Friday, June 20, 2008

HP vs19d Fix

***UPDATE*** This project summary and any further comments/updates have been moved to http://schmidtcds.com. Please visit the new site for up-to-date info, and to see all the other cool projects!

**UPDATE: VS19e monitor repair instructions and pics now available: VS19E

The other day, I rolled out of bed in the morning and after a cup of
Gevalia's finest, I sat down at my computer to check the weather. To
my dismay, upon clicking the power button on my HP vs19d LCD monitor, nothing happened. The blue LED would light up for a few seconds, I would hear a high pitched squeal from inside the monitor, and then nothing. This process would repeat itself until I eventually unplugged the monitor. I later called HP tech support to find that the monitor would have to be replaced. Good thing I bought that expensive three year extension warranty, right? Well, turns out that my warranty only covered my desktop and didn't extend to the monitor. Excellent.
It seemed like I had one of two options. I could either attempt to fix the monitor myself, or buy a new one. I needed to access my computer to get some files for work, and the HP LCD was the only monitor I had. So, making my decision, I visited NewEgg from work and bought a 19" WS Acer for a great price.
But I still wasn't happy that my monitor was only two years old and on its way to the dump. So I decided to crack it open and have a look around. If you're having a similar problem, follow along, because now my monitor works fine. To fix yours up, you'll need:

A phillips head and flathead screwdriver
Some replacement caps (I needed 3x 1000 microF caps rated at 10V or above)
A soldering iron
Solder
Desoldering tool or braid

Ok, first, we need to get the back stand off. Remove the two visible screws, and then pop the plate off the top of the stand to gain access to the third screw.Now slide the base out from the back of the monitor. Whenever the monitor is laying face down, it's good practice to lay it on an old clean cotton tshirt or something to keep it from getting scratched up. Now we need to pry the front plate off from the rest of the monitor. Using a flathead screwdriver, gently insert the tip into the crack along the side of the monitor and pry until you hear one of the snaps come loose. After the first one, it gets easier. Continue in this fashion to completley remove the front panel.

Once you've done this, gently remove the LCD screen and the PCB that holds the buttons from the plastic case. The LCD assembly will still be attached to the plastic by the speaker cords, so it obviously can't be completley removed. Once you have them separated, turn the LCD over and you should see this:

The larger metal case on the right holds the power supply, while the smaller case on the left holds some of the display circuitry. Gently peel back the metal tape and unscrew the two screws that hold the metal case down. Carefully fold the metal case to the right to expose the power board:

So I could more easily move the board around, I also removed the two screws that held in the power cord socket:

Now it's time to investigate where the problem lies. I checked over all the capacitors and found these three in one of the corners of the board. Two of them had dried electrolytic fluid on top, indicating that they were blown. The third one (on the left) was bulged out on the top, which meant it had probably blown too, but the 'X' vent on top hadn't cracked open. So, these were the caps I needed to replace. Make sure you read the side of them to see what size (Farads) you need to get.
I propped the board up in the air (it was pretty tricky to do this part) and used a nice soldering iron to melt the solder that attached these caps while I gently pulled on them. Eventually, I got all three loose.
Using the new caps I bought from Radio Shack for $1.59 each...I then proceeded to solder the new caps into place. BE SURE YOU GET POLARITY RIGHT. On mine, the black half circle that was printed on the PCB indicated the negative terminal. Pay attention to which way the busted caps are oriented and make sure you orient the new ones in the same fashion.

Now we have the new caps soldered and in place, so put all the screws back into place, replace the metal box and the metal tape, gently set the LCD back into the plastic case (be sure to stick the buttons PCB back where it belongs), snap on the front cover and reattach the base. If you've done everything correctly, and the caps were the problem, then your LCD monitor should be good as new! Funny that little things like capacitors can cause such a headache.
If this tutorial saved you lots of money or time, a small donation would be enormously appreciated. This little stream of income allows me to dedicate more time to helping others with their problems. Thanks for stopping by!








171 comments:

Unknown said...

My computer seemed to have the same problem as your did, but after following your instructions, I didnt have the same results as you.
My power button lights up, but the screen remains black.
Thanks for the great instructions on replacing capacitors.

tilteffect said...

I had the exact same thing go wrong with my HPvs19x. I followed your instructions to the letter and I now have a fully functional monitor again.

Cheers!

ecvmaxim said...

You are the man! I got hold of a broken hp monitor and after a little research came upon your article. It took some doing to find the capacitors but after 5 stores and about a half hour of work I will be presenting my friends with a great new monitor for their kids computer. Because of you I will get much applause. Thanks again!

Anonymous said...

DUDE! I was on my way from home from work and saw an HP vs19 sitting curbside. My first instinct was take it home and see if it works because people throw stuff out that is perfectly good with PC equipment. Well I plugged in the monitor and it didn't work. I found this article and sure enough the exact same three capacitors were popped. I have never replaced a capacitor nor did I ever care before this blog posting. So I followed the instructions and screen shots. Now I am posting with my FIXED HP vs19. It was freaking easy too. Cost me $25 since I purchases 4 capacitors(1 extra just in case I screwed up), 15 watt soldering iron, solder, and desoldering bulb(which of all the things sucked and barely word, I recommend the copper braid instead, now I know). I will be grabbing stuff like crazy now to see if they simply need capacitor replacements.

MD Schmidt said...

Glad I could help guys. Your comments are much appreciated.

shaunyboy said...

I have this exact same problem but with the vs17e and i have now accessed the board but however the capacitors on my board dont seem to be bulging or oozing at all, should i perhaps replace them anyway? and if so should i replace them all? as they appear to be just as good as the others right now, any suggestion apprieciated, thanx

MD Schmidt said...

I would not suggest replacing them if there is no visible sign that they are busted. Take another look at them, especially near the bottom. It's possible that it simply blew out the bottom instead of the top. If you still don't see any that are busted, you may want to make sure the fuse hasn't blown. Let me know what you find out. If nothing seems to work and you MUST fix it, you can try replacing them all, but bear in mind this is a big shot in the dark.

Karza said...

Hello MD Schmidt. I found a similar screen from a dumpster just the day before yesterday. I frowned once i noticed it only flashed the blue ligth and almost gave up with it. Then i found your site and instructions how to fix it. I couldn't belive my eyes once i saw text "Check signal cable" or something like that. Thank you very much!

shaunyboy said...

hi md schmidt thanks for your response, i have undergone a thourough examination of these capacitors and i cant see any obvious damage whatsoever, my first instinct was to check the fuse etc and all was fine and then comin across this, what seems to be quite a common fault with the 19'' model, and i have searched the net back 2 front and i have not came across much about the 17'' model. well its not a MUST that i get it fixed however im not one that takes kindly into throwing things away so sod it i shall have a go, i shall post again to let you know how it goes.

Anonymous said...

I had the same problem with my hp vs19d monitor and followed your instructions on how to replace the capacitors and now it works like new. thanks!

LS said...

Thanks so much for posting this -
it worked for me! Monitor is up and running again.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the tips, my HPvs19d is up and running again (for now...) thanks to your post.

maica76 said...

md schmidt, I replaced bad caps on my monitor but got same results as linda (July 22) - power button lights up, but the screen remains black.

Any suggestions?

Dennis said...

Yup, My 17 inch HP LCD monitor had two caps bulging but I replaced all 3 in that small area.
1000uF 10v with 16V ones---total A$2.30.
Thanks Mr Bored Engineer.

