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[SOLVED] Monitor Power Supply

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Jul 2, 2016
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Hello,
I bought my monitor ( Acer ed347ckr) about 3 months ago. I used to get some blackouts or loss of color for fractions of a second when I got it. I thought it is my old video card dying so I checked another graphics card after a while when I had the chance to, and it was the same thing. Recently, it became much worse, it randomly turns off for seconds or even minutes and then gets power again but it works alright for the majority of the time. I tried another power cord and it did not change anything. So I measured the voltage with a multimeter and it was getting less than 1v which I believe means that I have to replace the power supply.
How can I choose a power supply for the monitor? What are the points that I should look for?
Power supply image
 
Solution
EDIT: wait, at only 3 months old, shouldn't Acer be sending you a new PSU under warranty?

I apologize for not updating for a long time as I was very busy in the last couple of weeks.
1- I noticed that there are some adapters that have pins and others do not. My monitor has a pin inside but not the adapter that I currently I have. So that is a thing that I should take into consideration when buying one right?
2- Another thing, if I got a not perfectly sized connector, I can use a converter right?
3- I think that the size of the connector is 5.5mm x 2.1mm. Is it a standard for monitors?
4- Most of the adapters I found on Amazon are sold for laptops or audio amplifiers. I believe this does not matter?
Thank you guys for the help.
...
I found a lot of power bricks in Amazon with different connector sizes.
How can I find the inner and outer diameters of the connector?
I contacted Acer about that and the agent did not have a clue of what is going on.
 
Hello,
I bought my monitor ( Acer ed347ckr) about 3 months ago. I used to get some blackouts or loss of color for fractions of a second when I got it. I thought it is my old video card dying so I checked another graphics card after a while when I had the chance to, and it was the same thing. Recently, it became much worse, it randomly turns off for seconds or even minutes and then gets power again but it works alright for the majority of the time. I tried another power cord and it did not change anything. So I measured the voltage with a multimeter and it was getting less than 1v which I believe means that I have to replace the power supply.
How can I choose a power supply for the monitor? What are the points that I should look for?
Power supply image
Where did you measure the voltage at exactly?
 
Hello,
I bought my monitor ( Acer ed347ckr) about 3 months ago. I used to get some blackouts or loss of color for fractions of a second when I got it. I thought it is my old video card dying so I checked another graphics card after a while when I had the chance to, and it was the same thing. Recently, it became much worse, it randomly turns off for seconds or even minutes and then gets power again but it works alright for the majority of the time. I tried another power cord and it did not change anything. So I measured the voltage with a multimeter and it was getting less than 1v which I believe means that I have to replace the power supply.
How can I choose a power supply for the monitor? What are the points that I should look for?
Power supply image

This can be a monitor power supply problem or your monitor's capacitors are faulty. I have one that does the same. If it takes too long to turn on when you boot like 30 minutes greater or less than, and blinks randomly, then you know it's a bad capacitor.
 
I'd use my digital caliper (since you own the factory plug)
I apologize for not updating for a long time as I was very busy in the last couple of weeks.
1- I noticed that there are some adapters that have pins and others do not. My monitor has a pin inside but not the adapter that I currently I have. So that is a thing that I should take into consideration when buying one right?
2- Another thing, if I got a not perfectly sized connector, I can use a converter right?
3- I think that the size of the connector is 5.5mm x 2.1mm. Is it a standard for monitors?
4- Most of the adapters I found on Amazon are sold for laptops or audio amplifiers. I believe this does not matter?
Thank you guys for the help.
 
Last edited:
I apologize for not updating for a long time as I was very busy in the last couple of weeks.
1- I noticed that there are some adapters that have pins and others do not. My monitor has a pin inside but not the adapter that I currently I have. So that is a thing that I should take into consideration when buying one right?
2- Another thing, if I got a not perfectly sized connector, I can use a converter right?
3- I think that the size of the connector is 5.5mm x 2.1mm. Is it a standard for monitors?
4- Most of the adapters I found on Amazon are sold for laptops or audio amplifiers. I believe this does not matter?
Thank you guys for the help.

