I think I just fried my LCD's PSU

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CitrusXt

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Joined 2005
#1
Hey! It's been a while since I posted. I finally got a decent 15'' LCD (400:1, 16ms).

I stripped the LCD with care, and everything seems to be undamaged. I still need to buy an FCC(sp?) extension from lumenlab, but the rest seems fine.

So when I actually tried to re-assemble the whole thing to test it before putting it in my projector's case, I tried to connect the power supply while it was sitting on a metalic object, resulting in sparks and a funny smell... >_<

...well, now when I try to read the voltage coming out of the PSU, nothing happens... damn, at least if I could have tested the damn thing one time to see if the rest works. Anyways, I'm telling you guys this because I'm searching for an alternate PSU.

are LCD monitors standard when it comes to Amp/Volt/Watts? Could I use the 12v rail of a normal PC PSU? Any ideas, it took me too much time and planification to give up now... I'm waiting for your opinions people!
 
#4
PSU works well!

I purchased a 15" LCD off of eBay that no longer had any backlight function. It was a grab for $40 total and the thing's great (XGA res. too) As for the power supply it didn't come with one or possess one inside so what I decided to do is just hook it up to one of my PC's PSU 12v rail. Do take special care to note which wires are indeed the positive and negative as the PSU plugs often have more than just two wires and the negative one is sometimes white (I ended up looking to a fan that was running off of one of the rails and piggy backed onto it). The voltage requirements for my monitor were 12 DC volts @ 3 amps. I can't seem to readily find any adapter's above 1 amp so that's another reason why I went with the PSU source to try and test the monitor. If your adapter is fried then you'll probably want to cut off the plug (with plenty of wire still attached to it) and then stick the two wires into the appropriate rail of the PSU. Just make sure your PSU has enough amps to support the LCD and that the voltage is correct (DC). Also polarity of the plug helps.

Good luck!
Cheers.
Chris B. in Iowa
 
#5
Re: PSU works well!

Gadgethead said:
I purchased a 15" LCD off of eBay that no longer had any backlight function. It was a grab for $40 total and the thing's great (XGA res. too) As for the power supply it didn't come with one or possess one inside so what I decided to do is just hook it up to one of my PC's PSU 12v rail. Do take special care to note which wires are indeed the positive and negative as the PSU plugs often have more than just two wires and the negative one is sometimes white (I ended up looking to a fan that was running off of one of the rails and piggy backed onto it). The voltage requirements for my monitor were 12 DC volts @ 3 amps. I can't seem to readily find any adapter's above 1 amp so that's another reason why I went with the PSU source to try and test the monitor. If your adapter is fried then you'll probably want to cut off the plug (with plenty of wire still attached to it) and then stick the two wires into the appropriate rail of the PSU. Just make sure your PSU has enough amps to support the LCD and that the voltage is correct (DC). Also polarity of the plug helps.

Good luck!
Cheers.
Chris B. in Iowa
Click to expand...


Fantastic reply! 🙂

> The voltage requirements for my monitor were 12 DC volts @ 3 amps.

this must be standard, phew

> If your adapter is fried then you'll probably want to cut off the plug (with plenty of wire still attached to it) and then stick the two wires into the appropriate rail of the PSU.

yea that's what I wanted to try... ty

I'm gonna try right now, I'll google to see what color is the 12v rail on a PC PSU, I'll keep you updated by the minute!

Cheers.
 
#9
😡 who the hell made/designed that plastic clamp? it's ridiculous how it could have been just a *little* spacier... I can't even clamp the 2 extremeties of my FCC extension...

I've seen posts with people scraping the top of the FCC, it might be the solution, but I've also read posts of people damaging the extension resulting in crying and feotus like positions for the victims.

... is it possible to use something else to 'press-fit' the FCC coming out of the LCD and the extension?

Thanks for the support fellow diy members!
 
#10
What I needed to do for my extension to work is to remove the black tape section that's on the backside of the extension. Next face the extension terminals to the terminals of the FFC cable of your monitor. Place these two into the ZIF connector in the "Hatch up" position (should fit in there with no pushing pressure needed). Then close the hatch and then just plug the other end of the extension to the other monitor board (may need to remove black tape).

