Optiquest Q9 no power

[PincushionMan]

I have a pair of Optiquest Q9 (Actually Q9B-2, I think the B means refurbished). Both purchased in the same time frame (from CDW), both died after 13 to 16 months of very light use.

When I pulled the power (inverter?) board from both of these units, I see the same thing, a single leaky CapXon capacitor. I'm fairly certain the fuse is blown, also. The board is labeled as follows:
2006/10/20
PI-SB03
REV
Digital Decade Ltd.
P/N: BLM1700P60210

Input:
100-240 Vac @ 60 Hz
Output:
24Vdc, 0.05A (optional)
5Vdc, 2.5A
-8Vdc, 0.1A (optional)
Caution: For continous protection against risk of fire replace only with same type and rating fuse.

Seems to be a T 3.15A/250V black/radial type fuse with the word bel in the center.

I have a list of all the CapXon capacitors on the board (all are KF 105C date code P640 = 2006, Week 40):


_100uF 400V C809 ~18mm x 35mm (will leave alone)
__10uF _50V C824 _~5mm x 10mm
_220uF _50V C904 ~10mm x 15mm (G sticker on Vent)
_470uF _50V C804 ~10mm x 20mm
1000uF _16V C829 ~10mm x 19mm (leaking goo)
_680uF _16V C819 ~10mm x 15mm


Pics to follow.

[EGuevarae]

Re: Optiquest Q9 no power

I have a pair of Optiquest Q9 (Actually Q9B-2, I think the B means refurbished). Both purchased in the same time frame (from CDW), both died after 13 to 16 months of very light use.

When I pulled the power (inverter?) board from both of these units, I see the same thing, a single leaky CapXon capacitor. I'm fairly certain the fuse is blown, also. The board is labeled as follows:
2006/10/20
PI-SB03
REV
Digital Decade Ltd.
P/N: BLM1700P60210

Input:
100-240 Vac @ 60 Hz
Output:
24Vdc, 0.05A (optional)
5Vdc, 2.5A
-8Vdc, 0.1A (optional)
Caution: For continous protection against risk of fire replace only with same type and rating fuse.

Seems to be a T 3.15A/250V black/radial type fuse with the word bel in the center.

I have a list of all the CapXon capacitors on the board (all are KF 105C date code P640 = 2006, Week 40):


_100uF 400V C809 ~18mm x 35mm (will leave alone)
__10uF _50V C824 _~5mm x 10mm
_220uF _50V C904 ~10mm x 15mm (G sticker on Vent)
_470uF _50V C804 ~10mm x 20mm
1000uF _16V C829 ~10mm x 19mm (leaking goo)
_680uF _16V C819 ~10mm x 15mm


Pics to follow.

Replace them all, except the big one if you don't want to do it.

[PincushionMan]

Re: Optiquest Q9 no power

Here's what I ordered. Panasonic FC series all (I saw that the CapXon are supposed to be comparable ESR-wise to these). Hope I am close.

1. 10 10 0 0 P10316-ND EEU-FC1H100L DD-C824 0.13700 $1.37
2. 10 10 0 0 P10326-ND EEU-FC1H221S DD-C904 0.54500 $5.45
3. 10 10 0 0 P11261-ND EEU-FC1H561 DD-C802 0.96600 $9.66
4. 10 10 0 0 P11203-ND EEU-FC1C102S DD-C829 0.54600 $5.46
5. 10 10 0 0 P10249-ND EEU-FC1C681L DD-C819 0.32600 $3.26
   

Also, still working on the pictures. My camera made them too big for the 2000 x 2000 px limit, so I'll have to scale them a bit. I could've sworn I set the camera to 1024x768. Go figure.

[PincushionMan]

Re: Optiquest Q9 no power

Here are the pics:

[Chuck F.]

Re: Optiquest Q9 no power

I fixed an Optiquest Q7, the 17 inch version, just last week, which had the same power supply. The only cap doming up was also the CapXon 1000/16v; I replaced it from stock and the monitor started working again. (I also had the G sticker on the 220!)

Ordered some of the others that I didn't have and replaced them all a couple days later. I also replaced the big one because it measured esr well over three times what a new one was.

Actually a Viewsonic, right? Very cheaply made unit. The shield over the PSU is made of beer-can gauge metal that you can dent with your fingernail. When I opened it up a couple of the little plastic tab grabber things that hold it together broke and I couldn't see any way to prevent that.

[weirdlookinguy]

Re: Optiquest Q9 no power

Viewsonic seems to have really gone downhill lately. But then again, who hasn't?

