z3100 display loses contrast

[CharlesGast]

 If I do a cold restart the user interface screen is clearly legible, but once it times out and goes to sleep it can't be read when it comes back on. Although the screen still lights up the message is unreadable.   If anyone has any ideas please share. The only thing I was going to take a shot at is replacing the electrolytic capacitors on the display board.

[Mark Lindquist]

If I do a cold restart the user interface screen is clearly legible, but once it times out and goes to sleep it can't be read when it comes back on. Although the screen still lights up the message is unreadable.   If anyone has any ideas please share. The only thing I was going to take a shot at is replacing the electrolytic capacitors on the display board.

Welcome to the forum Charles. Certainly the capacitors are potentially a likely candidate for the problem you describe.
Another potential is the cable and connections.
Those Console screens are pretty easy to find on eBay.
Either way, good luck.

Mark

[CharlesGast]

Thank you for responding Mark!
Also thank you for all you do here by providing critical information without which these printers cannot sing 

I had the replacement capacitors in hand. $16 worth from digikey (including some extras).
First I re-seated and used deoxit gold on the connector to the module and the one from the control circuit board to the display.
That didn't help.
Then I thought of one more connection. The edge connector on the formatter board.
Continued by putting a slight coat of deoxit gold on the formatter board edge contacts and re-seating the board a few times.
That was the cure! 
It's a relief since I noticed the display boards which used to be available on ebay are no longer there. And it seemed a long shot to replace the caps.
 

[Mark Lindquist]

Thank you for responding Mark!
Also thank you for all you do here by providing critical information without which these printers cannot sing 

I had the replacement capacitors in hand. $16 worth from digikey (including some extras).
First I re-seated and used deoxit gold on the connector to the module and the one from the control circuit board to the display.
That didn't help.
Then I thought of one more connection. The edge connector on the formatter board.
Continued by putting a slight coat of deoxit gold on the formatter board edge contacts and re-seating the board a few times.
That was the cure! 
It's a relief since I noticed the display boards which used to be available on ebay are no longer there. And it seemed a long shot to replace the caps.

Thank you for the kind words Charles -

Your feedback on your solution will be invaluable to many users here in the future.
The Deoxit coating and reseating is excellent! So glad that worked for you.

Sometimes reseating several times also works, but Deoxit is a brilliant solution - used much in the Audio industry, so why not with our printers.

Curious as to which Deoxit applicator you used? Spray, bursh, tube, etc.

If I get some time, I'll add your comments to Z3200.com so it will be part of the compendium going on there.

Great solution - good sleuthing - excellent resolution.

Best -

Mark

[CharlesGast]

I have the G-Series DeoxIT Gold G100L.
It comes in a little 7.4 ml glass bottle with a brush. It is about $33, but this is the concentrate without a solvent carrier and will last me more than 10 years since only a barely detectable amount on the contact surface is all that is required.
The brush allows you to get just enough applied without making a mess in the area around the contacts. I have the spray-on version too since some female connectors and potentiometers are otherwise inaccessible. I am very careful to dispense just barely enough with that too.
The brush-on is used on battery contacts in my flashlights etc. - no more flickering light.