Samsung Syncmaster 206 BW 206BW Monitor Faults

This info is primarily for the Samsung Syncmaster 206BW LCD Monitor, although the some info in the "How to" section may relate to other Samsung monitors. I decided to trace the fault and write this "How to" as I could not find this info anywhere on the net. All the info in this page is copyright to me as I spent time working it out, so do not put this info on other websites without asking me first.

Warning: Only attempt this if you are competent to do so! There can be lethal voltages inside the monitor even when its unplugged. I'm not liable if you damage yourself or your monitor trying this repair. If your not sure, pay someone else to do it for you.

Monitor blinks at you and fails to start up | Starts up, but goes off after a second | Read feedback

My info will always be FREE. But if this info saves you money please consider a small donation to help me keep the site going.

LED Flashing, Screen Blinking, but wont start up

Important note: this monitor can display very similar symptoms if the signal lead is loose/disconnected or if the graphics card has died in the PC. If possible test the screen on another computer first to confirm that it is actually the monitor at fault.

There are three electrolytic capacitors on the power supply board that have probably blown - C261 (1000uf 25v) C263 (1000uf 25v) and C265 (470uf 25v). All three caps should be tested/replaced. This should solve the problem.

This is a reasonably easy repair if you are competent with a soldering iron, However, some of the joints are very small and there are some very small surface mount components on the board, so be careful with your soldering iron and sucker as not to "shot gun" the board.

Note 1: I have been send a picture from Gatis in Latvia, of a different power supply board used in the 206BW. If your board looks different to the one pictured above, scroll below the 'how to' to see the alternative picture. The component numbers for the caps are the same, but their locations are slightly different.

Note 2: I have received an e-mail from Mike in Canada, who reports that his power supply was a different version than the one in the monitor that I fixed. The problem is the same, but the component numbers are different.

C261 = C107, C263 = C108, C265 (470uf) = C109 (680uf)

Main Symptom of this fault: A monitor with this fault will blink a couple of times and then start as normal. You may not even notice at first, but this will get progressively worse with the monitor taking longer and longer to start up. Once the monitor has started up it works as normal until its turned off again and then the whole blinking thing starts again. Eventually the monitor will fail to start up at all, even if left on all day.

Here's how to fix it:

Lay the monitor face down on a towel (to protect screen) on your bench with the stand hanging off the edge. Pull off the plastic cover that hides all the connections (you probably took this off already when you unplugged the monitor). remove the three screws that hold the stand to the monitor. slide stand out. next, undo the three screws that are along the bottom of the screen.

The cover is clipped on all round the edge. Starting at the bottom carefully and gently prize the back off. (if you feel you need to use a screwdriver to help you get it off, be sure to use a wide bladed one as to minimize damage to the plastic)

once the plastic cover is removed, there will be a steel "chassis" inside with a stainless steel cover on the left hand side. this cover just clips in. gently ease the cover off.

Next, unplug all the connections you can see. If you do not have a good memory take a photo of all connections with a digital camera, coz if you plug em back in wrong your gonna fry your monitor.

Now that all connections are unplugged, you can lift the complete steel "chassis" off the screen. The "chassis" holds the power supply and the main PCB for screen. There are no fixings holding it down. Lift it off carefully, incase you forgot to unplug a connection. (and be extra careful not do drop it on the screen!)

Turn the steel "chassis" over to reveal the power supply and main PCB. Undo the screws holding the power supply board in place, unplug all connections and lift out carefully. Take note: the power supply board can contain lethal voltages even when turned off and unplugged. if you are in any doubts get a professional to do it for you.

Now locate and replace the three blown caps. The caps are: C261 (1000uf 25v), C263 (1000uf 25v) and C265 (470uf 25v). Be sure to get low ESR (low impedance) capacitors with a thermal rating at or above 105c. When you replace them, always replace all three together even if one or two test or look ok. It should be noted at this point that although blown caps can usually be seen bulging or leaking, the caps may not show any physical signs but may still be bad. Important note:Be sure to observe the polarity of the capacitors when you take them out. The capacitors have writing on one side, which always indicates the negative pole. If you put them in incorrectly you will have just made a very expensive homemade smoke machine!

