Headscratcher: My LCD Panel Has Gone Screwy

Merc

#1 – 8:10 AM September 7, 2007

Is the bar in the same place at every resolution? Does it happen with a different video source (i.e. a different computer?)

I'm no expert on LCDs but it sure looks like an LCD hardware issue to me. A better question is what is the native resolution of the screen, and how many pixels across is the stripe.

Joel Johnson

#2 – 8:32 AM September 7, 2007

Yeah, the resolution doesn't matter, nor does the input, nor does the cable, nor does the source. (We tried swapping them all.) I'm 99% sure it's an inoperable monitor failure, but I guess I'm mostly just curious about what is failing. It's so strange that only part of it would die, not all.

And yeah, the "inches" thing was just because I wasn't going to get in there and count each row of pixels.

bulletbill

#3 – 8:47 AM September 7, 2007

I'm a computer tech and I'm afriad to say that there is probably no way to repair that screen. I'm willing to bet the entire LCD has failed somehow. It might be just the cable that leads to the LCD panel but I dont' think that's what's going on. I think it's time for a new monitor Joel, sorry.

BTW when did you start posting for boingboing? It's been a while since I last checked Dethroner but I dont' remember you mentioning starting up here

HAL9000

#4 – 8:51 AM September 7, 2007

I saw one guy who had the exact same problem with his compaq laptop. The solution that he discovered was to apply pressure to the bezel of the LCD (you may have to fool around to find the right place). What the guy then did (if this indeed works for you) was take a big binder clip and "clip" it to his monitor, so that it would always apply pressure to the right point, and voila! problem solved (much cheaper than a new LCD).

KM
--
http://kristoph.minchau.com

Anonymous Anonymous

#5 – 9:20 AM September 7, 2007

I have repaired several of these exact units. The graphics boards begin to overheat and eventually fail completely. Replace the graphics board (Dell part number is on the board.) It is not worth trying to repair the board. Getting the unit apart will be the hardest part for most folks. Use a piece of soft plastic to get the frame off or you will leave marks. Follow normal safety rules but keep in mind that these are much less dangerous than CRTs were. If you lived in Austin I would do it for you.

Joel Johnson

#6 – 9:32 AM September 7, 2007

I might be able to do a simple repair. How much do the replacement boards run?

Funkenstein

#7 – 9:38 AM September 7, 2007

Damn you ribbon cable!! Since this happened during a physical movement, it follows that it is a physical failure. I've had laptops do the exact same thing due to ribbon cable failure from the main board to the screen. Does the problem get worse/better by squeezing the bezel? Sounds like it's time to check out new monitors...

Joel Johnson

#8 – 9:45 AM September 7, 2007

Ack. The replacement logic board is $80.

Anonymous Anonymous

#9 – 9:51 AM September 7, 2007

LCD monitors have a number of "column driver" chips along the top of the screen which along with corresponding row driver chips allow the incoming video signal to be delivered to each of the millions of individual sub-pixels in the screen. These chips are bonded to the glass of the LCD itself and it looks like you've either got a failed driver or one that has come loose. If it's just loose then you may be able to make a temporary repair by pressing it down. If it's failed then a DIY repair is probably out of the question since the pin pitch is so tiny (when I worked with these I used a stereo microscope and remote control manipulators to move test probes between the chip outputs).

Asher (used to do display research in a former life).

Anonymous Anonymous

#10 – 9:56 AM September 7, 2007

What little I know about LCDs is that they have three basic components which can fail:

An inverter board, which causes spazzing after minutes to hours when it heats up, or just failure to launch. Maybe fixable.

A cold cathode backlight, which fails slowly, causing dimming, odd tints over the whole screen, or no light at all (with the picture still barely visible. These can be replaced sometimes, if you can find a source of replacements.

The screen itself, which is the source of what you're looking at as well as various other flickering or solid lines, and pressure marks.

