PRS-505 Screen problem after changing battery

bkk · 07-05-2012, 03:06 AM

Hello,

I got a Sony PRS 505. Short story, I opened it up to replace the battery and put it back together. Everything seemed fine until it booted up with horizontal stripes at the top of the screen as can be seen in photo.

Is it possible I loosened some cable while opening it up or is this irreparable screen damage? If so, would it be possible to reformat my books so that they "start" a centimeter lower on each page so the reader would still be useful?

Any advice on what I could do either to fix the display or make it useful in it's current state would be very much appreciated!

Thanks,

Belfaborac · 07-05-2012, 07:54 PM

I don't actually have a clue what's wrong, but if that had happened when I changed the battery in mine, my first thought would have been to open it again and check the connections.

elcreative · 07-05-2012, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Belfaborac

I don't actually have a clue what's wrong, but if that had happened when I changed the battery in mine, my first thought would have been to open it again and check the connections.

Agree, don't panic until checked internals back together OK... it does look like screen damage but just possibly may be faulty connection of display ribbon cable (or damage to it)... nothing to lose checking it all first... good luck.

You may be able to change top and bottom margins using calibre... set custom ouput then do a convert and save of your books using new settings...

Cdesja5 · 07-05-2012, 11:01 PM

I think that it's probably a problem with the ribbon cable... My screen looked similar but a bit worse than that after I changed my battery so I opened it up again; it wasn't connected correctly. Unfortunately I slightly tore the ribbon cable closing it up again so now a T1 has replaced my 505. I wasn't able to find any place to get the cable. Have you checked if all your buttons are still working? The appearance of the screen may not be your only problem...

Belfaborac · 07-06-2012, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cdesja5

I think that it's probably a problem with the ribbon cable...

That was my first thought too. The ribbon cable was a bit of a bother to seat correctly when I put mine back together.

bkk · 07-06-2012, 04:36 AM

Big thanks for all the replies here!

Opening it up and redo the whole process was my first though as well but it was a real hassle getting it back in the case again. I did not have any problems with the ribbon cable but getting it to fit in the case again was frustrating to say the least. I guess I might have squeezed the top of the screen too hard while pushing and ended up damaging the screen? Are E ink screens sensitive to pressure?

Anyhow I bit the bullet today and completely disassembled the whole thing. Can anyone tell me if the cable that connects the screen to the board is looking damaged?

I tried to cut of a very small piece of the ribbon cable hoping that would help. That and re-seating the cable at varied depths and angles of the socket. Neither solved anything but did however produce some interesting results as can be seen in the photos.

In the first photo the black is much more visible, 2nd there are even more lines and in the 3rd it's all lines and nothing else. (compare to photo in OP)

I have no clue what it means at all. Any opinions would be most welcome.

feenix1363 · 07-06-2012, 04:51 AM

There's a very definite 'kink' in the ribbon, this could well lead to a break on one or more of the tracks imho.

Belfaborac · 07-06-2012, 05:07 AM

Are pictures 2-4 the results of disassembling and reassembling the reader three times, or did the screen get progressively worse?

I still think it has to do with the ribbon cable, but I fear I don't have a solution for you. It looks and seems to me that the cable may perhaps have become damaged, in which case I'm not sure if anything can be done. At least I think that's a lot more likely than the screen itself having been damaged by the reassembly after the battery change.

If no solution is found and you'd rather not buy a new reader, or at least not without exploring further options, I would see if there isn't an electronics repair shop near you and check if they can do something to fix it. Hopefully they can and hopefully it won't cost all that much.

bkk · 07-06-2012, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by feenix1363

There's a very definite 'kink' in the ribbon, this could well lead to a break on one or more of the tracks imho.

That's what I thought as well when I first saw it. Since the ribbon is a part of the screen it does not seem very likely anything can be done about this?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Belfaborac

Are pictures 2-4 the results of disassembling and reassembling the reader three times, or did the screen get progressively worse?

I still think it has to do with the ribbon cable, but I fear I don't have a solution for you. It looks and seems to me that the cable may perhaps have become damaged, in which case I'm not sure if anything can be done. At least I think that's a lot more likely than the screen itself having been damaged by the reassembly after the battery change.

If no solution is found and you'd rather not buy a new reader, or at least not without exploring further options, I would see if there isn't an electronics repair shop near you and check if they can do something to fix it. Hopefully they can and hopefully it won't cost all that much.

The pictures are from when I tried to attach the cable in different ways as described above. I did however manage to get it back to look like it did in the first post before reassembling it again and that's where I am back to right now. Sorry for not mentioning that before.

