Apple Cinema Display 27" No TBolt - Buzzing and then dead

Khadgar · 11-05-2012, 01:47 PM

Hello, my Cinema Display developed a loud buzzing in the lower left of the screen that was there for 90% of the day Friday and Saturday. You could clearly hear it coming from the the left speaker holes only, you could also hear faintly hear the noise in my desktop speakers as well. Video of the noise here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQv0mswkj9s

On Sunday when I went to power it up it was completely dead it does not come on even for a split second it appears as if it is not plugged in. I had received comments that the sound in the video was classic leaking cap noise, so I looked up the monitor FSM and the only circuit board on that half of the display is the PSU, I managed to pull that out today on my lunch and the pictures are below. I gave it a good looking over but to me they all look just fine, I am thinking about pulling the logic board tonight but if it the sound was coming from a cap it has to be from this board.

Sorry if the pictures are not correctly focused. I took them in a darn hurry on lunch, you should be able to open them in high res to get a closer look

http://phelgar.imgur.com/all

Just looking for advice here, a new PSU board is $140ish, I'd rather save that money by trying my hand at replacing some caps if it is a viable solution

Thank you all!

**t.j.** · 11-05-2012, 03:05 PM

there are bloated caps on the board, the green ones by were black plug top right in most pics!! the white stuff is glue/silicone not leaky cap. do you have soldering iron? there are some really good tutorials here!

Khadgar · 11-05-2012, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by t.j.

there are bloated caps on the board, the green ones by were black plug top right in most pics!! the white stuff is glue/silicone not leaky cap. do you have soldering iron? there are some really good tutorials here!

Yep I see and notice all the glue but I do not see this bloated cap? I am either blind or expecting it to be much more pronounced than it is.

**Th3_uN1Qu3** · 11-05-2012, 04:13 PM

First pic, bottom-most row of green caps, 3rd one from left to right is definitely bloated. There may be others too.

**tom66** · 11-05-2012, 04:35 PM

Taicon, in an Apple product? I used to think Apple were overpriced, but generally made good hardware. Guess that opinion is changing...

The buzzing to me sounds like arcing CCFL but is this an LED monitor? If so that wouldn't apply.

Khadgar · 11-05-2012, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom66

Taicon, in an Apple product? I used to think Apple were overpriced, but generally made good hardware. Guess that opinion is changing...

The buzzing to me sounds like arcing CCFL but is this an LED monitor? If so that wouldn't apply.

Yes it is an LED screen, it looks like this PSU is a LiteON unit, all of the replacements I saw online were of a different make. I'm haven't heard great things about any of liteons other products, not sure if they all come from the same place or not.

**t.j.** · 11-05-2012, 05:27 PM

source the caps needed. under 10 bucks of caps on the board! worth a shot!~

Khadgar · 11-21-2012, 07:44 PM

Replaced the 7 caps around the expanded one with slightly taller Rubycon from badcaps.net. Baby powered up just fine afterwards, and silent too

Khadgar · 04-03-2013, 05:04 AM

To anyone who has one of these displays with the LiteOn power supply, replace all the caps at once

I just had another one of the original caps die on the board, going to replace all of them this time!

**ben7** · 04-03-2013, 06:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Khadgar

To anyone who has one of these displays with the LiteOn power supply, replace all the caps at once

I just had another one of the original caps die on the board, going to replace all of them this time!

Which one?

BeginnerEnthusiast · 12-04-2013, 05:28 PM

Hello!

Sorry to bring this thread up again but I have exactly this problem with my Apple LED Cinema Display 27" and I am really bummed about it. It makes exactly the noise that is in the video posted here in this thread and it is getting worse day by day. The higher the brightness the louder the sound and if I plug the power cord from the display to my mac book pro the noise really gets silly.

As my forum name explains I am new to this world of electronics (this is my first post) though I did assemble my own computer once and I have repaired some faulty audio cables in the past.