Tubman

#11 – 9:56 AM September 7, 2007

That's cheaper than a new girlfriend.

jrishel

#12 – 10:01 AM September 7, 2007

you could try taking out the existing logic board, put it in your freezer for about 10 minutes and see if it works briefly before heating back up. that would at least confirm that it's worth $80 to get a replacement.

Joel Johnson

#13 – 10:07 AM September 7, 2007

Dell just contacted me, having read the post, to remind me that I am probably under a three year warranty for this panel, so that's nice. If I am, I kind of want to pull it apart anyway just to test the panel.

But what I wanted to say is: I can't believe we just been doing this for a couple of weeks and yet there are already so many sharp people on here. I had this inkling that if I asked what was wrong with this panel, there'd be a few of you smarties out there to educate me. Which is very, very awesome. Thanks, guys!

Anonymous Anonymous

#14 – 10:54 AM September 7, 2007

do what every single person has done when a hunk of junk stops working properly, GIVE IT A GOOD WHACK.

A GOOD WHACK has saved many hours of repair and replacement. A GOOD WHACK never fails! If it doesnt work at first, you havent whacked it hard enough.

dculberson

#15 – 11:32 AM September 7, 2007

@#14, that's what I like to call Percussive Maintenance.

Anonymous Anonymous

#16 – 11:51 AM September 7, 2007

Percussive maintenance is certainly indicated here, as are the other possible fixes.

But just make sure not to fuck it up so much that Dell won't do a warranty exchange.

Anonymous Anonymous

#17 – 12:02 PM September 7, 2007

Joel,
From someone on the inside, don't go taking it apart.. it does uhh kinda void your warranty if you still have one.

Anonymous Anonymous

#18 – 1:35 PM September 7, 2007

looks like the same thing that happened to me. my nvidia video card was overheating with the temp of the core as high as 110 degree C, while using windows (2d).

anyway, i bought a new video card and everything is back to normal.

Anonymous Anonymous

#19 – 5:40 AM September 9, 2007

I once had a graphics card that wasn't in its AGP slot properly and so it was doing exactly what yours is.

The card was stuffed so i sent it back and they replaced it as faulty :)

never had that issue again

Anonymous Anonymous

#20 – 11:44 AM September 10, 2007

I have one of those 2001FP's. The VGA input is going bad on it as the color is mainly greenish. It isn't the screen as the DVI input still has good color. Sounds like a board issue with me.

I replaced it with one of the newer 2007WFP-HC's.

Anonymous Anonymous

#21 – 9:53 PM June 4, 2008

Oh, I'm certainly glad that I found this. I just bought a used Dell 2001FP on eBay, and it has the exact same problem:
http://i32.tinypic.com/2s1vg2x.jpg
*sigh* Thing is, it doesn't always do that; sometimes the stripe goes away. And man, Unreal Tournament looks FANTASTIC during those times.
I'm hoping that they'll cut a deal with me, and just refund [art of my money. I'll buy a new graphics board and take care of the problem myself!

ddshark

#22 – 11:46 PM August 4, 2008

My 2001FP, over four years old and out of warranty, has started intermittently doing something very similar in nearly the same location. The vertical stripe region, just left of center, will initially just start looking very, very noisy but will eventually become random vertical stripes. I think it may be heat/humidity related, but I haven't been able to 100% prove that yet. It doesn't seem to be mechanical-stress related and is definitely not a function of the computer inputs. I'm still debating on whether or not to try to get and replace the $80 driver board mentioned. I was just wondering if others have successfully done this replacement.

rt_olsson

#23 – 2:32 AM August 10, 2008

I'm experiencing exactly the same problem with my 2001FP. It feels like it might be heat related since the bars appear maybe 10-15 minutes after turning on the monitor (even though the bars go away for short periods of time in between). The width of the vertical bar is almost 6" (!) and it has increased in size the last week. It is something like 3 years old so it might be time to look for a replacement -- 22" plus monitors are quite cheap nowadays...

