backlight issue

Hi,
my friend has just brought me his emachines e527 laptop to me with what he described as a "dead screen", the screen is "not" dead !! the backlight is not working,I've got the screen stripped and checked the obvious i.e ... connections/cables and all is as it should be!!! I am now believing that it is the inverter that is failing,before I go ahead and replace the inverter I would like to hear if I might be missing something?? like the "does the inverter control the backlight" ??? I am more than sure that it does!! but just want to make sure that I am doing the correct repair for this issue, as I want to keep the cost down to as low as possible, pocket strings are pulled tight on this one!!!.

Thanks for any advice :major

 

Yeah it does but I'll be a pound to a pinch of poop its the backlight that's broken.

You can do a quick test of the inverter be warned though its high voltage. Solder two piece of wire to two pins and stick them in the end of the inverter connector,bare some of the copper from the end now bring the two piece of wire together and a spark should jump the gap once its close enough,try not to have too much fun though incase you pop it:-D EDIT And don't touch the bare copper wire either for obvious reasons...

You can use a multimeter to test it is you wish but most have a max safe voltage of 1000v so it can pop them,I've done it loads of times and not popped mine but I have an expensive multimeter,it too has a max safe voltage of 1000V but will read voltage up to 3000V,go figure.

The other option if to buy a cheap inverter from a computer store which usually come complete with a ccfl,they are dirt cheap like £5 and connect it to the laptop backlight,I've used this method too but its more dangerous as you run the risk of damaging a perfectly good backlight/screen with incorrect voltage.

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/shar...us-dual-inverter-plus-adhesive-velcro-strips)

If it is the backlight and you want to keep costs low you can replace the backlight too but its a PITA.

EDIT this is all assuming is a ccfl backlight and not LED you don't want to connect a CCFL baclight to an LED backlight,I just checked and it looks that way.

http://www.screentekinc.com/eMachines_E527--15.6-inch--1366x768-wxga_hd-laptop-lcd-screen.shtml

 

Thanks Rikky,
So he is looking at a replacement screen then , well not to worry!! :cry I'll be passing the not so good news to him when he gets in from work!!. Cheapest I've found so far is for £71.50.
Thanks again Rikky. :major

 

He might be he won't know till you test it:cool

 

Rikky... it was deffo the backlight!! new screen is now installed and all is good :-D £80 total cost !! . didn't want the faff on trying to replace the bulb (fingers are far to chunky for delicate stuff like that :-D:-D.
Thanks for your input :major

 

Awesome!