T43 2686-DHU inverter needed

[joedit]

Greetings

My display is very dim. I suspect it is the inverter but I cannot find the FRU.
It is a Thinkpad T43 2686-DHU
Can anyone please tell me the correct part number?

Thanks!

[ajkula66]

Welcome to the forum!

Given the age of the system, it's more than likely that the actual CCFL (backlight) in the screen has aged and that you'll need a replacement LCD.

Having said that, I'm certain that someone around here has an inverter for your T43 and will be willing to part with it for not too much money.

Good luck.

[rkawakami]

At the top of each forum page, there's a link named "HMM". Click it and you'll go to an index page for the Hardware Maintenance Manual for these older Thinkpads. Locate the T43/p (2668, 2669, 2678, 2679, 2686, 2687) entry and click the .PDF link on the far right to download a copy. Open up the .PDF using your favorite PDF reader and find the Parts List section. There's a subsection for the LCD panels. Since your 2686-DHU originally came with a 15" 1024x768 (XGA) screen, go to that section and you'll find the inverter listed as FRU 27K9974 or 39T0359. The only difference between the two is the former used lead solder and the latter did not. In actual operation, it should not make any difference which one you use.

That said, I'll have to agree with ajkula66 and say that it's more likely that the panel's backlight is old and is on the way out. However, it won't hurt to double check the BIOS settings to see what the display brightness is set to (normal or high), make sure you are using the system with an AC adapter as that can also cause the display to dim and to check the Power settings in Windows to see what they are set to.

[Hans Gruber]

My advice is to buy a T43 off ebay with nicer specs and a better LCD screen with higher resolution and transfer your hard drive and memory over to the other machine. A t43 without a hard drive and ram for parts but boots to bios screen.

[joedit]

Thank you all very much for your help and suggestions.
I have not checked the prices for LCD but I guessing they are
probably close to a stripped parts system.

I used to have a few sites that were PC salvage companies but I
think they are out of business. There were great for picking up
older parts.

Happy Thanksgiving.
Joe