Anonymous Anonymous

#24 – 1:40 AM August 12, 2008

The problem with the vertical stripe *IS* heat related and *IS* mechanical. If you (dare) open the LCD panel and push at the top part of where the "driver board" connects to the LCD via the brown/black "flat plastic cables", you will notice the stripes go away.

One way to slow down the issue is to have a fan blasting in the area of the stripe. You can use the 12V feed which is for the SoundBar. It's perfect for feeding a typical computer case fan.

Another way is to find a way to make the contact between the flat plastic cables and the LCD itself better and not affected by heat (from the lamps). I've not tried any glue and I'm looking for a type of vice which I can use to press the two together. Nothing good so far.

Philips (that's who makes my LCD) should pay for this crap. Bad mechanics.

caps

#25 – 3:52 PM September 10, 2008

I had the same problem with my 2001-fp.
It turned out that the fourth column driver ribbon (the dark brown / black strip) had a loose connection to the PCB, as suggested above.
I found that putting pressure on this area temporarily fixed it, so I endevoured to find a permanent solution - I put a 8x8x8mm piece of rubber directly on the afflicted area, between the PCB and the aluminum plate cover ;)
Now my LCD works perfectly again!
Hope it stays that way as it took me a couple of hours to dismantle/assess & reassemble.

I have photos on request of my procedure if it would help anyone DIY.
itsjust at unforgettable dot com.

zhaohuidai

#26 – 5:58 PM September 27, 2008

It is very difficult to repair, maybe you need change a new panel.

If it is backlight (CCFL) problem, it will easy, change a new ccfl (Cold cathode lamp) will OK.

http://www.eefl.cn
http://www.cn-ovl.com

ztech750

#27 – 9:21 AM November 18, 2008

Caps i was wondering if i could get a link or a copy to that how-to guide pls?

hogweed

#28 – 8:44 AM November 20, 2008

Guys guys guys... the answer about the "column driver" chips was the right one, if everything is as described. You can wedge something in behind the loose one to press it harder against the screen,and it may work for a little while, or forever. It's nothing to do with video cards etc.

Anonymous Anonymous

#29 – 4:20 PM December 21, 2008

I also have a similar problem that recently started with my four year old 2001fp. Slightly to the left of center, about a two inch wide band of vertical green stripes (each 1 pixel wide and alternating with normal colored stripes, so every other vertical stripe is green) This also gets worse as the monitor heats up, especially if it is hot in the room. It begins as just a few sparkling green pixels. Just tried to see if I could pop open the casing to look at if there were any cables I could reseat, but I couldn't get farther than removing the 4 screws on the back, because I'm not sure how to get the plastic open without breaking something (wedged a flathead screwdriver in a few places but it just chipped at the plastic). @CAPS: those pics would be greatly appreciated! If I can't fix this, I'm off to get a new monitor I suppose...unfortunately

Anonymous Anonymous

#30 – 7:06 PM December 29, 2008

This is a year-old blog post, but I just found it looking for something similar.

About four years ago, I bought 2 FP2001 monitors. And one of them kept screwing up. There were defects with one of them (several dead pixels in the middle of the screen). So when I sent it back under warranty, they'd send me back... a REFURBISHED FP2001.

And the refurb Dell sent me back had a defect. More dead pixels.

So I sent it back. New refurb. Wouldn't turn on.

So I sent it back. Got back another refurb with THE WRONG POWER CORD.

That set off a 2 month long phone conversation where the Dell technician I would talk to, or his idiot supervisor, or pretty much anyone else I would try to explain this problem with, all in India, would not understand that I needed the black box power cord; the one with the attached big black box - ac/dc piece.

Over the course of a month, they sent me 3 normal cables and a third monitor. That was broken - it wouldn't turn on all the time - all the buttons on the bottom right would light up.

Eventually I got SOMEONE to help me out over there (I think I reached someone in the US), and they sent me the right power cord. Tried it in the refurb monitor, and the refurb failed - screen would turn gray.

