I recently repaired a Dell E173FPb monitor from my wife’s work that would just start up black, with no “2 seconds to black” or anything like that. The common issue with these monitors is the backlight transistors on the power supply shorting. When I got the monitor, I pulled them, and indeed, a pair of them were shorted out, so I ordered some replacements through a pretty highly rated, Chinese, eBay seller. After receiving them, I dropped them in, and it STILL didn’t work. So, I ordered replacement FETs (since testing FETs is a bit troublesome at times), and those didn’t work either. Awesome… so I put the original FETs back, and set the monitor aside for parts.
A month later, I was ordering some parts from Mouser, and noticed they had the transistors that this monitor used, so I ordered a half dozen, to see if maybe they would work. After receiving them, I dropped them in, and viola, it worked!
So, it short, buy from real component retailers if you can, and avoid getting cheap counterfeit parts. You’ll save yourself a headache or two.
And here are some links to articles dealing with repairing this monitor.
http://www.badcaps.net/forum/printthread.php?t=6692
http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=20295
http://www.badcaps.net/forum/printthread.php?t=9600
http://homepage3.nifty.com/anikikobo/hardware/benq_fp71g.html
http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=14068
http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7649
http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=12432
http://syscon.wordpress.com/2007/07/13/dell-dell-e172fpb-lcd-backlight-repair/
http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=20295
http://www.ccl-la.com/LCDrepair5.htm
Stuart Bray says
I am super impressed by your site! I am an “electronics guy”, and found your site Googling for info on the WEP 858D. Your info on the switch & other wiring issues is very helpful; that sort of thing doesn’t “phase” me. I also recently had a repair experience with a Dell E173f monitor. This one did that classic “now you see it, now it’s gone” blankout, and the problem was a couple of caps in the CCFL supply. Unfortunately, I ended up using it for parts because unbeknownst to me (it was given to me “if you can fix it, you can keep it”) someone had spilled coffee on it at some point, and when the display lit up, it was all mottled & terrible looking. I decided to try to take the LCD-backlight assy apart to see if I could make it right, and it was all glued together by….something. I gently warmed it, and as I pulled it apart, I could smell the coffee! I decided to keep the CCFL tubes and the PCB’s, and pitched the rest.
My father was a journalism major, graduated from Duke in the 50’s, and edited a newspaper for the Presbyterian church for many years in Texas. He was a staunch first amendment supporter, and wrote with a laser guided pen. Don’t take that literally. Anyhoo, that is another reason I am impressed: you are a PoliSci major who is not afraid to get his hands dirty working outside of his field.
Also, kudos on your website’s design. I like! Very clean.
Oh, BTW, do you have a part #, and/or know where to get replacement elements for the WEP 858D? I’ve read they are hard to come by, so I’d like to research that before making a decision.
Take care, and keep up the good work! Thanks!
-Stuart
PS – I like your security question much more than the typical 2 words with typically distorted letters approach. I often can’t make out one of the letters. And, fortunately, one of my kids was able to answer yours. 😉
staze says
Stuart,
Sorry for taking so long to respond! And thanks for your comments!
I do know I’ve found elements that claim they’re the right ones on eBay here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/200951246496
They also appear to be accurate. But I haven’t tried one, so I can’t say that with 100% confidence. Do let me know if you buy one and it does/doesn’t work!