I think Dell make a great monitor; I’ve been buying Dell 24” monitors ever since the brilliant 16:10 aspect 2407wfp. However, the more recent Dell U2413 appears to have a rather serious issue where it will turn off after extended use. Seemingly the monitor runs hot and enters standby as a measure of thermal protection.
ifixit.com to the rescue!
The people over at ifxit.com did some great investigation into why. People far more knowledgeable about electronics and printed circuit board issues than I discovered the root cause of the issue and offered several fixes.
- Add two resistors into a circuit to lower the thyristor voltage (and thus raise the cut off temperature)
- Replace the thyristors with improved components that have a higher thermal ceiling.
- Add head sinks to thermal components to aid cooling.
I went for option 1 and wanted to offer slightly more beginner level instructions than on the ifixit.com site. I encourage you to explore the options over at ifixit.com suitable to your needs.
Resistor to buy?
- 1K ohm
- Surface mount
- 0805 size
I got the 0805 as recommended by the ifixit.com thread, but I see no reason why a 1206 wouldn’t work as well and be slightly easier to solder onto the board if you have difficulty with the small size.
Step-by-Step
1. Remove the monitor from the stand. Place on a chair, screen out.
2. Remove the black FRONT bezel, not the rear cover!
(if you remove the rear cover you cannot access the power and control board and the monitor is supported by the rear cover. The retaining clips are easy to break, see end photo)
3. Use a plastic spatula or pick to prise into the bezel, it has a deep lip to get past. I found this easier on a chair than with the monitor flat on a table.
4. With the bezel fully removed, using a towel to protect the screen place the monitor face down on a stable surface and remove the side case and the rear panel.
5. This allows the case retaining clips that hold the port selection and power unit to release.
6. Carefully lift the metal shield and unstick the black ribbon cable from the back of the LCD. Depress the clips (they only move slightly) and remove the cable from the port on the LCD.
7. Pivot the metal shield being careful not to stress the remaining ribbon cables still attached. The whole assembly should lie flat and allow access to the rear of the PCB.
8. Place your resistor onto the locations at Q971 and Q972. The pin furthest from the text in each case.
9. Mark the limit of the resistor with a pen and carefully remove some of the green insulating surface covering to expose the copper ground layer.
10. Carefully solder the resistor to the pin at one end and the ground location at the other.
That’s it!
Even with my very armature soldering skills it’s achievable because the components are small you need very little heat and solder to make a connection. It may be advisable to have a helper hold the resistor still with some needle tweezers.
Re-assemble the monitor by reattaching the ribbon cable to the LCD and press the screen front bezel back in place.
After a full 24 hours of looping movies with the screen on it seems that the fix is good (as also confirmed by others on the ifixit.com site)
Hopefully you have less broken clips than I did!
Great post! The ifixit article indicates that the power is completely dead when it turns off. Is this the same issue you had?
My issue is slightly different. The screen goes black, but the power LED is on. It acts exactly as if the screen is working – computer still detects it, mouse can be scrolled over onto it, it just isn’t showing a picture, and won’t until I turn it off and on again.
Did yours turn off completely?
My screen would go into standby, with the power LED as orange and no input.
I think there are degrees of failure for these U2413 screens, but the fix should still be the same given the great investigative work by the forum users at ifixit.
Hey, I’m having the same issue, were you able to resolve?
I tried it, it helped but not 100% works, in summer days the screen starts to blink rather than shut as before, I tried it on 2 screens and the same thing happened, I checked the solders and the readings are 500 ohm which means the 2 resistors are in a parellel connection correctly. You can just add a cooling fan and it’s 100% reliable with the reduction of resistors.
Witam. Dzięki temu poradnikowi też udało mi się naprawić usterkę monitora. Pozdrawiam serdecznie.
Niall – I had the exact same problem. With absolutely zero skill or experience it took a few weeks to assemble the tools needed. That being a soldering kit; a set of thingies to prise the bezel off; and the resistors. Wow they’re small.
Followed your instructions and soldered the resistors in place and presto I’ve got a second monitor again and don’t need to replace it. Apart from it being loads cheaper I avoided all the negative environmental issues.
I took my time to do it, and the whole job was about an hour.
Only variation on your instructions was that after freeing the bezel I had 4 screws to undo at the back behind where the monitor stand attaches.
So thank you for your post.