Anonymous said...

i replaced the 3 caps and it corrected the problem. if this doesn't work and the caps needed replacing i would check to make sure the solder paths on the board were not destroyed when unsoldering the old caps;, i.e. verify that the caps have an electrical path to the next component (follow the solder path). to do this just che.ck with an ohmmeter for continuity (low resistance).

also, i had a single board rather than 2. so if you have this, just unplug the side cables and unscrew the board retaining screws.

Anonymous said...

I replaced the 3 capacitors with 1000uf 35 volt ones from Radio Shack ($1.60 each) and now the monitor works! Thanks for saving me $200!!!!
Thanks for the detailed instructions and pictures!

Anonymous said...

Incredible instructions! I followed every step and 5 bucks and 2 hours later, my monitor was back up and running. Radio shack people were more than friendly to point out the correct capacitors and tools I may need. I even took additional pics for people who may not know every step>> http://flickr.com/photos/xpontius/sets/72157608648155236/

Thanks for this great tutorial. I just saved 200 bucks+

Anonymous said...

Same thing happend here after 2 years it just went blank...got online and found this post... spent $22 bucks for 3 35w caps and a sodering kit @ radio shack... this was my first time sodering anything hahahhaa... monitor works like new again... no trials and errors here... just followed your instructions and viola!!!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!!

MD Schmidt said...

Hey everyone, I'm thoroughly amazed at the number of people who have benefited from this post. When I first created it several months ago, I never thought that this many people would have the exact same problem with the same monitor.

Let this be encouragement to everyone to share your troubleshooting woes. :)

Arlene said...

My repair man said he would charge $95.00 just to open the case. I told him I wasn't interested. He then told me not to pitch it as he could recycle some of the parts. I found your blog and followed your instructions & BINGO I have a beautiful working monitor. It was very easy following your pictures & instructions. Thank you, Thank you!

Anonymous said...

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
Followed your instructions and saved my dead monitor. Only had to replace capacitors C822 and C824. Got the Radio Shack part number 272-1032 and the 30 volt soldering iron. Used copper braid to help remove the old solder. My first time soldering a circuit board...but it worked.
Jerry

Anonymous said...

Hey awesome thread here. My dad and I popped open the monitor and sure enough those 3 capacitors were bulging. Got the replacements from Radioshack, but ran into some trouble. We've tried two soldering irons, not sure of the volts, but they're not melting the solder! What grade of soldering iron do we need to melt this stuff??

thanks

MD Schmidt said...

Anonymous,

You don't need a really nice soldering iron to melt standard solder. First, be sure you are using computer appropriate solder, not the really thick type used to solder pipes. If you got the solder at Radio Shack, it should be fine.

Second, the soldering iron I used was one of the cheaper ones from Radio Shack. Mine can be set to 20W or 40W, I believe I used the 40W setting.

Lastly, sometimes PC boards are coated in stuff that makes the solder harder to melt. Try using a slightly more powerful iron, just be careful not to destroy the traces on the board.

Hope that helps,

The Bored Engineer

Anonymous said...

you are amazing man.i haved same problem.and i do excatly what you say and now bingo.mymonitor working.i have hp vs 19 e.many thanks man.it costs to me 20 e.you save 200 e.everytjhing best in yor life.wish you albert from Finland.thank you.

Anonymous said...

Please add me to the list of 'Happy Campers'.
My brother handed-off his HP 'VS17E' because of the EXACT Same problem. I followed your instructions, (Very Well Done BTW) and I am now writing you this comment with the like-new VS17E hooked to my laptop.
As we say in Hawaii, Mahalo Nui Loa!!
(Thank You Very Much!!)
P.S. One Caveat, The R.S. PN 272-1032 CAPS I ordered are 'a-bit-large' diameter wise, compared to what is shown in your pictures(perhaps due to a different MFG?) and are a tight fit, but, by soldering them in one-at-a-time, and gently 'coaxing' the next CAP into place, I was able to make them work...Thanks Again!!!

Unknown said...

Wow,because of you, I am a certified "Wiz" in my cousin's eyes. They think I know everything, but I just know how to find it. On hers, only two were bad, but I replaced all three since it seemed such a common problem. This after fixing her HP laptop by bowing back out the clip in the power terminal after googling it. What did people do before search engines?
THANKS!

Anonymous said...

Nice tutorial on replacing the capacitors. As a service repair tech, I was searching the internet for board replacements for the HP vs19 monitor. I was not so fortunate here. I had 6 bad caps on my HP vs19. I replaced all 6 and still no display except for a moment with a lot of high voltage sizzle. Like others, I get the blue “power on” indicator. This tells me that my high voltage supply has failed. This was proven when I first powered it on and for a moment I could see the display faintly and hear a hissing noise as the high voltage began to arch. The only fix for this is to replace the entire board with a working one….sometimes the caps fix them, sometimes they don’t. Last month, I was 3 for 3 in repairing all makes of monitors with cap problems. This month I’m 0 for 4.  By the way, a GREAT source for capacitors of the exact physical size is mouser.com . Great people to work with. Also remember, it’s OK to go up in voltage size but remember when you do you’ll also increase the physical size and most times they won’t fit on the board or clear the cover because they are either too wide or tall. Good luck! LT

Anonymous said...

You are the man. We got our HP 17 inch LCD up and running for $8.00 in parts.

I sent you a $10 donation. Your tutorial was great!

Cheers,

Andrew

Anonymous said...

Wow! I wish this post had existed back when my own HP monitor died. I do still have it -- in the closet -- so maybe I'll pull it out and see what I can do. Someone just left me a link to your blog on my own post about this issue here:

http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/2008/02/week-35-results-501-oz-of-plastic-waste.html

Oregon Slacker said...

Dude...$4.77 and this broken monitor given to me works like a charm thansk to your post... you rock

Mike Fisher said...

My wife's work fried an HP monitor and called me to ask if I would want to take a look at it. Of COURSE I would! Once I got the LCD, an HP VS19E, I took the panel off and it was completely different than in your photos. Once I struggled the power panel out, I saw the exact three caps you described, all bloated and leaking! YAY!

I'll replace the bad boys and come back to let you know how it worked out. I do feel very confident that it'll work like a charm. Thanks for for your help!

Anonymous said...

I had exactly the same problem with an HP vs19b display. Had it sitting opened for weeks until I ran into this solution. Clearly my caps were busted as well. I replaced them with cheap axial (not radial) 1000uF 10V new ones and I am back in business.
Thanks for the precise instructions.

vinnie said...

Mine is a hp vs17e. Problem is no power (no blue nor yellow light). I checked all the capacitors and they are all okay. Finally, discovered a transistor (attached to a heat sink) with 27611 637205 printed on it. Took the busted transistor to the electronic stores and no one knows the replacement part for it. Apparently, HP used their own product codes on them thus even if you found out which transistor is defective, you still can not fix it except to buy a new unit! Anyone out there knows the replacement part no. or JEDEC for HP transistor 27611 637205? Tnx.

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for posting this!!! I just followed your steps for my vs17e and my once inoperable monitor is now fully functional. You saved me several hundred $$$ and there is one less monitor in the landfill because of you!

Mike Fisher said...

Heyas! I'm back to report your post made me a frakking GENIUS to the lawyers at my wife's work! The HP VS19E works like a champ!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Max said...

Hi MD Schmidt..
I had the exact same problem with my HPvs19e. I followed your instructions to the letter and I now have a fully functional monitor again. Thank you very much!

Greetings from Finland!

Greyshark said...

I have previously helped a family (previous neighbours, single mother with five kids) with some computer problems, the usual stuff like reinstalling Windows and once I repaired a laptop for them by replacing the harddisk. So when the 17-year old son's HP vs19b display stopped working they asked me if I could take a look at it. Not much I can do, I told them, I am a retired IT specialist and know a lot about software but next to nothing about hardware. But Google found me this site so I decided to give it a try.

