Discussion Second Monitor Power Supply Ate Itself.

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

I have a 24" Acer monitor that displays four outdoor cameras tied to a NVR. It's on all day every day and has been for several years. Tonight the screen went black and the blue power button LED started blinking as if it was trying to start the screen again. Same thing happened a few years ago and I happened to have a spare power supply from another screen. Plugged that in and the screen came back to life.

Same thing tonight. Replaced the power supply and the screen came back. I'm not sure why I had this spare power supply. Apparently I bought a replacement or two when it died before.

But I'm not sure why they're dying. Just burning out from being on so long?

Yeah, I buy cheap ones, $10-15 because I'm not convinced more expensive ones are any different or will last longer.

Just glad I don't have to replace the monitor itself.

 

[mindless1]

Yes, running hours (and to lesser extent ambient temp) will wear them out, usually the capacitors on the low voltage side pop first... worth opening and seeing if you can replace those with a high tier brand. For a small SMPS like that, I'll usually get (when available in the right specs) Panasonic FS series from Digikey, though if you want to spend more, there are some polymer caps that last longer still.

More expensive ones (PSU) will last longer if they are more expensive due to build quality. I'd expect any major brand to outlast a generic, and if these are sealed brick type adapters, substituting something with passive or active ventilation should last longer still, all else equal.

When I have a brick PSU fail, I pop it open, autopsy, and if caps have failed, replace those and drill some holes into the casing to reduce heat buildup. I don't have small children that poke paperclips into random holes, nor any insect problems, so have no problem with vent holes.

On the other hand, there's always the chance of some random component failure or an AC power surge frying something else like a diode or transistor, but if it's been running all day for years, the capacitors have a shorter, finite lifespan than anything else inside.

Pop it open and post some pics?