Bad LCD cable or something else?

Well my mother brought me her very old Fujitsu Lifebook N3010 and asked if I could fix it. She unfortunately spilled tea all over the keyboard a few years back and the the screen could never display a picture after that (screen still powered since you can see the backlight). She had been running an external LCD monitor to use the laptop for the past few years and everything else works fine.

I did some research and disassembled the whole laptop, wiped off some tea residue with alcohol, and checked all the wirings. The connector from the MB/LCD converter look 'blackened' but since the backlighting is working fine then that shouldn't be the problem(?)

Other than that, I reassembled everything and made sure all the connectors were secured. I powered it on and now there are colored vertical lines being produced (previously it was no picture with just the backlight). Could it be a bad LCD cable?

Any help would be great.

Thanks,
Anthony

Pictures:



Startup video:

 

Notice that the "blackening" is only over half of that connector. It's quite possible that the backlight was operating because of the other half of the connector, the part that isn't "blackened". It being just a picture, I can't be sure, but I wonder if that blackening is tea residue or if it's actual burnt components. Still, I would say that it wouldn't hurt to try changing out the cable if you can find one. Cables are generally fairly cheap.

 

As you have mentioned that it works on an external monitor, the Inverter may be the culprit, try a new Inverter.

 

Cant be the inverter. The inverter is only there to power the backlight and the backlight is functioning fine.

Id start with the LCD cable. Do you have a macro mode view of the LCD pins? its not clear enough to see whats going on there.

 

Nope it could still be the graphics card.

I was diagnosing a customer's MBP 15" from 2006 where the display was really dim. It was fine on external DVI. Replaced the inverter still dim. Turns out the GPU was defective and the whole LGB needed replacement.

 

Hmm. There's no way to check if it's the GPU other than troubleshooting everything else first huh?

Not the best of pictures..but closest to macro I can get with my cell camera. The black plug is the LCD cable to MB and the white plug is from the inverter to MB.

 

Well the spilling of tea probably was slowly killing the motherboard. The way of testing it is displaying to an external monitor but that isn't a guarantee the GPU isn't dead. I don't see signs of excessive cable pinching, see if you can just order the LCD cable as they are cheap and you won't lose much if it isn't it.

 

Replacing the cable may not be enough. I can't see as well with the black socket, but the white socket (on the motherboard) looks like it might have some damage or residue as well. I'd still try changing out the cable, since the motherboard socket might just be cosmetic damage, but it's worrying.

 

Yes I would recommend changing the cable first, as it is the cheapest thing to replace. After that you could be down to inverter or the motherboard, which may not be worth it on that old of a Fujitsu.

 

The GPU does display perfectly fine via an external monitor (mother has been using it that way for a few years).

I will go ahead and replace the LCD cable since it's only about $7..and inverter if no success.

Thanks for the help everybody!

 

Yes usually inverters are next on the list, costing anywhere between 50-60 bucks sometimes cheaper. Don't buy those 20 dollar inverters on Ebay, try to find the actual manufacturer P/N

Good luck, and update up with the results!

 

Alright so the LCD cable was not the culprit.

 

Just to add in, it might be the tracing on the PCB thats damaged from the spill.