Upgraded T40 to SXGA, now have LCD earthquakes!

[gummyworms]

Hello,

I recently purchased a complete SXGA LCD off of eBay from a reputable seller. On initial install, everything looked good. However, after the LCD has been running 10-15 minutes, everything starts to shake, distort, and the screen starts fading to colored (red, blue, white) geometric "quilt" patterns.

This is a gorgeous screen, and I desperately want to make it work. Here is what I've noticed:

1. I thought the issue was heat, as the screen seems to run longer when the case is off than when it is on.

2. When the screen is going nuts, I can turn it off with Fn-F3, which will fix it for a bit, but the problem does return. How quickly it returns depends on how long the screen has been off. If I have had it off for 5 minutes, the screen will be fine for a few minutes. If I just turn the screen off and right back on, the shaking starts right away.

3. I've reseated the LCD cable to the MOBO many times.

4. It does not seem to make a big difference what resolution the screen is at. I thought initially that the 1400 x 1050 res was pushing my Radeon 7500 more than the original 1024 x 768 res, and thus the overheating. However, setting the screen res down to 1024 x 768 still causes it to shake and distory after awhile.

5. I've tried getting the monitor drivers from lenovo support.

6. I've tried installing Omega drivers, though I do not think it is a driver issue.

7. If I reboot right after an especially intense flickering episode, even the bios and the boot screens shake and distort, thus I believe it is a connection / heat issue rather than software.

8. Ive updated the thinkpad embedded controller + bios to the latest version.

I've also tried installing my old XGA screen back onto the laptop. It works perfectly. As I type this, the screen is starting to shake + flicker again. This is after about 5 minutes of perfect display, following about a 10 minute monitor Fn-F3 off period.

Please, if anyone has any ideas or suggestions, help!

Thanks,
Shawn

[underclocker]

Does it also flicker on an external display? If so, it's the system board/video chipset. If not, it's one the display components.

[gummyworms]

Nope, it doesn't flicker on the external display. So you think the LCD is faulty? This would make sense, as everything works perfectly when I put the old display back in.

[richk]

If it is really from a reputible seller, you need to return it.

[gummyworms]

I probably will. Everyone is pretty sure its a bad LCD and not something else that I can try to make it work?

[SHoTTa35]

well from the old thread you started about buying this thing i thought it would be perfect. You said you've booted it and left it in the BIOS screen and it still does that? (Just to rule out any Windows problems) If so then check the HMM and find the inverter and then find the P/N and check it to make sure it matches. I'm wondering if someone tried to upgrade with the old inverter and then pounded the keyboard (or spilled drink on it) therefore killing the CPU but the screen was good so they sold that

(yeah odd random chance but what the hell right... )

[richk]

The wrong inverter won't cause this sort of problem

[underclocker]

I'm not an expert on LCD issues, but I am experienced.

If you have video showing on both the internal and external display at the same time and only the LCD is exhibiting issues, you definitely have an issue with either the 1) connection between the system board and cable, 2) the connection between the cable and LCD, 3) the inverter, or the 4) LCD panel.

I suppose you could check 1 & 2, but the nature of the issue points to a faulty LCD panel.

Let the seller know. Perhaps he/she has another?

Good luck. (I'd also send a picture of the LCD to the seller of the distorted video.)

[gummyworms]

I've been communicating with the seller, and he has been VERY understanding. He is willing to give me a full refund if I send it back. What I really want to do is to get an exchange though, since it seems like it is just a faulty LCD.

Since my original XGA screen works perfectly fine (I just tried it), is there any reason, other than a faulty SXGA screen, that my new SXGA screen would be doing this? The LCD comes as a whole assembly, including inverter, cable, etc. and I would be getting a whole assembly in exchange.

I just want to make sure it is the LCD is broken before buying another one.

Thanks,
Shawn

[lukee]

Apologizing for opening old topic, but I am experiencing the same issue. After upgrading to SXGA+ screen in my T40 project, screen is shaking. I took a picture of that behavior:

http://1drv.ms/1UnwsuI

When reseating old XGA LCD back, everything works fine. I am sure the screen has been working before I adopted it for my T40 project. Any ideas?

[ajkula66]

Apologizing for opening old topic, but I am experiencing the same issue. After upgrading to SXGA+ screen in my T40 project, screen is shaking. I took a picture of that behavior:

http://1drv.ms/1UnwsuI

When reseating old XGA LCD, everything works fine. I am sure the screen has been working before I adopted it for my T40 project. Any ideas?

You DID swap the LCD cable as well, correct?

[lukee]

Cable is new from eBay, P/N 91P6805.

[ajkula66]

The type of "stuttering" that you're experiencing usually comes from either a bad connection/connector on the LCD side or the panel itself. You'll have to go through some trial and error to determine the culprit.

Good luck.

[lukee]

Can be the stuttering somehow caused by exposed inverter? I am not running the LCD with cover attached, only LCD on hinges, inverter connected to cabling etc. (I did not want to assembly it without initial testing).

[RealBlackStuff]

What are the make and the P/N or FRU of that LCD?
It could be a faulty 'fake'.
Is the inverter hot?

[lukee]

Inverter board is getting warm to hot (depends how long the ThinkPad is turned on). I have now put the LCD into lid assembly and using the left hole in the inverter board I tightened the inverter board to the lid. As there is contact on the board, I was assuming the connection between the inverter board and lid might be used as earth terminal. When turning on after that, the stuttering was gone but after few seconds (once I got to BIOS) it started again and getting worser with time of running. LCD type is:

LTN141P4-L02
IBM P/N: 93P5570
FRU P/N: 11P8348

[lukee]

The problem is definitely not caused by the interferences from the inverter board. Running the ThinkPad with disconnected inverter and using the table lamp, I still can see the stuttering is still there.

[RealBlackStuff]

Samsung screens are not known for their reliability, return it for a replacement or refund.