That's it...now just put it all back together (just reverse how you took it apart) and your done! The whole job cost less than a fiver and your monitor should now be as good as new. Good Luck! -Norm.

Screen goes off after a few seconds (Thanks to Marcin for this fix)

If your screen comes on ok then goes off after about a second, this fix will probably help you.

In the Samsung Syncmaster 206BW monitor, the inverter circuit is on the power supply board.

Be Warned: the PSU/inverter board can contain lethal voltages even when turned off and unplugged... if your not sure about doing it, pay someone to do it for you.

The capacitor C301 is a 470uf 35v (Thanks to Larry for that info) It may not be bulging but should still be replaced (remembering to use a high temperature 105c, low ESR cap to replace it).

You may get away with resoldering the transformer (the black rectangle in the pic), however if resoldering it doesn't work it will need to be replaced. The transformer is: 8TC00327 and can be found on ebay.

Feedback

Here is the feedback I have recieved from people who have tried these fixes.
(Newest first, some long e-mails may be edited)

Thanks for the clear description and tip. went to the shop. they even put in the 3 new parts. cost me in total 13 euro's. Great! Thanks

Ardo - Netherlands

Norm you are the dogs bollox mate..!!! when i read through you fix page i thought, holy crap i cant do anything like that, but i sat for a while and thought well the screens knackered anyway so why not give it a go... so i did and followed your instructions to the letter.. The three capacitors i replaced cost me a total of £1.48 from maplins and it took around an hour of my time, and boy was it time well spent..My samsung is now working again and its all thanks to you and your tutorial. Thank you thank you thank you .!!!

Ron - UK

Thnx a lot! It worked like a charm:-)

Ana - Serbia

Thanks for the help and advice, after purchasing replacement capacitors and removing old ones my monitor now lives. It was my favourite monitor til it died, now we can get re-aquainted ;-)

John - UK

Thank you, for the tutorial about fixing my Samsung. It all went well and monitor is working. However I have question, in the shop where I buy the capacitors they were smaller in size. Does that mean that they will have shorter life than the previous?

Daniel - Bulgaria

(Norm's note: The physical size of the capacitors should not affect their lifespan, as long as it matches voltage, capacitance and temperature)

I used your description to replace the 3 capacitors (2 were visibly blown) and it worked just great, thanks for saving me a lot of money!

Alexander - Germany

I had the problem where the monitor would cycle on and off. I replaced all 4 capacitors mentioned (although only the two 1000uf 25v ones had visible damage) and now I'm typing this message on a working monitor. You saved me a fair amount of money, and honestly its been kind of a thrill to fix something rather than just throwing it away and replacing it.

Many thanks, cheers for hosting this webpage and I hope you have a good Christmas.

Peter - UK

Thank you so much for your tutorial, you've saved me £149.96 today, because all it cost me to fix my monitor was £1.04 and 1 hour of my time. I did however end up with a chrome bracket and 2 screws that I have no idea where they belong. DOH! :)

Larssen - England

(Norm's note: Please take care when taking your screen apart, Taking note of where all the bits go!!! :-) Digital cameras are very handy for that!)

You're a legend Norm. My Samsung was experiencing the "screen blinking" problem and I was minutes away from buying another, in fact I was in the process of googling the specs when I stumbled across your page describing my exact problem. Bought some caps instead and installed them last night, monitor is now as good as new!

BTW I found it was much easier removing the solder on the joints if I applied a little regular solder first, caused the whole thing to melt instantly even with a fine tip. Small donation sent, thanks again!

Mark - Australia

Hi, I read your article on the Syncmaster 206BW and it inspired me to take apart mine, as it is showing one of the symptoms - the screen turns on, shows picture for a sec and then goes out. The board in my LCD is different from the pictures in your article (as you have mentioned it could differ). Looking at it I did notice that tops of those two 1000uf capacitors are swolen up. So I figured that I could contribute a picture of this other version. Thanks, Best Regards,

Gatis - Latvia

I sent you 5 Pounds because your information helped me repair my dead Samsung Syncmaster 206BW. Thanks for the useful information

Bill - USA

Thanks for the fix! Had to replace all 3 swelled capacitors. I went ahead and replaced the other 470uf since I bought an extra one anyways. Just wanted to let you know I bought this monitor in Eastern Canada and the capacitors are: C261 (1000uf 25v), C263 (1000uf 25v) and C265 (470uf 25v). Maybe in just rare cases they're different, like in Mikes case. Thanks again!