Do you think I could pull this repair off?

If someone with some patience and friendly spirit would be so kind as to explain this problem and the solution to me on more of a beginners level I would be so very thankful. I really don't want to have to give my beloved display to Apple Service and pay hundreds of dollars just to swap a couple of components.

So happy for any help!

Thank you! // Jakob

Khadgar · 12-05-2013, 07:23 PM

Hello,

I'm not sure how much sage advice I can give you, this was my first and only repair I've ever made. When I replaced the first set of caps I had to have other forum goers point out the bad ones, even after I had taken them off I could not see any difference between them, screen worked great for a good amount of time until the problem started up again. The second time I replaced some caps that looked suspect to me with the extras I had purchased from the first install, that took care of it again..... and then 3 months later it started back up. No messing around I would just replace them all at once and avoid doing it three times as I did.

A few things that come to mind about the repair.

1). It was my first time using a solder iron, wick helped me out a lot with removing the old caps, I tried hard not to overheart the board, it looked a bit roughed up when I was done but it worked.

2). Replace every god damn cap or you will regret it.

3). Half of my replacements were taller than the originals, I was worried because the caps mount between the board and the display housing but it cleared. I got all my caps through here without measuring so I guess I got lucky.

4). The glass covering the display feels paper thin, I used a method I found online calling for 2 suction cups used for tile installation, I think they were $10 dollars at home depot.

5). Make sure you have a decent torx(?) wrenches for the bolts holding in the display, they are very stiff to turn coming out and going in.

6). Have a game plan for dealing with the dust, I did not have a silicone roller so I just used paper towels. I still have some dust that drives me mad I plan on trying to use some tape after I had seen an installer use it on my phone when applying one of those screen protectors.

For the cost of all the equipment - nice solder iron, solder, wick I could probably have almost purchased a replacement power supply online but the specific one I was looking at was also a Lite-On and the last thing I want to do is go through this again in another 13 months. The soldering was challenging for myself who had never done it before. The rest of the process was extremely trivial and if you've put together a PC you shouldn't have any problem, just be careful taking the glass off and put it somewhere safe. Also I let my display sit for a few days unplugged before started, power supplies are extremely dangerous always be careful.

Another road you might try is the Apple store since this seem to be a common failing point. One of my coworkers said to try asking even if you are out of warranty as they can make exceptions if it is a known issue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BeginnerEnthusiast

Hello!

Sorry to bring this thread up again but I have exactly this problem with my Apple LED Cinema Display 27" and I am really bummed about it. It makes exactly the noise that is in the video posted here in this thread and it is getting worse day by day. The higher the brightness the louder the sound and if I plug the power cord from the display to my mac book pro the noise really gets silly.

As my forum name explains I am new to this world of electronics (this is my first post) though I did assemble my own computer once and I have repaired some faulty audio cables in the past.

Do you think I could pull this repair off?

If someone with some patience and friendly spirit would be so kind as to explain this problem and the solution to me on more of a beginners level I would be so very thankful. I really don't want to have to give my beloved display to Apple Service and pay hundreds of dollars just to swap a couple of components.

So happy for any help!

Thank you! // Jakob

BeginnerEnthusiast · 12-06-2013, 06:10 PM

Thank you so much for the tips. I will get the things I need and get to it shortly. Really anxious to see if it helps. Cheers!!

**Th3_uN1Qu3** · 12-07-2013, 04:33 AM

Also take high-resolution photos of the power supply when you take it apart, so we can recommend suitable capacitors. Last thing you want is the replacement caps blowing up after a few months, and having to do it over again.

BeginnerEnthusiast · 12-07-2013, 09:49 AM

Very good idea! I will post them here shortly. Thank you!

Khadgar · 12-07-2013, 10:19 AM

Looks like I broke my original link to shots of the board. Here are mine.
http://imgur.com/a/STr5E#0

BeginnerEnthusiast · 12-09-2013, 11:05 AM

Hi again!

