Jake wrote:
On Oct 6, 6:19 pm, Samantha wrote:
I have a Dell E152FPc Flat screen Monitor 15" that goes black after
about a second after it is powered on. The Green power light stays on
and the color bar test pattern is there if you stick a flash light up to
it.

I have never had one of these apart and am not really sure what I am in
for. Just looking at it, I don't see any obvious way to take it apart.

There are some screws to take off the stand, but after that I am not
sure.

Anybody ever take one of these apart and fix it?

Would greatly appreciate any help.

Thanks so much!!!

I recently repaired 3 E153FP's, which I believe are virtually
identical.

Dell has subtle variations in these monitors -- none that I
have been able to *quickly* identify (at least not enough
that I could open one and determine which model it was just
by examining its contents!)

The problem was a 1000uF, 16 volt capacitor, used for the power
supply. It had excessively high ESR, and I am assuming it caused
excessively high ripple voltage which was making the LCD's control
circuitry wack out (that's my very technical description of what I
thought was going on, ha ha). I replaced the same cap on all 3 - It
was easy to identify, about the largest cap on the board, the PCB
material was darkened around it, and the top of the cap was bulged.

The PCB darkening is usually from the nearby switching transistor.
When replacing the cap(s), select high temperature devices (105C)
from "reputable" manufacturers (I like panasonic). You want a low
ESR cap on most of these applications -- something "designed for
switching applications" (I like the FM series as a reasonable
cost/performance point). Note that you can also purchase
different *grades* of "low ESR caps". So, if you are repairing
a particularly "cherry" monitor for your *own* use, you might
opt for something rated at ~10,000 hours (instead of ~5,000).

Also, pay careful attention to the *height* of the component!
I've been bitten by components that were just a bit too tall
to fit back into the case (*with* the metalic shield installed).
Lead spacing is also a concern but usually something you can
work around.

Good luck! The 3 I fixed had the exact same symptom you describe, and
have been back in service for about 3 months with no further problems.

It probably wouldn't hurt to examine the other caps on the board
for "likely future failures". Certain manufacturers tend to
have lots of early failures (I joke that "Xom" in the name
means "gonna crap out soon"). Since most of the "cost" of
the repair is getting the unit apart and then back together,
the extra time and expense to replace all likely candidates
seems justifiable.