Energy meter LCD gone dim

haaammit · 10 Apr 2022 at 16:58

Allo all - I have a plug in energy meter with an LCD. If you look straight on at the LCD it's very dim and difficult to see. If you tilt it 45° away from you, it's possible to then see the display.

Any ideas and can it be fixed? I know a replacement meter is only £15 or so, but I'd rather fix and reuse this one instead of sending it to landfill. A possible "fix" I've seen on line is a replacement polarising filter, but experimenting with a set of 3D glasses in front of the display seems to make no difference. Yeah, it's probably easier to bin it, but there we are!

Ta

muon · 10 Apr 2022 at 17:05

Photo? Is this an LCD display like your phone or like an old digital watch?

haaammit · 10 Apr 2022 at 17:10

Ah yeah, I should have said, it's a monochrome one just like an old digital watch. Having done a little bit more digging it appears there may be an internal battery that has worn out. That would tie in with how the screen looks. Annoyingly it's got anti-tamper screws in it so I can't get it open right now. It's an N67FU

muon · 10 Apr 2022 at 17:27

Yeh since that doesn't use a backlight, that just looks like a power issue imo.

arknor · 10 Apr 2022 at 18:28

someone put their hand on the screen and pushed it inwards ?

looks like the same type of screen calculators used in the 90s if you pressed on them the numbers would disappear, it seems they need a milimetre gap or the light gets diffused or whatever

touch · 10 Apr 2022 at 19:12

Turn it 45 degrees

malachi · 11 Apr 2022 at 08:07

Even if you could repair it, unless its an battery replacement. The cost of the parts would probably cost the same as getting an replacement unit.

Rroff · 11 Apr 2022 at 08:13

Classic sign of a battery about to fail/too low voltage when these kind of displays are clearer from 45degrees than straight on. Same as older watches.