It helps to look at the connector and ignore all the wires it has on the back side. Just look at it as a clamp and yes you could use different methods to keep the two pieces married to each other (something non-conductive ideally) Once you get the connector to work it'll be a breeze (had me stumped for some time too).

Let us know how it goes.
Chris B. in Iowa
 
#11
Gadgethead said:
What I needed to do for my extension to work is to remove the black tape section that's on the backside of the extension. Next face the extension terminals to the terminals of the FFC cable of your monitor. Place these two into the ZIF connector in the "Hatch up" position (should fit in there with no pushing pressure needed). Then close the hatch and then just plug the other end of the extension to the other monitor board (may need to remove black tape).

It helps to look at the connector and ignore all the wires it has on the back side. Just look at it as a clamp and yes you could use different methods to keep the two pieces married to each other (something non-conductive ideally) Once you get the connector to work it'll be a breeze (had me stumped for some time too).

Let us know how it goes.
Chris B. in Iowa
Click to expand...
I finally got the picture 😀

I had a considerable annoyance because of the clamp on the lcd circuit I'm trying to move out of the way broke, so I had to use a document clamp ( taped to make it non-conductive ) to hold the extension in place... still it worked out, phew.

But now I have to tackle a problem I am having with the picture, it seems there are small horizontal lines passing on the screen... (minor but annoying ) could it be related to the PC PSU I'm using? mmm...

well, tomorrow I'll begin assembling the components in the case, as always, I'll be back with updates!
 
#12
Glad that your FFC issue seems to be under control. As for the horizontal lines issue I can't say for much since I've never run into this problem. I've been running my LCD off of my active computer's PSU with no problems. The only type of interference problems I did have at one point was that I used a spiral flourescent light bulb to view the screen when I had it stripped apart for the very first time. The motion of the movies I was watching was juttery. I thought I had botched something in the stripping attempt but when I view the screen again but with a incandescent light bulb the problem went away so I'l assuming that the flourescent lamp was giving off radiation that was interfering with the function of the screen (those spiral type bulbs all have a power ballast at the base). Have you tried moving the PSU around and perhaps away from the screen? I think that you may also find other threads that could help you, just use the search.

Peace!
Chris B. in Iowa
 
#13
Gadgethead said:
Glad that your FFC issue seems to be under control. As for the horizontal lines issue I can't say for much since I've never run into this problem. I've been running my LCD off of my active computer's PSU with no problems. The only type of interference problems I did have at one point was that I used a spiral flourescent light bulb to view the screen when I had it stripped apart for the very first time. The motion of the movies I was watching was juttery. I thought I had botched something in the stripping attempt but when I view the screen again but with a incandescent light bulb the problem went away so I'l assuming that the flourescent lamp was giving off radiation that was interfering with the function of the screen (those spiral type bulbs all have a power ballast at the base). Have you tried moving the PSU around and perhaps away from the screen? I think that you may also find other threads that could help you, just use the search.

Peace!
Chris B. in Iowa
Click to expand...
hey Chris thanks for the constant feedback!

...well, I searched the forums for any similar problems (aka moving lines) but I didn't really find anything related. I tried moving the PSU away from the setup but it didn't seem to change things much.

so I came to 2 logical deductions:

> There were multiple ground wires in the screen, that I did not re-ground once disassembled, maybe they could affect the image?

> I'm using a monster of bulb, it's a 500W Halogen @ 8500 lumens, maybe it's causing drastic radiation? ( btw, to prevent the LCD Panel from catching instant fire I'll be using a fire place glass between the light and the lcd... maybe that could stop some of the nuisance? )

Well, tonight is the night I start really testing distances of the fresnel and lens!

Peace Chirs
 
#14
"> There were multiple ground wires in the screen, that I did not re-ground once disassembled, maybe they could affect the image?"

I too have a sneaking suspicion about the grounding of the boards. When I first tested my screen (before stripping) it was functioning fine, I could access the contrast/brightness menu and so on....only thing broken was that the backlights were out. After having the thing apart I can't get to the menu anymore. The only button that function on the control strip is the power on button. This is still workable for me as I can just use my nVidia card's settings to change the contrast/brightness but I kinda irks me to have lost the menu, it feels kinda like a half broken screen. I haven't tried yet to take the time to carefully use jump wires and ground the boards to the back metal frame and see if that works.

