LCD Display repair
A dirty little secret:
If you have an LCD display that suddenly goes pitch black, chances are that the repair is a simple one and will cost about $15 or so. This is accurate for about 70% of defective LCD's.
Liquid Crystal Displays have no inherent light emitting properties and require a closely coupled light source to be visible. The choice for these is a Cold Cathode Fluorescent Light which has a finite life much shorter than the electronics in the rest of the LCD. These cost from $6 to $20 depending on the size of the display.
Sometimes it is not the CCFL itself but the electronic "inverter" that provides the operating voltage. Apple Cinema Displays have a particularly nasty issue with this. These can cost $100-$150 or so.
Go here:
LCD Part and follow their instructions for opening up your display and measuring the bulb. If you have a voltmeter, you might see if there is a voltage on the terminals of your CCFL (this means that your inverter is working fine).
Buy a replacement bulb and solder it in (you will definitely need a low-power soldering iron -- borrow one from a geek).
Close it up and enjoy another couple years of use.
Don't tell them that you heard it from me...
Posted by DaveH at November 10, 2005 9:07 PM