Thinkpads Forum

I've been having this problem for the past little while...hope you can fix it for me.

So a few months ago, my x60s' backlight would just die whenever the screen is tilted a certain way, without warning. Usually I can fix it with closing and opening the LCD screen, or turning the screen off, then on again. I also noticed that during this time whenever I close the computer lid, I would hear a "click" from within the LCD lid, and the click sounds as if something was under tension, and "snapped" loose from whatever it was caught under.

In any case, with time, it would quit with less and less screen motion.

I opened the LCD lid once already, and sort of snooped around. Put everything back without touching anything, and somehow the problem went away. But now it's back again...as is the click.

I'm pretty darned sure it's the mechanical switch that the X60s uses to detect when the screen is on or off...somehow it's gone a little flaky. Maybe it's an electrical contact? or maybe the alignment? In any case, it's driving me nuts because even when I first opened the lid, I COULDN'T FIGURE OUT HOW THE DARN COMPUTER DETECTED THE LID OPEN/CLOSE STATE!

If anyone can send me links to instructions, technical data, or pictures, I'd be much obliged! . Heck, if anyone knows how the thing works, I wouldn't mind putting it permanently in the "on" position. I'll just use a software method to turn the backlight off when I want.

Hmm. I had thought the switch is on the base unit (usually there's a piece on the bezel that engages the switch) but looking at this picture I can't seem to find anything.

I'll take a look at my disassembled x60s when I get home, but the symptom you described with tilting the screen at various angles almost sounds like an electrical contact issue. Have you checked the inverter and the backlight cable? It's the board that's behind the bulge of the indicator LEDs. Also, make sure the cable is connected to the inverter; it's the bit that wraps under the board and connects via a snap-in socket.

Where is the snap/click coming from? If it's closer to the top of the screen it could be the latches, and closer to the rotation/hinges it could be the inverter board and/or LVDS cable.

felixdd wrote:... it's the mechanical switch that the X60s uses to detect when the screen is on or off...

It is "mechanical" only in the sense that a reed switch is "mechanical". To see the switch (which is a black chip approx. 1mm square), you need to remove the palm rest. There is a 1-inch offshoot of the LCD cable, running parallel to the cable on its right side, which terminates before the cable enters the LCD case. The switch is at the end of that cable offshoot, and the end is attached to the base with double-sided tape. There is a small magnet built into the LCD bezel just above that point which activates the switch when the lid is closed.

Test the switch by moving a small magnet over the keyboard bezel, just at the right of where the cable enters the lid -- the screen will turn off. Note: I don't think the problem you are having is caused by the switch, although it may be caused by the LCD cable.

EOMtp wrote:

felixdd wrote:... it's the mechanical switch that the X60s uses to detect when the screen is on or off...

It is "mechanical" only in the sense that a reed switch is "mechanical". To see the switch (which is a black chip approx. 1mm square), you need to remove the palm rest. There is a 1-inch offshoot of the LCD cable, running parallel to the cable on its right side, which terminates before the cable enters the LCD case. The switch is at the end of that cable offshoot, and the end is attached to the base with double-sided tape. There is a small magnet built into the LCD bezel just above that point which activates the switch when the lid is closed.

Test the switch by moving a small magnet over the keyboard bezel, just at the right of where the cable enters the lid -- the screen will turn off. Note: I don't think the problem you are having is caused by the switch, although it may be caused by the LCD cable.

Thanks. That's the info I needed. Given the way the switch works, I too believe this to be an contact problem.

I opened the lid today just to fiddle, Didn't even dismantle fully...just enough to peek at the LCD ribbon. Put it back together and now it's working flawlessly again.

Weird.

And to answer the previous poster's question...the "click comes from the LCD screen, lower left portion. If I were to point my finger at the likeliest source, I'd put it at around 3 inches up from the bottom of the screen where the ribbon enters. It would sound like it's where the ribbon connects with the rest of the circuitry, but I've checked and the connection seems fairly solid.

Ah, I was wondering what that little thing was. I thought it might have been some poorly situated ambient light detector. Never would have thought it was magnetic.

As for the click, the cable has this plastic assembly (it looks like a round cylinder) which fits into two grooves in the lid. This fixes the position of the cable while allowing it to rotate. It can be seen directly left to the inverter board in this picture.

It's possible that the snap you're hearing comes from that piece.

force wrote:Ah, I was wondering what that little thing was. I thought it might have been some poorly situated ambient light detector. Never would have thought it was magnetic.

As for the click, the cable has this plastic assembly (it looks like a round cylinder) which fits into two grooves in the lid. This fixes the position of the cable while allowing it to rotate. It can be seen directly left to the inverter board in this picture.

It's possible that the snap you're hearing comes from that piece.

Potentially...that piece was dislodged at one point and I had to dismantle the LCD to re-position it.

But the snapping isn't coming from there.

In any case, I was poking around and found that if I pressed the screw immediately to the left of the LCD ribbon, the LCD cuts. So I loosened the screw, and it's been behaving perfectly since.

I now believe there's a part under tension/stress...but for now I'm just going to leave it.