Monitor "fades out" slowly into vertical lines
February 16, 2015 10:01 AM   Subscribe

I have a refurb monitor that's starting to go bad: the screen will fill with vertical color lines that don't change once they appear. Cycling the power almost always fixes it, but it's starting to happen more often. There are three boards inside - which is the likely culprit?

It's a Samsung UN39FH5000 39''. When it happens, it goes slowly (2-4 seconds), fading from the correct background to the color bars mess. I can cheaply replace any of the three boards, and would rather not waste money ordering all three, but can't seem to find any hints online which is likely/unlikely to cause it:
Connector board (including power connector)
Main board
Power board

Educated guesses?
posted by IAmBroom to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)
 
Best answer: Main board; I used to have a monitor with firmware that used to crash this way regularly.
posted by scruss at 10:38 AM on February 16, 2015


Response by poster: TYVM! And maybe I need to update their firmware first, JIC.
posted by IAmBroom at 12:43 PM on February 16, 2015


I have a similar Samsung monitor. Got it for free because the firmware was screwed up(I suspected a bad board at first as well). Took a LOT of googling, but I eventually found out I could download a sketchy engrish-filled tool I believe was buried on a Samsung page linking to an ftp that would reflash the firmware... Over an hdmi cable.

Monitors worked for probably two years since then.

Might not apply to that model, but worth doing a heavy Google dig on.
posted by emptythought at 4:12 PM on February 16, 2015 [1 favorite]


I think scruss and emptythought have it, but it also worth taking a look at the capacitors on the main board. If any of them are bulging or leaking, that's your culprit. It is possible to replace them. You have to figure out which replacement part to buy, and then un-solder the old capacitors and solder in the new ones. Repair shops are good at this if you don't have the time or the inclination to do it yourself. Good luck.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 7:45 PM on February 16, 2015 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: All good suggestions.
posted by IAmBroom at 8:21 PM on February 16, 2015


Response by poster: AS IT TURNS OUT... the problem was much, much simpler.

I had the monitors plugged into a different out than the computer. They don't like that. Put them all on the same power strip and the problem hasn't recurred.

I even knew this was a possibility in the back of my head, but it never made it to the front until I moved their plug for an unrelated reason, and the problem suddenly got much worse.
posted by IAmBroom at 6:32 PM on March 8, 2015


For the curious, this was a ground loop if you're not familiar.
posted by emptythought at 4:05 PM on March 9, 2015 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Yeah, I even attended a seminar on the subject in my senior year.

However, 25+ years later, I'm gonna cut myself a break for a lapse of memory. ;)
posted by IAmBroom at 6:56 PM on March 10, 2015


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