Monitor wont turn on, power button just blinks... HALP?

[Zook]

This isn't the first time my Dell LCD Flatscreen horse banging skank monitor has acted up. It has randomly shut off and then come back on a few seconds later, but yesterday the on button started blinking and the monitor wouldn't come on at all. I kept pushing the display buttons and it appeared to work after a minute or so. Later that night I put some music on and took a nap and when my girlfriend got home she told me the light was blinking. Not again! Also my computer was off. Strange. Well, I had to go to work so I just unplugged it. This morning when I plugged it back in, it wouldn't come on or even blink. So I did some troubleshooting with info I found online, but still nothing. About a half hour later it starts blinking again. ARGH! So what the hell is wrong with this POS? Is it just old (5 years) or has something shorted? Help me DTF Kenobi, you're my only hope!

[slycordinator]

Try replacing the power cord. It's common for them to get little shorts that can cause stuff like this.

[ReaperKK]

Try replacing the power cord. It's common for them to get little shorts that can cause stuff like this.

This, try a different outlet as well.

Also I'm assuming the computer is on every time that you're monitor is going out, you sure it's not going into standby mode because the video card isn't sending video.

[Chino]

It could be very likely be the transistors or the capacitors in the monitor itself. Capacitors are easier to replace, just FYI. My current monitor (an HP), while not having the exact problem you are, was doing something pretty similar. I opened it up, picked up a few components from radio shack for under 7 bucks, and had the thing working perfectly in under twenty minutes. Try googling problems with your exact monitor. You will most likely be directed to forums with people having/solving the same issue, with step by steps how to do it. Best of luck to you sir.

Edit* Try this.

https://www.josepino.com/?howto-repair-dell

or this

https://www.ehow.com/how_7499514_do-monitor-blinking-power-light.html


or read through all of these

https://www.fixya.com/support/p399450-dell_e173fp_17_in_flat_panel_lcd

[El Barto]

Yeah, what Chino said.  If it's a Samsung, even more likely.  I've brought quite a few Samsung monitors back from the dead by replacing bad caps.  There are two boards inside a monitor.  One's the power supply board and the other is for signal processing.  Usually the caps will fail on the PSU board.  If your monitor is currently toast, then you really have nothing to lose by CAREFULLY disassembling it and taking a look inside.  If any of the caps are bulging or leaking, replacing them will probably solve your problem.  Personally,  I really suck at soldering.  I'll usually take the board to a electronics shop, any TV repair shop will do,  and they'll replace all the caps for about $20.  It's $5 worth of hardware and 15 minutes of their time.  Success rate is about 75%, with a couple that weren't reparable.  Still,   gambling $20 is better than giving up and blowing $150 on a new one, IMO.

The other thing that might go bad is the backlight, and you won't be replacing that.  A new monitor would be much more cost effective.

[Zook]

Thanks guys. Pretty much the same info I got from searching before, and I might have even been to one of those links, but still much appreciated. Only problem is, although I'm very experienced with a soldering iron, I don't have one, and there doesn't seem to be a way to open the monitor... My brothuh has a spare I can borrow for now though. Oh and the replacing of the power cord didn't work. Any additional tips are very welcome as I can't really afford a new monitor right now or a repair shop fee gamble. Thanks!

[Chino]

Thanks guys. Pretty much the same info I got from searching before, and I might have even been to one of those links, but still much appreciated. Only problem is, although I'm very experienced with a soldering iron, I don't have one, and there doesn't seem to be a way to open the monitor...

There has to be a way to open it. Check the back and look for anything that look like caps that follow a pattern, something like the corners of a square, or if you connected them as dots they would make a rectangle. The caps will either be plastic coverings, or pieces of rubber that can be removed with a knife. If this is the only project you plan on doing, you can find a cheap soldering iron for under $20. The cost of the iron and components can be kept under $30, which is still a very reasonable price to pay for a working monitor.