Did you have the red line problem before you installed the FFC extension? Or did this line problem happen after you stripped the monitor? I've tried looking up some stuff about grounding the screen but can't seem to find anything that's clear and concise.

IF ANYONE CAN HELP WITH SUSPECTED GROUNDING ISSUES PLEASE HELP! 🙂

Good luck!
Chris B. in Iowa
 
#15
Gadgethead said:
"> There were multiple ground wires in the screen, that I did not re-ground once disassembled, maybe they could affect the image?"

I too have a sneaking suspicion about the grounding of the boards. When I first tested my screen (before stripping) it was functioning fine, I could access the contrast/brightness menu and so on....only thing broken was that the backlights were out. After having the thing apart I can't get to the menu anymore. The only button that function on the control strip is the power on button. This is still workable for me as I can just use my nVidia card's settings to change the contrast/brightness but I kinda irks me to have lost the menu, it feels kinda like a half broken screen. I haven't tried yet to take the time to carefully use jump wires and ground the boards to the back metal frame and see if that works.

Did you have the red line problem before you installed the FFC extension? Or did this line problem happen after you stripped the monitor? I've tried looking up some stuff about grounding the screen but can't seem to find anything that's clear and concise.

IF ANYONE CAN HELP WITH SUSPECTED GROUNDING ISSUES PLEASE HELP! 🙂

Good luck!
Chris B. in Iowa
Click to expand...

> After having the thing apart I can't get to the menu anymore. The only button that function on the control strip is the power on button.

that's sad 🙁 . It seems that contrast/brightness settings are crucial to get a decent picture... But you say the power button is doing fine? mmm...

Indeed, cables to relay the grounding might be the solution. I'm gonna try it in the coming days, it looks like the easiest way of grounding all there is to ground without moving anything, ..., I too have a problem with a certain button on the control panel, the 'exit' one.

> Did you have the red line problem before you installed the FFC extension?

well, I have the problem since the first time I tested the monitor after stripping, so it's definetly something I've done in the process.

let's investigate :smash:
 
#17
Gadgethead said:
Hmm.... you've got a Exit button problem too..... yes let's investigate the theory of proper grounding.

Good luck to you. I may look into this with my monitor over the weekend. Keep us posted, i'll do the same.

Cheers!
Chris B. in Iowa
Click to expand...
Chris, I was wondering, can I fold the fcc coming from the major circuit of the lcd panel? if I don't I'll have problems fitting the main board in place without having the LCD circuit falling on it...

tanx
 
#18
Are you describing the delicate flat cables that connect the LCD glass to the bottom circuit board? Not the FFC that's been extended right? I wouldn't recomment folding or bending the flat cables too much for I've read about people ruining their LCD from too much handling. Kinda like how a paperclip eventually breaks after being flexed too many times. The spot specific stress of folding a cable may not be good. What I plan to do for mounting my LCD screen in my box is to first use the original metal frame hounsing that came with the LCD it provides a nice "frame" that takes the stress of mounting and supports the LCD, I might use RTV silicone sealant to mate the LCD to the metal "frame".
After breaking my OHP lamp over the weekend I decided that I better not get hasty and break something else. I was testing out my lamp holder to see if it could take the high heat generated from the lamp and it did quite well! The only thing is that I stupidly got my finger caught in the cooling fan when moving it and the sudden shock broke the filament in the bulb. I'm not too bummed about it since I know that the cooling aspect works. Now I'll be into constructing my triplet lens focusing assembly.
Just remember to reserve plenty of time when dealing with the LCD, such as your efforts at mounting it in your box. I try to remeber that it's the core heart of any PJ. Without it we've only got a fancy box with a light and a few lenses in it, the best you could do with that is make Japanese shadow puppet theaters. I sometimes like to break out of my own mental box and imagine another method of approaching the problem. This sometimes reveals a different and better method at overcoming the problem. I know I had to do this a few times to get my lamp cooling problem solved.
Keep us posted!
Chris B. in Iowa
 
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