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Gateway FPD1976W - Power button flickers

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    #1

    Gateway FPD1976W - Power button flickers

    Hi there. I recall posting in another multi-page thread regarding this LCD and finally got around to recapping the inverter on Monday. Here it's the following Saturday and just a moment ago, I could've swore I saw the power button LED flicker to orange for about 1.5 seconds and back to blue. Thinking the LCD was about to puke, I sat here sipping coffee and watched the power button. The blue LED flickered again - that time briefly off and on.

    Is there any known issue with this button in other Gateway FPD models? I hope its no real cause for alarm. Heck, I hope it was my eyes playing tricks on me -- it's kinda hard to detect out of ones peripheral vision since the Windows taskbar has a blinking network activity icon right above that blue LED ... and you know the old saying "watched pots never boil" ...
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    #2
    Re: Gateway FPD1976W - Power button flickers

    Flickering of the PLED can be caused by several reasons.
    Assuming you used the correct capacitors and they soldered in properly you have ruled one cause out.
    An excessive load on the system could be another, what voltages do you notice going to the logic board and are they steady?
    Do you have a way to post some photos of the power supply?A top down view of top and bottom woul be helpful.
    Whatever I do, I consider it a success, if in the end I am breathing, seeing, feeling and hearing!

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      #3
      Re: Gateway FPD1976W - Power button flickers

      No experience. No testing equipment. Total noobsauce here, and $15 to roll the dice using one of Scott's (LCDAlternatives) was the farthest thing from horrifying. The unit had been unplugged and on my desk collecting cobwebs for 18 months, wasn't disassembled, and judging from other posts here, I was either gonna have 1 capacitor short or 1 capacitor too many despite Scott's efforts to stay on top of it all. Sure enough 1 capacitor short, but it was a smaller 47uf 25v capacitor just above the largest one. Unlike every cap grouped near the mosfets and heatsinks, it wasn't blown/bulged. I would have to live that ...

      Worst case scenario: the recap job wouldn't work, cut my losses, dump the LCD.

      Best case scenario: best $15 I ever spent refurbin' my daughter's great-grampa's $300 monitor for FREE!

      Overall, the odds of a recap are much better than the odds of winning the $2,700 progressive cover-all jackpot down at the bingo hall with that same $15 ...

      Before disassembly, I read reams of material and watched many videos on Youtube on many Gateway FPD series LCDs so that I had a general idea on what to expect when cracking this thing open. Was very slow and careful near the PLED when prying it all open. I lucked out big time as the PLED's PCP was clipped in place to the rear bezel, so when the front bezel peeled off, it stayed locked in place.

      The hardest part of the disassembly was the taped flat ribbon cable running to lamp controller board to the video logic PCB. I'd rather have unhooked that from the PCB inside the compartment instead of removing the tape and unclipping it. But that couldn't be helped ... and it was quite a chore of getting it plugged back in upon reassembly. Replaced the old tape with a good strip of electrical tape.

      I'll have to post the pics later -- the camera is a wretched old 1.3 mega-pixel Sony Cybershot with a junk battery. I keep it plugged in - replacing the battery is about 75% the cost of a new camera. The max resolution and limited space on the memory card leaves alot to be desired. The pictures I took probably suck universally -- flash on or off. Will have to check them later ...

      Other than that, I've been here lurking the forums for the last few hours and the PLED hasn't done it again. But I had only been awake with the LCD turned on for about 30-45 mins though - I was still trying to find a vein on arm for the coffee when it happened the first time!

      Comment

        #4
        Re: Gateway FPD1976W - Power button flickers

        Originally posted by Hooker Jay View Post
        Sure enough 1 capacitor short, but it was a smaller 47uf 25v capacitor just above the largest one.
        Email Scott and tell him you are one cap short. He might send it to you.
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          #5
          Re: Gateway FPD1976W - Power button flickers

          I intent to, but I'd hate to see him do that for just 1 cap. I might have to order his kit for an OptiQuest Q9-2 some day, so he could pop that cap in there at his leisure if/when that happens ...

          Comment

            #6
            Re: Gateway FPD1976W - Power button flickers

            Originally posted by Hooker Jay View Post
            I intent to, but I'd hate to see him do that for just 1 cap. I might have to order his kit for an OptiQuest Q9-2 some day, so he could pop that cap in there at his leisure if/when that happens ...
            I have done some analysis of DIY versus buying a "kit". I estimate the sellers make close to $10 per kit.

