there is this one part that I\'m a little concerned about. One of the screw threading got stripped so the screw doesnt really hold tight. There is a small PCB board with solder dots aligned in a ring around the screw hole. This looks like it\'s supposed to contact with a metal piece of the swivel screen. The solder on this is kinda worn out. Would this affect anything?
If it turns on when it\'s dismantled, then it can\'t be relying on a ground from a screw as an anti tamper mechanism, as it wouldnt work when it\'s in bits when the contact is disconnected.
At least you know there is no major problem as all the bits work. It still could be a dry joint/broken wire that works when it\'s in some postions but not others.
Or it could be that when the screws are in place it is shorting out something that shouldn\'t be.
Without knowing what should be connected (if anything) when the case is closed it is hard to say. I would tend to favor a dodgy wire based on what you have said.
Case point: My mouse worked sometimes but not others. I found it would work if I bent the wire in a certain way while using it. The copper inside the insulation had broken and bending the wire made it connect.
Solution: cut the wire 2 inches from the mouse, and reconect the wires. This resulted with a shorter cable, and a fully working mouse. This was on an Ataris st, when a new mouse cost over £30 ($40 us).
You don\'t really want to keep taking it to bits as this will probably only make things worse, but if it is still in bits, try and bend the wires into the same position it would be when fully assembled, or waggle the wires one at a time (gently). if the screen goes off you have found your culprit and will need to replace that wire.
What\'s your soldering like? Replacing a wire is fairly simple, but if you are not used to soldering then you could end up making things worse either by bridging across two components, or \"cooking\" the joints and damaging the board or other components.
You may find that if you put it back together it will work fine. Once it\'s all screwed in place things aren\'t gong to move anymore.
I would offer to help, but I doubt you are local to me.
Peter.
