*FIXED* HELP ME PLEASE!! MONITOR ISSUES!!

[urbecrisch]

I installed my ArcadeVGA card to my monitor (WG25K7193) yesterday for the first time and all was well.  Today I had the monitor on for a few hours and then all of a sudden... the screen turned black.  I could not see my screensaver although my PC was running fine.  When I hit the keyboard there was still no picture on my monitor.  Before when the monitor was running I could hear a faint buzzing coming out of the monitor but nothing abnormal.  Now it seems the monitor won't work at all! The monitor power supply still works.

What could be the problem?

Isolation Transformer, monitor power supply, or the monitor itself?
 

[grantspain]

to prove its monitor locate the screen volts adjustment on the flyback transformer and turn it up to see if you get a white screen,if you don't then look at the neck of the tube to see if you have a faint orange glow,if not then check your input voltage of the chassis with a multimeter
if you get 120v on the monitor input but no picture at all then you are looking to a fault on the monitor itself-please try the things i suggest first then if no luck we can look at common faults on your particular chassis

[urbecrisch]

I tried turning up the volts on the flyback transformer with no luck.  I cannot see a faint orange glow on the neck although I'm not quite sure what that would look like.  I'm in the process of obtaining a multimeter but I'm not sure what I'm suppose to do with it.  Can you explain how I use the multimeter to check the chassis.

In the meantime, is it common for a monitor to just blackout after working perfectly for two days?  I'm just baffled (and a little pissed) that the monitor all of a sudden decided to not work.  What could be some other reasons for this?

[grantspain]

how long have you had the cab?
depending on what you prove with the multimeter will point towards the actual fault
all you need to do with the multimeter is set it to AC VOLTS and place each probe on each of the monitor input voltage wires,you should get around 120v
why the monitor screwed up could be down to a multitude of things,maybe something as simple as a bad solder joint on the chassis itself/bad plug connection or something more complex like capacitor failure/flyback transformer failure/other component failure
why it happens?it just happens
have you checked the fuse on the monitor yet?

[urbecrisch]

I'm a NOOB here so where are the monitor input voltage wires?  Do they come from the transformer?

This may be a silly question, but do I need to have power running to the monitor to check the voltage?

How do I check the monitor fuse?

I got the CAB in April at an arcade auction.  The monitor looked good/crisp with no burning, etc.  I took apart the Jamma that came with the CAB and hooked up the monitor to my ArcadeVGA card yesterday.  Everything seemed to be fine up until today when I noticed the monitor was black.  I tried moving the mouse to activate the screensaver and nothing happened so now here I am.  I just sucks cause it was working so well before.

[grantspain]

the monitor input voltage wires are the ones that go from the transformer to the monitor,you do need the power on the check this
to check the monitor fuse first switch the power off then use a flashlight to locate the fuse,you should check it with a multimeter set on ohms but normally a blown fuse is very obvious by the fact it will be black or the wire broken inside
you said you located the screen volts on the flyback,this is underneath the focus adjustment yes?
if you have a video signal problem then you would get a white screen when you turn up the screen volts,if its a monitor problem then you get nothing thats when you look at power input,dry solder joints etc
you need to take logical steps to fault find
you are a noob now but pretty much the point of this forum is to supply you with the relevant information to help progress to a full understanding of the workings of your system

[urbecrisch]

To make sure I'm doing this correctly:

Unplug the ISO TR from the monitor
Turn on the power supply feeding the ISO TRNSFMR
Plug the multimeter into the 2 wires from the ISO TR

Is the power from the ISO TR   DC or AC?

Also, how do I use the multimeter to check the fuse?

[grantspain]

To make sure I'm doing this correctly:

Unplug the ISO TR from the monitor
Turn on the power supply feeding the ISO TRNSFMR
Plug the multimeter into the 2 wires from the ISO TR

Is the power from the ISO TR   DC or AC?

Also, how do I use the multimeter to check the fuse?

you do not need to unplug the monitor just stick the probes in the monitor input plug
to check the fuse make sure the power is off,set the meter to ohms and place a probe each side of the fuse-if its o.k it will read 0 if it not o.k the screen will remain the same

[urbecrisch]

I'm sorry I'm confused!  To check the monitor volts, I need to plug in my multimeter to the monitor wires, however, if they are still plugged in, how do I do this?  Here's a PIC of my ISO TR plugged into the monitor.  The ISO TR wires are the two on the lf side.

[grantspain]

you see the white plug next to the monitor,stick the probes in the plug top so they touch the pins

[urbecrisch]

Please don't be annoyed with me, but if you want me to touch the top plug pins, I have to dissconnect the two plugs, correct?  The other white plug in PIC (2) plugs into the power supply.

(PIC 1) Also, which setting am I using on my multimeter (DCV, AC, etc.)?

[grantspain]

set the meter to AC VOLTS (depends on the dial setting but 200 vac normally)
push the probes into the plug from the wire end so that you do not need to disconnect anything
and i don't get annoyed,i like helping

[urbecrisch]

I hope I did this right.  LOL. I added PIC for you to see.  So PIC (1) shows me sticking the multimeter into the top plug.  I set the meter at 250 AC V.  As you can see PIC (2), nothing happened.  Did I do this right?  Is there another way I can test that I am using the multimeter correctly.  I feel like such a retard!

