a31p LCD - incompatible inverter shipped..

[malachont]

Hi,
A few months ago my A31p's display went dark, but a faint ghost image of the video remains seen. According to my internet research this is the symptom of a dead inverter, so I ordered one from LCDParts but got an incompatible one - its data socket is about twice too large for the A31p's cable plug.
http://img12.imageshack.us/i/incompatib ... erms2.jpg/
http://img248.yfrog.com/i/originalinverterledssta.jpg/
But I wanted to try to assess again whether the inverter is bad at all (before I get another or a refund) the existing inverter has two LEDs and both light up when powered. Can the inverter still be bad?

Thanks..

[Neil]

The inverter "could" still be bad. In my experience, it's usually the CCFL that goes out, leaving the LCD with only a faint image if illuminated with an external light source. If you can still see a faint image on screen in a dark room, then the lamp must still be working a little, and the inverter could be bad.

The inverter is the first suggested fix because they are generally cheaper and easier to replace than a CCFL or LCD panel.

[sjthinkpader]

Neil is right. Either the CCF in the LCD is bad or the inverter. The A31p is at the age where the CCF would be at end of its life unless you took care by setting a LCD off timer in the Power Manager.

[ajkula66]

It's most likely your CCFL (backlight) and not the inverter itself that went bad.

Has your LCD been reddish/pinkish on initial boot prior to this last episode?

[malachont]

hmm reddish hue? perhaps, but it was very faint, only during boot up, and was going on for the last two years or so. I'll try to have a look at the LCD in a dark and direct light settings... PS its strange but they billed be $59 for the Inverter MS247LI and $10 for the CCFL MSLLENOVOIBM15R

I also tried to install the CCFL but I just could not find where it is located, and the laptop display was already dismantled into alarmingly small parts and some minor damage caused already to the bezels etc and the remaining LCD plate itself looked very hard to dismantle further. I looked at the A31p tech manual but it doesn't explain how to replace the CCFL.

Thanks for the continued advice..

[ajkula66]

malachont wrote:

I looked at the A31p tech manual but it doesn't explain how to replace the CCFL.

That's because it was never meant to be replaced by end users to begin with.

Faint or not, reddish/pinkish hue on boot equals a failing backlight. No ifs, ands or buts there.

Harryc has documented how to do it on a R51 in the thread below, A31p is not very, if at all, different in that respect.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... om+project

As you can see for yourself, it's a PITA job. Take it from someone who's done it in the past and swore on a thousand Bibles never to do it again after completing the task in question.

The way I foresee it, you'll have to send your LCD to a professional repair facility, or buy a replacement screen.

Good luck.