Thinkpad T20 T series / screen goes and fades to white

[cyberfilmmaker]

Hi ,

my Thinkpad T20 [2647-41G] screen goes (fades) from normal to WHITE. Sometimes you will get it working again by shaking the unit slightly.

This happens when you close the screen lid or when you tap the base of this ThinkpadP unit.

Does anybody know if it is just a loose cable or maybe a faulty GFX card on the motherboard or even a faulty screen.

many thanks

[egibbs]

The cable that goes from the HDD to the Motherboard is bad - very common with a machine of that age, had a similar problem with my T20 about a year ago.

You can download the Hardware Maintenance Manual, order the cable for $40 or so, and do it yoursel, or you can bring it to an authorized IBM shop and it should cost around $150 including diagosis, parts, and labor.

Ed Gibbs

[svid12]

heh. i've had a t20 since 2000 and every year or so i take the keyboard off and just push the cable back into place...

james

[cyberfilmmaker]

Hi Svid2,

many thanks for the tip. Did you also have this kind of screen fault?

I try out your suggestion.

All the best
CB

[cyberfilmmaker]

Hi Egibbs,
many thanks for you tip as well. I am 'glad' it is the fault .

I will do.

All the best.
CF

[cyberfilmmaker]

Hi there,

does anybody now the FRU part number of the
HDD CABLE mentioned .

I read through the T20 maintenance document [62p9631]
but can not find it.

Many thanks,
CF

[cyberfilmmaker]

Hi ,

JHEM (James) just mentioned that it is the internal SCREEN CABLE that is faulty (...there is no HDD cable)

The display cable part number is (LCD cable assembly ) 27L0519 for the T20 14.1" display.

Thanks all,
CF

[egibbs]

My bad - lack of coffee first thing in the AM.

It is the LCD to MB cable - HDD is not involved.

Sorry,

Ed Gibbs

[cyberfilmmaker]

Hi Ed,

it was still a great help.

Many thanks,
CF

[svid12]

cf,

yes i still have problems with the screen, the cable just seems to work its way out after a while. i just take the keyboard screws out on the back, pull of the keyboard, and make my way down to the loose cable, fit it back into place. maybe i've been lucky, but buying a new cable at that price instead of a 5 minute quick fix once a year seems like overkill.

james

[cyberfilmmaker]

Many thanks svid12.

I will work on mine in the near future. There are some cheap
screen cable on eBAY.

I will try both.

All the best,
CF

[AbsoluteRaleigh]

cf,

yes i still have problems with the screen, the cable just seems to work its way out after a while. i just take the keyboard screws out on the back, pull of the keyboard, and make my way down to the loose cable, fit it back into place. maybe i've been lucky, but buying a new cable at that price instead of a 5 minute quick fix once a year seems like overkill.

james

As svid12 has mentioned, sometimes the cable is not bad and just needs to be reseated on the board. They actually fixed this later down the road in later models...

[cyberfilmmaker]

Many thanks AbsoluteRaleigh,

I think it is indeed wisest to start with that and move to the screen ribbon
if needed.

All the best,
CF