Tim - Canada

(Norm's note: Please be aware that the other 470uf capacitor is rated at 35v and not 25v, do not replace it with a 25v one or it will blow out!!!)

You saved my Samsung SyncMaster 206BW! Thank you very much for your tutorial on how to fix the Samsung SyncMaster 206BW monitor! I sent you a well deserved donation.

I used PANASONIC - EEUFR1E102L for the 1000uF capacitors and PANASONIC - EEUFR1E471 for the 470uF capacitor, ordered through Farnell (next day delivery) Everything worked like a charm, and now the thing works better than ever ! Thanks again, and keep up the good work!

Cxnull - France

Norm - you're a man amongst boys! Thanks so much for these great instructions. I'm so glad to have extended the life of this monitor. I've sent you a well deserved donation and would encourage others who found this information useful to do the same. Ebay is a great source for buying low quantities of capacitors. Ask them which brands they are and try to get a trusted brand like Panasonic. Also ask the seller what the diameter. The existing ones are about 10mm. The ones I bought were a little too wide but I managed to fit them. Thanks again Norm.

David - London

Hi Norm, I just made a small donation to you out of thanks for your Samsung fix. I couldn't afford to get a new monitor at the moment, so your fix was a lifesaver. I have never done this kind of cap replacement before, so I was pretty happy after doing it and seeing my monitor working - not blowing up! :-) Thanks again!

Marko - Canada

Thank you so much for making the repair guide! (donated)

Hannu

Norm, I want to thank you for making that information known and available. After reading and downloading your photo and other information, I disassembled my monitor to make sure I could, and checked the capacitors. One had evidence of a leak at the top, but the others were not bulged. I took photos as you recommended. I replaced the capacitors and the monitor now works fine. The only concern I had was making sure I got the +/- right and I assumed the silver stripe was - (negative). The board identifies the + side. Guess I got it right because it works fine.

I am going to help you in a very modest way..... and hope you can make up the rest with volume. Thanks again,

Fred - Texas, USA

Dear Norm, i just did the fix and its working 100% again now! Big up and thanks a lot!

Shake - Belgium

Thank you for your clear and extensive instructions, we succeeded indeed in repairing a defective Samsung SyncMaster 206BW following your instructions and it works, the monitor is alright again now for only EUR 2,05 for the parts and an hour of work !

Edwin en Gerrit Jan - The Netherlands

Hi Norm, I just wanted to take a second to thank you for your detailed and informative post on how to fix the Syncmaster power issues. My friend had this monitor and it started having the issue where it would turn off and on rapidly if you hit the power button. He bought a new monitor and gave his Syncmaster to me for free to try and fix. After finding your tutorial, it took all of 20 minutes to replace the capacitors and now the monitor works like brand new! Thank you so much!

Jared - USA

Just a quick note to say thanx. I never usually bother to add feedback after I find the information im looking for on the net. I fixed my monitor using the info I found from your site.

Found the values to be:
1000uF / 25V = C261 & C263 (replaced this with 1219476 EEUFM1V102 1000uF / 35V from Farnell)
470uF / 25V = C265 (replaced this with 1219475 EEUFM1V471 470uF / 35V from Farnell)
these were taller than the original caps, so I added a thin sheet of insulation material between the case and the top of the caps to be on the safe side. I replaced all 3 caps, didn’t even bother to check them, they looked slightly “bulgy” So once again, many thanx for your information of this. Good website.

Simon - England

Hey man, Ive had 3 206BW samsung monitors for about 3 years now, and 2 of them stopped working one after another over the last 6 months.. So instead of throwing them away, I searched for an answer on google and found your site..

Now, I've replaced the caps on both screens, and they work WONDERFULLY! :D Thank you so much! these caps cost like 50 cent each, and it took me about 20 minutes work on each screen, so all in all saved alot of money :)

On one 206BW screen only the 2x 1000uF 25V caps had bulged, on the other one the same caps + the 470uF had bulged.. none of them were blown.. Worked wonders! Keep up the good work, and thanks alot!

