Problem with LCD monitor not turning until warmed up

[wwfmike]

I have had an Acer AL1913W for a few years and had a problem that no one, so far, has been able to help me with. When I first got it, I had to send it back and they fixed the inverter board because it would go off when it would overheat. Lately, when I turn on my computer, the monitor has to warm up before it will display an image. If I turn it off and on, it will flicker twice and then remain off. I have looked at the screen with a flashlight and the display is barely visible. It will only go on after enough time has passed to where it's warmed up. It takes a good 5-7 minutes now that the weather is cold. It only started doing this about 3 weeks ago. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[bob_c_b]

Sounds like another inverter board or lamp failure. The fact that it works after a warm up points to a lose connectoin/sauder failure somewhere, or the backlight hitting end of life. Honestly, three-five years is a good run for an inexpesive LCD from my experience.

[gnuman]

Sounds like the inverter board. If its less than 3 yrs old then you are still under Acer warranty. I suggest giving them a call so you can have it replaced.

[jagans]

  wwfmike said:

I have had an Acer AL1913W for a few years and had a problem that no one, so far, has been able to help me with. When I first got it, I had to send it back and they fixed the inverter board because it would go off when it would overheat. Lately, when I turn on my computer, the monitor has to warm up before it will display an image. If I turn it off and on, it will flicker twice and then remain off. I have looked at the screen with a flashlight and the display is barely visible. It will only go on after enough time has passed to where it's warmed up. It takes a good 5-7 minutes now that the weather is cold. It only started doing this about 3 weeks ago. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[jagans]

I am not a super electrician, but my opinion is that you have a power supply problem from power supply to your your video card to the monitor. I have read of many people bitching about ACER Monitors, and I dont know why Acer does not simply tell people to upgrade their power supplies. I have two acer LCD's that work great. I was driving my Acer AL2416W with an HP dx2000 that had a 250 watt supply and then tried to run it with the same video card in a dell Insp 530. No dice. Checked the 530 and it had a measly 130 watt power supply. I switched t out with a 350 watt ultra, and that did the trick. I also upgraded my video card to a PCIe V2 card with 512 Ram. (After the test, of course) It is working fine also.

Re the inverter, I think it would either work or not work, but I could be wrong on that one. Things that dont work until they are heated up usually point to a bad solder joint somewhere. ie expansion-contact, contraction, open.

Try to switch out your power supply with a known good larger one. FYI The ultra I bought was only 29 bucks from Tiger Direct, with a Lifetime Warranty!!! If you can go with more wattage, do it, but stick with a good make.

By the way, Dell no longer uses proprietary wired power supplies, thank God.

Good Luck, my friend.

[wwfmike]

I'm out of the warranty range. I checked that a few days ago.

The card I'm using is a GeForce FX 5700LE. I haven't done any major changes to the computer in a year or two and the power supply is, I believe, 350 watt. I haven't had any problems. I tried the monitor on my laptop and same result. I might have loosened a solder joint with compressed air. I'll have to take it apart and check the connections.

[Argote]

  jagans said:

I am not a super electrician, but my opinion is that you have a power supply problem from power supply to your your video card to the monitor. I have read of many people bitching about ACER Monitors, and I dont know why Acer does not simply tell people to upgrade their power supplies. I have two acer LCD's that work great. I was driving my Acer AL2416W with an HP dx2000 that had a 250 watt supply and then tried to run it with the same video card in a dell Insp 530. No dice. Checked the 530 and it had a measly 130 watt power supply. I switched t out with a 350 watt ultra, and that did the trick. I also upgraded my video card to a PCIe V2 card with 512 Ram. (After the test, of course) It is working fine also.

Re the inverter, I think it would either work or not work, but I could be wrong on that one. Things that dont work until they are heated up usually point to a bad solder joint somewhere. ie expansion-contact, contraction, open.

Try to switch out your power supply with a known good larger one. FYI The ultra I bought was only 29 bucks from Tiger Direct, with a Lifetime Warranty!!! If you can go with more wattage, do it, but stick with a good make.

By the way, Dell no longer uses proprietary wired power supplies, thank God.

Good Luck, my friend.

The PC's Power Supply DOES NOT have anything to do with his problem...

That is obvious because he can see the images being displayed but it's the backlight that is not turning on. As other have said it could be either a dying CCFL backlight or a cold soldering connection on the Inverter.

[wwfmike]

Hey everybody, thanks for all your help. I finally decided on buying a new monitor. It was definitely worth it. I didn't even realise the old monitor was freakin' 25ms!!

I decided on a LG Flatron W2252TQ. I got it at Circuit City for $239.99. I love it so far. Just need to fine tune it. I didn't realize there would be such a huge difference between 19" and 22".

Does anyone know where I can find an inverter for the Acer AL1913W? I want to fix it up to sell it or keep it as a backup.

[Argote]

Try eBay.

And congrats on the new monitor.