[Pokey]

Re: Optiquest Q9 no power

I also have an Optiquest Q9B-2 (the B stands for black) that was manufactured in October of 2006. I had the very same cap go bad on mine. I've only replaced the one cap so far, but the monitor has been working just fine in the six months since I did the repair.

From the research I did when the problem first occurred, it seems pretty much all Q9 monitors fail sooner or later due to bad caps.

[peterbennett]

Re: Digital decade PSU

Version 1 (?) of this power supply unit, a digital decade PI-SB01, which is probably a SMPSU, did run my TFT monitor. It is very similar to the above layout for the PI-SB03, but with a few more CapXon caps. In fact you can still see their location on the new board shown above, as it is only a revision. I noted that the capacitors which were showing signs of distress (domed) were rated at 16V, but adjacent caps with the same capitance, but a higher voltage rating (25V) were not. In my days of building kits we were told you can substitute with a higher voltage rating, but not a lower one. So I too will be replacing the caps with panasonics, but at 25V or higher rating, providing the package size suits. I don't say this is the right thing to do necessarily.

The question I have is:- was the cap bad (they are now), or has something else been subjecting it to working conditions outside its normal operating tolerances? Do you cure a symptom rather than the underlying problem by cap replacement?

This TFT monitor was taking longer and longer to switch on, then eventually would not switch on at all, just emitting fairly quiet clicking noises.

I took the monitor apart as I suspected a SMPSU fault, and noted the 4 swollen caps.

A net search for known faults on this PSU brought me here.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

If the new caps resurrect the TFT monitor I will report back.

Peter

[PlainBill]

Re: Digital decade PSU

Version 1 (?) of this power supply unit, a digital decade PI-SB01, which is probably a SMPSU, did run my TFT monitor. It is very similar to the above layout for the PI-SB03, but with a few more CapXon caps. In fact you can still see their location on the new board shown above, as it is only a revision. I noted that the capacitors which were showing signs of distress (domed) were rated at 16V, but adjacent caps with the same capitance, but a higher voltage rating (25V) were not. In my days of building kits we were told you can substitute with a higher voltage rating, but not a lower one. So I too will be replacing the caps with panasonics, but at 25V or higher rating, providing the package size suits. I don't say this is the right thing to do necessarily.

The question I have is:- was the cap bad (they are now), or has something else been subjecting it to working conditions outside its normal operating tolerances? Do you cure a symptom rather than the underlying problem by cap replacement?

This TFT monitor was taking longer and longer to switch on, then eventually would not switch on at all, just emitting fairly quiet clicking noises.

I took the monitor apart as I suspected a SMPSU fault, and noted the 4 swollen caps.

A net search for known faults on this PSU brought me here.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

If the new caps resurrect the TFT monitor I will report back.

Peter

The problem is the original caps were unable to stand up to the high surge currents of in the switching mode power supply. By substituting higher quality (not just higher spec) parts, the problem can be avoided.

PlainBill

[PincushionMan]

Re: Digital decade PSU

I'm curious, what kind of caps did you replace the CapXon (aka crapxon) with? Did you replace the big behemoth (400V) cap, or keep it? Just wondering, because the consensus here seems to be that the input filter caps (is that the right term?) don't take as much of a beating as the littler caps (pi filters? voltage regulators?). Pictures would be nice, too. I'm wondering if the voltages the earlier rev puts out differ from the later rev D board.

As for my soldering progress - I have none to report yet, as the iron just wasn't cutting it. I ordered another iron because the 22W stick just wasn't cutting it. I know, the FAQ says minimum 40W, but I assumed because I had done soldering on circuit boards with stick irons before, that I could do it again. It seems that, in hindsight, the stick irons we used at school were 40W after all. I bought a 60W Hakko ESD (not to be confused the the Chinese brands Yakko and Quakko which look identical and have the same number scheme). Has anyone heard of the Hakko types of irons? I also couldn't really tell a difference between the ESD/non ESD boxes. Is that just a buzzword to get you to pay $10 to $50 more?

[tmwalsh]

Re: Optiquest Q9 no power

This is the second or third version of a combo power supply & and inverter that has been used in the Q9. The -2, I think, denotes that there is a new supply with only one hi voltage transformer. The original had two transformers. It died more than the second version does. I *believe* that the transformers failed in that version before the capacitors went out.
FWIW, there is a eBay guy that advertises to repair the SMPS for ~$25 here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=390011743600

He's had the ad up for over a year on and off.

tom

[tmwalsh]

Re: Optiquest Q9 no power

This link points to a few posts about the monitor SMPS.

http://opensusenewbie.blogspot.com/2...facturers.html

Seems they are doing the 'build enough to replace what breaks during warranty and then quit' deal. Slap a bunch of names on the same box.
tom

[PincushionMan]

Re: Optiquest Q9 no power

Both Optiquests were brought back to life by changing out 4 caps closest the the transformer. I didn't replace the big cap (100uF/400V) because others said there wasn't a need, and I didn't replace the little cap (10uF/50V) because it was in a crowded neighborhood with lots of surface mounted caps on the underside where it lives, and I suspect I'll do more harm than good trying to take that bad boy out.

