Monitor suddenly makes a small ticking noise

[RavinRivie]

I've had my Samsung 244T for a long time now with absolutely no complaints. Well just today I noticed that I now have a small noise caused by the power. I replaced the cable and that worked for a bit and now it's back and different sockets don't matter. If I increase the brightness the sound gets louder. If I have the power on but turn the button on the front to have it off but don't flip the toggle switch next to my power cord the sound is still present although much quieter.

I have no image display problems, just this annoying and terrifying noise - I'm afraid these are signs something is going to break on this monitor and being this was a $1,000 display I can't just run out and buy another one so readily nor do I want to think about footing a bill to have it fixed (Probably at a 1/4 the cost). I'd almost say the sound sounds something like a noisy fan bearing but not quite the same. I'm tempted to open it and see what is the source but again I'm very uneasy about doing something like this to my monitor. I searched high and low before I find the right monitor and this S-PVA panel is what I like. I'm afraid I'll have to get rid of it and then go to a *cringe* TN panel! AGGGHHH, does anyone have any experience of this to tell me what the issue could be and how to remedy it?

 

[hundredislandsboy]

How old is the monitor?
Did you recently change graphics card?
Did you recently move the monitor to a different room or plug into a different wall socket?

 

[avatar_raq]

Do you use a UPS to feed the monitor? If not, can you try it on one?

 

[RavinRivie]

The monitor is from I think '06 or '07. I've had the same graphics card all this time so that didn't change. It has been on the same socket all this time, but I switched the plug hoping to see if that would fix it. I don't use a UPS, and I don't happen to have one - those suckers are expensive.

What's really strange is that this problem is very intermittent. The other day it was doing it - went away, so I walked in the other room and when I came back an hour later it was making the sound again. I turned the monitor totally off, came back an hour or two later and now no noise. I used it the whole night - no noise came back. Today I turn it on - no noise either. It's at such strange intervals and I can't figure out the cause. As of now I haven't heard it again but I'm not sure it won't come back. Someone else told me probably a transistor is starting to go bad in it, but again I'm not sure.

 

[hundredislandsboy]

The best clue to the cause of the clicking is it gets louder when you adjust the brightness.

You could try and email Samsung tech support.

 

[RavinRivie]

They would most likely know, but they won't tell me - they'd want me to send it to them and pay probably $150 for them to replace a transistor (Which is probably a $5 at most transistor and simply requires unsoldering and resoldering a new one on - something I could do, but I dunno if this is the problem and if it is I couldn't ID which one it is).

 

[Lmeow]

A small ticking noise? It could be a pipe bomb!

 

[RavinRivie]

A small ticking noise? It could be a pipe bomb!

Ticking - not beeping

 

[Lmeow]

Ticking - not beeping

It's a reference to the 'Mysterious Ticking Noise' Harry Potter puppet pals video.

 

[RavinRivie]

It's a reference to the 'Mysterious Ticking Noise' Harry Potter puppet pals video.

Ahh, with 80 million views I'm not sure how I never saw that before now. Heh - perhaps a spy is sappin' mah monitor?

In seriousness - I've still yet to hear the noise return. I'm still not fully relaxed about it, but it seems any dire failures aren't as likely since it seems to come and go like this.

 

[Lmeow]

Ahh, with 80 million views I'm not sure how I never saw that before now. Heh - perhaps a spy is sappin' mah monitor?

In seriousness - I've still yet to hear the noise return. I'm still not fully relaxed about it, but it seems any dire failures aren't as likely since it seems to come and go like this.

Well, if it's gone... then enjoy it until it comes back, and just hope it doesn't come back. All I'd hope for, I really wouldn't pay someone $150 for a $5 job either. Might as well get a new monitor for that price...

 

[RavinRivie]

Well, if it's gone... then enjoy it until it comes back, and just hope it doesn't come back. All I'd hope for, I really wouldn't pay someone $150 for a $5 job either. Might as well get a new monitor for that price...

Well I'd say so too - but this was a $1,000 monitor and refurbs of it still sell for I think $600 or something. S-PVA monitors are rarely had for under $500, so while I can see why some people would buy a new monitor for that price this isn't just any ol' monitor that's easy to replace. I like it specificly for colour accuracy and some of the richest black levels on an LCD I have ever seen (TN panels offer subpar blacks compared to PVA and IPS panel monitors). My laptop has a TN panel in it and it's so annoying to look at that I rarely use the thing (Either it's too bright because I have it tilted too close to me or it's too dark at the top because I tilted it away to adjust for the brightness - there's no perfect position!).

So a $200 24" TN Panel may be a functioning replacement...but it's certainly nothing close to on par with this monitor.