Replacing failed backlight lamp on IBM laptop
This guide will show how to open up the LCD screen on an IBM laptop and replace the failed backlight lamp (CCFL).
LCD panels become useless when their backlight lamps fail. It can fail as early as one year after production, but most units fail after three or four years of use. My ThinkPad T23 is a little more than three years old and its backlight started to show pinkish tone. Moreover it was flickering when first turned on. The symptoms usually disappeared after several minutes, but it became really annoying. So I decided that it is time to replace the backlight.
Guys, I just want to let you know that this tutorial is not for beginners. In order to replace the backlight lamp, you’ll have to get inside the LCD screen. If you do something wrong, you might permanently damage the screen.
Avoid using sharp objects during the disassembly process. Do not touch transparent layers inside the screen, you will not be able to clean them without causing damage.
Make sure your work place is not dusty. If dust gets inside the screen, it will be noticeable on a white background.
You can find a new backlight lamp very cheap here.
If you feel uncomfortable opening up the LCD screen but still have to fix the problem, you’ll have to replace the entire LCD screen. You can find a new LCD by the FRU part number. You can find this part number on the back of your original LCD screen. Most maintenance manuals for IBM laptops have instructions for replacing the screen.
Topics: Backlight, 6. IBM & Lenovo Laptops |
August 8th, 2007 at 10:18 am
Here are instructions for taking part a dell notebook screen. Replacing the backlight lamp should be similar to the above mentioned IBM notebook.
August 29th, 2007 at 10:55 pm
[…] This guide provides some additional information to my previous post about accessing and replacing laptop backlight lamp. Warning! The backlight lamp is very fragile and can be easily damaged. In order to replace the backlight lamp, you’ll have to disassemble the LCD screen. It’s not easy. If you have no experience fixing laptops, do not open the screen! The forth step says: Now you can test your newly put backlight. If in any case it doesn’t work, you could try replacing the inverter. Replacing the inverter was just a matter of unhooking a couple of cables. […]
September 3rd, 2007 at 9:14 am
[…] Here’s my previous post about replacing the backlight lamp in an IBM laptop. This post might be useful too. […]
February 18th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
[…] Here’s what you can try: 1. Check the display close switch - a small button located close to the left hinge. Make sure this switch moves up and down without any problem, try tapping on the button. When the button gets stuck in the “closed” position, it cuts off power from the inverter board and the screen will be black. Tapping on the display close switch can help to turn the screen back on. 2. Try reseating connectors on the inverter board. The screen can go black when it’s not making good connection with the inverter board. 3. Replace the inverter board. […]