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T500 display/screen pink and flickering

T400/T410/T420 and T500/T510/T520 Series
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miasma
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2015 6:36 pm
Location: Manchester, UK

T500 display/screen pink and flickering

#1 Post by miasma » Thu May 31, 2018 3:44 am

As above. Would appreciate advice on :

1. How to identify faulty part.
2. Options for replacing or repairing faulty part.

This is a T500 type 2082-3GU (purchased a few years back from someone on this forum - no reflection on them, parts fail over time).

I recently installed a (new?) driver for the graphics chipsets, and immediately noticed that, when dimmed under Power Manager rules, the screen has a distinctly pink hue; when brought up to full brightness, pink fades out over a few seconds and normal hue is restored. A few days later the flicker started, occasionally renders screen unusable but currently tolerable.

I have tried with both Integrated and Discrete graphics (forced with BIOS) - flickering seems a little worse with Discrete but also present with Integrated.

From Devmgmt :
Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
Driver Provider : ATI Technologies Inc.
Driver Date : 04/05/12
Driver Version : 8.792.5.2000

ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650
Driver Provider : ATI Technologies Inc.
Driver Date : 04/05/12
Driver Version : 8.792.5.2000
T500 / T9400 / 8GB / SSD / Windows 7 Pro

RealBlackStuff
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Location: Loch Garman, Éire

Re: T500 display/screen pink and flickering

#2 Post by RealBlackStuff » Thu May 31, 2018 6:51 am

Pink and/or flickering are usually the first signs that the CCFL/backlight tube is starting to wear out.
To fix that, you either have to replace the CCFL, which is rather difficult, or the whole LCD, which is a lot easier.
Pink screens can sometimes still last for up to a year until they finally die.

That machine currently has WSXGA+ (1680x1050), but could also be upgraded to WUXGA (1920x1200).
The best WUXGA screen would be a Sharp LQ154M1LW2A or LQ154M1LW02, as used in many Dell D800 series.
You'd need to carefully cut off some metal clips along top and bottom, but apart from that, they are a drop-in replacement.
Lovely day for a Guinness! (The Real Black Stuff)
Lenovo: X240, X250, T440p, T480, M900 Tiny.

PS: the old Boardroom website is still available on the Wayback Machine
.

miasma
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2015 6:36 pm
Location: Manchester, UK

Re: T500 display/screen pink and flickering

#3 Post by miasma » Thu May 31, 2018 10:05 am

Thanks RealBlackStuff.

Might have a go with CCFL first as it is a fraction of the cost of a full screen. Something from Backlightweb probably.

Otherwise it is a screen from eBay or Amazon, unless anyone recommends a UK shop - Laptop LCD Screen are out of stock.

Are there any recommended guides for replacing CCFL or screen on a T500 please? I have the Hardware Maintenance manual and looks like "2070 LCD panel and LCD cable" section applies, but something aimed more at the layman would be helpful.

One development here : brightness changing only intermittently now, but occasionally screen blanks out almost totally (very faint shadow of display visible). Temporary fix to this is <Fn> + <F7> to switch from "Computer only" to "Duplicate" display, and back again - normal display restored.
T500 / T9400 / 8GB / SSD / Windows 7 Pro

RealBlackStuff
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Posts: 23813
Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2006 5:17 am
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Re: T500 display/screen pink and flickering

#4 Post by RealBlackStuff » Thu May 31, 2018 10:50 am

I wrote a CCFL-swap How-to about 8 years ago: https://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=88991
Most of that probably still applies.

This should be the correct size for that 15.4" screen: 2 x 334 mm:
bare CCFL: http://backlightweb.co.uk/index.php?mai ... cts_id=107
CCFL with wires: http://backlightweb.co.uk/index.php?mai ... cts_id=164

No guarantee, but maybe check this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161712578263

miasma
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2015 6:36 pm
Location: Manchester, UK

Re: T500 display/screen pink and flickering

#5 Post by miasma » Thu May 31, 2018 12:07 pm

I wrote a CCFL-swap How-to about 8 years ago
Thanks! I had found that already and was going to refer to it myself but your post popped up first.

Also this from Monty at Xiph looks useful.
T500 / T9400 / 8GB / SSD / Windows 7 Pro

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