G07 monitor making clicking sound - no picture - FIXED

[jb143]

I have a 19" Electrohome G07 monitor that's making a clicking sound and no picture. The clicking is pretty regular and soulds like a clock...or a bomb but I'm hoping thats not the case. At first I thought it might be acring but I turned out all the lights and couldn't see any arcing anywhere. I also sounds like it could be a relay. For the degausing coil maybe?

The clicking is occasionally occompanied by a somewhat hard to see vertical bar for a second, then it shrinks to a more circular shape, then black again. It looks sort of like this but fainter...


then...

Does anyone know of any common problems that could cause this? I searched around on the net for a while and couldn't really find this exact problem so I thought I'd ask the experts on here before poking around myself.

Thanks for any help

[98PaceCar]

Possibly a cracked flyback?

I would be extremly careful with this as when the flyback on a G07 goes out the dummy lug stays charged. Discharging the anode will not drain this charge either.

[jb143]

I actually havn't physically checked for a cracked flyback yet. I was planning on doing that when I got home tonight. I didn't notice anything obvious looking around though. Would that cause the ticking though? Where would that be comming from? I only tested two of the fuses and they were ok but it looks like there's another one I didn't find.

I got the cabinet for cheap knowing it was dead and got the board to work. Everything seems to work fine but the monitor. The cabinet was originally a Space Fury converted to Ninja Gaiden so I know the monitor isn't original and can only assume that it was working since I can see very very faint burn in of 88 where the time goes in the game.

[98PaceCar]

Yea, the flyback will generally arc to the frame when it's cracked and you will hear that. It usually seems to have a rhythm to the ticking as well. Pretty common on this model.

[jb143]

I visually inspected the flyback and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Certainly not like the pics I saw online of other cracked G07 flybacks. I guess it could be arcing internally, which would explain why I didn't see anything with the lights out. Anything else I should look for?

[98PaceCar]

I'm not sure of anything more off the top of my head. Let me bounce it off of a friend of mine and see what he says.

[shawnbo42]

Cap kit and flyback usually corrects 90% of the problems with a G07. Just be careful of the dummy lug (as was posted), also the huge grey cap on the board, as it doesn't discharge either. Best way to discharge that cap is usually with a meter, or use a decently high wattage ceramic resistor and short out both leads on the bottom of the board. Sounds like you have a cap that is bad, which is where your ticking is coming from. Also, when you change the caps on the board, there is one that is mismarked. I don't remember which one specifically, but usually a cap kit will note which one it is. Basically, you just mount it reversed from what the board is stamped (positive to negative, and vice-versa).

Anyways, that'd be my advice. Or, you could just buy a new monitor....

[jb143]

I'll probally re-cap it at some point but I doubt I'll buy the kit. I price electronics for a living so I can't bring myself to pay $10 for a bad of caps. There's plenty of info out there for this monitor so that shouldn't be a problem. I found a troubleshooting flowchart that looks helpfull too. I'll go through that when I have some time. The flyback though, does anyone know of a good(cheap) source for those?

Also, none of the fuses are blown. which seems pretty strange to me. From what I've been able to gather, they usually blow when something else goes out. Thanks for the help and suggestions(I'm still open for more). I'll be sure to post the results when I have them.

[Peale]

Open the back door so you can get a good look at the chassis. Turn out the lights and go to the back of the cab and turn it on. See if you have any arcing anywhere.

[jb143]

Open the back door so you can get a good look at the chassis. Turn out the lights and go to the back of the cab and turn it on. See if you have any arcing anywhere.

There wasn't any that I could see. I had it almost pitch black in there too so I thought if it was hiding I'd surely see it. Where should I expect to see the arcing comming from? I might try again tonight.

[shawnbo42]

I'll probally re-cap it at some point but I doubt I'll buy the kit. I price electronics for a living so I can't bring myself to pay $10 for a bad of caps. There's plenty of info out there for this monitor so that shouldn't be a problem. I found a troubleshooting flowchart that looks helpfull too. I'll go through that when I have some time. The flyback though, does anyone know of a good(cheap) source for those?

Also, none of the fuses are blown. which seems pretty strange to me. From what I've been able to gather, they usually blow when something else goes out. Thanks for the help and suggestions(I'm still open for more). I'll be sure to post the results when I have them.

It's worth it to re-cap the whole thing. I know it seems like a lot of cash for a bag of caps, but it's a lot easier than tracking down the bad one, and 6 months from now finding the next bad one and so on. Generally, when one or two go bad, the rest of them are pretty well dried out as well, and it's a time bomb as to how much life they have left. It's entirely up to you, but this has been my experience more than once, take it as you will. Other than that, sounds like you've got some kind of high voltage by what you describe, so I'd go with the cap kit and flyback first (usually replace both at the same time). As for where to get a flyback, check around online, possibly a local tv repair shop might know where to pick one up. They aren't cheap ($25-$40 iirc), so if you're looking for the $5 fix, it's probably not gonna happen.