I said a prayer to buddha and jesus and opened up my beloved Cinema Display this evening here in a cold and dark Stockholm. Everything went fine! After taking of the glass cover and the display I connected the power cord and listened carefully. After about 10 minutes the buzzing was very audible and was clearly coming from the PSU. Here is a video with the sound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sPd6vfR3dY

I then took out the PSU card and photographed it from all angles. Here are the images. If you click the settings wheel you can choose to see it in full resolution.

http://imgur.com/a/2zxdJ#0

So what do you reckon? Can you see the trees for all the wolves or whatever that saying is? What do I need to do?

Thank you again for all your help! Looking forward to your responses.

//Jakob

BeginnerEnthusiast · 12-10-2013, 01:00 PM

Anyone have a clue? What could it be? I would love to learn more about the components and what makes the sound! Just wanna go and fix it and feel good about myself

**Th3_uN1Qu3** · 12-11-2013, 07:00 AM

That does not look, erm, sound, like a capacitor issue to me. In any case, if the caps are to be replaced, the Rubycon and Chemicon (black and brown) caps can stay. Replace the Taicon only, with equivalents from Rubycon, Chemicon or Panasonic. I don't have time to look at the pictures right now, but i think Chemicon KY will be adequate replacements.

I would look at the board for cold/cracked solder joints around the inverter area (the area where the backlights plug in). Resolder and see if it still makes the noise.

BeginnerEnthusiast · 12-11-2013, 11:52 AM

Hello!

Thank you for your reply. I have looked at the back of the circuit board and the solders but I can not see anything that looks broken or damaged. I did see some kind of yellowish gue/silicon on one part of the board. I am guessing it does not affect the electronics but I thought it was best to let you know. I have photographed the back side and added the pics to the album:

http://imgur.com/a/2zxdJ#14

Could the sound come from any of the other components like the copper coils (is that the name?) or something else? I guess I will just have to replace it all if it is to hard to tell which one is the guilty one.

Thank you for your help!

11-05-2012, 03:05 PM	#2
t.j. Badcaps Veteran Join Date: Apr 2010 City & State: wonk ab My Country: canada I'm a: Knowledge Seeker Posts: 377	Re: Apple Cinema Display 27" No TBolt - Buzzing and then dead there are bloated caps on the board, the green ones by were black plug top right in most pics!! the white stuff is glue/silicone not leaky cap. do you have soldering iron? there are some really good tutorials here!

11-05-2012, 04:35 PM	#5
tom66 Savin' for TSLA Join Date: Apr 2011 City & State: Leeds & B'Stoke My Country: UK Line Voltage: 230Vac 50Hz I'm a: Student Tech Posts: 30,587	Re: Apple Cinema Display 27" No TBolt - Buzzing and then dead Taicon, in an Apple product? I used to think Apple were overpriced, but generally made good hardware. Guess that opinion is changing... The buzzing to me sounds like arcing CCFL but is this an LED monitor? If so that wouldn't apply. __________________ Please do not PM me with questions! Questions via PM will not be answered. Post on the forums instead! Free service manuals: http://www.toms-service-manuals.com/ -- 72 LED/LCD TVs, 5 monitors, 28 plasma TVs, and 2 AVR 6.1 amplifiers fixed! 2 Pioneer KURO 9G, 12 Panasonic LCD/Plasma, 1 Sony LCD, 1 NEC Plasma, 2 Yamaha HTS, 5 Sharp LCDs, 5 Toshiba LCDs, 7 Philips Plasma/LCD, 1 Hitachi Plasma, 11 LG LCD/Plasma, 17 Samsung LED/LCD/Plasma, 1 Thomson Plasma, 1 Atec LCD, 1 Hanspree LCD, 1 Xerox LCD, 1 Harwa LCD, 2 Proview LCD, 2 Hyundai LCD, 1 "Onn" LCD, 1 Grundig LCD, 1 Dell LCD, 1 iiyama LCD, 1 Acer LED, 1 Logik LCD, 1 Baird (China) LCD, 6 Bush LCDs, 19 Vestel LCDs (Best->Worst)