Taking the monitor apart was not hard, but it did not look the same inside, just one big board that was well hidden and really difficult to access. But when I finally got to it, sure enough, there they were. Two capacitors with some brown goo at the top. They even had the same names, C822 and C824, though the layout was not at all similar.

So I ordered four 1000 uF 10 V caps (if you are in Sweden like myself, ELFA is the right place to shop) at almost no cost, got them in the mail a week later which was yesterday. Today I got out my ancient soldering pen (bought it in the 60:s when I was building a HiFi amplifier, hasn't used it much since but I still had some solder left too) and went to work.

So now I'm writing this using the revived display. I'm sure the family will appreciate my efforts, their margins are small and buying a new (or even used) display would have made a big hole in their budget.

Many thanks for making it easier for me to help these good people!

tcb said...

Exact problem, two of the three caps were fried. thank you so much.

Xtina said...

WOW!!! We were ready to go to Best Buy to buy a new monior, we were not happy to have to throw out a nice 19 inch monitor, a new 17 inch one was going to cost us almost 200 bucks, we then stubbled upon this blog....Thanks so much!!!! We went to Radio shack, bought everything suggested, not knowing if we could fix it, seeing as we have NEVER done this kind of thing before, but why not try since it was going to get thrown in the trash anyway. When we opened up the monitor, it did look different than the one in the pictures but with a bit of looking around and using our heads, we figured it out and FIXED IT!! We could not believe it actually worked! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!! You saved us a bunch of money we did not want to part with, we can not thank you enough!

-Joel and Chris

Anonymous said...

Wow… worked like a charm. It would be great if HP does not posted this kind of relevant information. When I called HP they were less then helpful. Keep up the great work.

J

twowheelsdown2002 said...

Try it even if your capacitors look good!! I was concerned because none of the capacitors in our 19B monitor looked bad, but I used to work in electronics in the Navy and knew that meant squat.

I decided that it seemed as though #22,23 and 24 were most mentioned culprits, so I replaced those 3. I could only find the 35volt 1000uf capacitors at Radio Shack for $1.59 each. They are bigger but fit fine. Fired it up with a hope and a prayer that we got lucky and sure enough, it works just fine. Thanks for the article. HP should address this!!

t&h productions said...

Awesome!! I had a vs19e and your blog helped me save it. I have since bought a vs19b and a vs17e and fixed them both as well. I now have 2 more vs17e monitors that look completely different anr the caps all look good. I am still looking for the soultion. Any help?

Dennis S. said...

I am very thankful you posted a way to fix these monitors with the problems they have. I fixed mine following your instructions. Only difference being I used 16v 1000u instead of the 10v 1000u. ?? It's all radio shack had at the time. I don't see it being a problem & monitor works great - Thank You . Dennis S.

Anonymous said...

It worked. I replaced one of the 680uF 25v with 680uF 35v and 3 of the 1000uF 25v with 1000uF 25v. My soldering iron is horrible. It is like 40 watts with a bent tip and I had no solder wick but everything went great. Thank you very much.

smeep said...

I opened mine up and 2 of the 3 had a slight bubble in the center so I'm guessing they blew and will replace all 3. However, the little round blue thing below #22 (same in mine as it is in your pics) seems melted? It even has a small bubble on the side where it looks like it bubbled up and dried that way. What is it and is that fixable or do I need to? I'd link to a pic but I'm using my phone to post and it doesn't take good pics and my digi cam is no use without a monitor for my computer, haha. I had the same problem of the power button lighting but no display, and restarting my computer appeared to fix it (it could be coincidence - this happened twice, in the last 10 days) but today, which led me to happen upon this blog, it appeared to not be powering whatsoever and I'm wondering if the blue thing is in part responsible. Thanks for any help! And thanks for this blog, stick it to HP!!! Hehe.

Xtina said...

You will have to replace all that because my monitor would come on, stay on all day but then once I turned off the monitor it was a bitch to get it to turn back on again until after about a week of that it just wouldn't come on at all...replaced everything that looked "bad" and here I am, still working off that same monitor.

MD Schmidt said...

smeep,

I can't be sure from looking at the photos, but the blue component you're having trouble with looks like it could be a variable capacitor. That would certainly explain the fact that it looks like it 'popped'. Variable resistors (which is really the only other thing it could be) don't usually pop like capacitors do. I'd follow Christina's advice and replace anything that looks damaged.

smeep said...

I got the electrolytic capacitors at Radio Shack (have to go elsewhere to find the blue thing) but I'm wondering about taking off the old ones. I don't see any solder around them, they kinda look like they're just stuck in there only gently pulling only wields a little movement. Is that normal to not see it? I haven't soldered anything since I was 8 so it's been a while. If that is normal, how do I get them off? I don't want to harm the board. Sorry, just a tad confused on this. :)

smeep said...

To add: do I have to unmount and turn over the board to get to the underside to do it?

MD Schmidt said...

smeep,

No worries. Yes, the solder connections are on the bottom of the board. If I recall correctly, there's a connector that you don't want to disconnect, which means you can only prop the board up a little bit. This was the harder part of the process, because you have to prop up the board and de-solder/ re-solder at the same time.

smeep said...

Well, now I'm having trouble desoldering. It just won't melt. if I hold it on for a bit it might depress it a tad but nowhere near enough to getting it off and certainly not with the copper braid. I have a 35w iron. Any suggestions? I'm wondering if I should get a higher w iron or get a desoldering one instead. I read somewhere about using flux - is that safe and might it help? And what does it do? I remember using it as a kid but no clue what it did. Also, is there any time length I shouldn't surpass with holding the iron on it?

Anonymous said...

I replaced the 3 caps like everyone else. The monitor does power up and the screen will flash on for about 2 seconds and then goes black and stays that way. Will only flash on for the two seconds when powering on. Any suggetsions?

Unknown said...

Have a vs17e with the same problem. Opened up and found 2 leaky caps... replaced and all is good. Thanks for posting this as now is a bad time to throw out a monitor and buy a new one. Less than $5 in parts from RS and back in business.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great instructions! Even a Putz like myself could do this and it is working great! Just like new!

steve baltimore said...

Wow. I pulled the monitor apart--good instructions!-and found this stuff that looked like dried white gum over everything. No obvious signs that someone dropped something in there. The white stuff appears to emanate from several places on the board. Suggestions?

Rick said...

Replace the three capacitors.Turned the monitor on and it worked fine but when I turned it off the screen blink white then goes black repeatedly. It won't turn back on nor will it turn off Any suggestion?

Unknown said...

I replaced three capacitors and now my monitor works fine again. So simple even though it looked hard at first. To those having trouble with removing the capacitors from the PCB, what I did was use two marble bookends to "sandwich" the PCB so it wouldn't tip. Then I charged up my 30watt soldering iron for 5 min or so to get good and hot. Then, I used a needlenose pliers to grab hold of the capacitor I'm removing. The marble bookends allow me to 'pull' slightly on the capacitor I'm removing with the pliers, while at the same time, I'm applying the iron to the old capacitor leads that have stuck through to the back of the PCB. They loosen up slightly and the blown capacitor pulls right out without having to use desoldering bulbs or braid. I used then only a slight amount of new solder to put in the new ones with roughly the same technique in reverse. Good Luck!

Alex said...

Hey! Thank's for the tip, i will try to look in to my HP vs19b in the weekend. I will give a tip to you to..if you have a similar problem with your HP monitor and you want a temporary solution to start it when you need try to heat it up really good with a hair dryer :)it work's like a charm (don't ask how i got to this solution :) )

Unknown said...