I guess I will try to find a way to change the top margins of my books with calibre as mentioned by someone else in the thread (Thanks for the tip) and see if I can get any use of it before getting a new one.

bkk · 07-06-2012, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elcreative

Agree, don't panic until checked internals back together OK... it does look like screen damage but just possibly may be faulty connection of display ribbon cable (or damage to it)... nothing to lose checking it all first... good luck.

You may be able to change top and bottom margins using calibre... set custom ouput then do a convert and save of your books using new settings...

I tried this using Calibre. Just changed the top margin from 5.0 pt to 40.0 pt as suggested above and it now excludes the dead stripey area on the screen. So basically it will be fully usable again with the exception of a centimeter of lost screen real estate. But at least it won't miss anything on the pages.

Thank you for the tip. It saved this 505 and will hopefully get it through another few books before retirement.

07-05-2012, 03:06 AM	#1
bkk Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2012 Device: Sony PRS	Screen problem after changing battery Hello, I got a Sony PRS 505. Short story, I opened it up to replace the battery and put it back together. Everything seemed fine until it booted up with horizontal stripes at the top of the screen as can be seen in photo. Is it possible I loosened some cable while opening it up or is this irreparable screen damage? If so, would it be possible to reformat my books so that they "start" a centimeter lower on each page so the reader would still be useful? Any advice on what I could do either to fix the display or make it useful in it's current state would be very much appreciated! Thanks, Attached Thumbnails

07-05-2012, 11:01 PM	#4
Cdesja5 Wizard Posts: 1,117 Karma: 2094306 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Montreal, Canada Device: Lots and lots of electronic gadgets...	I think that it's probably a problem with the ribbon cable... My screen looked similar but a bit worse than that after I changed my battery so I opened it up again; it wasn't connected correctly. Unfortunately I slightly tore the ribbon cable closing it up again so now a T1 has replaced my 505. I wasn't able to find any place to get the cable. Have you checked if all your buttons are still working? The appearance of the screen may not be your only problem... Last edited by Cdesja5; 07-05-2012 at 11:05 PM.

07-06-2012, 04:36 AM	#6
bkk Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2012 Device: Sony PRS	Big thanks for all the replies here! Opening it up and redo the whole process was my first though as well but it was a real hassle getting it back in the case again. I did not have any problems with the ribbon cable but getting it to fit in the case again was frustrating to say the least. I guess I might have squeezed the top of the screen too hard while pushing and ended up damaging the screen? Are E ink screens sensitive to pressure? Anyhow I bit the bullet today and completely disassembled the whole thing. Can anyone tell me if the cable that connects the screen to the board is looking damaged? I tried to cut of a very small piece of the ribbon cable hoping that would help. That and re-seating the cable at varied depths and angles of the socket. Neither solved anything but did however produce some interesting results as can be seen in the photos. In the first photo the black is much more visible, 2nd there are even more lines and in the 3rd it's all lines and nothing else. (compare to photo in OP) I have no clue what it means at all. Any opinions would be most welcome. Attached Thumbnails

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
iLiad Help with Irex battery and screen problem	nhimclc	iRex	2	01-14-2012 07:55 PM
was the problem with the pocket pro's battery when the screen is locked, ever fixed?	SDRebel	Astak EZReader	7	04-27-2011 09:36 PM
DR1000 Is it possible changing battery in DR1000S?	bokjeid	iRex	21	10-18-2010 12:03 PM
PRS-500 battery problem, but the battery's not the problem	ZachC	Sony Reader	7	01-11-2010 11:46 PM
Battery indicator not changing	lweller	Sony Reader	9	04-10-2009 09:48 PM

07-05-2012, 07:54 PM	#2
Belfaborac Wizard Posts: 1,498 Karma: 5199835 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Norway Device: Sony PRS-505, PRS-950	I don't actually have a clue what's wrong, but if that had happened when I changed the battery in mine, my first thought would have been to open it again and check the connections.

07-06-2012, 04:51 AM	#7
feenix1363 Lost and clueless Posts: 194 Karma: 233336 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: UK Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Glo, Kindle for Andriod, Kobo for Android	There's a very definite 'kink' in the ribbon, this could well lead to a break on one or more of the tracks imho.

07-06-2012, 05:07 AM	#8
Belfaborac Wizard Posts: 1,498 Karma: 5199835 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Norway Device: Sony PRS-505, PRS-950	Are pictures 2-4 the results of disassembling and reassembling the reader three times, or did the screen get progressively worse? I still think it has to do with the ribbon cable, but I fear I don't have a solution for you. It looks and seems to me that the cable may perhaps have become damaged, in which case I'm not sure if anything can be done. At least I think that's a lot more likely than the screen itself having been damaged by the reassembly after the battery change. If no solution is found and you'd rather not buy a new reader, or at least not without exploring further options, I would see if there isn't an electronics repair shop near you and check if they can do something to fix it. Hopefully they can and hopefully it won't cost all that much.

Advert

Advert