Laptop inverter or backlight please ?

Hi All,

I have just been given a Dell Inspiron laptop that has a faulty display.

When turned on you see the Dell BIOS at half brightness and mainly on but flashing off and then you see the XP splash screen that then flashes off more often about till the desktop loads (when the screen randomly goes bright / dark (as sometimes actually looks ok for a few secs).

After a couple of mins the screen goes completely dark but images can still be made out with a bright light.

On the odd moments when screen goes 'normal' it looks like it is lit from both sides but where one side is brighter than the other (if that makes sense)?

So, from the above could anyone guess if it's *likely* to be the inverter or the backlight(s) (the video is ok to an external monitor) or anything else please (and / or is this a common fault on this model).

All the best .. and thanks for your time in any case ..

T i m (UK)

Reply to
T i m
Loading thread data ...

There are several Inspiron models... But....

It sounds like there may be one inverter circuit and two backlight bulbs. The side that is not as bright when it works probably is the defective bulb, but it would be best to replace both, since they are likely to be the same age with the same amount of usage.

If that doesn't solve the problem, the inverter might also be defective. Replace it and you're all set.

Reply to
Jumpster Jiver

It's probably one of the lamps, but it may also be the inverter. Get some new lamps, and wire them up to the inverter and see if it works, if it does then take the trouble to install them in the display.

Reply to
James Sweet

Ah, sorry Jumpster .. 8100 ..

Ok, makes sense ... and would you say it was worth a go on something of this spec / age (assuming everything else is ok)?

Sounds easy .. ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

Reply to
T i m

Ok, thanks for that.

Is there a generally accepted 'good place' to get such in the UK would you know please?

All the best ..

T i m

Reply to
T i m

I have no idea about UK, but just about anyplace that sells them should be willing to ship them there, they aren't heavy at all.

Reply to
James Sweet

Ah, ok, thanks.

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. I generally find *even* with the shipping / duty costs we (in the UK) can often get stuff much cheaper elsewhere. I saved 15 gbp by buying a USB ethernet dongle from Australia!

Reply to
T i m

There was one UK company I found who specialised in laptop repair, and offered to either install the backlights for you or send them out for a DIY job.

Great, or so I thought, then I discovered they wanted about 100 quid for the lamps alone! Complete ripoff merchants IMO. These lamps cost pennies to make.

Dave

Reply to
Dave D

Well not pennies, but not very much either. Most of the lamps run $10-$20 each, GBP100 is ridiculous.

Reply to
James Sweet

Have you tried anywhere that does laptop repairs ? Friend of mine does, and quite a few get scrapped for insurance claims - liquid spillage in them etc - so he usually has some lying around.

Where possible, he rescues the displays complete, to use to repair ones that come in with their displays broken, but he still has ones laying about where the display is damaged, but the lamps are ok. Got to be worth a look in yellow pages, and a few phone calls ...

Arfa

Reply to
Arfa Daily

ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.