Acer V226HQL Monitor blinks on and off when plugged in

[schoolsofthought]

I just got an Acer V226HQL monitor that I wanted to use as a second monitor for my laptop and/or desktop. Running Win7 on both.

Laptop: Intel HD Graphics 5500
Desktop: Not sure. Can't check without working monitor.

The monitor only has a VGA and DVI input. I connected monitor to my laptop using VGA as an extended display and it was working fine for an hour. It worked fine as a duplicate display as well. Then the monitor went to sleep and the Energy Saver logo appeared. I was able to make it wake up by jiggling the power plug, but it never stayed consistently awake. I checked the VGA connections on monitor and laptop and everything was solid.

Suddenly things got worse:
1) Now instead of just sleeping, the monitor keeps blinking on and off. Not just a flickering image, it acts as if someone is literally turning the monitor on and off. It doesn't matter if I'm using it as extended or duplicate display. The Acer logo that comes up when you first turn on the monitor keeps coming up and disappearing. The blue light near the power button flickers on and off. I also sort of hear a faint high pitch sound as it blinks on and off. If I want to turn off the monitor I have to hold the power button down as opposed to pressing it once in a normal fashion.

2) The blinking only happens when it is either plugged into my laptop or desktop.
2a) When I connect it to my desktop I have tried using both VGA and DVI. When connected to desktop, it is the only monitor connected to desktop. My first monitor isn't here at the moment.

3) When it is not plugged into anything, the monitor does not blink and is stable. It simply notes that there is no signal and goes black. There is a consistent orange light next to the power button. Which makes me think it has nothing to do with power plug or electrical outlets at my place.

Anyone have any thoughts as to what's going on? Why would power turn on and off when it's plugged into a source?

 

[ffg7]

is the monitor's power cord the same as your desktop or same as the laptop?

 

[schoolsofthought]

is the monitor's power cord the same as your desktop or same as the laptop?

Yea it's the same type of power cord

 

[ffg7]

same for which, desktop or laptop?

 

[schoolsofthought]

same for which, desktop or laptop?

Ah yea sorry the power cord for my monitor is identical to the one for my desktop. Is there any reason that would matter?

 

[Gerald Griffin]

I just got an Acer V226HQL monitor that I wanted to use as a second monitor for my laptop and/or desktop. Running Win7 on both.

Laptop: Intel HD Graphics 5500
Desktop: Not sure. Can't check without working monitor.

The monitor only has a VGA and DVI input. I connected monitor to my laptop using VGA as an extended display and it was working fine for an hour. It worked fine as a duplicate display as well. Then the monitor went to sleep and the Energy Saver logo appeared. I was able to make it wake up by jiggling the power plug, but it never stayed consistently awake. I checked the VGA connections on monitor and laptop and everything was solid.

Suddenly things got worse:
1) Now instead of just sleeping, the monitor keeps blinking on and off. Not just a flickering image, it acts as if someone is literally turning the monitor on and off. It doesn't matter if I'm using it as extended or duplicate display. The Acer logo that comes up when you first turn on the monitor keeps coming up and disappearing. The blue light near the power button flickers on and off. I also sort of hear a faint high pitch sound as it blinks on and off. If I want to turn off the monitor I have to hold the power button down as opposed to pressing it once in a normal fashion.

2) The blinking only happens when it is either plugged into my laptop or desktop.
2a) When I connect it to my desktop I have tried using both VGA and DVI. When connected to desktop, it is the only monitor connected to desktop. My first monitor isn't here at the moment.

3) When it is not plugged into anything, the monitor does not blink and is stable. It simply notes that there is no signal and goes black. There is a consistent orange light next to the power button. Which makes me think it has nothing to do with power plug or electrical outlets at my place.

Anyone have any thoughts as to what's going on? Why would power turn on and off when it's plugged into a source?

Actually, this appears to be a wide-spread problem, based upon the many forum threads that I have read. I have 'had' two Acer V226HQL Monitors that exhibited identical symptoms. I finally learned that the culprit is an errant capacitor. Once it goes, you can either buy a "capacitor kit" or buy a new monitor. (Trying to replace the capacitor by stripping down the monitor is a daunting task -- to say the least). There are Youtube videos that illustrate why disassembling this or similar Acer monitors are both time-consuming and frustratingly difficult. I've been in the computer repair business for decades, but I decided to take a pass on trying to repair these monitors. I elected to purchase monitors from another manufacturer; rather than be subjected to this problem four or five years down the road. In my opinion, I believe that Acer has known about this [failing capacitor] issue for years, but has never publicly addressed it. Shame on them! Personally, I will never purchase another Acer monitor again.

 

[ffg7]

schoolsofthought, needed to know because is regular power cord then there are 2 boards in the monitor, a power board & a video controller wereas a power adapter means there is just 1 board in the monitor. sounds like a domed capacitor on the power board is causing the problem as that happened with my 19" Samsung Frankenstein monitor til I replaced the capacitor. used that monitor for a few years til I got this 24" Samsung from a customer that was turning off & on but could not find any domed capacitors so replaced 2 of 8 & still working ok. I've repaired half a dozen plus monitors so far.

Gerald Griffin, i'll personally fix them except for the screens before I buy new & 2 of 3 of my 24" monitors are acers & over 6yrs old.