Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

[Doczee]

Wish I could have found badcaps.net sooner before I spent some money on a new Power/Inverter board for this monitor.

Anyways, a little history. If it sounds too good to be true, It usually is. Bought this monitor off craigslist for dirt cheap. I was at work so they came by with the monitor to sell it to me. Said it worked Great and wish they didn't have to sell it. Me, i was excited that i was getting a 22" monitor for next to nothing. I took it home and it didn't work. I didn't even call them to bitch about it because they would not even answer because they knew it didn't work......

So, I opened it up. Looked at all the caps and decided to replace them. With caps replaced, it still didn't turn on. Then I decided to Ohm out the Inverter Transformers and notice on one of them it was not ohming out. I decided to buy a new Power/Inverter board for the monitor. When it came, I installed it. Still would not turn on.

At this moment, I was about to drop kick the monitor but I was bound determined to find out what was wrong with it. The one thing I kept on noticing was a hissing noise coming from the top right corner every time it looked like it was about to turn on.

I decided to do a Google search on known problems for this monitor and found this forum. Great information and the wright up on the "2 seconds to black" was very helpful.

So, I decided to plug the monitor in when it was all apart to find out where this hissing noise was coming from. Low and behold, this is what I found:
Here is a Video I did to show you where the hissing came from: Video of my monitor hissing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF2p1QcyX4E

Obviously, my problem is with the CCFL back lighting... Basically I need to know, will replacing the two pigtails and wiring harness and both top CCFL lights going to fix my problem?

[Lumberjack777]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

Most likely it will. And yes you have a short in the ccfl or wiring. The 2 seconds to black is the feedback protection circuit kicking in because it detects a fault in your ccfl's.
Do you have any video on the screen when it first turns on? Unplug the lamps and shine a flashlight on the screen to see if you can see faint video. That'd be a good sign. Also, is the short coming from the bulbs, or the wires? If its just coming from the wires you may be able to repair this without having to purchase new ccfl's. ~L-J-7~

[Doczee]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

Thanks for the quick reply.

To answer your question, Yes, I can see the acer logo when the power is turned on but very dim and hazy. All the classical signs of the 2 seconds to black.

I posted pictures in my original post of the connections and wiring to the CCFL lights and there is no signs of breakage in the wiring. The CCFL lights do look like bad florescent ceiling lights when they go bad with dark ends.

[Lumberjack777]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

OK. I watched your youtube video and that helped a lot. But what I couldn't tell was where the sort (buzzing) was coming from. With the ccfl's out of the LCD, can you tell where the short is coming from? Do they stay lit up and no buzzing? Or does it only happen when they are installed?
Just as a note of confidence. This is a backlight issue and you will finally have it fixed

[Mr Bill]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

Are there any knicks or cracks in the bulbs? The soldering in pic 3 doesn't look that bad. I've heard that hissing more times than i can count and it's 100% ccfls bulbs or wiring.

[Doczee]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

Thanks for the quick reply Lumberjack777.

As far as I can tell, all the wires look ok and there was no break in either one of them when I used my Super Sleuth Magnifying Glass.

Sorry, I took it all apart before testing with the lights out. My suspected wire that was glowing purple might have been from the Red wire. You can see it in the video a purple haze around the red wire leading to the pig tail when it splits away from the Blue and Gray wires around 27 seconds into the video.

Here's a thought, When you have High voltage going through wires and it doesn't make a full connection on the return, doesn't the voltage have to escape someone and that is the purple haze? (The purple haze reminds me of High Voltage Power lines where you can light up a florescent bulb in your hand while standing underneath them...)

[Doczee]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

Are there any knicks or cracks in the bulbs? The soldering in pic 3 doesn't look that bad. I've heard that hissing more times than i can count and it's 100% ccfls bulbs or wiring.

With my Super Sleuth Magnifying Glass, I do not see any cracks or chips.

My main question is, You think this will diffidently fix my problem if I replace the wiring and of course the CCFL Bulbs... I don't want to be putting much more money into this as I already bought a new Power/Inverter board...

FYI.. I tested my original Power/Inverter board again and found a cold solder joint on the Inverter Transformer. Didn't need the New board after all..