For the record, I used Panasonic FCs for most replacements, and a Nichicon HE for the 470uF part. The original part I ordered for the 470 was a 560, but it was too big height and diameter wise to be used. Digi-Key was out of 470s in the dimensions I needed. I didn't realize I could use FMs until later.

So, to all thanks for all the assistance!

[etnietering]

Re: Optiquest Q9 no power

I received one of these (Optiquest Q9) a few weeks back for free, because it "didn't work." I plugged it in and the backlights would only work for a second or two. So today I opened it up to see if I could fix it (to give my bro as a graduation gift). What do I find, but one of the lamps is unplugged! So I plug it back in, put the shield back on, plus the power in, and it works. It's been on running the display from my server for several hours, and seems to work great.

It has a different power board than the one pictured earlier though. It doesn't have any visible bad caps, but they're all L-tec and CapXon, so I'm going to do a full recap before giving it to my brother. Interesting thing, the main PSU output is 12v. It has space for SIX capacitors, but only four are filled, and one is way undersized. There are 2x L-tec 680uF @ 16v 10mm caps, and 2x L-tec 220uF @ 25v 8mm caps (one in the spot for a 10mm). I'm going to be able to put in 5x 680uF @ 16v Panasonic FC, and 1x 470uF 16v Panasonic FM. I'm going to replace the 400v cap with a NCC KMG series one, and increase the capacitance from 82uF to 100uF (the only other ones that would fit were 33uF). The logic board has a bunch of little CapXon caps, which will be replaced with Panny FM, FC, or NHG. Of course, lots of pictures will be coming when the caps arrive and I do the recap

[etnietering]

Re: Optiquest Q9 no power

OK, well, I've successfully recapped this, and it's working fine

Here's what I did:

Took the back off, which was surprisingly easy! There was a little hole in the bottom to use a screwdriver to begin prying, and the rest just unsnapped. Here's the circuit boards:


I decided to work on the power supply first. C301, C307, and C335 are all on the +12v rail, but not installed. C204 (the one on the top by CN2) is 8mm, but is screened for 10mm. All the caps on this board are Lelon.


Here it is with the caps removed. The only troublesome one was C134, it's partially under that heatsink.


And here we have the old caps next to the new caps. The replacements were:

2x 220uF @ 25v Lelon RXK and 2x 680uF @ 16v Lelon RXK -> 6x 680uF @ 16v Panasonic FC and 1x 470uF @ 16v Panasonic FM.

I like the line on the right, myself


I also worked on the input side of things. The main filter cap is a 82uF @ 400v Lelon RGA, which I replaced with a 120uF @ 400v NCC KXG. I also replaced the little cap there, originally a 10uF @ 50v STONE with a 10uF @ 50v Panasonic EB. Here's the before picture:


The during picture:


And the after picture. I also stuck a MOV into Z1.


And here's a final after picture. Ahh....Panasonic T vents all over the place



I also worked on the logic board. Originally, I was going to replace all the electrolytics, but I felt that replacing the little ones wasn't worth it. They hardly ever go bad, and soldering on boards like that isn't nearly as easy as power supply boards.

Here's a before picture of the logic board (with the new caps next to it):


I replaced 8x 470uF @ 16v CapXon KM -> 8x 470uF @ 16v Panasonic FM. Here's an after picture:


So then I threw it back together, and it worked! It's currently been running for about 100 hours with zero problems. It's really a pretty nice monitor, and definitely excellent for free! I'll be giving it to my brother as a graduation gift in June.

[retiredcaps]

Re: Optiquest Q9 no power

I replaced three Capxon caps in a Q9 (purchased off kijiji for cheap) today with some Rubycon 470uf 25V 105C ZL capacitors.

Initially the monitor would work with the old caps, but then shut off and making this loud buzzing noise. I did some research which led me to here and ordered a solder iron, solder, etc and watched some youtube videos on how to solder.

Now the Q9 seems to work okay with the new caps (no extensive tests yet).

Some pics showing the bad and replaced caps. This is my first time soldering and the cheapo ebay 30W iron tip got dirty (even though I tinned and wiped off a wet sponge) quick which probably explains my very ugly soldering job. If it fails, I will try to get a better iron and resolder.