Everything matters from what' ive heard from @mortemas , it includes the right voltage and amp, right diameter and the right gender of everything either it's a male or female, the polarity is also important as what he states. You should either get the exact factory adapter from somewhere like a second hand monitor PSU or directly from the manufacturer. Or you can go with the exact spec but different PSU product.
 
EDIT: wait, at only 3 months old, shouldn't Acer be sending you a new PSU under warranty?

I apologize for not updating for a long time as I was very busy in the last couple of weeks.
1- I noticed that there are some adapters that have pins and others do not. My monitor has a pin inside but not the adapter that I currently I have. So that is a thing that I should take into consideration when buying one right?
2- Another thing, if I got a not perfectly sized connector, I can use a converter right?
3- I think that the size of the connector is 5.5mm x 2.1mm. Is it a standard for monitors?
4- Most of the adapters I found on Amazon are sold for laptops or audio amplifiers. I believe this does not matter?
Thank you guys for the help.

1) Yes, according to your pic the gender of the connector on the PSU must be female, although according to wikipedia the debate about a plug's gender is split down the middle. Since your psu connector has a hole in the middle of the plug, I would call it female. In the end it doesn't really matter what you call it, you just have to get the right one for your monitor.

2) You could see if there’s a listing for a PSU with multiple/interchangeable plugs, but I saw one that didn't have a 5.5x2.1mm connector in the included assortment.

3) Well, I'd say amongst power supplies in general 5.5x2.1mm is probably the most common size when the plug is barrel style. Having said that, it does look like yours is 5.5x2.1mm. The next common size is 5.5x2.5mm. If you don't get the right size you'll either have an intermittent connection, or the plug won't fit into the jack on the monitor.

4) As long as the connector, voltage (19v DC), and polarity (center positive) are the same, and the amperage is equal or greater than the original power supply, then it should be ok.

You should check the manual for your monitor. Madartzgraphics' monitor manual listed 7 different part numbers for acceptable PSU replacements for that monitor.
 
Last edited:
Solution
EDIT: wait, at only 3 months old, shouldn't Acer be sending you a new PSU under warranty?



1) Yes, according to your pic the gender of the connector on the PSU must be female, although according to wikipedia the debate about a plug's gender is split down the middle. Since your psu connector has a hole in the middle of the plug, I would call it female. In the end it doesn't really matter what you call it, you just have to get the right one for your monitor.

2) You could see if there’s a listing for a PSU with multiple/interchangeable plugs, but I saw one that didn't have a 5.5x2.1mm connector in the included assortment.

3) Well, I'd say amongst power supplies in general 5.5x2.1mm is probably the most common size when the plug is barrel style. Having said that, it does look like yours is 5.5x2.1mm. The next common size is 5.5x2.5mm. If you don't get the right size you'll either have an intermittent connection, or the plug won't fit into the jack on the monitor.

4) As long as the connector, voltage (19v DC), and polarity (center positive) are the same, and the amperage is equal or greater than the original power supply, then it should be ok.

You should check the manual for your monitor. Madartzgraphics' monitor manual listed 7 different part numbers for acceptable PSU replacements for that monitor.

Yes, they would have sent me one under warranty but it was ordered overseas. Thanks a lot for the info!
 
Would they sell you one?
I contacted Acer USA and asked them if I could order one and they told me they do not ship internationally and I should contact a local place where I live. I contacted them, they said that they do not have stock and will ask Acer if they could ship one. It is been more than 10 days of waiting, when I contacted them again they said that Acer still has not replied.
So, I ended up just ordering one from Amazon.

And just for reference, if anyone had a problem in identifying 5.5mm * 2.5mm and 5.5mm * 2.1mm ports. If you store old cables you can get a 2mm Nokia charger and insert it into the port if it perfectly fits, then it is 2.1mm, if it fits but moves while inside the port then it is 2.5mm.

Again, thanks all for the help!
 
Wow, great method for measuring! I had a hard time finding photos of the two sizes side by side, so I'm going to post it here:

49318186823_3eecf2cacd_h.jpg