My HP vs17e has a intermittant smearing of one or more colors. A tap on the back of the case temporarilly fixes the problem. Suspect a bad connection on the termination resistors on the video lines. Thanks for the method of getting inside. Now maybe I can fix the problem. If you have any experience with this problem I would appreciate any info.

Thanks

Gary

step234 said...

Gar,
I have the same monitor and I started on a repair this evening though I'm stuck. The board has an inconsistancy which has slowed me. If you go inside the board, please let me know so I can ask you to check the polarity of one of the capacitors. I found in the middle of the board, their are 3 caps rated at 470uf. One was blown completely and the other two were light domed on top. The kicker is the blown one is the only capacitor on the board with the pos side of the capacitor set on the black side capacitor location. I triple checked for the sake of it. I'm trying to assume HP did it on purpose though I'm stuck on whether it was a mistake. I know the monitor worked at one time and no one has been in the case. I'd appreciate hearing from others too whom might shed some light. feel free to ask for disassembly instructions.
Stephen

Anonymous said...

hey dude your awesome this worked great and only at the cost of 3 new capacitators $5.11 thanks for the help

Anonymous said...

I have an HP vs19e monitor. The blue power button lights up but the screen is blank (black). When I turn the monitor off and on again, it flickers a screen for an instant, and then goes back to blank.

Anyone have the same problem? Did changing the caps help? If so, where can I buy these caps in Canada?

Thanks,
Roland.

Xtina said...

Roland, yes, we had the same problem, change everything stated in this blog and all will be well. :)

Maybe you can get what you need from a local electronics store? or from Radioshack.com ?

Anonymous said...

Well... good news and bad news. I opened up my vs19e monitor only to find that the internals do not look like any of the pictures shown. HP has upgraded the caps to 25v each, there are fewer components, no metal plate over either pcb board, etc. My caps looked fine (top and bottom) but I replaced them anyway. End result - a still dead monitor and a planned trip to the store to buy a Dell or Viewsonic monitor. How the mightly have fallen! Was a time when HP was the Cadillac of instrument and computer equipment - not any more.

Roland.

Anonymous said...

I had the same problem with my hp vs19e, it has 1000u/10v for all 3 caps, replaced with 25v pv rating from scarp power suply, is up and runing again.

Thanks to MD Schemidt

Mark R said...

thanks a lot for posting this fix. Is is abnormal for a little smoke and a slight electrical smell to come from the vents at the top when you turn it on for the first time after the repair? It was very little smoke, just barely noticable. I used the same part number caps as in the instructions.
Thanks

MD Schmidt said...

Umm, magic smoke coming out of anything is usually not a good sign. If the smell has dissipated and isn't consistently coming back, and if the monitor works fine, then it might be OK. The only concern would be of something else shorting/burning while it's left on, so my recommendation would be to turn it off while not in use, and if you smell something again, maybe crack the case open and take a look. When I originally did the fix, I didn't smell any electrical burning or see any smoke, so be careful.

Mark R said...

ok thanks. I've been watching it and we dont leave it on when we arent the room for that reason. It did have that electrical burnt smell right at the start with the faint smoke. It is working and will turn on and off like it should. I'll keep an eye on it over the weekend and keep it unpluged when we aren't home unitil I feel its ok.

Anyone else run into this?

Xtina said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I run three of these vs17e monitors on my computer in a 3 sceen setup and the third one went black today. I found this blogg tonight and decided to open the monitor and have a look. My guts are different, one big board that required complete dissasembly to get to. Sure enough two caps are oozing out the top and the third is close to it. I am going to buy 9 capacitors so I have extras on hand to fix the other two monitors when they stop working. Thanks for the instructions.

Anonymous said...

It worked. I replaced the three caps and now my third screen is up and running. The Radioshack capacitors are 35 volt rather than the origional 10 volt, so I am guessing the problem is fixed for good.

Thanks so much for the repair info. I am leaving you a $25 donation for your time and effort.

Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

I've never worked on a and integrated circuit before, but I followed your directions and I'm using my HP v219d monitor right now. Thank you kindly.

Anonymous said...

It appears I have the same problem as you did...........am about to tackle it. Thanks for posting a solution...........may I ask what kind of engineer you are?

MD Schmidt said...

Sure, I have bachelor degrees in Mechanical and Electrical engineering and am currently completing a Masters in Electrical. My job, however, is likely very different than most engineers: I commercialize advanced stage research, so I have to know a good deal about everything. Some days I do CAD all day long, some I design and prototype hardware, and others I write code. Keeps me on my toes!

Glad you found the post helpful. Good luck in tackling it and let me know how it goes.

mld_twiceborn said...

what happens when the piece in the computer that looks like tape or the strap the doctor would put on your arm comes detached from the circuit board? How do i put it back?

MD Schmidt said...

Um, I'd need a picture of some sorts to diagnose the problem for sure. It's been a while since I've done this, so I don't really recall any tape. I hope you're not referring to a ribbon connector!

mld_twiceborn said...

Ok Mr MD schmidt I replaced the capacitors but this is where I need help....right behind the monitor is three things that keep it attached to the board I know where the wires P101-P104 go what came detached was this wire that looks like tape P-TWO 6712300018PC1 0610. I have know idea where it came detached from or how to put it back...it has me stumped. Do you know where it might go?

mld_twiceborn said...

how do I send a pic

mld_twiceborn said...

yeah i think that it is the ribbon connector

Alan Duda said...

Hey there MD! Steve Baltimore posted a comment about a white gum-like substance that looks like it's been sporadically oozing out of various parts of the board. I just pulled my buddy's screen apart and found the same thing.

I uploaded a picture from my phone, maybe you or someone else has any suggestions about what to replace?

http://alan.sitelydevelopment.com/oozin.jpg

I can use an actual camera instead of my phone and get close-ups if anyone needs them.

Thanks for the tutorial either way!

Alan Duda said...

OH, after a little bit of googling I'm realizing that 'white gum' is intentional and it helps to keep the parts from touching each other...I've never tinkered with anything like this if you couldn't tell already haha.

That cluster of three looks to be bulging for sure, I'll make a Radio Shack trip and we'll see what happens!

Anonymous said...

Hi my monitor was having the same problemwith my hp vs19e as the rest of them and i was searching for a solution on the web and I found your solution and i figured what heck what have i got to lose about $5.00 so i went and got the caps and put them in and wala it works awesome...THANKS SO MUCH FOR SUCH INSTRUCTIONS.Dave

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I've been having a similar problem with my benq FP737s monitor. Any advice on whether I should give this method a go?
Thanks,
PT.

MD Schmidt said...

PT,

I've never tried it on a different monitor, but if it exhibits the same type problem, then I'd say give it a go. If you're going to throw it out any way, you've got nothing to lose. If you decide to try it, post back with your results, if you don't mind.

Good luck!

Anonymous said...

I fixed my HP vs17e with your instructions and it's working fine. Thank you. It was a little different (?trickier) to get to the circuit board compared to your model and I accidentally disconnected the ribbon wire connecting the circuit board to the screen. It was difficult getting the ribbon wire reconnected correctly - it took two tries. Thanks again.

MD Schmidt said...

I actually just got my hands on a busted vs19e, so to help those of you with this version of the monitor, I will be adding an update to the post to include pictures and instructions. Just have to find the time to sit down and do it. Stay tuned!

Anonymous said...

I have this exact same problem but with the vs17x and i have now accessed the board and changed the three bad capacitors ,now the ligh blue is gone and my power button lights up, but the screen is blank,not dark,not black ,only blank,any sugestions?
Many thanks for the great instructions on replacing capacitors.

julie said...

