I have a Vostro 1500. The screen works great except I am getting a hot spot in the lower left hand corner that turns the screen black and grows like a blob the longer the screen is on.

I don’t know if this is a screen issue, or a wiring issue?

I think this is LCD screen failure. The video harness doesn’t fail like that.

I have a Vostro 1500. The screen works great except I am getting a hot spot in the lower left hand corner that turns the screen black and grows like a blob the longer the screen is on.

I don’t know if this is a screen issue, or a wiring issue?

Any input would be appreciated!

I have a vostro 1310 and I just replaced the LCD Cable, due to the wires being broken from normal use (open and closing the screening). I made sure all the connectors were seated properly and I put it back together. When I went to start the computer up no splash screen only a dull gray screen. I did hook up an external monitor and the computer starts up fine. So what should I check now? Do I have a bad inverter?

No, this is not inverter related failure. You can see the gray screen, it means the backlight turns on but there is no data signal.
Are you sure the new video cable is compatible?
It’s possible your new cable is for a screen with different resolution. Make sure you got the compatible cable.

I can see the screen if I shine a flashlight on it, so it does still work but the light source is not working. Do you think the problem is the inverter board or the video cable/ribbon?

Most likely it’s either failed inverter or bad CCFL (backlight lamp) inside the screen.
Here’s what I would try:
1. Reseat connection between the video cable and inverter board.
2. Replace inverter.
3. Replace LCD screen.
Also, it could be bad cable but more likely it’s one of the three mentioned above.
It’s hard to troubleshoot backlight issues without spare parts.

Sean