Tom - Norway

Greetings; I just have followed the instructions on your post about my Samsung 206BW issue (Screen not loading properly) and in the end it was a pure success for me; thank you a lot for sharing such information for us. I appreciate your work and effort in this matter and wanted to say thank you. :)

Khan - Istanbul

Thanks Norm. I ordered capacitors from Mouser.com (647-UBT1E102MHD for 1000uF and 75-678D477M025DM3D for the 470uF and just in case, I ordered 667-EEU-FR1E681 for the 680uF). Mine had the 470uF version. Total cost, $9 shipped. I'm not the best at soldering, but replaced them and she fired right back up. I took some various photos if you need any that you missed in the writeup. Thanks for your writeup!

Steven - SC

Hi! Found a samsung bw206 in the trash at my apartment house. Pick it up to my apartment and turned it on. It just turned on and off. Went online, found your fix. Did the magic and now it works!! Never soldered in my life before. Thanks so much! Wished I had a job and money in that case I would have sent you some, but I send good karma instead!

Jon - Sweden

Thank you for the fantastic guide. I bought the capacitors from eBay for 2 quid and am now typing this message on my repaired Samsung 206BW! (All three capacitors on my monitor were bulging slightly at the top). Cheers!

Gareth - UK

I've come up with a temporary solution i guess that is when your monitor is blinking on/off, you press the MagicBright "half-circle" of presets and it starts normaly. You have to wait about 10 secs and then you can change to your original preset. I don't know if this works only for me as my caps aren't fully broken or it works anyways. I hope this helps.

Manuel - Spain

(Norm's note: This temporary solution may help you initially, however I would always recommend replacing the bad caps as soon as possible)

Norm, The hardest part was prying open the case. Instead of a screwdriver I used a paint scraper. It gives pretty good leverage, but you have to make sure that you bear down hard enough or the blade will pop out of the groove, possibly scratching the case. If a scrap of heavy paper (an index card is good) is folded and placed over the scraper blade, there will be a snugger fit, and if the blade does pop out, the paper might prevent scratching.

I used 35 volt capacitors instead of 25 volt. They were slightly larger, but still fit OK. Thanks,

David -Texas, USA

Thank you!! My monitor works again!!

My Samsung SyncMaster 206BW LCD Monitor would turn on for 1 second... and then turn off again. I purchased the three capacitors and followed the instructions on your website. I must admit that while I was working on the power board I was seriously doubting that this would even fix my monitor. But I completed the process and put everything back together. I turned my monitor back on and it did the same thing as it did before... it came on for 1 second and turned back off. So I tried turning it on again. This time it came on and STAYED ON!!! It has been working perfectly ever since! Thank you very much for your "how to" website! You saved me from having to buy a new monitor... and I actually had a lot of fun working on it!!

Larry - California, USA.

(Norm's note: Larry fixed his screen before I had the "screen goes off" fix listed. He did the "LED flashing fix" and it seems to have worked!!!)

Hi! About an hour ago I returned from dinner, and found a Samsung Syncmaster 206BW with a flashing blue power LED. Disconnecting the data cable did not show the "no signal" message. Until today it had always worked fine.

Powered up my laptop, and quickly found that it's a common problem with this monitor, including a youtube-video linking to your website. The two bulging 1000 uF caps where hard to miss, but thanks to your instructions, I knew that it should be easy to fix even before I started opening the case, making the whole process much more fun. I found a donor project with some low-mileage 1000 uF/25V low-ESR capacitors. (mine also had the 680 uF instead of 470 uF, which still looked fine).

Prying open the plastic back took the most time, so I checked it was working before snapping it on. Plugged the monitor into the (still running) desktop, and everything is working fine now. Thank you very much!

Jaap - The Netherlands

Thank you very much for this information. i have looked many times before for a fix but couldn't find the answers i needed. my monitor broke almost a year back now but i hung on to it as i knew it would prove to be a easy fix once i knew which component needed fixing. thank you So much for sharing

R.K.

