You might get some idea from these links:

 

http://www.lcdpart.com/doc/inverter_installation.html 

 

http://www.lcdrepair.us/Installation.html 

 

You may need to replace the inverter.  

You pry between the front and rear case halves after removing the stand. Start at the bottom and work your wat around. You want the rear of the case to lift up a little. Several putty knives or I'm starting to like old butter knives.

You are going to damage the case a little bit doing this without practice. Which E173fp do you have? 

Thanks for the links, the symptoms are almost identical apart from the fact that the power button light doesn't stay on green, it alternates between yellow standby and green, while the screen flickers for a fraction of a second. This cycle repeats continuously while the power is connected. I have managed to get the innards out, main motherboard and have checked for bulging capacitors but they all look ok. I don't know what an inverter does exactly and how expensive they are, if this were the guaranteed solutino then I'm willing to give it a go. Otherwise I'll just have to shell out for a new monitor. Which is a shame cos the panel itself is fine.

 

The inverter board supplies high voltage to the CCFL backlight lamps. Some have the power supply on board as well.

 

You can find prices here - click on the link for your model. You could get it tested before you decide.

Excellent - thanks.

 

I would really like to repair the board myself if it's the case that only one minor component has failed, but I guess I'll need a professional to check it... which may cost as much (or more) than buying a new board.. or even a new monitor....

 

The different letter models have different most common problems. The cap has not been the fix on the ones I did. You may be  able to get boards depending on te model 173 you have. To do componet repair, you need to be skilled at soldering. If you are not, you'll not be able to repair or will have a short lived repair