11-05-2012, 05:27 PM	#7
t.j. Badcaps Veteran Join Date: Apr 2010 City & State: wonk ab My Country: canada I'm a: Knowledge Seeker Posts: 377	Re: Apple Cinema Display 27" No TBolt - Buzzing and then dead source the caps needed. under 10 bucks of caps on the board! worth a shot!~

11-21-2012, 07:44 PM	#8
Khadgar New Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 8	Re: Apple Cinema Display 27" No TBolt - Buzzing and then dead Replaced the 7 caps around the expanded one with slightly taller Rubycon from badcaps.net. Baby powered up just fine afterwards, and silent too Last edited by Khadgar; 11-21-2012 at 07:45 PM.. Reason: Spelling

04-03-2013, 05:04 AM	#9
Khadgar New Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 8	Re: Apple Cinema Display 27" No TBolt - Buzzing and then dead To anyone who has one of these displays with the LiteOn power supply, replace all the caps at once I just had another one of the original caps die on the board, going to replace all of them this time!

11-05-2012, 01:47 PM	#1
Khadgar New Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 8	Apple Cinema Display 27" No TBolt - Buzzing and then dead Hello, my Cinema Display developed a loud buzzing in the lower left of the screen that was there for 90% of the day Friday and Saturday. You could clearly hear it coming from the the left speaker holes only, you could also hear faintly hear the noise in my desktop speakers as well. Video of the noise here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQv0mswkj9s On Sunday when I went to power it up it was completely dead it does not come on even for a split second it appears as if it is not plugged in. I had received comments that the sound in the video was classic leaking cap noise, so I looked up the monitor FSM and the only circuit board on that half of the display is the PSU, I managed to pull that out today on my lunch and the pictures are below. I gave it a good looking over but to me they all look just fine, I am thinking about pulling the logic board tonight but if it the sound was coming from a cap it has to be from this board. Sorry if the pictures are not correctly focused. I took them in a darn hurry on lunch, you should be able to open them in high res to get a closer look http://phelgar.imgur.com/all Just looking for advice here, a new PSU board is $140ish, I'd rather save that money by trying my hand at replacing some caps if it is a viable solution Thank you all!

12-04-2013, 05:28 PM	#11
BeginnerEnthusiast Member Join Date: Dec 2013 City & State: Stockholm My Country: Sweden I'm a: Knowledge Seeker Posts: 21	Re: Apple Cinema Display 27" No TBolt - Buzzing and then dead Hello! Sorry to bring this thread up again but I have exactly this problem with my Apple LED Cinema Display 27" and I am really bummed about it. It makes exactly the noise that is in the video posted here in this thread and it is getting worse day by day. The higher the brightness the louder the sound and if I plug the power cord from the display to my mac book pro the noise really gets silly. As my forum name explains I am new to this world of electronics (this is my first post) though I did assemble my own computer once and I have repaired some faulty audio cables in the past. Do you think I could pull this repair off? If someone with some patience and friendly spirit would be so kind as to explain this problem and the solution to me on more of a beginners level I would be so very thankful. I really don't want to have to give my beloved display to Apple Service and pay hundreds of dollars just to swap a couple of components. So happy for any help! Thank you! // Jakob

12-06-2013, 06:10 PM	#13
BeginnerEnthusiast Member Join Date: Dec 2013 City & State: Stockholm My Country: Sweden I'm a: Knowledge Seeker Posts: 21	Re: Apple Cinema Display 27" No TBolt - Buzzing and then dead Thank you so much for the tips. I will get the things I need and get to it shortly. Really anxious to see if it helps. Cheers!!