[El Barto]

In the case of the Samsungs, the whole thing snaps together.  I think there might be 4 screws pretty close together in the middle, but most of it is just the plastic casing.  You just start prying from an inconspicuous location and work your way around.

As for the soldering,  you shouldn't have any trouble find a place that'll do it for a song.  If you just hand them the PCB, it shouldn't take them more than a few minutes.

[Orbert]

Same thing happened to me a few months back, Dell 17" flatscreen.  I forget the specific model number (and I'm not at home right now) but my choices were a little surgery with the soldering iron or just replacing it.  Since I had the extended warranty, I went with replacing it, which took a couple of days, but I haven't touched a soldering iron in like 25 years and the replacement was free.

[jeebustrain]

which model Dell is it? Is it an ultrasharp? You can usually pry it apart from the top with a putty knife (gently) and just work your way around. google your model number and "disassemble" and you will probably find an exploded diagram with some tips for your exact model.

It sounds like an LCD inverter board issue though. If it was the PSU board, you wouldn't get a light at all. Once you pull your monitor open, you can get the exact model number of the board  in question (it'll be the one that does not have the power plug on it, with the model printed on the PCB) and find a replacement on Ebay for $20-$30. The hardest part is figuring out how to pull it apart (which just takes patience). The whole job takes me about 15 minutes max (I've done it at least a half dozen times).

Yes, you can replace the caps yourself, but 9/10 it's just easier to buy a new inverter board.

[El Barto]

It sounds like an LCD inverter board issue though. If it was the PSU board, you wouldn't get a light at all.

That hasn't been the case with any of the ones I've repaired.  They've all had power-on lights, just no juice to the backlight,  or intermittent power to it.  They've also been able to detect the presence of signal and change the power light accordingly.  They just couldn't power the backlight. 

That said,  I wasn't aware of common inverter board failures.  Wish I had been.  Two of the Samsungs I've dealt with weren't fixed by the PSU caps, so that would have been another thing to try before dumpstering them. 

[jeebustrain]

It sounds like an LCD inverter board issue though. If it was the PSU board, you wouldn't get a light at all.

That hasn't been the case with any of the ones I've repaired.  They've all had power-on lights, just no juice to the backlight,  or intermittent power to it.  They've also been able to detect the presence of signal and change the power light accordingly.  They just couldn't power the backlight. 

That said,  I wasn't aware of common inverter board failures.  Wish I had been.  Two of the Samsungs I've dealt with weren't fixed by the PSU caps, so that would have been another thing to try before dumpstering them. 

yea, it could very well be something on that board - not just the entire board... Honestly, the best way to find it is to inspect both boards top and bottom and look for blown caps or resistors. My point was that on all the Dell monitors I've fixed like this, I always ended up doing this with relatively little effort.

[Zook]

I'm a little afraid to pry this sucker open. I'm borrowing my brother's for now, but when I have the money I'm gonna buy a soldering iron. I don't want a cheap one. Fry's Electronics has the same one I used to use at my old job for $50. I a curious as to what the real problem is, and along with my experience with an iron, I also have 8 years experience soldering PC boards.

Also, not only is my warranty long expired, but I fucked up a couple years ago, and the bill for this computer has been in collections. Otherwise I'd call Dell for advice too.

Thanks for the help guys. I'll definitely come back to this thread for future reference.

[jeebustrain]

I'm a little afraid to pry this sucker open. I'm borrowing my brother's for now, but when I have the money I'm gonna buy a soldering iron. I don't want a cheap one. Fry's Electronics has the same one I used to use at my old job for $50. I a curious as to what the real problem is, and along with my experience with an iron, I also have 8 years experience soldering PC boards.

Also, not only is my warranty long expired, but I fucked up a couple years ago, and the bill for this computer has been in collections. Otherwise I'd call Dell for advice too.

Thanks for the help guys. I'll definitely come back to this thread for future reference.

If you manage to get it open and inspect the boards, you shouldn't even need a soldering iron. For less than the cost of buying one that isn't a POS, you can just buy a new inverter board (if that is, in fact, the issue).