FPD2185W turn on problem

I had a similar problem... mine would work fine all day. I put it to sleep at night and when I go to wake it back up, it would come on for a second and then back off.


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Here's my fix:

BE CAREFUL when popping the case open and unplugging the connectors!
Everything is flimsy and can break easy. TAKE YOUR TIME, and be very gentle.
Ikeep electronic screwdrivers, tweezers and the like for projects likethis. The connectors were a b*tch to get out. They are darn-near microscopic, so take your time and skip that next can of beer... you're going to need patience and concentration to get the little bastards out.

OnceI got inside, I found the capacitors were NOT bulged out the top,leaking, or leaning; however I noticed some of the bottoms on the canswere sticking out further than others.
Hard to say if they are bad, but it won't hurt to replace them since I'm already knee-deep into it.
There are 14 capacitors total that I replaced. You might as well do all of them.

Ok, now time to find the replacement parts:
Thenew capacitors were a bit of work to find. My local Radio Shack andtheir online store didn't have some of them, and the ones they didwasn't rated the same.

The OEM capacitors are rated 105* (1000hrs). There were a Samxon brand. According to some web sites, thesecaps are a general purpose and a lower-quality cap.

The Radio Shack ones are 85*. They would probably work, but who knows for how long.
Ifigure the OEM caps are already made by the lowest bidder, so I betternot take the chance and make it worse! Besides, Rat Shack didn't evenhave all of them.

Here is a list of the caps I found in mymonitor (your monitor may be different and you should check yoursBEFORE you order them)

* ALL OF THESE ARE RADIAL ELECTROLYTIC (aluminum can type), 105 deg. *

QTY. (1) 10 uf, 50V
QTY. (1) 47 uf, 25V
QTY. (2) 68 uf, 450V
QTY. (2) 220 uf, 25V
QTY. (8) 470 uf, 25V

I found all of the parts at Allied Electronics: https://www.alliedelec.com/
Total parts was less than $8.

Allied part #'s:

10uf: 613-0743
47uf: 613-0783
68uf: 613-0312
220uf: 613-0766
470uf: 613-0190

According to their specs, they are good for 2000 hours.

Digikey also had them: http://www.digikey.com
Theirprices were comparable, but I couldn't get all of the same manufacturer(not that it really matters, but I'm picky like that :) )


I took my time and I was up and running in about an hour. Most of the time was spent removing the old caps. They can be a real bear to get out if they have the sticky goo under them.

So far the monitor is running perfectly. Only time will tell if I get the power-up problem again.

Hope this helps.



H.

Okay, I had this same problem. I found two others on the net that also had the problem that repaired theirs and both said the same things. There are 8 capacitors on the power circuit board that are blown. I can vouch for this, I went to Radio shack and got 8 of catalog number 272-1030 ($1.29 each), a soldering iron and solder for a total of $17 and some change. I pulled the old ones out, soldered the new ones in and it works like new. The 8 i replaced are all bunched together near where the power leads run to the PC Board.

If you get the "logo screen" unplug the monitor from the bottom. Wait 40 seconds and plug back in. That will fix it for a few months. Something in the electronics get whacked and unplugging it sort of "reboots" the internals. I have the same problem, even after TWO replacements a year apart. No longer under warranty, hoping it last a few more years. I love the very fine text it produces.

Perfect! I was experiencing the same power-related issues as everyone else is describing and the Firehawk71 solution fixed my problem. However, I will add a couple of points just in case there is someone else out there as inexperienced as I was (this was my first electronic repair). 
first - the electrolytic capacitors that were replaced can be a higher voltage rating than the 25V original ones. I went with 50V, although they were a bit larger than the ones I was replacing, which made it slightly cramped. 
second, this type of capacitor must be installed in the correct direction. I did this wrong the first time around - resulting in quite a smoky popping show when I powered it up! In the case of this item, there is a symbol on both sides of the board where the capacitors are that looks like this: ---) |--- the curved line represents negative, the straight one positive, which will be indicated on the capacitior itself too. 
I would suggest that if you are inclined to, try and do this repair for yourself. Identifying the correct parts to replace was not hard, and I did not any special tools to get it done. Gateway actually told me that "monitors are like lighters" - once they break you just get a new one. This repair took me about an hour and a half and cost me maybe $15 in total - and I feel great about being able to get it working again.

Thanks Firehawk for the solution. I found the capacitors at Amazon for even less than Radio Shack, ordered them, and had them in less than 3 days with standard shipping. Soldering off the old ones took about 20 minutes, putting in the new ones about 30 minutes. 6 of the 8 capacitors were domed at the top, so it was pretty clear where the problem was. Between the soldering iron and tools and the capacitors I spent about $40 and now the monitor is better than it ever was!

Replacing the capacitors on the PSU board like firehawk71 said fixed it for me, cost 10 bucks and took an hour. You ROCK firehawk, thanks so much!