Thank you thank you thank you! I also followed your instructions and saved my mother's 19 inch monitor from the dump! Cost me $2.50 for 3 capacitors.

TG.scaR said...

Just did this on an HP vs19d. The insides looked a little different but the problem was the same. Works perfectly now =D

You should add the photos from that guy's flikr account to the tutorial. They were also helpful.

ellgee said...

Like all others, replaced capacitors but..they're a little bigger and when circuit board put back in place, the capacitors touched the other side of the metal box (again, slightly different internal architecture) and I had difficuly desoldering. When all put back together, it drew too much power and broke my household circuit breaker (but did not blow internal fuse). I didn't think these electronics could draw that much power. Put spacers on the posts to move circuit board away from the other side of the box so capacitors aren't touching the box (thinking I'm having a grounding problem) but same results. Ideas?

MD Schmidt said...

Yikes ellgee, that's never good to hear. Since I can't actually look at the board, most of this is conjecture, but it might point you in the right direction. It would seem to me that something on your board is shorting to ground, causing a current pull through the monitor that is enough to trip the breaker. I would have thought the monitor would have built in protection against this, but my experience is limited to just the issue of replacing the caps.

I would be concerned that either your capacitors are shorting (which means just moving the board away from the metal box wouldn't solve it, you'd need new caps), or, more likely, there's some other problem area on the board that's causing it to fail.

When you start pulling that much current, it starts to be worrisome, and the device just may be unsafe to use. If it were me (since I'm not a certified electrician and don't claim to be), I'd scrap it. Most the people I've talked to haven't had any current spikes like that, which indicates a more complex (and dangerous) problem.

If you do decide to proceed, do so with extreme caution. I can't take responsibility for anything here, as it's just for "informational purposes".

Anonymous said...

Just performed this on the vs17 series monitor. Got it up and running! Got the caps from Parts Express (www.partsexpress.com) for 67 cents a capacitor. So it seems like the entire vs series has a problem with those capacitors- if you have one, please feel free to take the time to change them out, It'll pay in the long run. The caps are C822, C823, and C824. Thanks large for the info!

MD Schmidt said...

Thanks for the update about the vs19e monitor. I've posted a fix-tutorial for this one as well.

http://boredprojects.blogspot.com/2009/09/hpvs19e-monitor-fix.html

Unknown said...

Same problem here....replaced the caps with 35v versions from Radio Shack, a tight fit in the model I had but they squeezed in. Powered the baby up and success.
I love sharing info like this on the internet, I do it whenever i can...recently shared an oil cooler o-ring experience and a heater control fix on my wifes Nissan Quest. What comes around goes around....keep sharing good info.

Anonymous said...

Had the same problem with HP vs19b.
Replaced all 3 capacitors and repaired my monitor in under 3 dollars. Thanks for the info.

Anonymous said...

For the guy who said the screen was blank after replacing the caps...the 4 wires that goes to the screen are crossed up.

Anonymous said...

I have done exactly what you described here a number of times on close to a dozen monitors. One has to use caution not to add to much solder to the new caps. The white or yellow material some people see between the caps is simply a filler to hold the heavy caps to protect from vibration in shipment. I just fixed a $600 dollar 36 inch wide screen with the same problem, that was 6 months old. A couple small drops of clear silicone caulking performs the same job, if your caps are mounted on the usual cheap jap boards.

cheap computers said...

It's because the Laptops,Cameras, LCD TV is 1 of the best buy this year! I guess most of Singaporean knows what i mean.

Unknown said...

Hi There,
I've the exact same problem.
Opened the monitor and have it laid out.
The four 680uf-25v caps are blown.
I need to remove the board to work on those.
There is one big ribbon type cable(bunch of wires) on one side and 4 smaller (white and blue) wires on the other.
How do I disconnect these to get to the bottom of the board?
the 680 caps are located at the center of the board and are tricky to get to. I can't even figure out their leads with out taking the board out... please please help

Unknown said...

Thanks for the awesome instructions and pictures. I was able to fix my monitor. I had 4, 680 caps blown.

I disconnected the four connectors(these have 2 wires each and run through the metal cover) on one side of the board and flipped the board over. It was a lot easier to un solder and solder on the replacement caps.

The leads from the original caps were bent over and soldered. I had a friend help me get them off. He held the caps with a needle nose pliers and pulled gently as I applied the hot iron on the other side.

I've a working monitor now. Thank you all.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
2 of our 3 our capacitors were slightly oozing a copper color out the top.
Never soldered before, followed the directions here, plus the additional links:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xpontius/sets/72157608648155236/ and
http://www.instructables.com/id/SHRDYXIFGFRD4YJ/
and our monitor is back to life. Had a larger soldering iron at home, bought the smaller one at Radio Shack that came with the solder wire and we are up and running for $10!

Thank you so much MD Schmidt for keeping our planet green and adding to my do-it-yourself list of accomplishments!

Susan & Stacie

Anonymous said...

AWSOME ! My monitor was doing the same thing and even with the differences in some of the areas your instructions still guided me to victory. 5.00 for capacitors off ebay, 7.00 for soldering kit from radio shack, 20 minutes and you made a man who has never soldered in his entire life look like a frikin genius, thank you. My 42.00 (total cost) ebay find is exquisite.

mentor46 said...

Mr. Schmitt,
I posted the following back on 11/16/2009 on your vs19e blog: "I'm following your instructions in an attempt to repair a vs15c. I'm at the step where the front plastic trim plate is removed and now I need to remove the LCD from the case. Are there any fasteners holding the LCD in place that need to be removed? Or is the LCD just supposed to "pop out?"
What I found on the VS15C are two screws about 1" apart on the bottom end of the monitor, in the center, attaching the sheet metal structure (which holds the LCD and electronics) to the plastic case; these had to be removed. Then, on the top left and right of the LCD frame were two plastic hooks that fit into slots on the frame; these had to be bent outward slightly to release the LCD frame.
The only evidence I see of damaged caps is that C822 and C824 are bulging slightly at the "X" vent on the top. Many of the articles on this post mention 3 (THREE) capacitors that usually fail and need replacing. Can you advise the reference designator of the 3rd capacitor please? BTW, I got my capacitors from Digi-Key. They have a great selection of mfgs, ratings, sizes, and reasonable prices. I was able to select 1000 uF, 16V caps with the same diameter and same lead spacing as C822 and C824, and a height that was no more than the tallest cap on the board. Shipping was reasonable too. I highly recommend them to others applying this fix.

Anonymous said...

I just fixed my monitor HP vs 19after following your steps. I can weld tube bumpers,roof racks,etc. But i have never done a soldering job. I have to say "AWSOME POST" THANK YOU VERY MUCH..
dual heat soldering iron $10.99
.032 silver-bearing solder $ 3.89
capacitors each $ 1.57
i used 3 capacitors
total $21.30
plus a small burn on my finger, my mistake no big deal.

MD Schmidt said...

Haha, wear the burn with pride my friend. Minor price to pay for the feeling of accomplishment you get when you fix something yourself, especially if it's your first time in that line of work.

Good job!

Anonymous said...

On shut down did a MS install on some MS updates. Came back later and computer had NOT shut down, MONITOR screen was flashing, the rasters alternating white to color, etc, screen gone nuts. Shut is off manually.

Next day my HP vs19D screen was dark on start up. Upon rebooting, the blue light is blinking and a "pop" sound in the speakers like a stuck record for every blink.

I thought the computer had crashed or had a virus again. Hooked up an old tube type NEC XV17 and the computer was ok.

