LCD display acting wierd

[Ral-Clan]

Hi, I have an MZ-NE410 which is working great, except that the LCD has been behaving strangely over the past year.

Sometimes after starting listening to a disc I would notice that although there was audible music and the buttons on the face of the unit worked (i.e. to change volume or track), there was nothing showing on the display. At other times the display acted "drunk" - it would update slowly and sometimes characters would be corrupted. Other times it worked fine. Sometimes simply opening and shutting the clamshell cause the display to work again.

I've taken the whole lid of the clamshell apart, removed the glass LCD and cleaned the contacts on the LCD and circuit board. After doing that the display worked great for about five minutes but now it's back to acting wierd again.

I would have thought it might be the ribbon cable to the circuit board on the lid, but that seems to be okay (will have to look at it more closely) and the buttons all respond (they use the ribbon cable too).

Perhaps one of the components on the lid's circuit board has developed an intermittent solder break.

Does anyone know of common problems with the display on these NetMD models before I go taking stabs in the dark?

Thanks

[jim.hoggarth]

You are a brave man taking the LCD glass off the board. When I do this, usually a few segments stubbornly refuse to work again. I must admit it does sound like the ribbon cable - especially the delayed response to update. Are you sure one of the copper lands is not cracked, or the mounting where it is 'glued' to the display board? I may have a spare if all else fails.

Jim