Monitor flicker + black screen on startup

Drhankeey · 12 Jan 2014

Hey guys, just got a problem recently with my LCD monitor. It's a fairly old one (Acer 17"inch) and I'm suspecting that it's simply dying on me.

The problem is that whenever I power on my monitor, the screen flickers on for a second and then immediately off. Probably something with the backlight. The power button stays on but the whole screen is black. I usually try it a couple of times to power on/off and eventually it will work and then as long as my monitor stays powered on everything works as normal.

Sometimes especially (I think) when my heater is on in my room, it seems it works almost immediately or very quickly. But when it's cold it can take up to 5 min or longer to finally work. I'm not sure if it could be something based on the temperature, but I have no doubt it's something with the starter/backlight.

A quick google suggests that a dying monitor would usually flicker when it's on (backlight problems), but I don't have this at all. If I get my monitor on, then it works fine. The only problem seems to be something with the starter, but I'm not sure exactly what. Perhaps it's just getting old?

Is it worth to try and repair it? Or should I just wait it out until I can no longer get it to work and then just buy a new monitor?

badger906 · 12 Jan 2014

lcd monitors have very few replaceable parts. infact one of the few replaceable parts is the back light in some models.
however its a tricky job and normally costs more than a new monitor.
older lcd monitors use a type of fluorescent light, these tend to have a life span. the fact youve noticed there's a corrilation between temp could point to a dying capacitor that only works efficiently when warm.

if you shine a torch on the monitor when it is flashing/dark you should just about be able to see whats being displayed. this will point the finger at the back light being the culprit.

personally id treat yourself to a nice new monitor.
when you can get the liyama E2278HD-GB1 for around £100 ($100 as us brits get stiffed on import taxes) youll not only gain 5 inces but also get a cracking budget monitor with the quality of a more costly one

Britton30 · 12 Jan 2014

Welcome to Seven forums Drhankeey.

If possible connect the monitor to another PC to test it. If the problem remains it is the monitor. If not, it may be your GPU, the connectors on it or the monitor, or the cable being used.

Mellon Head · 12 Jan 2014

It isn't worth it to repair a 17 inch monitor, if you can find a backlight for it at all. You would be farther ahead to purchase a new LED monitor.

It sounds like the driver for the LCD backlight, or the backlight itself is going. I have replaced them in the past, but it's a tough job getting the old backlights out and new ones in without wrecking the monitor completely. If it's the driver board, I don't recommend changing out components because of the high voltages involved. If you don't have a good knowledge of electronics, you could cause a problem more serious than what you have now.

Again, my recommendation would be to simply buy a new monitor, but do as Britton30 has suggested, and try it on another PC first, to make sure it isn't the GPU that is causing the problem.

Drhankeey · 15 Jan 2014

Hey guys, thanks. I suppose it indeed isn't worth it to try and repair it, I did however see this site:
Inventgeek.com - LCD Backlight Repair - Overview
Which seems to be the thing to fix my monitor (quoting here what it said "As the bulbs get old they can have a hard time starting, lighting at all, flickering, or even putting out a strong pink colored light"). So it seems the bulb in my monitor is getting old, I believe atleast. But it's a lot of hassle for an already old monitor (1280x1024 max resolution isn't anything to write home about) and I have no idea where I could get the replacement parts near where I live.

So yea I guess it's time to buy a new monitor, unfortunately I'm pretty low on cash so I'll have to wait out a bit, let's hope my monitor will continue to work for the time being. Then maybe get an 21" inch monitor? I will do some research what's good + on budget.

Also I tried it on my laptop, it's not the GPU because the monitor has already a hard time starting on it's own (before it receives a signal it shows the Acer logo.. that is.. if the screen/backlight starts, so obvious that it's not a GPU problem).

Britton30 · 15 Jan 2014

Yes a nice wide screen monitor will be nice for you. the one you have is a 4:3 ratio, wide screens are 16:9 and show a lot more. Look for sales, they can be had for near $100 at times. Hopefully Israel has sales?

Drhankeey · 15 Jan 2014

Yea, hardware is usually a bit more expensive here then lets say in America though. Took a quick look and saw a 21.5" inch monitor for about 150 dollar (was the cheapest on that site), I'll look around more and see if I can get anything cheaper. A widescreen monitor would be a lot better then what I have now.