Now, on reboot, the blue light initially does NOT flash...then after plugging and unplugging power cord and computer cable, the blue light finally flashes.

OK, 5+ minutes wait and get the "video cable disconnected" message. Plug the video cable back in and monitor is working.

Monitor, once up, will stay on all day. But, cycle the computer off/on go through it all again.

Wouldn't there be NOTHING if the caps had failed?

I have tried to reinstall drivers.

Does monitor need a signal from the computer to stay up? Can't I just leave the monitor on if I set computer so the monitor never sleeps or turns off?

Somehow seems not consistent with symptoms others had. Once the monitor is on, why can't I just leave it on?

thanks

Pete

Anonymous said...

Eureka!!! It worked!

MD, I replaced 2 1000uf 10volt capacitors with a 35 volt cap from Radio Shack. Same piece you used I think. (part 272-1032) Price $1.59.

My HPvs19d was purchased in November of 2006. The insides were quite different from yours. The removable covers in the circuit bosrd boxes are gone. The entire chassis/back is one metal stamping. There are 2 sliding covers to get access to screen plugs and the ribbon plug.

The circuit board has about 8 phillips screws to remove to get it away from the metal chassis. I unplugged the 4 small screen feed connectors and the two small "switches cb" connectors.

Did NOT remove the large "ribbon", connector going to the screen.

Once it out the ONE circuit board seems to have fewer components. There were 2 slightly swollen caps...one the VERY same one as yours, #284 on board I think.

Only replaced two...they were side by side. The white "shock absorber" stuff did not stick to them, the rest looked ok.

Do have some one help if you can as it is a pain to get the entire thing back together by yourself.

Worked perfrectly.

The soldering "copper mesh" to wick the solder joint clean was a GREAT idea.

I needed a small metric wrench to remove the signal plug from the chassis, shorty phillips head screw driver to loosen the circuit board, nothing else unusual.

Thanks for the great idea.

Pete M.

DanielT said...

ok so i opened my hp19e and like you said i was looking for 3 bad caps.. there were to boards that i was looking for the bad caps and i just couldnt find any bad ones [ i know how they look] i looked at both sides of the board and i couldnt find any shorts or partial shorts.. everything seems to be fine and i turn it on and 2 sec after it blacks out.. someone has same problems ?!

Anonymous said...

The same or better capacitors can be bought on Ebay for less. About $1.20 for 6 of them plus shipping. Mine was $6 total. I did this for a 19" and 17" HP monitor but had CapXcom capacitors in them. The same 3 blew on both models. I didn't know about this thread though until after I fixed the blown caps. I just got lucky. Both monitors where thrown out by a local school one. Both now work like new. CapXcom capacitors are horrible.

Anonymous said...

Hienoa!
Näytössäni oli aivan vastaava vika, ja seuraamalla ohjeitanne sain näytön taas toimimaan.

t. VP

Anonymous said...

My wife's computer when black about 11 a.m. on Christmas day. Within two hours I had it back up and running using your instructions. There was no cost since I was able to pull good caps from a junk board I had in my barn. Thanks!!

Anonymous said...

Please add a warning that capacitors may have left over charge - I saw pretty big spark when I accidentally touched both terminals. Other than that your procedure has also worked great for me on HPVS17x monitor. I only gave myself about a 10% chance of doing the soldering right, getting the polarity right, taking it all apart and putting it all back together without breaking something else but thanks to this post I did it. I wish like automobiles, HP could be forced to do a recall - I'm saddened by the waste of how many of these monitors must have ended up in landfills. Anyway, thanks much and I will send along my contribution.

Anonymous said...

hi,i keep reading your blog over & over just to make sure i'm doing everything right. i'm very technically challenged! ok, my hp vs17e has the burned out cap thingys (yes i managed to get the cover off & actually take out the 3 oozing caps) but now i dont know about the soldering part. cant i just use crazy glue or silicone? i really dont feel safe after the 2nd degree burns i suffered today by picking up the wrong end of the solder thing. please, i know i'm a klutz..... thats why i'm anonymous!

MD Schmidt said...

Hey anonymous, sorry to hear about the injuries. Unfortunately, crazy glue won't work, you need the solder to make an electrical connection with the traces connected to the pin holes.

My suggestion would be to ask a friend if you aren't comfortable with the soldering iron. The fix is pretty easy, but the odd angle you have to work at makes the soldering a little less straight forward.

Anonymous said...

hi again, thanks for quick response. i just have to accept that i cant get around soldering. this is my 2nd monitor in 3 yrs so my fear of failure & having to replace another one is really high. i'm using a big old compaq monitor from 1998. boy am i glad i didnt throw that out! reading all these success stories gave me confidence to take the thing apart & buy the caps,solder thing etc. but i balk at actually attempting the repair. i seem to be a serial monitor killer. hp vs17e will live again! whatever happens, i'll let u know. this is a great source for info anyway. has anyone ever heard of something called 'liquid solder"?

pcollenFL said...

I started experiencing similar problems with my HP vs19d monitor, and decided to open it up and inspect the caps. My monitor did NOT have the same hardware configuration as shown in these photos..I only have one single large PC board with power, video, and sound all integrated on this one board. The 100 uF 10Vdc caps are more closely spaced, and all showed signs of bulging/venting and so I managed to squeeze three new 1000 uF, 35 Vdc caps into the narrow confines previously occupied by the 10Vdc caps and now my monitor is working like new...

pcollenFL said...

Correction to my earlier post...caps were NOT 100 uF 10Vdc, but were 1000 uF 10Vdc. Replaced by 1000 uF 35Vdc (Radio Shack p/n 272-1032 @ $1.59 each)

Ythill said...

Another success story, but I'm mainly commenting to add some advice. If it doesn't work on the first try, don't give up: I took my vs17x apart four times tonight, but now it's working. Here are some things I learned:

If your ribbon cable comes out, gently pry up the black bar and slide it back in, then push the bar down firmly. The printed side of the ribbon should face toward the printed side of the board (the solder side). If your screen flashes white and then black, you have the ribbon cable in backwards.

Check your solder points carefully after they cool. A magnifying glass is very helpful. If they are dull gray or visibly cracked, remove the solder and do them again. Google "cold solder" for ways to avoid this problem.

And make sure you replace the metal tape! It's more important than it looks. If it's lost some of its stickiness you can put regular electrical tape over it to hold it in place.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great instructions. We're elbow deep into our monitor and are having a hard time picking out any busted capacitors. Two are slightly bulged and we will replace those.

Just to cover all bases, how can you tell if the fuse is blown? Ours is opaque white. We can't see inside. Does that mean it is blown?

MD Schmidt said...

I can't exactly recall what my fuse looked like, but I do not think the opaque color of the glass indicates it is blown. If you really think it could be a fuse problem, you can look for a fuse tester, or a multimeter set to continuity mode should be able to indicate if it is still intact.

I thought the same thing the first time I took mine apart, that it might just be the fuse. My recommendation is to replace any of the suspicious caps and give it a try. If it still doesn't work, test your fuse.

