Anyone know if this lack of contrast is repairable or if the LCD needs replacement? The backlight is strong but the characters are almost unreadable. This is a chipped radio, has been recapped and glue removed. It worked well until recently. Thanks.
I will check that when it makes it back to me. Also, I have another display if it's the LCD panel. Thanks Mike.I would check +5V leg 6 and 33 of IC502
I will check when it arrives. Thanks.IC501, the IR2429 driver chip for that display has a charge pump circuit in it. Uses three electrolytic caps C501, C502 and C503 for this. If one of them is installed reversed, it would reduce the voltage feeding from the charge pump to the LCD. Years ago the dot-matrix LCD displays we used for design clients would have the option of a trimpot on what they called the "back plane voltage". Would sometimes be labeled "contrast". Does the display become more distinct if you tip the face of the radio down and view it from an extreme angle? Might be what's going on.
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