Samsung 226BW Bad Caps warning

[Cenuij]

I just thought I'd post this as a heads up, I understand the Samsung 226BW was very popular when it came out and so potentially this is a ticking time bomb for many Samsung 226BW owners.

I bought my 226BW from OCUK around march 2007, like many people here I'm a heavy user and this unit has been running for much of the past 2.5 years. About 4-6 months ago my 226BW started to show signs of Capacitor and/or backlight lamp degredation. The unit would flicker when turned on then go dark after a few seconds, I would have to toggle the power button for a while, the unit would warm up enough and the lamp would fire. Eventually I figured out that by turning the brightness down to a much lower lever level the unit would continue to function normally. Then after a month or so it would sometimes take a while after switching it on to warm up and the lamp to come on (after flickering for a while).

So yesterday I opened it up had a look at the power supply board, and yep there we are. I have 3 domed caps (out of 7) and it looks like they have leaked a little out of the top. All the caps are the really nasty uber cheap CapXon brand. Way to go Samsung

Sorry for the bad pic but you can see the domed caps clearly even out of focus. The yellowish mark is where either elecrolyte or corrosive gas has leaked. I'm off into town now to try and find somewhere that can sell me replacement caps, if not there's a few online sites that can, I'll post again later when I get back with another pic labeling the caps with their specs.

 

[Cenuij]

No doubt there's high probability of also some other caps being on their way out if they're all same crapolas in everywhere inside it.


But did you really think they would put good components into those El Cheapos?

Indeed, it's likely that even though the other caps are not showing signs of failure, they are on their way out also. If your going to replace caps, replace them all.

As for the cheapo components, well yeah to be expected. It's a gamble on Sumsungs part, if the caps are too cheap they blow before the end of the warranty period for too many people. Looks like they got the gamble just about right in this case. I would say that an average user will see caps on their 226BW last until the warranty period expires.

For me it's not so bad, €10 for the replacement caps (packs of 5 meh) and an hour of soldering work, but for other's its a replacement unit.

 

[Cenuij]

if u still have warranty rma it ?

For me, much cheaper to buy the caps and replace them than to pay postage and packaging (I'm currently based in France). I'll replace the caps and start researching a new screen to buy.

Also another board where users are reporting this issue are talking about 2 month wait for replacement, there are no parts for the 226BW apparently so people are having to wait for refurbished replacement units.

 

[Cenuij]

How long is the manufacturers warranty on a Samsung? Isn't 3 years commonplace? I think mine is a bit dimmer than when I first got it, though it took buying another monitor and comparing side by side to really notice the degredation, i.e. the dimming over time happened very gradually. I've had a few times where it has failed to strike up, maybe 1 on 40 times, though none of the flickering. Also bought in 2007, one of the S panels too.

I can confirm my 226BW is an S panel

 

[Cenuij]

Loads of people have these, they were great budget gaming monitors at the time.

I have an S panel. This might be a good time to sell it then....24" goodness awaits. Hmm, christmas isn't long.

Might be a good idea, the samsung 225 is suffering from the same problem, cheapo CapXon caps on the power supply circuit that are starting to fail.

 

[Cenuij]

Thanks for the heads up on this. I bought mine in February 2008, so should be ok for a while longer. But might take a look at it. Not too bad at soldering myself (I am a studying electronic engineer) so should be easy to fix if I have any problem. The local M shop should be a good source for parts if needed.

Replacement caps cost me around €5 from the local component shop, a reel of de-soldering braid (better than a de-soldering pump for this size of work) cost €2.50

 

[Cenuij]

C105 150uF, 450v, 105 °C, 20mm D x 42mm H
C107 47uF, 50v, 105 °C, 5mm D x 10mm H
C112 330uF, 25v, 105 °C, 10mm D x 15mm H
C110 820uF, 25v, 105 °C, 10mm D x 20mm H
C111 820uF, 25v, 105 °C, 10mm D x 20mm H
C301 680uF, 25v, 105 °C, 10mm D x 17mm H
C302 680uF, 25v, 105 °C, 10mm D x 17mm H

Pay attention to the Height of any new caps, especially replacements for C301/C302. There's a slope in the back panel just where those are placed so don't get replacements that are too tall. Here's some part numbers for good cap manufacturers if you need to order online. I didnt find parts for all caps for each manufacturer, either i didn't see it or the site I was using has broken search.

Panasonic

1x 150uF, 450v, 105 °C, EETHC2W151CA / EET-ED2W151BA
1x 47uF, 50v, 105 °C, EEU-FC1H470
1x 330uF, 25v, 105 °C, EEU-FM1E331
2x 820uF, 25v, 105 °C, EEU-FM1E821L
2x 680uF, 25v, 105 °C, EEU-FM1E681

nichicon

1x 150uF, 450v, 105 °C
1x 47uF, 50v, 105 °C, UPS1H470MED
1x 330uF, 25v, 105 °C, UPM1E331MPD
2x 820uF, 25v, 105 °C
2x 680uF, 25v, 105 °C

Rubycon

1x 150uF, 450v, 105 °C
1x 47uF, 50v, 105 °C, 50RX3047MEFG8X11.5, 50YXF47M6.3X11, 50YXM47M6.3X11
1x 330uF, 25v, 105 °C, 25ZLG330M10X12.5
2x 820uF, 25v, 105 °C, 25ZLH820M10X20
2x 680uF, 25v, 105 °C

Chemi-Con

1x 150uF, 450v, 105 °C
1x 47uF, 50v, 105 °C, ESMG500ELL470MF11D
1x 330uF, 25v, 105 °C, EKZE250ELL331MH15D, ESMG250ELL331MHB5D
2x 820uF, 25v, 105 °C , EKZE250ELL821MJ25S
2x 680uF, 25v, 105 °C, EKZE250ELL681MJ20S

 

[Cenuij]

Awesome. Might even be able to pick some up from uni if I'm lucky =D Out of interest, could you put some photos up of how to access the caps, and see if they are damaged. The photos you have posted so far, won't display sadly.

I put the photo's on a different image host. sorry but I can't be bothered to take more photos showing how to dis-assemble the monitor.

To access the power circuit board, you need to unscrew the stem of the stand and remove it there are three screws holding the stem onto the case. Then there's three more screws across the bottom of the case, remove those. You'll need to unclip the front and back parts of the case now, start at the bottom where the screws were and go up the sides gently prying the case apart.

Once you have the case open, there a metal cage containing the signal board and the power supply board, unclip the piece of metal on one side that's covering the backlight power leads, then unplug the power connectors and note which orientation they are ( iirc it's pink to the inside blue to the outside ). Now unplug the power button connector on the other side and then unplug the data cable from the logic board to the LCD screen.

The metal cage is not screwed on so it should just lift off now and turning it over will reveal the underneath of the power supply board and the logic/signal board.

There's a small metal clip to remove before you unscrew the power circuit, it's on the outside of the metal cage just where the power socket is. It seems to serve no purpose other than to cover a gap. Remove the metal clip and then unplug the power supply from the logic/signal board, unscrew the power board and then lift it out.

Bad capacitors don't always show visible signs of failure but in most cases you can spot signs of bad caps quite easily. The first thing to look for is any discharge or residue on the capacitor, if it has leaked in any way then obviously it's bad. The second thing to look for is expansion. A bad capacitor may swell up and you can see this in the following ways; the sides bay be bulging and no longer straight or the top of the capacitor is no longer flat and is curved or "domed". If you not sure about these visible signs just google a few images to show what to look for.