Gateway 21" Monitor Model 2100 FPD2185W Repaired

Hello,
Two identical Gateway model 2100 FPD2185W monitors were being used as outside visuals for a airplane flight simulator. Monitor number one lost visuals and displayed a normal blue indicator light. Monitor two just showed an amber indicator light then shut off with no display. Both monitors were around four years old.

Monitor one was connected from the computer to the digital input connector. I decided to try the analog side and the monitor worked fine. I then knew the problem was with the digital circuit. I opened the monitor up and found three capacitors located on the main board at position C124, C189, AND C190 to have a high ESR value. The capacitors were rated at 470uF 16v and 105C. I replaced them with 470uF 25v and 105C. I then tested the monitor digital side and it worked fine.

Monitor two appeared to be a power supply problem. I opened it up and discovered several bulged capacitors and several high ESR capacitors located on the secondary side at C214,C215,C216,C218, C220,C223,C224, and C226. The capacitors were 470uf 25v and 105C. I replaced them with 470uF 35v and 105C capacitors. Everything else checked out good. I tested the monitor and it worked fine.

Its been over 6 months and they are still working fine. I bought all replacement parts from Mouser.com which has no minimum order requirement.

Well I hope this information helps somebody.
Thanks
Vic

Thanks for sharing.
I have one of those on my pile of monitors to be repaired.
From what I've read, those 8 caps are notorious for causing trouble on this model. I ordered some (Panasonic FM series from Digikey) without even looking inside.
I'll post my success (or lack thereof) when I get to mine later in the week.

Steve

Hello Steve,
I would be very interested in learning what you found.

Thanks
Vic

I finally got to it. After disassembling this brand-new looking monitor, I looked at the capacitors. Of the 8 notorious 470@25 , 7 were bulging. I also noticed 1 of 3 470 @ 16 on the mainboard also bulging. I replaced all of the famous 8, the 3 on the mainboard, and the other 2 on the power/inverter. Re-assebmbled and tested, works great! This is one sweet monitor for the cost of 13 caps (maybe $5.00) and about an hour labour.
Just for grins I tested one of the 470@25s, 33uf and 9 ohms ESR.

also on this board found two out at c301 and c302 thanks for past post was a quick trouble shoot with them

Hi everyone,
Last night a friend gave me this model 2100 monitor to work on, having fixed capacitors and backlights in LCD's in the past I told him it would be no problem.
-Symptoms - I turn on the monitor and the Gateway logo appears, it then displays the desktop between 2 and 5 seconds then it goes blank.
When the desktop is displayed (before it goes blank) the backlights appears to be functioning correctly (ie. No discoloration or dim areas in the monitor)
-My Problem – I opened up the monitor and can’t find any bulging caps or any signs of hot spots on the boards.
-Question - Can a Cap go bad and not bulge? (I don’t really want start replacing caps and that not be the problem or start tearing into the LCD to replace bulbs when that is not the problem.)
Any incite would be great. Thanks for your time.

Yes, caps can fail with no visible signs. If it's anything like the 2185, I'd do a full recap.
Won't cost that much, less than $10.00 with good quality caps.

Once re-capped, if you still have the same problem, you can troubleshoot further.

That symptom, known affectionately as "2 seconds to black", can be caused by a number of things, including a bad ccfl, bad connection to a ccfl, arcing from bad insulation or kinked/pinched wire, etc.

Basically the monitor turns on the backlights, then monitors the current draw, if it detects too little or too much, it shuts them down.

I need help identification on IC10 or U10 on the main board, the IC is chaired I cant read the text on the chip. 405x...?

I am a novice. I have the same issue with my Gateway. But have gotten lost in your world of electronics. I have identified these same capacitors, 3 on the digital circuit, and the 8 on the power supply. However, when I went to Digi-key and other sites to try and buy them, there were several different lengths in mm. I don't have any tool for measuring in milimeters. Is there such a tool? How did you know what size to buy? Can you share that information?
Thanks