[grantspain]

how you did that is perfectly correct,as long as the meter is on the correct setting and everything is plugged in as it would be for normal operation with power
if all all above is correct then you start going back towards your transformer and beyond and check any fuses

[urbecrisch]

OK, so I tried to check the wiring that goes into the ISO TR and nothing happens.  Then  I tried testing some wiring from my power supply into my marquee lamp, which works, and nothing happens.  I think I'm using the multimeter wrong.  Argg!! I don't know.  I put the multimeter on the setting AC V 250 and then use the prongs of the multimeter to check for volts but nothing is happening.  What do you suggest I do next?

[grantspain]

try testing the meter on something you know works like the marquee lamp,do you have other settings on the ac

[urbecrisch]

my AC V setting are:
10
50
250
500

My marquee light plug has three wires hookedup so how do I test it?

[grantspain]

250 is correct,the marquee will have live/ neutral and earth just practice between all 3 until you get your 120 v show

[urbecrisch]

Well, I keep trying to use this damn thing and I can't get a reading!  If I test the multimeter on a battery using ohms, it works fine, but when I switch it to AC V and then test it, nothing happens.    If I think the connections from the transformer are bad, should I replace the wiring from the ISO TR to the arcade monitor?  I'm not sure what else to do.  Or is there another power source I can try to test that uses AC V around the house?  Any suggestions?

[grantspain]

yeah try the wall socket

[urbecrisch]

And it"s safe to stick the probes into the wall without turning off power? LOL, I'm gonna get myself killed with this damn hobby! 

[grantspain]

yeah just don't put your fingers on the metal part of the probe,anyway if you live in states you could stand in a bucket of water and touch the mains without dying

[grantspain]

don't quote me on that last statement though

[urbecrisch]

well, I know why I couldn't get a reading.  The fuse was blown in the meter!  Anyway, I checked out everything and I'm getting good current with my marquee light and my monitor from ISO TR.  Bummer!   I thought maybe it wouldn't be this complicated.  Anyway, so what should I do next that my monitor is getting ACV but nothing is happening?

[grantspain]

you must have set the meter on ohms and read ac to blow the fuse
ok if you have 120 v at the monitor then the next step is to check for bad solder connections

[urbecrisch]

And how or where do I look for bad solder connections?  What will be the dead giveaway that the connections are bad?

[Kevin Mullins]

Check the fuse onboard the monitor chassis.

[grantspain]

Check the fuse onboard the monitor chassis.

i hoped he checked that as i asked earlier in the post

[SirPeale]

Check the fuse onboard the monitor chassis.

If it's blown, your chassis has issues.  Replace it and fire up the monitor just to be sure, but it'll likely blow again.

And as I see your skill levels are extreme beginner, you'll have to send out your chassis for repair.

[urbecrisch]

Here's a PIC of the fuse (I hope I'm right).  Hard to see inside cause there's tape on two sides and some "crap" around the fuse.  Looks to me like it's not blown though, but like I said it's hard to see.

I also looked for broken solders and I can't find anything that looks loose or broken.

[grantspain]

that looks like the neck of the tube not the fuse,the fuse will be near where the voltage wires input the chassis

[urbecrisch]

If it's the chassis that needs fixin, what's the best/cheapest (LOL) way of sending it to repair?  Is it easy to dissassemble the chassis and reassemble when the repair is done?  What kind of price range am I looking at?

[SirPeale]

That's a picture of the tube's neck.  The fuse is located on the main PCB, close to where the power comes into the monitor.

[SirPeale]

If it's the chassis that needs fixin, what's the best/cheapest (LOL) way of sending it to repair?  Is it easy to dissassemble the chassis and reassemble when the repair is done?  What kind of price range am I looking at?

It depends on what's wrong with it.  I should be able to fix it, but without knowing what exactly is wrong it's impossible to guess.

[urbecrisch]

Ahh, the things you can learn in one afternoon. OK so I found the fuse  and I have a PIC for you all.  Looks like the fuse is blown, although the inside thin metal part is still intact.  You can see that something happened to the fuse cause there's a ring around the inside like when a fuse blows (hard to see in PIC).  OK, now what's the next step?

[grantspain]

now replace the fuse with the correct value

[urbecrisch]

Where do I get a replacement fuse?

[grantspain]

your local electronics shop,look at the fuse and you will finds its value imprinted on the metal end(prob 2 amp)

[SirPeale]

I've seen fuses with a colored band around the glass that weren't blown.  It was actually on the glass itself.

To be sure, set your meter to ohms and place the ends on the ends of the fuse.  Make sure your fingers aren't touching, it'll affect the reading.

[urbecrisch]

Meter isn't picking up anything, so it's obviously blown.  So when I replace the fuse, should I wait it out until the fuse blows again?  I mean, is it common for the chassis to be working correctly and I just happened to blow a fuse today?  How long do fuses tend to work?  Hopefully it's just the fuse and not something more, but we'll wait and see when I get a replacement fuse tomorrow.