They sent me one more monitor. I'm using it right now.

It eventually had problems - if you turned it off after a while of use, then turned it back on, the 1-2-3-4 selector buttons would all light up and freeze and you couldn't use the monitor again till it cooled down. Now it's started in with the yellow stripe, and as I typed this, the whole section just digitized out on me. Turned a bunch of different colors and stripes and I can't see crap. The other monitor I had was fine till about a year ago when it got a blue haze on it; had to set the Color Settings to User Preset, which wasn't quite what I needed.

Anyway, it was hell dealing with Dell Customer Support on all this; since I had NOT bought a PC, no one in India knew how to log my calls because all calls are associated with computer purposes (oh hey, the yellow rezzed-out section just came back!)

Basically, I'd never ever ever get a Dell monitor again.

You want to contact me? Try sending to "joshdm" at the "gmail".

caps

#31 – 5:06 AM January 12, 2009

One more thing:

getting the case off
If the monitor is lying flat (with the screen pointing upwards) then have a look at the sides - there are some small flat-screwdriver-sized gaps at regular intervals between the black plastic rim (mine's a black monitor) and the grey trimming. You need to prise that open carefully.

Also, if opening it up, it's important for me to say the usual disclaimer: I accept no responsibility for your actions!

And don't attempt to do this if your warranty is still valid!

caps

#32 – 5:27 AM January 12, 2009

per request, I've uploaded the photos I took whilst dismantling the monitor:

dell_2001FP_monitor_problem
i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww329/capler/dell_2001FP_monitor_problem.jpg

STEP1
i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww329/capler/STEP1-DSC04701.jpg

STEP2
i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww329/capler/STEP2-DSC04689.jpg

STEP3
i732.photobucket.com/albums/ww329/capler/STEP3-DSC04700-1.jpg

Bear in mind - the problem has recently reared it's head again, so I'm having to resort to blowing cool air onto the back using a large fan!

Anyone had any success?

Anonymous Anonymous

#33 – 11:31 PM January 18, 2009

Hi I'm getting the same ribbons down the screen but it changes from ribbons to blotches or different widths and number of bands as I change settings from 16bit to 32bit or change the resolution. Is this still a heat problem? I have 3 fans running my system, I would have thought that was certainly adequate...
Any help here would be much appreciated...

caps

#34 – 6:06 AM January 19, 2009

>I have 3 fans running my system, I would have
>thought that was certainly adequate...

The heat problem discussed above was about the MONITOR overheating - not the computer.

Anonymous Anonymous

#35 – 5:58 AM August 27, 2009

Thanks for the pics, CAPS... I recently purchased a 2001FP off of eBay in unknown condition for $30 that ended up having this problem with 3 separate column drivers so far and your experience has been very helpful in "fixing" it.

My fix at the moment has been to cut up those wedge shaped pink pencil erasers you can get from Staples or wherever else and use them in the same manner as in previous comments here, with a few alterations:

1) I also placed folded up strips of paper underneath and along the length of the TAB board to prevent the board from flexing toward the panel as the rubber applies pressure, and

2) I used strips of rubber that were as long as the entire TAB connection, to make extra sure the entire ribbon cable was held in place.

I think that without the paper and the longer strips, you might have actually caused the connections on the other pins to deteriorate more rapidly through the extra flex in the board... hell if I know, though.

I also wired 2 case fans in via the 12v soundbar jack on the monitor just in case the other TAB connections have any funny ideas about failing any time soon. I happened to have an old AC adapter for something that went up in smoke years ago that just happened to fit perfectly... now it powers a 120mm fan blowing air in the top of one side and an 80mm fan blowing air in the middle of the other.

It's pretty ghetto, but can I really complain about a 1600x1200 S-IPS monitor for $30? I knew what I was getting into when I bought it; I even read this posting and all its comments before I did. Doesn't seem like such a bad deal for some broken old crap if this fix holds for any appreciable amount of time!