            DIY can save you about 1/2 the cost.
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              #7
              Re: Gateway FPD1976W - Power button flickers

              Now you're talking -- my lawnmower could use that extra gallon of gas!

              Here's the pics ... and they're worthless ...

              Last person to use didn't set it to max resolution ...
              Attached Files

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                #8
                Re: Gateway FPD1976W - Power button flickers

                Originally posted by Hooker Jay View Post
                Here's the pics
                Are these the before or after pics? If they are after pics, you have an obviously bloated green cap.
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                  #9
                  Re: Gateway FPD1976W - Power button flickers

                  Those were before - the only after pic is the last. The caps I replaced are the 6 around the mosfet heatink in the center of the PCB that follow a \ and / slashing pattern. Those 6 were replaced with the back and yellow caps I ordered from Scott. At first, I didn't think they were Panasonics because all I saw on them in terms of logo was a fancy "M" that reminded me of Realtek's crab logo. Then I remembered "Panasonic" is just the American name for Matsushita in Japan. The one I was missing from the kit was the tiny one above the transformer. I'm thinking Gateway used stock that didn't have a cap there and some that did. The big fatty I left alone. One thing that did concern me was just above that heatsink in the center is a resistor with some discoloration underneath it. I was hoping it was just heat related instead of an actual burn spot.

                  The PLED hasn't flickered yet today -- gonna keep an eye on it though.

                  Other than that, it's a fantastic screen. Looks good in Windows XP, even better in Linux Mint 11 and Windows 7 ...

                  Just gotta get used to its 1440x900 native res all over again ...
                  Last edited by Hooker Jay; 04-01-2012, 12:55 PM.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Re: Gateway FPD1976W - Power button flickers

                    Sorry to for the thread necromancy, but after a year, Google pulled up my thread here, and I was lucky enough to remember my password!

                    The flickering power button was a fluke - it was actually the network activity icon inside WindowsXP's taskbar blinking the was the culprit!

                    Anyway, after 3 years of rock solid performance, a new issue has cropped up in the last month: the OSD/Menu in the lower right corner appears all by itself. Sometimes, it displays the "Menu" (i.e "Auto", "Brightness", "Color" and other times) but most of the time it displays the "Tour" dialog ...

                    Nevertheless, the OSD is coming on by itself - often times blinking on and off rapidly in succession. When it decides to stay on, it never disappears like it should after 5 seconds. It'll stay there for minutes/hours. Sometimes, pushing the "Menu" button on the side makes it go away for a while (only to come back), but most of time the buttons on the side won't even work. Nor the power button - when it's in this locked state, the power button won't turn the display off if it's been on for a while nor turn it on if it's been off (if the latter is the case, I gotta hold the power button in until it turns blue and fires up the display).

                    Haven't cracked the panel open yet - been trying different things like changing the broadcast channel of my wireless router (it sets about a foot away behind the display) to see if its not a case of electronic noise or interference causing it. This started happening all of a sudden a month ago, disappeared completely for two weeks, then cropped back up worse than before. I don't think its a case of a stuck/junk buttons - they've been messed with no less than a dozen times in the last 3 years. But I'm not ruling anything out and open to other causes: junk wires, cold solder joints, possible recap on the video logic board etc. ...

                    I do recall before ordering and using the recap kit from Scott way back then that a shop out in Texas stated that a temperamental OSD coming and going on its own was an issue with the Gateway FPD1975/6 and FPD2185 models and sold a replacement side button module and power button. For those familiar with these displays, the power button and PCB plugs into the side button module which then plugs into video logic board. Always thought it was a bit extreme having to replace all of that in case that happened ... and now that it has happened, I can't Google-fu that shop for the life of me! :o

                    Anyway, thanks in advance!

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Re: Gateway FPD1976W - Power button flickers

                      It's usually the buttons. Unplug the button strip with the monitor powered on and see if it still does it.
                      Originally posted by PeteS in CA
                      Remember that by the time consequences of a short-sighted decision are experienced, the idiot who made the bad decision may have already been promoted or moved on to a better job at another company.
                      A working TV? How boring!

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