LCD monitor dead: diy repair?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lobster
  • Start date Start date
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Lobster

Yesterday it was working fine when I turned it off, but when I booted up
the PC this morning my LCD monitor (a 15" Dell E151Fpp) was completely
dead - even the little light indicating 'power' was off. Having whipped
the back off, I found a blown fuse on the power supply circuit board
(which is integrated into the monitor). I replaced this, but when I
powered it up there was an instant 'pop' (presumably blowing the fuse
again) and the monitor is still dead.

Is there anything a non-expert like me can do to repair this? Where
would I start? Seems to me that the whole power-supply board is an
integral item which would probably unplug for diy replacement (could I
get hold of one?), which might be more economical for me than taking the
monitor to a repair shop?

Any suggestions?

Thanks
David
 
Yesterday it was working fine when I turned it off, but when I booted up
the PC this morning my LCD monitor (a 15" Dell E151Fpp) was completely
dead - even the little light indicating 'power' was off.
Click to expand...

How old is it? Where did you purchase it from?

Note that 1 year guarantees are in addition to your statutory rights. Your
statutory rights are usually considerably more extensive that the
manufacturer's guarantee. However, claims are against the retailer, not the
manufacturer. If the retailer is bust/lost/dodgy market trader etc., then
this won't be helpful and you can't pursue the manfacturer instead.

Christian.
 
Is there anything a non-expert like me can do to repair this? Where
would I start? Seems to me that the whole power-supply board is an
integral item which would probably unplug for diy replacement (could I
get hold of one?), which might be more economical for me than taking the
monitor to a repair shop?
Click to expand...

The likely reason is a dead electrolytic in the PS - the PS itself being
protected against overload and would simply shut down. Might be worth
simply replacing the lot, but make sure you get suitably rated ones.
 
Christian said:
Note that 1 year guarantees are in addition to your statutory rights.
Click to expand...

Also many monitors have 3 year warranty, not sure about Dell though ...
 
Christian said:
How old is it? Where did you purchase it from?

Note that 1 year guarantees are in addition to your statutory rights. Your
statutory rights are usually considerably more extensive that the
manufacturer's guarantee. However, claims are against the retailer, not the
manufacturer. If the retailer is bust/lost/dodgy market trader etc., then
this won't be helpful and you can't pursue the manfacturer instead.
Click to expand...

It's 24 months old; I bought it direct from Dell with just the standard
12-month warranty, along with a PC. Don't know what statutory rights I
have! but I don't imagine in this case that would help?

Thanks
David
 
It's 24 months old; I bought it direct from Dell with just the standard
12-month warranty, along with a PC. Don't know what statutory rights I
have! but I don't imagine in this case that would help?
Click to expand...

Firstly, I am not a lawyer. My advice is worth what you paid for it. This
only applies to consumer purchases.

The statutory rights are that the product is of reasonable quality and fit
for purpose. There is a statute of limitations of 6 years to pursue a claim.
How long the court would award would depend on the pricepoint and nature of
the goods or services.

Dell is marketed as a premium brand and I suspect that you would get 2-3
years out of your statutory rights, especially with the recent European
directive to muddy the waters. It would certainly be worth a punt. The fact
that the manufacturer and retailer are the same helps considerably. The fact
that they offered a grossly overpriced extended warranty is irrelevent. It
is illegal to restrict statutory rights, even if they offer to sell you the
same rights that you would already possess.

You must ensure that you (a) give them plenty of opportunity to correct the
problem and (b) mitigate your losses. This is done by ensuring that they
have the chance to repair it themselves and that you choose the cheapest
option to fix the monitor if they decline. If they still don't play ball,
you can claim online at www.courtservice.gov.uk. The risk you are taking in
the event of losing the case is the cost of serving the notice and the time
of attending the court. Costs (other than the court fee) are not awarded in
these cases. Only you know if that is worth it, especially for a 15".

Christian.
 
