That 15 minute capacitor job that ate my whole Saturday

Went to swap a swollen cap on a 2019 LG monitor, the kind I've done a hundred times. Board came out fine, but the replacement I ordered had legs spaced 2mm too wide. Ended up filing down the pads and running jumper wires, then the backlight stayed dark because I missed a blown fuse hiding under the power connector. Took me 6 hours for what should've been a quick fix. Anyone else get burned by a part that's almost right but not quite?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver_baker494d ago

Six hours for what should've been a quick fix" sounds rough, but I gotta ask, how many of those hours were you second guessing yourself? Legs spaced 2mm too wide is annoying, sure, but filing pads and jumper wires is a workaround, not a total disaster. And the blown fuse, that's just part of the job sometimes. Honestly, I've had 15 minute jobs turn into two day sagas because I kept opening the board and closing it back up without actually checking the basics. Take the win that you fixed it, and next time maybe order three replacement caps instead of one, so you have options. But calling a Saturday eaten seems a bit dramatic when you got it working in the end.

bell.jessica4d ago

Dodge the whole thing and admit my Saturday was worse, I once spent five hours on a monitor because I grabbed a cap from the wrong drawer, same value and everything, but the voltage rating was lower. Fired it up, watched it puff smoke like a tiny ghost, then had to redo the whole job with the right part. So yeah, almost right parts are the real enemy, they trick you into thinking you're smart for ten minutes before they humble you.