LG Monitor Failure: Any Solutions?

[mugaliens]

I have an LG L246WP-BN monitor, Model Number L246WPQ.

It's the second monitor in my system, my laptop monitor being primary. It's connected with a standard 15-pin connector. I tested two other monitors capable of the same or better resolution, so the laptop is not the issue.

About two weeks ago, the monitor began to exhibit unusual behavior: Upon booting, it would begin blinking the LG logo for about 1/10th of a second, spaced at 2 to 3 second intervals, for about 20 times, before it would accept the incoming signal and display it in it's proper resolution (1920x1200 @ 60 Hz and 32-bit). A week ago, it began going from standby (I always keep it in standby) to off and non-responsive whenever I booted the laptop. By "non-responsive," I mean the power button on the front would not bring it around. Trial and error found the only solution was to unplug it for a minute. After plugging it back in, it reverted to the blinking LG logo routine mentioned previously before displaying the page.

A couple of days ago it began displaying an "Out of Range" message, even though it's being fed the same signal it's been successfully fed for three years, and which is given in its manual.

Now I can't get it to turn on at all, no matter how long I leave it unplugged. I've tried it with another I've even tried without the monitor cable, as well as using just component video inputs hooked up to my DVD player. I've also removed the back, vacuumed out all the dust I could, and blew out all the rest.

Still nothing.

Advice? And please don't say "use the windows help" or "follow the manual," as I've exhausted those avenues. I'd like to hear from someone who has actually encountered this problem before and has an idea of what's actually happening.

Thanks.

- Mugs

 

[mugaliens]

Uh, still no word? Help? Please? Anyone? I like my laptop's 17" screen, but it's no match for my 24" monitor...

- Mugs

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Is the cable SVG or DVI?

 

[waht]

The most common failure of electronics are the capacitors going bad. Capacitors eventually dry up gradually over time, and as a result, their function as filters for switching power supplies is greatly diminished.

What I would do is open up your monitor and do a visual inspection of the circuit board. Sometimes the big capacitors can bulge on the top. That would indicate that the cap is toast. Other times the problem is more subtle, and you would need a special ESR meter to check the caps. Or simply, if you are electronics savvy, and know how to solder, you could replace most of the electrolytic capacitors around the power supply area, with brand new ones. They are quite cheap. If you don't know how to do that, then consider taking the monitor to a local repairshop, although be warned that sometimes the cost of repair can be more than a brand new monitor.

If the problem turns out is not the capacitors, then it's really something more complicated and you would have to do more investigation of the circuit board.

 

[Borek]

I doubt it is something that you can be able to fix by yourself. Contacting LG support/repair service seems to be the only option, especially as you already did the obvious things to check if it is a monitor or not.

 

[mugaliens]

Thanks for the replies, folks.

Since I disconnected my LG monitor and have been running things from my laptop's screen, I haven't had a single problem. I connected my LG monitor to a friend's computer, and ran at the same and higher resolutions without a problem.

My conclusion: It was my laptop's graphics card, having been driven at max advertised resolution for more than two years straight, which caused either its time or signal strength to drift to the point where my LG monitor, functioning normally, saw the laptop's signal as no longer meeting proper 1920x1200x60 Hz parameters, and simply shut itself down. At times, the laptop might have overheated due to the strain of trying to run on the edge, and it, too, shut itself down on occasion.

I still have the utmost respect for my laptop. I do understand that I rode it hard, day after day, sometimes 16-18 hours a day, and put it away wet. You do that to a horse and it'll eventually break down on you. You do that to a laptop and the same thing happens.

Meanwhile, I think it's time to dig my 1,000W supertower, complete with already installed 2 TB of RAID 5 hard drives (and another 1.5 TB of external storage) out of mothballs, add a motherboard, processor, memory, and a video card, and bring my LG monitor back online.

In fact, I'll start a new thread on it. :) Should be a good reference thread for those of us who would rather build our own systems, but aren't gaming gurus.