Power Button / Hinge Cover issues.

The hinge cover, the panel above the keyboard which houses the power button and accessory buttons has suddenly without explanation stopped emitting any light. But it operates perfectly.

Should I blame and swap the cable or plan for a replacement purchase of the entire panel?

 

Yeah, probably a damaged ribbon cable. Try reinserting it first. Those cables are very delicate. I've managed to damage a few myself. If you need a replacement, I provided a link to an e-bay seller that I've bought from myself below.

The cable has 16 pins with a .5mm pin pitch. Pins are orientated on the same side of the cable and the length of the cable should not be longer than ~100mm.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/FFC-Flat-Ca...624-80C-60V-/181811014072?hash=item2a54c7e9b8

 

I'll give the reseating a shot and report back, may steal the one off the touchpad, since I never use the touchpad.

Thanks for the link!

 

Yes, the touchpad cable is the same except a bit longer in length so you can definitely use that. I bet if you inspect the power cable you'll find some damage to it. The exposed metallic pins are held to the plastic ribbon with some kind of adhesive, and sometime the adhesive comes loose and the pins separate from the plastic backing. Other times if the cable is bent hard enough, the pins inside the plastic sheath can get severed. It might be a good idea to order one or two extra ribbon cables just in case. I must have damaged at least 4 of these over the years with my clumsy hands .