruin that main board which is double sided with large ground plane.
                Never stop learning
                Basic LCD TV and Monitor troubleshooting guides.
                http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthr...956#post305956

                Voltage Regulator (LDO) testing:
                http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthr...999#post300999

                Inverter testing using old CFL:
                http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthr...er+testing+cfl

                Tear down pictures : Hit the ">" Show Albums and stories" on the left side
                http://s807.photobucket.com/user/budm/library/

                TV Factory reset codes listing:
                http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=24809

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

                  I have a 30W soldering iron and lots of patience. I have flux, but I'm not sure how/where to use it. I've never needed it with this rosin core solder. I can get some desoldering wick if absolutely necessary, but there's not much solder on these old caps. I read about how to clear the holes before installing the new caps and I'm confident I can do it correctly. Going to practice on some junk boards this week.

                  What things do I have to be careful of to avoid ruining the board?

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

                    Originally posted by DrvLikHell View Post
                    What things do I have to be careful of to avoid ruining the board?
                    In a word..... HEAT. Excessive heat by holding it too long at the solder hole could cause problems. Some of the cheaper irons can get way hot. Or not hot enough. When I used to use them, they lasted 4 or 5 times and then the heating filament burned out. So make sure to unplug it immediately after use.

                    That practice you mentioned sounds like a good idea. Since this is through hole soldering; understand that the wire lead of the cap usually very tight fit in the hole.

                    If I were repairing with the tools you have, here is what I'd do. Make sure the iron tip is hot and tinned and clean. Apply some solder to the tip and then some solder on the connection and pull out a little on one side of the cap. Back and forth. Same thing. Add solder to make a good heat bridge that melts the solder all the way through the hole. Once you have the cap out you'll need to clear it as you know. Make sure the cap goes in the proper direction. + and -

                    I don't have a dental pick; so I developed my own method of dealing with the clogged hole. One method is to have a small mound of solder over the hole and put a fresh piece of solder wick on top. Put a touch of solder on the tip of the iron and press down and hope it "vacuums" all the solder out. I can usually get 1 out of 2 cleared on average. This next part works really well for me. If I have 1 hole cleared I trim the cap leads and make the lead with the cleared hole a little longer. (about 1/4" for the long one and 3/16" for the shorter one) I push the long lead through the hole; and touch the shorter lead to middle the hole with solder in it. Then I heat the clogged hole from the other side, until the solder melts, and ram it through! Works great for me. The important thing is to cut the leads shorter so you don't have to push a long lead all the way through that tight hole. Good luck!

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

                      I'm probably going to get a rap on the knuckles for this, but when I was looking for an old board or card to practice desoldering on, I found several old parts which still work and happen to have 16v 100uf caps on them. One is an old ATI Rage pro AGP card from around 2001. ATI used to build really solid cards. I just threw out an ATI all-in-wonder pro PCI video card from 1996 that still worked when it went into the garbage can. So... I desoldered two caps from the ATI Rage and put them into the I-INC where Lumberjack suggested, and now it seems to be working well. So far, no analog tv static type artifacts. No crawling vertical lines. The OSD looked clear when it said no signal. No blinking when it turned on and it's been running for 40 minutes now, which is three times longer than it ever did before.

                      My other options were caps from an old motherboard, or caps from a NIC. I figured I'd go with the ones that were previously selected for video use because that's what I need them for now. The brand is Tocon which don't seem to have a great reputation, but maybe they were good back in circa 2000 when ATI bought them.

                      What I'm really going to get scolded for is that since I can't find my roll of solder, I didn't use any new solder. I just desoldered the caps without removing the old solder and slid the new ones in with the old solder still in place. I took care to keep the board and the caps from getting hot as it took a few rounds of back and fourth to get them seated. Granted, this is not the most ideal repair, and it may not last for years, but if you were as broke as me... And really, if I get 6 months of use from it this way I'll be really happy. It's rather easy to take apart to do it again.

                      The question I have now is since the monitor powered up and is displaying correctly, is there a time frame like a break-in period for the logic board to get used to the caps? Or is there a rejection period where the caps may fail quickly if they're the wrong impedance or wrong ripple current or something? Or since it's working, can I expect it to just keep working until the new(used) caps die in their own time?

                      Thanks for all the help guys, I'm extremely happy with the results so far.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

                        If any of the professors would like to grade my first (and cheap ass) cap replacement, here's two pictures. Pretty sure I don't need to point out which ones are factory and which ones aren't.
                        Attached Files

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

                          No scolding, no rap on the knuckles. In fact, I find that very creative and resourceful. Sounds like you got some good caps; from a time before the bad caps hit the market. And your soldering is just fine. Especially since you didn't use any new solder!

                          The cap leads fit so tight that you don't need a lot of solder. I'm actually impressed that you managed to pull it off your first time! You fixed that on the "super super cheap"

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

                            Not sure how this board feels about necroing an old thread, but I thought I'd give an update.