I had a similar problem due to bad Capacitors. Replaced eight on the power board and three on the processor board. Total cost for the cap's was just over five dollars. Time taken to un-solder, re-solder was about half an hour including taking the case apart. Carefull on that, those clips are tight! Used a small soldering iron, solder ******, and pair of small clips to trim the leads of the replacement caps. Plugged it in and it works great. Very cheap and easy fix, and don't be afraid to tackle it since it's pretty simple even for a novice.
Good luck!

For anyone whose symptoms are still relatively minor, I want to second Solution #4 which is to keep the monitor unplugged from the power source whenever you don't need to use it. I came to this forum because my screen suddenly started taking a minute on the black with Gateway logo, and another minute displaying VGA (I'm on a Mac iBook G4 using Screen Spanning Doctor) before it became usable.
I read the many posts here and on a related post, and see that most people have much more serious symptoms, so I just tried the simplest solution first, and voila!
I put the Gateway on its own switchable power strip, and whenever I'm done watching the movie or whatever, I switch it off with the power strip. Now when I switch it back on, it comes to life in a matter of seconds.
We shall see how long this lasts.

i just replaced the 8 capacitors i got them at radio shack part # 272-1030 .. it works awesome now ...total cost 16 bucks .. nice !! ..gateway should be sued though for selling a flawed product ... im so glad i was able to fix it so easily and cheaply .. i never soldered before or fiddled with a circuit board ..it was easy man ...and now i saved my 500 dollar monitor for next to nothing ..it took me about 25 minutes and its good as new ....sweet !!!!!

For all of you that replaced all the caps on the power supply board without success, resolder two legs of U15 on the processor board. It is the 3.3volt regulator that runs the micro. I'm a professional and all the trouble this has caused everyone, lets just say I understand your frustration.

I also performed the 8 capacitor replacement that firehawk71 stated. My FPD2185W would not turn on, blue light all the time - blinks in a cycle and then no light at all, never a yellow light. It worked like a charm! Firehawk you are awesome! If you ever need any expert advice on auto repairs - my company - www.HouseCallAutoMechanics.com do not hesitate to call me. I will repay you with advice that will protect you from any ripoffs if the time comes.

The best for you,

Kevin Huttenlocher - Mt Sinai, NY

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=020-1670

this is a better part to use, these are high temperature capacitors. The heat is what is destroying the capacitors. Always use a flameproof insulation material between a hot part and an electrolytic capacitor. Someday engineering will learn this lesson. You can by sleeving that covers capacitors somewhere I'm sure.

File with BBB in cali against Gateway If enough do it they will know theres a issue That Gateway denys

Well, this certainly isn't an isolated problem. I'm having the same problem with the blue "on" light staying on and nothing showing up on the monitor.

I found this thread because I'm trying to find a solution. I think it might be the small circuit board that contains the on/off switch. If I can find the replacement board I'll buy it and give it a try and post the results.

I also tried Firehawk71's fix, even though my symptoms were slightly different. (When the monitor was powered up, the blue light in the power button would blink twice and then go out). It worked perfectly - Thanks!

I had the same problem.

If anyone would like to have their monitor fixed or get rid of it, e-mail me at Andrew@CreativeAudio.biz

OK, I have the same monitor, and whenever it starts displaying the splash screen for too long I turn it off and unplug the power from it for a second then when I turn it back on it's fine for quite a while.

i had all of the resistors replaced, they were blown... cost $150... hopefully it will work now

if you have bought that monitor within the last year rma it now and get a new one that is the start of the many problem these monitors have

Thanks to StinkiJeans for an excellent solution! Order the parts he shows it will save you lots of trouble. Fixed my monitor fine. You do however need to order (11) 470 uf, 25V capacitors, not just 8 as StinkiJeans specifies. This is because there is a second circuit board next to the board where all the other capacitors go. You must remove this second board. It is held in by 4 screws on the bottom and about 4 or 5 more on the outside of the board where the communication ports are located. The (3) 470 uf, 25V capacitors on this board were in the worst shape of all. They were bulging badly. Jordan

It looks like I'm having the same problem, I tore the monitor apart and the caps are bloating up. I noticed the cap is 470uF 25v so how come everybody is using 470uF35v? I'll probably pick up 35v as well just because everybody else is, but I'm just wondering why.

Brother Firehawk has it. I got the capacitors at Parts Express for 42 cents each. A bit of time and beautiful, good as new. Thanks Firehawk and the other verifiers of this fix.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?Partnumber=020-1168&FTR=020-1168&CFID=29877020&CFTOKEN=25707079

What really suprises me is Gateway and BestBuy's denial and lack of assistance for a simple problem with their product. Customer service is so important in this economy and they would rather lose customers than fix a $500 monitor with a $10 problem

I'm having the same problem as all of you. I have been trying to find a schematic to trace the source of the failure but to no avail. I to called Gateway and they said the same thing to me, "if i didn't buy the extended warranty they could not help me". I think this is a big problem and they do not want to address it. this monitor was not cheap! I think Gateway should admit they used inadequate parts on this model or they sould release a schematic for those of us that can repair it ourselves. If anyone out there knows how and where I can get this monitor fixed please e-mail me at bmoate@yahoo.com

thanks