Redish-Pink color on screen when booted A31P

[bpetterson]

I have two A31P's
One XP2 sp1 and one win 2000.
Both show redish-pink color when booted.
After a bit the screen appears normal.
An external monitor boots up fine.

Is it the screen or the video card??

Warrenty is up on both.
I do have a Flexview Screen New in a box.

I do like the A31P's cause they are three spindle.

Thanks Birger

[truk]

From your description it sounds more like an inverter problem. Have you tried it on an external monitor, and does wiggleing the laptop have any effect?

[jamiphar]

Hi there.

I've come across this a few times, and it sounds to me like you have a couple of weak backlights. These are inexpensive to replace ($15-$20 on eBay), but can be pretty tricky if you haven't done it before.

[Kaervak]

Hi there.

I've come across this a few times, and it sounds to me like you have a couple of weak backlights. These are inexpensive to replace ($15-$20 on eBay), but can be pretty tricky if you haven't done it before.

Yep, my T23 does the same thing. Whenever I feel like torturing myself I'm going to try replacing the CCFL. Fun ahoy!

[tfflivemb2]

Moved to the proper conference...

[ronan_zj]

I　had this question on my T42 which I turn on 24/7 for 1 year.
From the info of ibm warranty service, they told me it had problem on inverter, so i got my entire lcd with inverter replaced.

[bpetterson]

Some how I think the inverter or a loose connection.
Every once in awhile on boot up no problem.
I do have a new screen which just arrived.

Is the inverter a replaceable item??

If so, I should get a couple of them.
No sense taking every thing apart if that is it.

My best one with a 2 MHZ processor died until
I pulled one 512 ram out.
Have more ram coming this week from Crucial.

Think that I will get somebody else to do the work tho.

Birger

[RWDPLZ]

Yeah the inverter is pretty easy to replace. After you get the screen bezel off (two screws)m it's held in by one more screw, and the screen's two-wire connector plugs into one side, and the LCD cable is plugged in at the screw side. The inverter for an A31p is part number 26P8133

[bpetterson]

Thank You.
And also for the P/N

Birger

[peggymac]

I have a 4-year-old A31p out of warranty. My screen's gotten dimmer and pinker in the past week, and yesterday it started flickering. I tried plugging into a different outlet, tried tightening all my connections, no luck.

Today the screen went black after the flickering, altho I could still see the display by shining a flashlight on the screen. I plugged it into an external monitor, and the display is fine.

Do I need a new inverter?

Is there a way to determine if this is an inverter problem rather than a backlight problem?

Thanks so much for your help.

Peggy

[rkawakami]

Peggy,

Most likely, given the pink/fading/gone symptoms, the backlight inside the display panel has gone out. It is fairly hard to replace one even though the bulb itself is only about $20. I believe that this thread may be helpful if you decide to have the screen repaired:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=48458

You might be able to determine if the inverter is working by using this little trick I posted:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=48910

The A31 I'm using here at work does not have to be disassembled. Merely hold the neon lamp up above the "A31" near the right hinge and against the little "nub" that sticks out to the left of the "A31", power up the system and see if the neon lamp flickers on for a second or two. If it does, and the LCD panel does not flicker or light up, then the inverter is putting out some voltage. The problem is finding a neon lamp! You might be able to pick one up from a Radio Shack-type electronics store.

By the way, could you please update your profile and enter your location (city/state)? It helps to see where people are and doing so can lead to faster and more accurate answers to your questions. Thanks!

edit: Here's a fuzzy picture taken with my cell phone which shows you where to place the neon bulb:

http://www.kawakami-ca.com/images/a31_neon_bulb.jpg

[peggymac]

Ray,

Thanks for all this info. I'll read the threads you posted tomorrow. I'm in Connecticut (and I will update my profile), it's late, and I'm red-eyed from surfing for solutions to my problem.

I will try your tricky neon test tomorrow also and post my results.

Thanks very much.

Peggy

[ajkula66]

Histrorically, whenever I've had a red tint issue on an A31P, it was the backlight...and we're probably talking about 20pcs. Some of them have worked remarkably long though after the initial symptoms have started...but I'd tend to say that a backlight replacement would be the way to go if the LCD is in good shape in all the other respects...

I've replaced the backlight myself once years ago, and this time around would definietly pay our friend jamiphar here to do it...wouldn't suggest it for a newbie to try it on his/her own...