Lobster said:
Yesterday it was working fine when I turned it off, but when I booted up
the PC this morning my LCD monitor (a 15" Dell E151Fpp) was completely
dead - even the little light indicating 'power' was off. Having whipped
the back off, I found a blown fuse on the power supply circuit board
(which is integrated into the monitor). I replaced this, but when I
powered it up there was an instant 'pop' (presumably blowing the fuse
again) and the monitor is still dead.

Is there anything a non-expert like me can do to repair this? Where
would I start? Seems to me that the whole power-supply board is an
integral item which would probably unplug for diy replacement (could I
get hold of one?), which might be more economical for me than taking the
monitor to a repair shop?
Click to expand...


You'll struggle to find anybody wanting to repair it. Easiest solution may
be to identify all the tracks out of the PSU and guess what voltage they
provided, then either break these tracks or rip all these components off the
board and use a Maplin or RS multi-supply to replace it.
 
I don't know where you are, but in the US, the warranty is the warranty and
a failure in 24 months is not unreasonable.

Tom
 
Lobster,
The procedure I'd use in determining if the problem was the power supply
or the LCD part would be to disconnect the output of the power supply.
Replace the fuse and power it up. If the fuse still blows its the power
supply. If the fuse is okay there a good chance the LCD part has a short
that is causing the power supply's fuse to blow.
Paul
 
About a year ago or so there was a thread in the Dell forum that confirmed
that Dell brand LCDs carried a three year warranty regardless of the system
warranty. You might want to search there.
 
Cell Dell and they will tell you your LCD has 3 years warranty
regardless of the system warranty that came with it.
 
Only if purchased SEPARATELY from the system.
WSZsr said:
About a year ago or so there was a thread in the Dell forum that confirmed
that Dell brand LCDs carried a three year warranty regardless of the
system warranty. You might want to search there.
Click to expand...
 
I don't know where you are, but in the US, the warranty is the warranty
and a failure in 24 months is not unreasonable.
Click to expand...

Sorry, didn't notice the crosspost. I was purely talking about English law.

Christian.
 
Christian said:
Sorry, didn't notice the crosspost. I was purely talking about English
law.
Click to expand...

In the US it also depends on the locality--each state has its own laws about
warranty--if the statute says something that is in conflict with the
contract then the statute usually wins. But one would have to know where
the OP was located and then research the state laws (the laws of most US
states and some cities are available online, so in principle this is
doable, in practice the laws of my state and the US Code together fill
several bookcases at the library and none of it is particularly well
indexed) to be sure.
 
The likely reason is a dead electrolytic in the PS - the PS itself being
protected against overload and would simply shut down. Might be worth
simply replacing the lot, but make sure you get suitably rated ones.
Click to expand...

I would place a blown up MOSFET slightly higher up the list...
 
Christian McArdle said:
Dell is marketed as a premium brand
Click to expand...

Dell is the WalMart of the computer industry! You must be drunk. In the
early 90's dell made good products. Now they make things as cheaply as
they can. Not that I think this is a bad thing, but (using my best Johnny
Cochran voice) dont think dell is anything more than packard bell.
 
Lobster said:
Yesterday it was working fine when I turned it off, but when I booted up
the PC this morning my LCD monitor (a 15" Dell E151Fpp) was completely
dead - even the little light indicating 'power' was off. Having whipped
the back off, I found a blown fuse on the power supply circuit board
(which is integrated into the monitor). I replaced this, but when I
powered it up there was an instant 'pop' (presumably blowing the fuse
again) and the monitor is still dead.

Is there anything a non-expert like me can do to repair this? Where would
I start? Seems to me that the whole power-supply board is an integral
item which would probably unplug for diy replacement (could I get hold of
one?), which might be more economical for me than taking the monitor to a
repair shop?

Any suggestions?

Thanks
Click to expand...


Heh, heh, heh.....bigger fuse;-)

Ike
 
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