Getoninja said...

last Friday 2/19/10 my brother came home with a like new HP vs17x. I was so excited to test it out and then told me he got it for free at a garage sale after buying a water cooler from the owner. I was like, awesome for free and basically like new. So, I hook it to my PC and nothing. All got was a the blue light from the power button and faint sound from the speakers. Then I was really bummed out, espically since whats wrong and about fixing monitors. So, I take my search on Google. Find this blog about the problem with the capacitors. I figure why not, lets bust this thing open and hope it can be the Caps. After following the great visual instructions, the caps on my monitor were also damaged. Cool, found the problem, next issue I never Solder. If I try soldering I might waist money but if I succeed, only cost me about $5 for the Caps. Next day (Sat) I go to Radioshack for the 3 caps at $1.59 each and a solder set for $7.99 (the one I had at home had huge tip). Once I was home I started. (forget eveything else I want to do this asap, kinda like going to the dentist the sooner the better). Removing the first Cap with the soldering tool was a pain and tricky but I figured out a trick. By the time I got to second Cap I had no problems. Then came the actual soldering. I was very careful and clean, and in he process I accidentally burnt my left figure garbing the metal part of the soldering tool. 20mins later I was done!! Finally the time has come to test the monitor. Was my time, effort, money and burnt left finger worth the repair? Well......yes it was!!! It was like Xmas all over agian. The monitor works like a charm. All I spent was like $5.00 for Caps. Like paying 45 for the monitor,. The Solder tool doesnt count, I needed one already, hehe.
But I want to say major thanks to this Blog. this rocks so hard!!!!

Anonymous said...

I can't believe it worked.

My monitor looked way different on the inside and I had to unscrew every single screw in order to get to the caps.

Thanks for the post!

//Lars

PS. HP should burn in hell for selling this useless piece of hardware.

riget said...

I have the vs17e, with the works for 3 seconds problem, I opened it up but all the caps look good, I changed the 3 that is said to change plus another 2, but the monitor is still the same.
Anyone know what could be the problem, could another cap be gone, but none show signs of leakage or bulging.
Thanks
pete.

Anonymous said...

I have a vs17e that a friend give me, he got it along the road. It would power on,the blue light would stay on. The picture would stay on for 3 sec.I didn't have anything look bad in mine. I replaced the 3,tried it,same thing.Tore it apart and stared replacing some smaller caps. I found one that had real light brown on the bottom.220uf 25v close to the biggest one.Was pretty sure I found the problem. Still the same. Tore it apart right away and while everything was warm and I could smell just a trace of something. What smelled was the big cap 100uf 450v. Replaced that. PROBLEM SOLVED. It works now, stays on. All the parts came from old boards out of tv's and monitors that I've had for years.

Ed said...

Thank you. I sent a donation. Your instructions worked perfectly, and my monitor is again working (though now as a spare since a bought a new Acer to replace it not knowing what a simple fix it was.) Thanks for sharing.

MD Schmidt said...

No problem Ed, glad you found the instructions useful. Oddly enough, you're scenario sounds exactly like mind. After the HP died and before I fixed it, I did the same thing and bought a new Acer. Always nice to have a spare and keep some junk out of the landfill though. And thanks for the donation.

Evan said...

Can't thank you enough for the advice. I Googled troubleshooting tips and the first thing that popped up was this blog. I have never tinkered with a circuit board before and my first attempt was a complete success. $5.11 later I have a perfectly functional lcd monitor! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Digital Neptune said...

You rock dude. Picked up a free monitor at a yard sale. It wasn't working. Found your page. $4.86 spent on ebay for 4 caps and 3 days shipping later and the monitor is working great. Learned how to identify a bad capacitor and how to replace it. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

thanks to this page i was able to fix the vs17x with only replacing 3 caps that i had from an old power supply, total cost was $2.16 and that was for the monitor itself from a pawn shop! i have also repaired a vs19e doing the same thing, replacing 3 caps. so far i have 2 working monitors for a total of less than $10! it pays to be smart enough to fix something if it is simple like this, thank you again!!!

Ralph Willey said...

I replaced the capacitors however after putting everything back together the screen is either all white or all black when the power is on.
There is a ribbon cable on the back of the LCD. One end goes into the LCD where does the other end go - it doesn't seem to be connected to anything???

Thanks,
Rwilley@bellsouth.net

Unknown said...

Michael,

Thanks very much for the advice! I've followed it, had to replace 2 (bulged) capacitors only and now it works like a charm.

Dan

Anonymous said...

I'm an Electronics Tech x29 years. - THAT APPLICATION -REQUIRES- LOW ESR CAPACITORS. - RADIO SHACK DOES -NOT- CARRY OR SELL LOW ESR CAPACITORS. - As such your 'fix' is temporary.

MD Schmidt said...

Thank you for your insight Anonymous.

1. This "fix", temporary or not, has worked so far for me and others. It's saved a good piece of hardware from going to the junk heap, and it's saved people some money.

2. Claiming to be an expert in the field of electronics and touting that this application requires the use of low ESR caps without any explanation of why doesn't do much for the credibility of your cause.

For those that are wondering, low Equivalent Series Resistance caps have less loss than higher ESR capacitors. They are generally required in high efficiency applications.

Verdict: Low ESR capacitors are more expensive than the middle-of-the-road ESR types they sell at Radio Shack. Since this is the real world, you'll have to balance for yourself the increased cost (and probably shipping) of the better caps against the ones you can get immediately from Radio Shack.

My Radio Shack caps have worked fine in all the monitors I've fixed. If they all happen to pop again, I might try the low ESR ones, just to see how they perform. I have no idea what the ESR of the original caps were, and that may have very well caused the problem with the HP monitors in the first place.

To anonymous: I do sincerely appreciate your tip. In the future, explain your position without touting how long you've worked in the industry, because that means nothing to me. And for God's sake, turn off CAPS LOCK.

Thom Luinenburg said...

I don't know my ESR from an EKG, and a few days ago I didn't even know what a capacitor was.
But a search on ebay, $4.49 later for some Nippon KZE low ESR capacitors I am back in business, with two capacitors too spare.
Loved the repair so much did it to a Phillips TV on the side of the road.
Wish I could donate to your cause, but if I had that kind of money, I'd have bought a new TV.

MD Schmidt said...

Haha, thanks James. I'm glad you found some inexpensive low ESR caps. Good to know the same fix is easily applied to TV's as well.

Anonymous said...

A real great instruction. I've successfully reanimated my HP vs19b from 2006 based on your instruction. Gratulation. That has cost me 1.5 Euros and saved me about 200 bucks.
Greetings from Vienna, Austria

MD Schmidt said...

Thanks anonymous, glad to hear you got it up and running, and saved yourself some euros.

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for this! Even though my hubby has a degree in electronics, I had to beg him to open my monitor to see what the problem was. He just wanted to buy a new one, but I had read your post and insisted that he follow your directions. $6 and 500 humble pies later, my hubby has fixed my monitor and works just like new! Thanks again!

Anonymous said...

Worked great, had to replace a couple different capacitors though. Thanks for all the information and keep up the great work.

jeffmcc said...

@linda the same thing happened to me

Anonymous said...

Low ESR capacitance issue.

As with Scopes: check your facts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrolytic_capacitor

Section = Electrical behavior of electrolytics

"Low ESR capacitors are imperative for high efficiencies in power supplies. Low ESR capacitance can sometimes lead to 'destructive' LC voltage spikes when exposed to voltage transients."

Looks like the real problem with HP's capacitors is their use of Low ESR capacitors to meet power consumption targets.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your site. I just replaced 2 680uf 16v capacitors in my HP vs17. They were alot more difficult to get to than the vs19 you demonstrated on but non the less I did it. While praying to GOD most of the time.

I couldn't get the desolderer to work so i wallowed the hole out with a safety pin while heating it. That was the only trouble.


Thanks again for saving me the price of a new monitor. Especialy in todays economy. I'm sending alittle your way.

mer1966@bellsouth.net
iwonattit4tats@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

The Dreaded Capacitor Plague. I have fixed pobably 20 of this model monitor because of the defective Taiwanese Caps they used. Literally every company that makes or brands flat panels had similar Capacitor problems, so try not to beat HP up too badly. Nice job on the repair hints. I would like to make a suggestion. Rather than use a flat blade screwdriver to remove the bezel I use Guitar Picks, they are rounded, about the same hardness as the plastic case and if you slip with one you don't scratch the monitor casing or put a nasty gash in your finger. Otherwise, great job.