[Lumberjack777]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

You are doing a great job explaining the problem. That really helps. I'm trying to save you from having to buy new bulbs if it's just the wiring. New ccfl's could range from 25 to 50 dollars. All ccfls have a little black on the ends that I have ever looked at. They could still last years, as long as they still light up. What you want to do is isolate the bad wire and replace it or wrap it up with electrical tape. I once had a Dell 1905FP with the same symptoms. An electrolytic cap had leaked onto the wires and they shorted. I cleaned off the fluid. Wrapped the wires with electrical tape, and that fixed the problem.

[Mr Bill]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

Did you pull the silicone boot from the return wire side to see if the soldering is good there?

[Doczee]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

You are doing a great job explaining the problem. That really helps. I'm trying to save you from having to buy new bulbs if it's just the wiring. New ccfl's could range from 25 to 50 dollars. All ccfls have a little black on the ends that I have ever looked at. They could still last years, as long as they still light up. What you want to do is isolate the bad wire and replace it or wrap it up with electrical tape. I once had a Dell 1905FP with the same symptoms. An electrolytic cap had leaked onto the wires and they shorted. I cleaned off the fluid. Wrapped the wires with electrical tape, and that fixed the problem.

Guess I'll have to put it back together and see if the lights light up by taking your advice to isolating all the wires. I do know one of the lights light up as you can see in the video. Will have to check if both try to light up...

Did you pull the silicone boot from the return wire side to see if the soldering is good there?

The solder joints on that end look fine too.

[Lumberjack777]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

I think you have a handle on it my friend. I have to get going. But, if you can test the lights out of the LCD, but still plugged in, and keep and wires from shorting. And the ccfl's stay lit. You won't need new ccfl's Good luck!

[Doczee]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

New ccfl's could range from 25 to 50 dollars.

I found some New CCFL bulbs for this monitor for $8 each plus shipping. This will be my last resort....

[Doczee]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

I think you have a handle on it my friend. I have to get going. But, if you can test the lights out of the LCD, but still plugged in, and keep and wires from shorting. And the ccfl's stay lit. You won't need new ccfl's Good luck!

Thanks for your help. Will know by tomorrow if both lights try to light up...

[johnobub]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

Was your monitor repaired or not?

I have the same monitor, an Acer X223W, it's also doing the same thing. Turns on about 2 seconds, then goes blank. Power buttom stays on blue as if everything is working fine. What do I look at first?

[dj_ricoh]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

Was your monitor repaired or not?

I have the same monitor, an Acer X223W, it's also doing the same thing. Turns on about 2 seconds, then goes blank. Power buttom stays on blue as if everything is working fine. What do I look at first?

you need to find if the lamps are broken and witch one
http://tinyurl.com/p5857sa

[johnobub]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

you need to find if the lamps are broken and witch one
http://tinyurl.com/p5857sa

I've taken it apart down to only the screen. there's two (upper and lower) sets of 4 wires. An upper red wire with a white wire connector, and an upper blue wire with gray wire connector. Same thing on the bottom, red wire with a white wire connector, and a blue wire with gray wire connector. How to check the bulbs from this point?

[budm]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

Do you actually see the lamps?
Bad lamps, bad wires, etc.
http://s807.photobucket.com/user/bud...?sort=3&page=1

[johnobub]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

Do you actually see the lamps?
Bad lamps, bad wires, etc.
http://s807.photobucket.com/user/bud...?sort=3&page=1

I did not see the lamps. I see the wires going to them but not the lamps. I don't see how to get at the lamps to see them.

[johnobub]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

I did not see the lamps. I see the wires going to them but not the lamps. I don't see how to get at the lamps to see them.

Any ideas?

[ratzalin]

Re: Acer X223W -- "2 Seconds to Black"

Hey, to remove the backlights you must first disassemble the screen to the point you have the lcd unit in your hands, then remove 3 screws from the silver piece along the back. This should have two pieces of silver tape holding it to the back of the unit. After removing those, remove the four tiny screws off the back. You'll see them as they are not in the corners, but close. I had them on the vertical side. Next, gently take off the surrounding silver shield over the lcd screen. A flatheaded screwdriver should do the trick. Next lift the black front of the screen, then the clear diffuser. Inside you should find the lcd area, which will have the bulbs sitting in the top and bottom in a white casing that you will be able to see once you get to this point. They just lift right out.