Viewsonic Monitor with Bad Capacitors

[Topcat]

Jesus H Christ......................... I have a Viewsonic 810G 21\" monitor on the server array that runs my sites (including this forum).... I replaced the flyback in it about a year ago, and it worked beautifully until this morning... I went in there to check some things on the servers, and lone behold the vertical sync was all out of whack, and the horizontal was extremely distorted and appeared folded over... I smelled that lovely cooked cap aroma in the closet, so I had a good idea what was wrong... After a few choice words (having spend the evening before reloading the OS on a damn Compaq, which really was a joy), I calmed myself and popped the back off.... The mess was easy to see, NINE capacitors were bulging at the seams, and one had actually burst... ARGG... Anyway, replacing the caps took me about 5 minutes, and the monitor is as good as new... The big point is that bad capacitors are not only limited to our motherboards!

<RANT>
DAMMIT, I hate working on my own stuff!! Someone elses defective junk is great, and I love doing it, but working on my own equipment just chaps my arse!!
</RANT>

[zia]

OOOOPs

I 've seen tv's that are barely a year old have bad caps.....Otherwise what a commendable guy fixing someones compaq
Use my addy for some of those caps

[Ark42]

I wonder about my 27" Philips TV I recently had in for service. The work order showed nothing about capacitors, but did list a single SMD resister. The main problem was some high voltage transformer or something inside of it, I don't remember really. I still bet it was caps though.

[Topcat]

The high voltage transformer is called a 'flyback transformer', a common failure amongst Phillips products. Probably also replaced the HOT (aka horizontal output transistor), usually when that shorts, it knocks out a load resistor in the circuit, which is probably what you mentioned.

[Ark42]

Why doesn't somebody tell me these things BEFORE I buy the TV? :P

[kc8adu]

i change lots of flys on nap stuff.
seen a few that exploded and shattered the crt when they went.
and the trick is to ask before you buy

[cods69]

Re: Viewsonic Monitor with Bad Capacitors

Jesus H Christ......................... I have a Viewsonic 810G 21\" monitor

O_O Great....Murphy will know I've seen this thread now.
I have a Viewsonic P815 21". Still working ok, but has been playing up recently, where it sounds like a static zap and the screen shakes for a split second.
This happens every few days, but was every few hours for a week, about 2 months back.
Since it settled I've forgotten about it until now. First the mobo, now this is the next job...
/sigh

[arneson]

Re: Viewsonic Monitor with Bad Capacitors

If I mention the Badcap issue to people the response is usually, just buy a new one.
Our society has just become programmed to this kind of obsolescience.
When I can restore an expensive iten with a $1 part and a little knowledge I feel good.

[AK0R]

Re: Viewsonic Monitor with Bad Capacitors

When I can restore an expensive iten with a $1 part and a little knowledge I feel good.

I got started on this board by getting information to repair an Abit BE6-II. My brother-in-law gave my son his old computer (everything except a hard drive) because it wouldn't boot anymore. A few hours work and less than $20 in parts, and it's not good as new, it's better than new.

[arneson]

Re: Viewsonic Monitor with Bad Capacitors

That's what I'm a talkin bout. oops my Italian came out.
I love replies like this, with a happy ending.

[arneson]

Re: Viewsonic Monitor with Bad Capacitors

To CODS69:

On many monitors right at the start of the power supply you will see an MOV deviice and next to it the connector for the degausing coil . There are other components as well , a relay for instance, but these circuits are prone to failure.
It's often just a burnt connection or fried solder joint.
I say all this because the degause circuit is the only thing I'm aware of that can make a monitor shake, unless you're doin the secretary, on the desktop.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: Viewsonic Monitor with Bad Capacitors

I have a monitor sitting around that has the following symptom:

The monitor works fine.

Then after a short time, it emits a sound that sounds like a static zap and the video cuts out. But, if I turn it off then back on, I get video again, but the same thing occurs again, often in less than 10 minutes.

What does that symptom sound like to you?

[arneson]

Re: Viewsonic Monitor with Bad Capacitors

Assuming this a crt, most would point to the flyback or damper for any zapping sound,
but there could be a high voltage leak at the anode, yoke breakdown or badcap near the H orizontal O utput T ransistor.
First job as TV bench tech I reached into a big old RCA and arked the 25k line right into top of my index finger, burned to the bone, I thought it would never heal.
The FBI knows me as the guy with a dot on my fingerprint.

[cods69]

Re: Viewsonic Monitor with Bad Capacitors

Well, just as I suspected in the previous post, Murphy has indeed found my P815.
The previous problem stated had mostly gone, but yesterday I had intermittent red dropouts with short subtle horizontal lines flashing on the display.
I just put it down to a bad vga cable cause it seemed to disappear when I gave it a 'tap'. Later last night it came back, still intermittent, but worse.
Now it's happening all the time and it is the monitor, not the cable as I suspected, as it happens in the monitor OSD without anything connected.

I'm confident with recapping a mobo, but monitors frighten me with all the cap-zapping horror stories I read about. I will open it up and see what is obvious, but I feel I should have a TV/Mon auth repair guy do the job....unless....
I've read a good way to discharge large caps is a standard 100w light globe with probes on leads - does that sound right?

[arneson]

Re: Viewsonic Monitor with Bad Capacitors

cods69,
In your description above I would remove cover of monitor.
I would not go near any caps or any of the high voltage areas.
When the set is off and unplugged you just have to be a little carefull.
The big red anode cap on the CRT still has a charge, just stay clear of it.
Very carefully force the circuit board off of the neck of the CRT end plug.
You may get the cap off also leaving only glass and pins, usually comes off no problems.
Closely examine this small board for burns or cold solder joints especially the plug itself.
Look at the pins on the tube, they usually turn black and must be scoured clean using some gentle cleaning method.
Reassemble, leave cover off, plug in turn on, get OSM to display and with long insulated object, reach around while watching display and start tapping on things litely.
If the display holds color and is steady your done.
This may or maynot be helpful, but it's easy.

[MD Willington]

Re: Viewsonic Monitor with Bad Capacitors

Better keep an eye on my A70 then...it's well past it's 3 year warranty, but it is still running strong.

[Chris1992]

Re: Viewsonic Monitor with Bad Capacitors

I had a Dell M992 19" with badcaps, they caused the failure of the monitor at 17 months. I didn't bother replacing them as I didn't like the monitor. I now have a 2001 Dell P1110 Trinitron 21".

[Hooliator]

Re: Viewsonic Monitor with Bad Capacitors

Somewhat off topic:

About that Compaq in the first message: Here's a trick I use to de-Compaq those wacky Compaqs.

You put a restore disk in the drive at boot, and as soon as it shows any sign of noticing the restore disc, you pop it out and in goes another OS disc of your choosing, and voila! complete Compaq Amnesia. It's a beatiful thing. Compaqs actually run pretty well once you get rid of the crapware that come with them.