                            It's been almost exactly two years since I replaced those two caps on my monitor. It's been working well all this time up until a few months ago when I started noticing artifacts in solid bright green colors. Then maybe six weeks ago it started having trouble turning on, flashing on and off several times before it settled down and stayed on. I figured it was time to replace the other caps.

                            I bought Rubycon replacements for all three cap sizes on the logic board. I replaced the 100uf16v caps and the 470uf16v caps and then tested it to make sure I didn't screw anything up so far. I figured if I did mess it up, I'd only have to check the eight caps I already replaced. It turned on with no flickering and had no artifacts in solid green colors. Not wanting to possibly mess up the 13 little 10uf25v caps, I elected not to replace them right now. I'll keep them in a safe place in case I need to replace them at a later date.

                            The only thing which concerned me is that there seems to be a burnt trace leading from a cap to a resistor. At least I think it's a resistor. I attached a picture. The trace is between the negative side of the cap, and the right side of the little bar (resistor?) marked 102. The monitor still works, I'm using it right now. I don't know if this happened a long time ago or in the last two years. Any ideas on whether or not this could cause problems in the future?

                            Btw, thanks to this board and the instructions I received here, not only have I saved my monitor twice, but my friend bought an identical monitor, which also had bad caps, and I replaced all the caps on his logic board saving that monitor as well. This place rocks.
                            Attached Files

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

                              The component marked "102" is indeed a resistor.
                              The chip next to it is marked SA7496L. It is an audio amplifier. The capacitor is connected to pin 5 of this IC, called "VAROUT_L", so it is related to the left audio channel. I don't know what is it for since nothing is connected to it in the typical application circuit of the datasheet.
                              If you are not using the monitor's speakers, it's not an issue. And even if you are, if the left channel output is OK it's probably not an issue either.
                              OpenBoardView — https://github.com/OpenBoardView/OpenBoardView

                              Comment


                                #16
                                Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

                                Originally posted by piernov View Post
                                The component marked "102" is indeed a resistor.
                                The chip next to it is marked SA7496L. It is an audio amplifier. The capacitor is connected to pin 5 of this IC, called "VAROUT_L", so it is related to the left audio channel. I don't know what is it for since nothing is connected to it in the typical application circuit of the datasheet.
                                If you are not using the monitor's speakers, it's not an issue. And even if you are, if the left channel output is OK it's probably not an issue either.
                                Wow, thanks! That's good news since not only do I not use the monitors' speakers, they're not even plugged in internally. When I first got the monitor there was a light buzzing sound from one of them so I didn't plug them back in when I put everything back together.

                                Comment


                                  #17
                                  Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

                                  I'm back again, this time with my friends' monitor. It's the one I mentioned above that's identical to mine. I replaced all of the caps about six or eight months ago and it's been working since then. If I remember correctly, the function buttons were finicky but the power button worked fine. Until last week. Now the power button doesn't do anything and the monitor doesn't turn on. No light, no "check signal", no anything. When I plug the power cord into it I can hear a very faint "donk" or click noise.

                                  The momentary switches on the button board weren't working so I took two of them apart, cleaned them, and got them to work, including the power button. I was extremely hopeful that this would do it, but it didn't. The monitor remembers whether it was on or off when it looses power and returns to its previous state when power is restored, so it's likely the power button went bad many months ago, but it wasn't discovered because it never needed to be used. Now that the power button itself is fixed, the monitor still doesn't turn on.

                                  Then I followed the suggestions in the beginning of the following post regarding initial voltage testing:
                                  https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=18375

                                  I tested power at the logic board with the monitor plugged in and with everything connected except the 26 pin connector, because it won't reach with the board upside down. The results are:

                                  Rail 1 = 3.4 to 3.8 fluctuating

                                  Rai l2
                                  Yellow = 0
                                  Orange = 0
                                  Red = 3.4 to 3.8 fluctuating
                                  Green = 0
                                  Brown = 0

                                  I borrowed the picture used by AloofOne in the above-linked post because it's what I used for reference and it's the same as this logic board. However, his monitor was at least turning on and I'm not sure if his results were with the monitor on or off. Therefore I'm not sure if my results indicate a problem or are simply different because this monitor is off during testing.

                                  Does anyone have any ideas where I should look next?

                                  Also, let me know if I should make a new thread instead of continuing to post here since this is a new issue. Thanks in advance for the assistance.
                                  Attached Files

                                  Comment


                                    #18
                                    Re: Fixing an I-Inc IF281D (caps) on the super cheap

                                    Looks like the 5V standby voltage coming from the power supply is wrong. Probably a bad cap on the power supply.
                                    OpenBoardView — https://github.com/OpenBoardView/OpenBoardView

                                    Comment

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