Crazy Transformer question

After an hour or two the display would go all weird, and shaking like crazy, or a couple times the picture simply disappeared. Then like I said, a couple weekends ago, I didn't even get a picture on the tube, yet when I'd power the system off it would flash some color. At the same time I'd get the system music just fine (or game sounds, and even game play when it was just shaking). So it seemed to be totally restricted to the monitor portion of the system. I'd actually considered the overheating part based on how filthy the grill on the powersupply was, but since the previous time I couldn't even get a picture, I rather doubt it was overheating. This last time, it worked without me touching a single wire. All I did was move the system, take the back panel off (couldn't do it last time thanks to security bits), and clean the transformer grill. I've a bad feeling that there is something in there that is a loose, or that there is a dry joint, and whatever it is has been disturbed, and then fixed, by moving the system so I could get at the back of the unit. Last night it ran for about 4 1/2 hours straight, and before that it probably ran for 30-45 minutes with me turning it on and off a few times. Today it's been on for about 15 minutes so far. I didn't see how this could be it either, but wanted to double check and make sure I'd not forgotten something. It's been a *LONG* time since I studied transformer theory, and I've never claimed I was a good electrician :^) Zane -- -- | Zane H. Healy | UNIX Systems Administrator | | healyzh at aracnet.com (primary) | OpenVMS Enthusiast | | | Classic Computer Collector | +----------------------------------+----------------------------+ | Empire of the Petal Throne and Traveller Role Playing, | | PDP-10 Emulation and Zane's Computer Museum. | | http://www.aracnet.com/~healyzh/ |