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Fixed my screen flicker... - Page 4

post #61 of 254
1/28/05 at 11:06pm
Pulled my invertor to try and adjust the connections, now the screen doesn't light up at all.... gonna keep trying.
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post #62 of 254
1/28/05 at 11:10pm
Sounds like the spring is part or all of the problem. This could signify a design issue/bad grounding.
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post #63 of 254
1/28/05 at 11:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Peng Lord
Pulled my invertor to try and adjust the connections, now the screen doesn't light up at all.... gonna keep trying.
lol. Of course if you pull out the wires the display will go dim. Those wires power the invertor.
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post #64 of 254
1/28/05 at 11:13pm
I'm not stupid, it seems that something is blown, bad connection, or similar.

EDIT: I'm fairly confident that something is dead now.
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post #65 of 254
1/28/05 at 11:25pm
My bad. Didn't mean to laugh. Wasn't trying to be sarcastic.

Hmm. Looks like it needs the ground with the spring. That could be the problem?
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post #66 of 254
1/28/05 at 11:27pm
Doesn't seem to be, I had the unit re-installed with the spring stretched. Gotta grab my meter to make sure that none of the wires are broken/not making contact...
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post #67 of 254
1/28/05 at 11:33pm
Check to make sure the wires did not come out of the connector a hair. I actully seated mine with a tiny flat screw driver to make sure.
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post #68 of 254
1/28/05 at 11:34pm
Compman55 or Peng_Lord, could one of you take pictures of the spring and disassembled LCD? It doesn't have to be a tutorial or anything, just a few pics to let us see what's going on in the guts of our machines
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post #69 of 254
1/28/05 at 11:40pm
Just a possibility but if this is happening to a majority of peoples M68XX machines over time it could be a logic problem/heat damage/corrosion to the inverter or connectors.

I have a digicam. Will post picks here tonight.
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post #70 of 254
1/28/05 at 11:41pm
Look at my pictures here:

http://community.webshots.com/album/230261181SeZVnh

After looking at the pics, common sense will do the rest. All you have to do is remove the button bezel, the keyboard, metal plate and the 6 screws holding the LCD frame together.

After you do this, keep in mind that the LCD does not need to be un-hinged. The black frame actully comes off of the metal inside. You need to use you fingure nails and a credit card to do it. Then the scary part, there is double stick tape all the way around the LCD. You need to pry it apart with a thin card, like a library card or other laminated card. Do not scratch the LCD and DO NOT break any plastic.
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post #71 of 254
1/28/05 at 11:43pm
Wires all check out, power levels to the invertor check out as well, now about to test the output.
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post #72 of 254
1/28/05 at 11:47pm
Part II:

Once you get it apart, CARFULLY unplug the two connectors from the inverter and remove the left hand wire that goes from the MB to the inverter. Blow the connectors with canned air and inspect for damage. Then remove the inverter board. Inspect the tape strip and make sure it is not damaged, and then where the tape is, look at the back side if the inverter and you will see a brass folded metal thing. Stretch it out a little using your common sense not to break it. Then trace the white and pink wires on the output side of the inverter and make sure that are not pintched.

Reassemble and DO NOT wrap with tape. You need the wire to be grounded to shield correctly. Now is also a good time to get the "RED" loctite thread locker and tighten those hinge screws. This will prevent the hinge cracking again. If you fail to use thread locker, they will loosen up in no time.
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post #73 of 254
1/28/05 at 11:54pm
I think I've isolated the problem to the white output wire, now I just need to find a tool to adjust it with.

EDIT: Invertor seems fully functional, need to check FL units...
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post #74 of 254
1/29/05 at 12:13am
you guys scare me more than I scare me sometimes, lol. thanks for the info and writeup, Compman55. well, if it really works, I'm willing to do it
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post #75 of 254
1/29/05 at 12:13am
I can't seem to resolve the problem. I'd recommend caution when attempting this.

Interesting note, the red wire has a constant -18V when the unit is powered off...

EDIT: invertor coil appears functional with 1.5VAC output (seems a bit low), the capacitor right before the FL connector seems faulty.
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post #76 of 254
1/29/05 at 12:17am
this is the weirdest problem ever, its so hard to trace. sometimes it flickers, sometimes it doesn't. it flickers less when the power button plate is off. very strange...
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post #77 of 254
1/29/05 at 12:35am
Jeez...I have to say you are all very brave.
I'm sitting here waiting for the play by play like its a stephen king novel.
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post #78 of 254
1/29/05 at 12:44am
Those pictures will do Compman. Can't really get any better unless I edit them with arrows, captions and such.

I took mine completely apart and disconnected the 2 wires on the right (pink/white) and the wires on the left (6 wires?). All seems tight and connected well. I think I have a newer spring assembly in mine. It is not a spring in the usuall coiled sense. It is a S-spring using flat brass about a 1/4 inch in width.

Last time mine was RMA'd I toldl them that it was flickering. Maybe this was their answer to try and fix it. I also notice the FL PCB is stiffer. So it's definitely a newer FL board. But I still get intermediate flickering now and then. Gotta be the components like a capacitor or the microprocessor/driver overheating/faulty.
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post #79 of 254
1/29/05 at 12:47am
I'm thinking it's a cap on the board, can anyone verify that the coil output is supposed to be 1.5VAC?
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post #80 of 254
1/29/05 at 12:50am
Has anyone got a spare invertor just lying around?
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