Forums | MacLife

Redstone · 2009-10-29 6:03 am

hi all,

as of yesterday night my macbook backlight stopped working.

some history : about a year ago I replaced the lcd on the laptop
few month ago, the backlight will make probalems when ever waking up. I will have to put it in a specific angle for it to work. however after few minutes of working it will work in all angles. Not any more

Upon research it seems to me that the problem is most likely in the inverter cable, as it could be that I didn't place it right when replacing the lcd and with time it simply ruined.

A. does this make sense? I havent checked the inverter itself or the backlight bulb.
B. how easy is it to find the inverter cable and to replace it? I already managed to open the keyboard case and remove the lcd (which doesn't seem necessary for this task)

Thanks for any suggestions

D

Robert B Technician · 2009-10-29 11:10 am

A. Yes this does make sense. While it's true that it could be the inverter board or LCD, from the description you've described, I would lean towards the cable. The inverter cable on the Santa Rosa and C2D models is actually pretty fragile.

B. The inverter cable is a black cable that connects to the logic board near the left hinge and goes through the clutch to the inverter board. I would first make sure that none of the cables (inverter and the backlight cable on the LCD) have simply come loose.

After a reseat and the problem persists, I would recommend taking it into an AASP like us to further troubleshoot and fix the problem.

As far as the DIY route, I'm not sure were to point to. While you may save some cash, you'll need to make sure you're getting the right cable for your model and know how to reseat it properly so that the issue doesn't happen again. It is also possibly that the damage caused a short in the logic board or that the LCD or inverter board are damaged.

If you send your book into a good shop they'll be able to quickly tell what's what and fix it properly.

http://www.myservice.com/diagnostics.html

If it's only the cable (you won't know for sure until you swap in a good part) and you fell comfortable with the reseat then that might be the most economical way to go.

Good luck!

Redstone · 2009-10-30 2:39 pm

Thanks for the reply.
I forgot to mention that I live in Israel which makes finding someone to fix it harder..

Redstone · 2009-10-31 5:24 pm

funny thing. So I bought the mini DVI-to external monitor adapter. put the laptop back together and the damn thing works again. ie my backlight works again. So is that confirms that its 100% the inverter cable?
Is there any thing I can do to make sure it doesn't stop working again? ie stop closing the laptop or something like that?

FWIW, I did checked many times after opening the laptop (but without putting all the screws back into place, and it never worked)

Well, at least I'm happy with what I got so far.

Robert B Technician · 2009-11-02 9:56 am

The LCD backlight cable (LCD to inverter board) can come loose and still look like it's attached. It may have just been a loose cable all along? Either way, glad to hear it's working now. Good job!

Redstone · 2009-11-02 1:42 pm

well, its working. But the screen have to be in the exact right place for it to work. ie if I tilt it to either direction it stops.

Not too big deal as long as it still works.

Guess I need to find someone who knows a little more then me and look at it.

Forums | MacLife

#1 2009-10-29 6:03 am

backlight stopped working

#2 2009-10-29 11:10 am

Re: backlight stopped working

#3 2009-10-30 2:39 pm

Re: backlight stopped working

#4 2009-10-31 5:24 pm

Re: backlight stopped working

#5 2009-11-02 9:56 am

Re: backlight stopped working

#6 2009-11-02 1:42 pm

Re: backlight stopped working

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