12-07-2013, 04:33 AM	#14
Th3_uN1Qu3 Believe in Join Date: Jul 2010 City & State: Bucharest My Country: Romania Line Voltage: 230VAC 50Hz I'm a: Professional Tech Posts: 4,842	Re: Apple Cinema Display 27" No TBolt - Buzzing and then dead Also take high-resolution photos of the power supply when you take it apart, so we can recommend suitable capacitors. Last thing you want is the replacement caps blowing up after a few months, and having to do it over again.

12-07-2013, 09:49 AM	#15
BeginnerEnthusiast Member Join Date: Dec 2013 City & State: Stockholm My Country: Sweden I'm a: Knowledge Seeker Posts: 21	Re: Apple Cinema Display 27" No TBolt - Buzzing and then dead Very good idea! I will post them here shortly. Thank you!

12-07-2013, 10:19 AM	#16
Khadgar New Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 8	Re: Apple Cinema Display 27" No TBolt - Buzzing and then dead Looks like I broke my original link to shots of the board. Here are mine. http://imgur.com/a/STr5E#0

12-09-2013, 11:05 AM	#17
BeginnerEnthusiast Member Join Date: Dec 2013 City & State: Stockholm My Country: Sweden I'm a: Knowledge Seeker Posts: 21	Re: Apple Cinema Display 27" No TBolt - Buzzing and then dead Hi again! I said a prayer to buddha and jesus and opened up my beloved Cinema Display this evening here in a cold and dark Stockholm. Everything went fine! After taking of the glass cover and the display I connected the power cord and listened carefully. After about 10 minutes the buzzing was very audible and was clearly coming from the PSU. Here is a video with the sound: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sPd6vfR3dY I then took out the PSU card and photographed it from all angles. Here are the images. If you click the settings wheel you can choose to see it in full resolution. http://imgur.com/a/2zxdJ#0 So what do you reckon? Can you see the trees for all the wolves or whatever that saying is? What do I need to do? Thank you again for all your help! Looking forward to your responses. //Jakob

12-10-2013, 01:00 PM	#18
BeginnerEnthusiast Member Join Date: Dec 2013 City & State: Stockholm My Country: Sweden I'm a: Knowledge Seeker Posts: 21	Re: Apple Cinema Display 27" No TBolt - Buzzing and then dead Anyone have a clue? What could it be? I would love to learn more about the components and what makes the sound! Just wanna go and fix it and feel good about myself

12-11-2013, 07:00 AM	#19
Th3_uN1Qu3 Believe in Join Date: Jul 2010 City & State: Bucharest My Country: Romania Line Voltage: 230VAC 50Hz I'm a: Professional Tech Posts: 4,842	Re: Apple Cinema Display 27" No TBolt - Buzzing and then dead That does not look, erm, sound, like a capacitor issue to me. In any case, if the caps are to be replaced, the Rubycon and Chemicon (black and brown) caps can stay. Replace the Taicon only, with equivalents from Rubycon, Chemicon or Panasonic. I don't have time to look at the pictures right now, but i think Chemicon KY will be adequate replacements. I would look at the board for cold/cracked solder joints around the inverter area (the area where the backlights plug in). Resolder and see if it still makes the noise.

12-11-2013, 11:52 AM	#20
BeginnerEnthusiast Member Join Date: Dec 2013 City & State: Stockholm My Country: Sweden I'm a: Knowledge Seeker Posts: 21	Re: Apple Cinema Display 27" No TBolt - Buzzing and then dead Hello! Thank you for your reply. I have looked at the back of the circuit board and the solders but I can not see anything that looks broken or damaged. I did see some kind of yellowish gue/silicon on one part of the board. I am guessing it does not affect the electronics but I thought it was best to let you know. I have photographed the back side and added the pics to the album: http://imgur.com/a/2zxdJ#14 Could the sound come from any of the other components like the copper coils (is that the name?) or something else? I guess I will just have to replace it all if it is to hard to tell which one is the guilty one. Thank you for your help!