[ltp] Replacing the backlight of the thinkpad LCD

[Henrique de Moraes Holschuh]

On Mon, 15 Dec 2008, cupaxe wrote:
> c) replacing the backlight opening up the monitor screen, available
> from http://www.ccflsurplus.com/lareba.html, cost: not sure.

If you mean replacing the CCFL, it is *QUITE* hard and difficult.
Really.  As in it takes more than four hours to do it if you never did
it before, and you REALLY risk destroying your BrightView LCD, and a
new one costs in excess of US$700 AFAIK... IF you can find one.

> The reason I think it is the backlight that has gone bad is because it
> works fine immediately after I start the laptop and 5-10 min after
> that, goes blank. It doesn't go completely blank though- I still can
> faintly see the underlying windows on the screen.

That looks a lot more like the *inverter* is aged.  Replacing it is
MUCH simpler.  Make sure to buy exactly the correct one for your
thinkpad (and it is reasonably cheap, less than US$100).

Just be very perfectionist about any soldering and isulation, as the
inverter, and its cabling to the CCFL are very hazardous areas.  One
bad isulator or cold/broken solder, and you get an electric arch which
can cause major damage.

> I would be delighted if you could share your experiences and other
> tips you might have for me.

Do some youtube and google research on CCFL and inverter replacement
before you commit to doing either one (specially the CCFL) yourself.

-- 
  "One disk to rule them all, One disk to find them. One disk to bring
  them all and in the darkness grind them. In the Land of Redmond
  where the shadows lie." -- The Silicon Valley Tarot
  Henrique Holschuh