Lite-On Technology to help IBM repair problem monitors

By Alun Williams

Posted on 6 Mar 2003 at 13:50

Lite-On Technology has said that the company will assist IBM in repairing recalled G51 and G51t CRT monitors. Lite-On Technology built the faulty monitors for IBM in 1997.

Following receiving reports of the monitors overheating and smoking, IBM recalled the products. The monitors include the G51 CRT and G51t Touch Screen CRT models. Model numbers to look out for include: 6541-02N, 6541-02E, 6541-02S, 6541-Q0N, 6541-Q0E, and 6541-Q0S. The date of manufacture is between June 1997 and September 1997.

According to a statement, the overheating was caused by a failure in the product's transformer. Lite-On says it has fixed the problem and that all monitors made for IBM after 1997 have been modified.

A Lite-On spokesperson said in a phone interview that the problematic transformers were not used in any other products.

The company estimated that in 1997 it produced no more than 117,000 units of the monitor, of which 56,000 were shipped to the US and around 5,500 were sold in the UK. The official contact point for concerned British consumers is the IBM Repair Centrer at (01475 555055, between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. IBM is offereing free inspection and repair or replacement.

You can find more information regarding the problems on the IBM Web site and from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission here.

Compiled from additional DigiTimes material