The board did state ROHS so I think 30W iron may not been hot enough to remove the old solder (tried with wick, but will now order a pump)?

Anyways, thought I would share and learning a lot from this forum. Keep up the great work!

PS. My 1st post and I read the FAQ about attaching pics.

[EGuevarae]

Re: Optiquest Q9 no power

PS. My 1st post and I read the FAQ about attaching pics.

Good boy

[PincushionMan]

Re: Optiquest Q9 no power

This is my first time soldering and the cheapo ebay 30W iron tip got dirty (even though I tinned and wiped off a wet sponge) quick which probably explains my very ugly soldering job. If it fails, I will try to get a better iron and resolder.
[snip]
The board did state ROHS so I think 30W iron may not been hot enough to remove the old solder (tried with wick, but will now order a pump)?

Some tips don't tin very easily, and it may be time to replace yours, since you stated it was used. I've seen good tips average about $10.

I primarily use wicking - all the pumps I've ever used were continuously clogging and rather a bother to work with.

As for the wattage, 30W may be enough for GP soldering, but I'd recommend a 65W or better from a known reputable brand for desoldering, especially from circuit boards. I didn't catch your type of solder, I think 63/27 is preferred (63 Pb/27 Antimony?).

I've also heard good things about a 60/27/3 where the 3 has some silver, but I don't recall, and don't have any for testing. It's been a while since electronics class, so things may have changed since my day.

It's best to have a concave surface on the joint that you are making. If it is cloudy/gray, you have a cold solder joint. Cold joints are more fragile than a standard joint, and may be high-resistance or even open under the joint.

For applying solder, first thing is to make sure that the joint area is clean. Maybe we cleaned with flux? My memory is foggy. Flux also makes the solder flow. Then, heat the joint. The solder should flow around the lead. Don't heat the solder directly with the iron (unless tinning).

Be sure to use alligator clips if near something heat sensitive, if possible. I remember Zener diodes and some transistors back in the day would die frequently due to heat. Power Transistors and MOSFETs, not so much.

One more thing about tinning, there was sandpaper involved, 400 grain? really fine. Don't remember, but I think it was used after tinning.

All that said, I like how you posted after pictures! I was not brave enough to post after pictures, 'cause I violated every rule above and have globby cold solder joints to prove it. Oh well, at least they run.

Oh goody. Got another one from work, Q9B-2. That makes 3, now. I offered to fix it, but they are looking to upgrade. Darn graphic designers are always asking for more screen real-estate.

[retiredcaps]

Re: Optiquest Q9 no power

Since it was my first attempt, I went cheap and got the cheapest soldering iron. The tip has now lost a chunk out of it. How I don't know?

I just got another cheap 40W iron and I can see the difference in melting the solder.

If I do more of this, I will buy a brand name like weller. There comes a point where it makes no $$$ sense to repair when I can buy an used monitor for less $$$. But, I WANT to learn more about electronics and this is a good way to do it. (Any suggestions on books or videos to learn more are welcome).

Even with the bad soldering job, the Optiquest is still running after 30 days. I realize there may come a day where I have to reopen it and resolder it.

Lucky you. Another free monitor.

PS. I'm still waiting for my DMM to arrive. I paid a grand total of $4 for it. I know it is cheap and won't give the most accurate reading, but I have to start somewhere.

Some tips don't tin very easily, and it may be time to replace yours, since you stated it was used. I've seen good tips average about $10.

All that said, I like how you posted after pictures! I was not brave enough to post after pictures, 'cause I violated every rule above and have globby cold solder joints to prove it. Oh well, at least they run.

Oh goody. Got another one from work, Q9B-2. That makes 3, now. I offered to fix it, but they are looking to upgrade. Darn graphic designers are always asking for more screen real-estate.

[Valerie]

Re: Optiquest Q9 no power

Hello all!

This is my first time here and my first post. We have the same problem with the Q9, and the same board as tiredcaps shows. We have two of these not working. The first kinda went last year, and the second 2 days ago. I can't bash Optiquest because these guys are powered just about 24/7 for about 3.5 yrs and have treated us well. We looked at new monitors but the usage for these are a "center" console on an old XP which sits between our newer computers (no chair there) and I (the wifee) didn't want a wide screen taking more room from the user computer seats (especially mine).

So thanks for the very good coverage on what to do, and the pics. We will get back to you on how it all turned out.

I'm a retired EE (but mostly worked in computer system and control design). My husband is a computer developer but he is into slot cars and can handle the soldering.