CCFL in LCD broken (Latitude D531)?

My Latitude D531 fell from about 4 feet yesterday. It was off and closed. I picked it up after dropping it and tried to turn it on. At first I didn't think anything was displaying on the screen, but I was able to log into Windows and hear the Windows chime even though the screen was black. I then looked closer at the black screen and realized that colors of the desktop wallpaper were displaying, albeit very very faint. If you just glanced at it, you wouldn't see anything, but after putting my face a couple of inches from the screen I was actually able to see the faint outlines of the taskbar, wallpaper, and desktop icons.

Did I just break the LCD backlight? Can I just replace the backlight or does the whole screen need to be replaced? It's a 1280x800 screen IIRC. Do I just buy a generic LCD off of ebay (lots going for $100ish) or is there a certain brand I should look out for?

 

You can try to check to see if the inverter is dislodged from the LCD. If the inverter is broken then you can simply get a new one which shouldn't be expensive.

 

The instructions for dismantling the display are here.

John

 

Assuming you did break just the backlight (though I've never seen an un-cracked screen with a cracked backlight), it IS possible to replace just that, but it's a pain, and not detailed in the service manual. If you buy a new LCD, just make sure you get one for the 531 (though I'm pretty sure anything from the D530, D820, D830, and possibly others will work too).

 

Assuming I buy an entire replacement screen, is there a brand I should be going for? Or are any of these Ebay ones okay (given that they are the correct size)?

 

Well I dismantled the LCD and the inverter was still attached. Apparently you can buy just the CCFL bulb on Ebay but you have to solder it into the LCD yourself. I didn't see any LCD damage when I took the screen apart, but I didn't have time to check the bulb thorougly. I'm hoping its just the LCD that's screwed up, not the motherboard.

After taking the screen apart, I looked at the part number to find that it was LP154W01 (TL)(F1). The brand stamp on the back had both an LG logo and a Phillips logo. The characters in parenthesis of the part number have multiple iterations, and many of the LCD's on ebay don't list the exact model number. I'm not sure how important it is to get one with (TL)(F1) as opposed to (CD)(E3) for example, but I think I am going to go for an exact replacement to be on the safe side. I've been scouring the internet looking for replacement screens that are not of a generic brand but haven't gotten far. I did fine one site but I'm not sure how legit they are, they've gotten some poor reviews from resellerratings.

LG ELECTRONICS LP154W01 (TL)(F1) LG PHILIPS 15.4 WXGA TFT LCD SCREEN

 

You don't need to get the exact revision... pretty much any LCD listed for the D531 will work. Heck, any screen listed for the D820 and D830 will probably work too.

 

I found this screen on Ebay, which matches my specs exactly. It was a bit more expensive ($15-20 more) than the generic LCD's, but I contacted the vendor and was told that their replacement LCD is made by LG, not an unknown manufacturer like most of the other LCDs on ebay. The vendor also has a 0 dead pixel policy, which will allow me to exchange the LCD if it has dead pixels. I'm happy with paying $15-20 more for peace of mind even if I'm probably being a bit paranoid about the screen.

A+ NEW LP154W01(TL)(F1) 15.4" WXGA BV LCD W/INV (EXACT) - eBay (item 150496963080 end time Sep-23-10 08:50:15 PDT)

 

One final update on my part for all of the google searchers who land here. The screen came and it was an exact replacement (LG brand) and had no dead pixels. I was able to install it and get everything working again.