Viewsonic monitor image dissappears and doesn't come back

[Luch]

I bought a ViewSonic VX710 monitor last year for use with my laptop, and it
has worked fine, until just recently I started getting this big problem...
After using it for a little while (30 minutes or so), the screen will go
off/dark/black randomly. The screen display will then stay off. At anytime,
if I cycle the laptop display to not send a signal to the monitor and then
start sending again, the monitor will appear on, perfectly fine, for a full
second, before going black again. Once in a while (the next day, etc), I
can use it for a little bit (about 30 minutes), but then it goes black again
randomly. But even when not working, if a cycle the signal, it will always
turn on for a full second before going off again.

I've tried this now with more than one laptop as well. Same behaviour.

I e-mailed and called Viewsonic tech support. They couldn't figure out the
problem, and since it is more than a year (July 17, 2005) since I bought it,
I have to get it repaired myself.

My questions are:
1) Any advise what the issue can be? I don't believe it's any setting I can
change, because I haven't changed anything and it worked fine for a year.
2) Am I better off getting it repaired or purchasing another. My inclination
is to purchase a new one.
3) Is there a better quality brand than Viewsonic where I'm less likely to
have this occur. I'm quite dissappointed because I paid almost $300 for this
monitor.

 

[Paul]

I bought a ViewSonic VX710 monitor last year for use with my laptop, and it
has worked fine, until just recently I started getting this big problem...
After using it for a little while (30 minutes or so), the screen will go
off/dark/black randomly. The screen display will then stay off. At anytime,
if I cycle the laptop display to not send a signal to the monitor and then
start sending again, the monitor will appear on, perfectly fine, for a full
second, before going black again. Once in a while (the next day, etc), I
can use it for a little bit (about 30 minutes), but then it goes black again
randomly. But even when not working, if a cycle the signal, it will always
turn on for a full second before going off again.

I've tried this now with more than one laptop as well. Same behaviour.

I e-mailed and called Viewsonic tech support. They couldn't figure out the
problem, and since it is more than a year (July 17, 2005) since I bought it,
I have to get it repaired myself.

My questions are:
1) Any advise what the issue can be? I don't believe it's any setting I can
change, because I haven't changed anything and it worked fine for a year.
2) Am I better off getting it repaired or purchasing another. My inclination
is to purchase a new one.
3) Is there a better quality brand than Viewsonic where I'm less likely to
have this occur. I'm quite dissappointed because I paid almost $300 for this
monitor.

When it is working, try turning down the screen brightness.
It may run for longer than 30 minutes that way.

LCD monitors use a CCFL backlight and a high voltage inverter.
The backlight is rated for 20000-30000 hours or more, and is probably
not the problem. But the inverter can only work over a range
of loads and of voltage output. Sometimes the connector on the
inverter goes bad. Or it could be that the inverter is getting
grounded to something. If the inverter is overloaded, it
may decide to shut off. The inverter is good for 1000V at
a fairly small current (maybe 3mA or so). Changing the
brightness setting of the screen, causes the output of
the inverter to change, and turning it down means the
inverter doesn't have to provide as much power.

The toughest part of repairing a monitor like this, is
getting the right replacement parts. And I'm sure the
Viewsonic tech support have heard of the problem before -
they were probably laughing on their end of the phone.

While this is not instructions for disassembling a Viewsonic,
this will give you some idea of what a backlight (long glass
tube) and inverter (rectangular package) look like.

http://www.fonerbooks.com/laptop_5.htm

HTH,
Paul

 

[GrimJack808]

These LCDs are powered by florescent bulbs. The same kind you may have
in your bathroom or above your cube at work. Like the their larger
cousins, they need to be replaced every so often along with their
ballasts. In the compact world of florescent bulbs, the ballast is
called an "inverter."

How often do these blubs and/or their ballasts need to be replaced at
your work or in your bathroom? Every 1-2 years? About 10,000-20,000
hours. Yes.

Backlights, or CCFLs (Cold Cathode Florescent) Tubes also only last for
about 1-3 years on average. AKA 10K-30K hours. Some bulbs go out
sooner, some go out later. YMMV.

You could send it to a repair shop and have them fix it for $100-$150,
or you can do it yourself for about $15. Unfortunately its not quite
as easy as it is in your bathroom/cube. For one thing, these are just
starting to die out and there is little standardization in the market
for CCFLs, however a small niche of people have started repairing
these.

Since CRTs last for much longer than 1-2 years, it comes as a GIANT
surprise to most people who bought LCDs under the assumption that they
would be just as good as CRTs when their $400 17 or 19" monitor is now
useless in 2 years. Did they really pay $200 a year for that monitor?
What about the 32" big screen LCDs that retailed for $3000+ when they
came out...oops. $1500 per year. A 21" CRT at $350 will last about 10
years, but take up a lot more space. The good thing is prices are
falling. But still doesn't it seem like a collosal waste to get rid of
a monitor when all you need to do is change the bulb? If you do decide
to toss it, try finding a computer recycling centre near you to drop it
off. Often there will be schools who will have the school techie come
over and fix these for $15 for school use. You get a $400 writeoff and
your local school can get a $400 monitor for about $15.

By taking a look at the links before you can find out how to make the
fix and where to purchase the parts you need.

Good Luck!

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------------LCD BACKLIGHT REPAIR LINKS----------------

Links that demonstrate how to fix/replace a busted backlight and/or
inverter, including some walk throughs and other information.

http://home.comcast.net/~stonent/screenfix.htm

http://www.hackaday.com/entry/1234000523065961/

http://www.inventgeek.com/Projects/shorts/lcdfix.aspx

http://iantha.vectorstar.net/ccfl.html

http://www.lcdpart.com/doc/ccfllampreplacement.html (4 different
walkthroughs)


Where to buy replacement backlights "CCFL"s

http://www.jkllamps.com/index.cfm?action=fam&tid=2&fID=45

http://www.lcdpart.com/doc/ccfl.html


SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT WILL REPAIR YOUR LCD

http://www.lcdrepair.net/

http://laptops.home.att.net/lcd-repair.htm (with QT Movie)


COMMENTS ON THE REPAIR REPLACEMENT OF BACKLIGHTS CCFLs

http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/12/11/1727257

 

[Yugo]

Backlights, or CCFLs (Cold Cathode Florescent) Tubes also only last for
about 1-3 years on average. AKA 10K-30K hours. Some bulbs go out
sooner, some go out later. YMMV.

My Viewsonic VX922 CCFLs are rated at 40,000 hours. If they last only half
that long, at 10 hours/day, it's 2,000 days, so I expect them to last more
than 2 years, which is 730 days. Anyway, it better last longer than 2 years as
the guarantee is 3 years

Let's not get overly pessimistic!

 

[Luch]

Thanks for the tip. I did reduce the brightness on the monitor, and that did
seem to increase the time it'll last substantially. I'm still not happy with
it, but at least it's not as urgent for me to repair or purchase a new one.
Thanks again,

 

[Luch]

Thanks for the info. Eye-opening for me, I'm a little dissappointed at how
"fragile" LCD's are.

I was able to get it to last longer by turning down the brightness.
Repairiing it myself is not something I would want to try. I asked a tech
guy at work and he wasn't too keen either. I suppose one day when I get fed
up i'll toss/donate it and purchase a new one.