Monitor in the rain

[me]

Bought a 2nd hand monitor and when I was taking it away, it was
pouring down with rain, some of the water got into the holes of the
monitor.

Tried powering it up after letting it dry off for a couple of hours.
I get a green light but nothing on the screen.

If I leave it longer, is it likely to come back to life?
It hasn't blown up so I think it has some chance, do monitors have
some sort of safety mechanism when water goes into the electronics?

 

[JK]

You should have waited a few days before powering it up. I hope
you didn't permanently damage it.

 

[spodosaurus]

Bought a 2nd hand monitor and when I was taking it away, it was
pouring down with rain, some of the water got into the holes of the
monitor.

Tried powering it up after letting it dry off for a couple of hours.
I get a green light but nothing on the screen.

Not nearly long enough. If it wasn't dead before (I presume you tested
it before buying) you probably killed it.

If I leave it longer, is it likely to come back to life?

No, but you've got nothing to really lose now, do you?

It hasn't blown up so I think it has some chance, do monitors have
some sort of safety mechanism when water goes into the electronics?

You have a fuse box in your home, right?

 

[Al Smith]

Bought a 2nd hand monitor and when I was taking it away, it was

pouring down with rain, some of the water got into the holes of the
monitor.

Tried powering it up after letting it dry off for a couple of hours.
I get a green light but nothing on the screen.

If I leave it longer, is it likely to come back to life?
It hasn't blown up so I think it has some chance, do monitors have
some sort of safety mechanism when water goes into the electronics?

Argggh! You should have left it at least a couple of days -- even
a week. You screwed yourself. Recently, my brother gave me an old
television that had been sitting in his basement. I tried it out,
and it worked perfectly, but made some strange tinkling noises.
Next time I turned it on ... nothing. I figured out that it had
become damp sitting in the basement, and I hadn't let it dry out.
Scratch one television. Or on your case, one monitor.

 

[me]

You have a fuse box in your home, right?

Yeah I do have a fuse box.

I remember a couple of years ago, my sister had some house plants on
top of her TV. She watered the plant, water dripped down into the tv
and the TV switched off, worked fine the day after. Didn't blow up or
anything.

I know water and electricity don't go together but I'm wondering if
monitors/TV's have some sort of safety cut out mechanism inside.

A neighbour had a sony TV that was *not* damaged by water but, it
would come on and then go into standby. Local tv repair shop could get
it going again and get a picture but it had lines all over the screen
meaning the tube had gone.

 

[Larry Weak]

Some monitors have fuses in line check the back of case.
If water got inside bad. Take case off (not plugged in) don't touch anything
or you could get shocked from stored energy in caps and hivolt supply. Dry
with hair blower. Look for scorch marks or other indications of arcing
sparking. Fine time to look at solder connections for tube also - if dull
reflow solderconnections but don't allow them to flow together with other
points.

Try and good luck

Larry

 

[spodosaurus]

Some monitors have fuses in line check the back of case.
If water got inside bad. Take case off (not plugged in)

Considering it probably was switched on just before he bought it, you
need a stronger warning about the innards of the monitor:

Opening a monitor and touching something inside that allows the
capacitors to discharge through you will hurt you, and maybe kill you.

 

[JAD]

what? obviously he needs a 64 bit AMD chip to give life to that
monitor.

 

[David Maynard]

Yeah I do have a fuse box.

I remember a couple of years ago, my sister had some house plants on
top of her TV. She watered the plant, water dripped down into the tv
and the TV switched off, worked fine the day after. Didn't blow up or
anything.

That's called "lucky."

I hope she doesn't keep plants on the TV set any more.

I know water and electricity don't go together but I'm wondering if
monitors/TV's have some sort of safety cut out mechanism inside.

Why in the world would TV and monitor manufacturers EXPECT someone to pour
water into the TV set or the monitor? It doesn't say "for use in rain
storms," now, does it?

They do try to make them as 'fail safe' as possible, meaning they'll
hopefully shut down if damaged, but that doesn't mean one can do just any
old damn thing they feel like and expect them to still WORK.

The problem you had was in underestimating the amount of time it takes for
water in a confined space to dissipate, especially with no forced ventilation.

A neighbour had a sony TV that was *not* damaged by water

The rest of your story says otherwise.

but, it
would come on and then go into standby. Local tv repair shop could get
it going again and get a picture but it had lines all over the screen
meaning the tube had gone.

No, that doesn't mean the 'tube' had gone. Electrical shorts, caused by the
water, most likely damaged the internal electronics that decode and sync
the picture.

 

[Jack]

Argggh! You should have left it at least a couple of days -- even
a week. You screwed yourself. Recently, my brother gave me an old
television that had been sitting in his basement. I tried it out,
and it worked perfectly, but made some strange tinkling noises.
Next time I turned it on ... nothing. I figured out that it had
become damp sitting in the basement, and I hadn't let it dry out.
Scratch one television. Or on your case, one monitor.

How old? If more than a decade or so, the electrolytic or paper
capacitors are suspect. I restore old radio and electronic gear and
the first thing I do with anything more than 15-20 years old is recap
the set.

