Dim Thinklight

[eric99]

Hi all. I picked up a T61 15.4" on eBay for cheap. Great machine, overall in better shape than the T420 it more-or-less replaces. One issue I have not seen before (have owned 5-6 ThinkPads) and cannot find info online: The Thinklight is quite dim, to the point i need to turn on a light to use the computer at night. Since that kinda defeats the purpose of the Thinklight, I wonder if anyone else is or was dealing with this, or knows of a cause and a solution. I suspect it will take more than a simple bulb replacement.

Full specs: Thinkpad T61 (7659W7S), build date 05/08
Intel Core 2 Duo T7100 1.8 GHz CPU
4 GB of DDR2 RAM
160 GB 7200 rpm SATA hard disk drive
Intel X3100 integrated graphics
15.4" LCD display with 1280x800 maximum resolution

Thanks.

[123434]

All my thinklights T61,T23 are dim.
Only when in a pitch black environment like WC they provide some light.

[RealBlackStuff]

Those LEDs are over 10 years old.
If you are handy enough, you could try and replace the piece of cable the LED is on with one from a newer/brighter cable.
Put old and new cable on top of each other, then cut off both cable-with-LED pieces together at the same length.
Mark 'old' and 'new' if needed.
Now scrape off the plastic insulation on old cable end and new LED-cable end, using e.g. the tip of an Xacto knife.
There are only 2 traces/lanes to free up on each cable end.
Solder the 2 lanes from old to new and insulate with some tape.
You may need to check that the LED-mounting support (behind the LED itself) is either transferred from old to new, or that new also fits.
Have fun!

[eric99]

Those LEDs are over 10 years old.
If you are handy enough (snip)

Thanks for the advice, RBS. Sorry it took awhile to get back to you. I remembered this thread today as I passed Exit 8 on I-84, en route from Greentown to W-B. Maybe I should have tossed my T61 out there so you could find it and fix it....which is more than I can do. My "handiness" extends as far as adding RAM, batteries and in some cases video cards. I am debating whether it's worth seeing if my clumsy fingers can handle putting a new keyboard in the T420 in my sig.

Soldering? Not in my wheelhouse, alas. Tis a shame, since apart from the dim ThinkLight, this is a great machine, considering it's 10 years old and cost $69.99. Runs Win 7 Pro SP1 like a dream. Would not be ideal for hard-core gamers or heavy duty video editors. For me it's dang near perfect. In daily use it feels even more solid than my T420.

But if I tried to solder anything, that would be the end of it....thanks for the thought.

[madicetea]

Those LEDs are over 10 years old.
If you are handy enough (snip)

Thanks for the advice, RBS. Sorry it took awhile to get back to you. I remembered this thread today as I passed Exit 8 on I-84, en route from Greentown to W-B. Maybe I should have tossed my T61 out there so you could find it and fix it....which is more than I can do. My "handiness" extends as far as adding RAM, batteries and in some cases video cards. I am debating whether it's worth seeing if my clumsy fingers can handle putting a new keyboard in the T420 in my sig.

Soldering? Not in my wheelhouse, alas. Tis a shame, since apart from the dim ThinkLight, this is a great machine, considering it's 10 years old and cost $69.99. Runs Win 7 Pro SP1 like a dream. Would not be ideal for hard-core gamers or heavy duty video editors. For me it's dang near perfect. In daily use it feels even more solid than my T420.

But if I tried to solder anything, that would be the end of it....thanks for the thought.

At least you are living so close to him that you could literally drop off the machine in-person. More than what I could do when I asked him a similar question (and got verbatim advice almost a couple years ago when my Thinklight gave out).

I did finally manage this the first time around, but the first time around I destroyed the cable. So, I bought the same FRU cable and crossed my finger it had a working thinklight when I replaced it. It did, and I have been happy ever since.

So if you cannot solder, perhaps you can unhook latches and unscrew screws and can find extra parts of the exact same model (revision numbers are not important).

Goodluck.