[jb143]

OK, so I followed the flowchart and according to it the Filter Cap may be bad. Then looking around on the board I noticed that C521 is missing. It's just gone. Like maybe someone tried to recap it and forgot that part. Could that cause the arcing sound? I still can't see arcing btw. I'll probally learn a lot more once I pull the board out.

It's worth it to re-cap the whole thing. I know it seems like a lot of cash for a bag of caps, but it's a lot easier than tracking down the bad one, and 6 months from now finding the next bad one and so on. Generally, when one or two go bad, the rest of them are pretty well dried out as well, and it's a time bomb as to how much life they have left. It's entirely up to you, but this has been my experience more than once, take it as you will. Other than that, sounds like you've got some kind of high voltage by what you describe, so I'd go with the cap kit and flyback first (usually replace both at the same time). As for where to get a flyback, check around online, possibly a local tv repair shop might know where to pick one up. They aren't cheap ($25-$40 iirc), so if you're looking for the $5 fix, it's probably not gonna happen.

Sorry, I think I miscommunicated. I only meant that if (and when) I recap the board then I'll buy the parts from my own sources. I communicate with Asian electronics manufacturers on a daily basis getting price quotes so I can't bring myself to buy a bag of 17 or so parts for $10 when I can get them all for 75 cents or so. Also, I didn't want to waste my time doing that if someone were to come along and say something like "oh yeah, I've had that problem. You need a new monitor." The flyback is a different story. I know it'll cost a bit but if someone has a reliable source for ones more on the $20-$25 range I'll go with that one...or possibly a manufacturer...I may have the ability to get one at sample price.

[Peale]

There wasn't any that I could see. I had it almost pitch black in there too so I thought if it was hiding I'd surely see it. Where should I expect to see the arcing comming from? I might try again tonight.

Could be several places. Flyback. Neckboard.

Since you have the original flyback, and a G07, it's almost guaranteed that yours is bad.

Bob Roberts has them, along with a rebuild kit.

For the time/energy/effort you're going to put in to sourcing your own parts, you could get them all in a bundle from him and be done with it.

[jb143]

Ok, so I got some time to pull the chassis and take a look around. Iv'e come to the conclusion that a previous owner already did a cap kit and new flyback too but gave up or something when it wasn't working. All the cap and flyback pads were resoldered and those parts all look newer than everything else. They also seem to have forgotten to install C511(I said the wrong one earlier). The problem I saw that was probally causing the issue before was that the ground wire going to the screen knob for the flyback was broken. I fixed that and installed a new cap and retouched several of the solder joints and the clicking/arcing is gone now.

The monitor does have the good ole vertical line problem now but at least I know it works. I'll have to look into that later.

[jb143]

Well...I found what the new problem was. I started to resolder everything when I noticed that an inductor on the horizontal deflection circuit had a broken leg. I soldered it together, reinstalled the board, powered it up and everything worked. Everything worked great. No adjustments were needed or anything. I even got a few games in ...just to...you know...test everything.

But then, when I went to screw everything back together I accedentally caused the board to slide out while powered and shorted something out. Smoke came out of some part. Now I need to replace the fuse and I can't find where the smoke came from. Now I remember why I decided on engineering instead of technical school.

[shawnbo42]

And that's why they always tell you to turn it off BEFORE servicing.....lol. You probably just blew the fuse when you shorted it. Good thing YOU didn't get whacked, just the board. I've had a few nasty shocks from monitors, back in the young and stupid days. Try changing out the fuse, and see where that gets you, and then go from there. Good luck on getting it running, hope it gose well.

[jb143]

Yeah, It's my own dumb fault it happened. I wasn't bolting it back in each time because I had to keep pulling it right back out again when it still wasn't working. I was just so exited I got it working that I forgot about the scews and when I went to check everything in the back, the board slid out of the holder. I'm hoping it's just the fuse. Smoke did come from somewhere though. It was from the cluster of resistors and transistors behind the big cap. I think I'm going to put in a fuse socket just in case it blows again though.

[shawnbo42]

That's a smart idea, as the original fuse, iirc, is a pigtail and soldered directly to the board. It'll make it easier in the long run. If something smoked, and you know the general reigion, give the board a visual check, see if anything looks obviously roasted. If something does, and you don't have a schematic, let me know, I can look it up for you.

[jb143]

It was just the fuse. Everything is working again. Thanks to everyone who helped with this. Just one questions though...Isn't player 1's ninja supposed to the blue one in Ninja Gaiden? I think someone wired the controls backwards. Oh well...it finally works.