Repair - Dell 15" LCD E152/153FPc

[gokun]

Here's an easy fix I just did...posting it in case it can help someone in the future...
Got a 15" dell LCD that would turn on then the screen would immediately go dim, but the power light would stay on...shined a flashlight into screen and could see screen was still on, just no backlight....
opened it up and checked the inverter circuit on power board....found a blown cap(it was bulged actually)...16v1000uf variety...replaced it and voila...screen works perfect again...yay!
Upon doing some research found out this is a pretty common problem(tons of folks have this problem on fixya) not only with dells but with lcds in general, so thought I would post it up...here's a pic showing the cap in question on the dell board...
 

I believe it's caused from excessive power failures...like building loses power and/or gets surges a lot...just my theory...
Hope this helps somebody some day

On a side note...since i quit smoking i have entirely too much free time lol

[qrz]

when u replace it , be sure to use the next higher working voltage AND a 105 degree rating .

trade "secret ": this IS a common failure on many brands
as are blown fuses on inverter boards

oops .., said too much 


qrz

[smalltownguy]

Follow up question on this, for those are reading: how often is this behavior (lights up, then goes dim) exhibited by this cause? I only ask b/c I have two monitors with the exact same problem, and I'm not sure if they have this issue, or if they have failed CCFL bulbs. How often do the bulbs go out?

[BobA]

If they do light up initially then it is probably not the cfl.  Most likely the voltage converter and the cap problem that was outlined earlier in this thread.

[Pac-Fan]

Also, a certain Dell monitor with a power supply made by BenQ has a tendency to take out very tiny transistors and frequently burn out the transformers sitting next to them. So common these 'packs' are offered up on eBay, but a lot less frequently than a few years ago when they first started failing.  I think the model number was e172fpB, B = Benq inverter boards.

Same symptoms as these -- flash on then off with pusling power led. Basically they go into a safety state when the feedback regarding power usage doesn't match what it expects.