SR5E goes off when opening/closing the LCD display

[pamarin39]

Hi All,

All of a sudden my 4-year old SR5E is giving me trouble: I can't turn it on as the display flickers and goes immediately off.

A bit of context follows, please jump to the conclusion and the questions below.

I initially thought that the problem was with the battery and so ordered a new one (didn't mind getting another anyway), but with no luck.

Then I thought that quite possibly the batteries weren't being recharged properly and the power adapter could have been the problem. So I bought a new one (again, didn't mind having a second one). Still no luck.

I then found that the camera would sometimes work when connected to the docking station - with or without the battery - so I thought that it could have been some electronic issue in the camera that was preventing the batteries from being charged. So I bought a standalone battery charger which got delivered this morning and guess what? It still wouldn't work.

Conclusion

After desperately fiddling with the camera to try and avoid the pretty sharp £180 that Sony requested to fix the camera (availble new for £230!), I have finally determined that the problem must be with the LCD display flex cable. In fact, it seems possible to switch on the camera when the display is already open. It is just when moving the display (to close it, for example), that some flickering occurs and then the camera goes off.

Question

Now I am already £30 off (power adapter, battery and charger) and before investing more money, I would need to know how complicated it is to replace the LCD flex cable. Is this something that requires special tools and in-depth knowledge on how to disassemble and reassemble the camera?

Sorry for the long post and thanks for your help.

Paolo

[fast_guy]

Does your SR5E have a menu option to power on /off when opening/closing the display, like my HDR-TD10 does?  If so, try disabling it and see if it helps.

[Mick2011 · Accepted solution]

Hi Paolo

Without wanting to put you off... if you're sure it's a ribbon problem (and it's quite possible it is) I'd seriously recommend you have it repaired professionally. It is a time-consuming fix and that's more than likely why the repair estimate is so high; the ribbons are not expensive.

However I did come across an informative blog (and comments) which to be honest would put me off completely – it's a different camera but should give you an idea what's involved:

http://blog.tanist.co.uk/2008/12/sony-dcr-hc19e-handycam-lcd-repair-black-screen/

If you're still keen after reading that - good luck! and be sure to let us know how you get on.

Cheers

Mick