Carlos said...

Thanks for the instructions. I successfully repaired an HP vs17 by replacing two blown out capacitors.

Again, thanks a lot for sharing!

Unknown said...

Thanks much! Worked like a charm!

Anonymous said...

Woke up this morning to a dead HP VS19b monitor. This was exactly what the problem was. 2 of the 3 caps were bad. I replace all three of them and the monitor is back to life! Thank you for this write up!!

Unknown said...

I had the exact same problem with my vs17d monitor! I followed your instructions and as it turns out, the exact same three caps are blown! I'll get my supplies tomorrow to fix it, and I (hopefully) will have a working monitor again! Thanks! :D

Anonymous said...

Well i couldn't find any damaged capacitors. but one of the users Alex above said to heat it up with a hair dryer . i didn't have a hair dryer so i put my monitor in the sun and after 35-45 minutes in sun , it starts working . can anyone tell me which component should i replace that is responding to heating ?

Anonymous said...

Isn't there a problem with using general purpose capacitors (rated for 85 deg C) instead of using low-ESR capacitors (rated for 105 deg C)?

Anonymous said...

Followed your directions, Now im typing on the monitor. Will donate when my budget allows

Gunnaz said...

I had the same problems listed above. Purchased the 3 capacitors from Radioshack as well as all other supplies. Everything totaled under $20. Put in some time and work and next thing you know its working again! Take you very much for putting up this guide and hope that HP learns not to put in anymore cheap parts.

TorqueMaster said...

Mr. Schmidt,

I'm, about to try this repair on an HP vs19b, but got to wondering WHY do these caps pop in the first place? Are they truly el-cheapo parts that fail quickly? Are Radio Shack parts any better? Are the originals rated for too low of a voltage or temperature? I see the Radio Shack replacements are rated 85C, whereas the originals were 105C. I suppose the answer lies in the answer to this: Has anyone had to re-replace the Radio Shack capacitors because they also eventually failed?

Thanks for the informative blog!

MD Schmidt said...

@TorqueMaster -

I am honestly not certain what causes the HP caps to fail so frequently. I have not had any problems with any of the monitors I've repaired, and they have all been done with Radio Shack capacitors. There has been some discussion amongst these comments about using low-ESR capacitors. I used what was readily available (RadioShack), but if you're able to wait and want to spend a little more, it looks like commenter 'James' found some Nippon KZE low ESR capacitors on ebay for ~$5. I've never had one of my RadioShack ones fail though, so I can't really compare the standard caps to the low ESR caps.

TorqueMaster said...

If the Radio Shack parts are holding up for up to 3 years now, that's a good sign. Research says that the low ESR may prevent the caps from creating too much internal heat, thereby shortening their lifespan -- so if a plane jane RS part made it 3 years, ESR does not seem too critical.

I went with Digi-Key because they offer 1st Class postage on small orders. Found a Panasonic 1000uF that is the same size (10mm dia x 16mm H), rated for 16V, ripple current of 1.79A, lifetime 8000 hours at 105C. Other options had ripple currents as low as 0.56A, and lifetimes as low as 1000 hours at 105C or 2000 hours at 85C.

Unless HP really dropped the ball and used caps rated for the wrong voltage (where 35V covers it, but 16V won't), this Digi-Key part will likely outlast the un-spec'd Radio Shack part by a good margin.

Part is P14398-ND and delivered price looks to be about $5 for 3 of them. :)

I'll follow-up when they are installed.

TorqueMaster said...

Follow-up as promised. Three new caps installed. Two old ones were bulging and slightly leaky, third looked ok but replaced anyway. Monitor now powers up! Delivered price was actually $4.12. :)

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Bronzen said...

I have a brand new HP Monitor VS19b. I bought it off ebay and it was made in 2007. I took it out of the box and it never powered on. I will be getting refund, but since I have been working on computers for years, I thought I would give this monitor a shot. Does anyone have the schematics for this monitor and can someone tell me where the "fuse" is? Thanks Bronzen1@yahoo.com

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Anonymous said...

Fixed a HP vs19b using your instructions, thanks! Thought I'd messed up the soldering, but it worked even after the worst solder job known to man. If after you connect it to a computer you see the colours are a bit off, then you have to open it up again and check out the video ribbon cable, you've prob. partially pulled it out.

Anonymous said...

Your instructions helped a lot, now i have a working monitor! :D
Thank you!!

Freak said...

That is exactly the problem I had with my HP VS17 monitor. Works great after following your post...Thanks a lot!!!

Anonymous said...

Replaced those Caps, now up and running.
Brilliant!
Many thanks for this tip.

Bill said...

My monitor was just sitting in the corner, it had no power at all. So I used an other one and speakers that I had laying around. I tried to find a new one from HP and they told me they didn't make them anymore. Everyone I called tried to sell me a new computer. Then I read your Blogger. I called Radio Shack in Royal Palm Beach and asked them if they had the caps I needed. Brandon who answered the phone, told me he didn't have the 10V, but he did have 30V caps. When I got there he offered to put them in for me at a charge of $15. He did the whole thing in 2 hours. Today I pluged it in and it's working GREAT! By the way I gave Brandon (a hard working young man working his way through collage) more than he asked for because he was so good to me. However I would have never known, had I not found this site. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Anonymous said...

My blue power light would not turn on and I was ready to put the HP vs19d in the trash. But this fix worked perfectly. Only two of the 3 caps showed signs of oozing but at only $1.69 each at Radio Shack I replaced all 3. After all, labor cost is far greater than parts cost. For about 5 bucks, my monitor now works. Solder wick (braid) works best for removing bad caps. I've got over 50 years experience repairing circuit boards but still learned something new here. I hope many of the grateful respondents like myself donate 10, 15 or 25 dollars to demonstrate their gratitude.

paulsk said...

I had the same problem with a HP vs19b monitor. Googled and found this blog from "Bored Engineer". I found 2 electrolytic capacitors that were blown up. Replaced them. Monitor works again for many months. Thank you.

Today tried to repair a vs19b monitor from a friend. Had to replace 3 suspectable elco´s (C822, 823 and 824). After replacing, the blue power led stays on, instead of blinking. But the screen only comes on for 2 seconds and goes then black. This effect repeats when switching the monitor off and ON again. Power supply board no: 6832172000P03 PTB-1720 of 07/12 ´06
Advises are welcome

Unknown said...

Wow, thank you so much. Like some of the others that posted, my 19e had one box instead of two, which made taking it apart a challenge. And as for anyone thinking about doing this, I've never used a solder, but after watching some how to's on youtube and after picking up some supplies at Radio Shack I got it fixed in a few hours. Thanks again for the info. I've avoided having to replace my monitor and it cost me less than $30.

Anonymous said...

Excellent instructions - on the dot!!! I was about to throw my monitor away - BTW this is a bad quality HP monitor, early on I had its fuse blown and now it was these capacitors....spent about 2 hours to hunt old working ones from my electronic junk and replaced.....works great now!!!

Unknown said...

HP2009f.... went blank on a deadline day when i had to deliver an art work for a client... saved me man! thanks a ton... two popped capacitors.. although you might want to say that soldering is not the hardest part, opening the covers are ! :D

Edie Jams said...

it was very successful 2008HP vs19d Fix circuit and further very useful technology thanks for share this post.

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