An inexpensive fix for a dead monitor.

[Nerd Scale: 2.5 out of 5 pocket protectors]

If your monitor has died, don't purchase a new one just yet.   There might be an inexpensive way to repair it.

Over the past week, I encountered 5 dead monitors.  The interesting thing I noticed common with each one of the bad monitors was their 2007 manufacturing date.   That got me thinking about an article I read a few years back discussing the flooding of the tech market with bad capacitors.  According to this Wikipedia post, the problem with bad capacitors has been occurring for the last decade.  I wondered if the problem with these dead monitors was just bad capacitors and so I decided to take a look.

I dismantled a client's dead Samsung SyncMaster 203B monitor.  When this monitor was new, it cost over $200.  Once I got the monitor apart, it did seem like the problem might be a capacitor issue.   On the circuit board that controlled the power supply, there were 4 capacitors that were visibly damaged.   You can tell when a capacitor has gone bad by taking a look at its head.  If the head is concave, you have a bad capacitor.  The head is supposed to be flat or convex.

I went online and found a company that had these capacitors for sale.   I ordered the capacitors and a few days later the shipment arrived.   Using a soldering gun, I removed the old capacitors and soldered the new ones back onto the circuit board.

It's important to note when soldering capacitors to the circuit board, you must line up the negative pole to the negative hole on the circuit board.   Typically, the capacitor will have a wide stripe on one side of the capacitor that indicates the negative side.   Also, the circuit board usually has a bolded arc indicating where the negative side should be attached.

 

And wouldn't you know it?  After putting the monitor back together it worked like it was brand new.

For a couple of dollars' worth of capacitors, a tiny bit of solder and about 20 minutes of work, I was able to keep a $200 monitor working, which made for one happy client.

So far, I have had a chance to repair 2 of the 5 monitors, and both of them are working after replacing the bad capacitors.  I will keep my fingers crossed for the next three.

If you have a monitor that has died, maybe you should try replacing the capacitors before throwing it away and buying a new one.   If you need help, Binkley IT Consulting will be there for you.

Warning: capacitors store electrical energy and it is potentially dangerous to work inside a monitor.  If you do, make sure to take proper safety measures to avoid injury.