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Question

Monitors are Blank, won't turn on other than Power Lights

Jul 19, 2013 3:54PM PDT

Hello,
I have a variety of LCD Monitors that are not working. One is a Samsung SyncMaster 206BW, 2x Metro M 17SL and an Older Cicero LCD. The Samsung I bought new, and the other three were sitting in the back of the RV shop my girlfriend works in. The Samsung was working fantastically until a power outage where it came back without the screen turning on and just the power button flashing a slow blue. It will not respond to VGA or DVI signals from any computer. The Metro monitors also have absolutely no screen video and the power lights come on vaguely then go off. The Cicero has a very faint flash in the LCD panel that you can see when it is plugged in. It flashes faintly with the Power button. My main question is what is wrong? I know that two capacitors on the Samsung are bulged and vented, and another two are bulged...what is the likeliness of fixing this monitor by replacing the capacitors? I also noticed that upon opening one of the Metro monitors that two of the five capacitors on the Power board are also bulged. Could this be the problem with this monitor as well? I have ordered capacitors (as they are cheap) and I am just wondering if this is the likely cause or if there is something else likely wrong to kill these LCD monitors. Thanks!

Discussion is locked

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Answer
So when you found the bad caps.
Jul 19, 2013 10:45PM PDT

Why didn't you fix those? The issue/plague of BAD CAPS was easy to find on google but you tell about ordering such but didn't share why you asked or posted here before you fixed that issue.

Also, if the BAD CAPS were not addressed early, they can destroy the board or boards in the device they are in. BAD CAPS (see google) are a plague in the industry but you know this (if you did the research.)
Bob

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I just found them...
Jul 20, 2013 8:48AM PDT

Hi Bob,
The second part of your answer is exactly what I was asking for. The thing is I don't have a ton of room and I wanted to ask the CNET community if they had any other suggestions for me. I just found the bad caps yesterday so yes I am replacing them. I live out in the country in Canada and it's not the easiest thing to just go and get something and try it. I have ordered all different sizes of caps that I need and I will be trying them when they get here (likely up to two weeks) I was simply wanting to know if this was something I should try (yes I did spend a few hours googling this stuff) or if my monitors were likely to just be toast.

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Do replace
Jul 22, 2013 4:41AM PDT

By all means replace the caps, its a good idea if only to say you did it. Of course, because you lost power makes even more problematic as anything can be at fault. Since, you seemed to have stumbled on yet more bad monitors, I'll guess that's a power problem in your area. So, I strongly suggest you look into a very good surge protector, AC line conditioner and even an UPS if you care to. In other words, protect your devices at best as you can afford. Even, the bad caps can be replaced with better models like ceramic or metallic(military grade) which are more durable or robust compared to the std. cap, that looks like a small soda can(rolled foil).

https://www.google.com/search?q=capacitors+types+pdf&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=JXztUcOIEcSVygGmhYCgCw&ved=0CDcQsAQ&biw=1280&bih=685

tada -----Willy Happy