Norm - Thanks so much for the comprehensive instructions on this. As I pulled each of those 3 caps from the PSB, I did a simple resistance check. ALL THREE tested OK in this mode! And NONE of them exhibited any of the typical visual symptoms of failure, either. But of course I had the monitor opened up, so I replaced the caps with new ones, and the monitor worked 100%.

Sent U a small donation with much appreciation.

Patrick - Nevada

(Norm's note: a standard resistance check will not always indicate bad caps, an ESR meter is needed to check the capacitors properly)

First of all I want to thank you for your tutorial on how to fix the 206BW. I had no previous experience on how to de/soldering a capacitor, but with the help of your instructions and an E-how (soldering) video I repaired it.

I only replaced the two 1000uf capacitors, both were bulging, the 470uf cap was still intact. The two 1000uf caps I bought were larger (which I didn't know till I placed them) than the original ones and it was a really tight fit. The monitor stopped working after one a half week since I first noticed the symptoms. It went exactly how you described it. First it took 2mins to boot and the last time it still worked 1,5 hour. Again a sincere thank You.

Magnus - The Netherlands

I would like to thank you for the detailed information that made me fix my 206BW monitor! You are truely awesome.

Kenny B.

I have access to a few bad 206 monitors. I just fixed my first one. Thanks for the info.

Jason

I followed your guide. Ordered the parts online. Soldered my first two capacitors ever. I didn't know what I was going to do. Thank you very much.

Dwayne - KY

Norm, thanks for this great guide, you helped me save my monitor!

Greg - Chicago

Hi, I had the same problem that other people with this monitor, thanks to your help I get the way to solve it replacing the capacitors C261 and C263, the only two damaged.

Jorge - Spain

My son found your website when searching for a fix for his screen, he was about to order a new screen!

Many Thanks for the repair instructions for our faulty screen. I sourced the 3(high temperature)capacitors at our local Maplins for £1.10 inc VAT earlier today. An hour or so carefully following your instructions including taking photos of the critical stages and it fixed the fault. (I am an ex-computer engineer and was familiar with component change fixes, but have not tackled high tech stuff like this.....) Thanks again.

Mike - Surrey

I would like to thank you for your recipe for Samsung Syncmaster 206BW blinking on start up. I managed to fix my monitor in 30 minutes and it costs me 3 euro only. Thanks a lot!

Igor

Samsung Syncmaster 206BW LCD Monitor fix worked for me. i bought it at a yard sale for $4.00(US) and $10.90 parts, (my solder wick was old/didn't take the time to look for it), the caps were $5.00 at Radio Shack and about ½hr time.

thanks, very precise instructions. i'll renew my pay pal and chip in a bit. thanks.

Jerry - USA

I just wanted to say thank you soooooo much for your post on the 206bw flash start problem. It was an easy fix with the info you provided. Bought the parts from my local Radio Shack and had it running in 20 min. Again thanks a bunch!!!!!!!

Eric

Hi Norman, I'm really grateful for the fix you described. The monitor seems to be as good as new. The fix only took a couple of minutes and saved me a bundle on repairs. Thanks a lot,

David - Canada

Thank you very much for the tutorial, you saved my monitor :) Best regards from Romania!

Bulat - Romania

Hi Norm. Just wanted to say thanks for the guide. I have a 206bw that was 4 months out of warranty. I replaced all 3 caps, plus 301, since I had the cap laying around at my fathers house. Works great now. Thanks again!

Mike

Great tutorial ! I've used it and the screen works perfect. Thanks

Itay

Hi Norm, Just a quick note to say many thanks indeed for your help - I am typing this reply using a repaired Samsung monitor!!!! Now I have a few spares in case this happens again. Like you say, it is actually a really easy repair once you know what you are doing! Thanks again and all the best

Darren - England

Thanks for the 206bw fix. Two of the caps were swollen.

Mark - England

Thanks Norm for your detailed repair for this unit, all worked as you described except I have a different rev of ps board, the 1000uF caps are C107,108. Bulged and almost ready to vent. The other one C109 was 680uF and I did not replace since I picked up a 470 before I took it apart, there was no bulging at the top anyway. Thanks Again

Mike - Canada

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