 

[McQualude]

Bought a 2nd hand monitor and when I was taking it away, it was

pouring down with rain, some of the water got into the holes of the
monitor.

I sold a monitor recently and the person tried to carry it off in the rain
but I wouldn't let them leave until I covered it up. What is it with you
people?

-McQualude

 

[Al Smith]

Argggh! You should have left it at least a couple of days -- even

How old? If more than a decade or so, the electrolytic or paper
capacitors are suspect. I restore old radio and electronic gear and
the first thing I do with anything more than 15-20 years old is recap
the set.

This was a 20" Toshiba TV designed for use in hotel rooms. It had
a special channel tuner built into the front of it, but worked
fine as a regular television when set up properly. My
sister-in-law got a deal on a batch the Holiday Inn (or whatever)
was selling, so she bought five of them.

After the one my brother gave me refused to work, he gave me
another identical set that is working in my bedroom right now. It
also has a few quirks. Sometimes the sound disappears for no
reason at all, but by fiddling with the volume knob, I've always
been able to get it to come back. Sometimes, the set makes the
most ungodly electrical *snap* you ever heard. Like a whip crack.
Strangely enough, it doesn't do anything except momentarily make
the picture flicker.

At first when I heard it, I thought the set was going to catch on
fire or blow up ... but gradually, I've gotten used to it. It only
happens every other day when I'm playing the television. In other
respects, the Toshiba has a remarkably good picture and sound.
Much better than the 30-year old 14" Sharp set it replaced (which
is still working). The Sharp is so old, the phosphore on the
screen has almost refused to glow -- takes ten minutes before I
can see the picture well, even at full brightness.

 

[David Maynard]

This was a 20" Toshiba TV designed for use in hotel rooms. It had a
special channel tuner built into the front of it, but worked fine as a
regular television when set up properly. My sister-in-law got a deal on
a batch the Holiday Inn (or whatever) was selling, so she bought five of
them.

After the one my brother gave me refused to work, he gave me another
identical set that is working in my bedroom right now. It also has a few
quirks. Sometimes the sound disappears for no reason at all, but by
fiddling with the volume knob, I've always been able to get it to come
back.

Very likely dirt/grime in the volume pot and some spray contact cleaner
might clear it up. Few squirts, rotate the pot back and forth, repeat till
clean throughout the volume range.

Or the wires to it could be loose.

Sometimes, the set makes the most ungodly electrical *snap* you
ever heard. Like a whip crack. Strangely enough, it doesn't do anything
except momentarily make the picture flicker.

Not so strange. That's a high voltage arc: no wonder the picture flickers.

Again, very possible that that's caused by dirt/grime buildup on the high
voltage wiring/components (dirt/grime is not an 'insulator' at those
voltage levels). It's also possible one of the wires has shifted, or has
cracked insulation, letting it arc to something adjacent. It would be a
good idea to leave it unplugged over-night, then take the case off, and
clean the insides out (NO WATER). Also look for char marks from the spark
hits and see if adjusting the char indicated high voltage wire to a more
isolated position would help (do NOT 'attach' it to, or near, anything
metal, or the tube, or circuits).

 

[Al Smith]

Sometimes, the set makes the most ungodly electrical *snap* you ever heard. Like a whip crack. Strangely enough, it doesn't do anything except momentarily make the picture flicker.

Not so strange. That's a high voltage arc: no wonder the picture flickers.

Again, very possible that that's caused by dirt/grime buildup on the high voltage wiring/components (dirt/grime is not an 'insulator' at those voltage levels). It's also possible one of the wires has shifted, or has cracked insulation, letting it arc to something adjacent. It would be a good idea to leave it unplugged over-night, then take the case off, and clean the insides out (NO WATER). Also look for char marks from the spark hits and see if adjusting the char indicated high voltage wire to a more isolated position would help (do NOT 'attach' it to, or near, anything metal, or the tube, or circuits).

Sounds like a good idea. If I can see where it is arcing by soot
deposits, I might be able to do something to stop it. It must be
dusty inside, after so many years sitting around.

 

[David Maynard]

Sounds like a good idea. If I can see where it is arcing by soot
deposits, I might be able to do something to stop it. It must be dusty
inside, after so many years sitting around.

Not to mention that if it spent all that time in a hotel/motel room there's
no telling what all got sprayed/dripped/rubbed into it. And that's just
from the cleaning lady.

 

[Volund]

I remember a couple of years ago, my sister had some house plants on
top of her TV. She watered the plant, water dripped down into the tv
and the TV switched off, worked fine the day after. Didn't blow up or
anything.

Bloody stupid place to put plants if you ask me...!!!

 

[Phisherman]

Bought a 2nd hand monitor and when I was taking it away, it was
pouring down with rain, some of the water got into the holes of the
monitor.

Tried powering it up after letting it dry off for a couple of hours.
I get a green light but nothing on the screen.

If I leave it longer, is it likely to come back to life?
It hasn't blown up so I think it has some chance, do monitors have
some sort of safety mechanism when water goes into the electronics?

I would have waited much longer to power it up, and then have a fan
blowing on it for a few days.