X220 IPS LCD going bad or loose cable?

I'm having an issue where a vertical column on my LCD becomes very distorted. The colors all go nuts and that vertical column will even flicker. This issue looks a lot like this (someone elses x220): x220 IPS screen flickering - Lenovo Community

However if I move the laptop just a bit back and forth or angle the screen a bit differently by moving it, the display returns to normal and will stay normal unless the screen is moved again or you move the laptop a bit. I suspected that either the video cable is bad or the LCD panel is finished. I re-seated the video cable on the side that connects into the LCD but the problem persists. I would like to reset the cable on the motherboard side too, but I'm not sure where on the motherboard the video cable connects into or how I can access it. Anyone know?

As a last resort I guess I can buy a new LCD panel and maybe a new cable if that is needed to, again I'm not sure where the cable goes on the motherboard side. I am out of warranty now so Lenovo is of no help, I assume that their repair service would be very expensive without warranty? Do I have any other options like getting extended warranty now?

Sadly I've had nothing but trouble with the x220, the first one I got was defective, then Lenovo gave me the x220 I now have and this started having problems literally the day after the warranty expired. Not sure my luck with this can get any worse. At least my R61 still runs like a champ

 

You might want to try a Linux disc/USB drive just to see if it produces the same result. That'd tell you whether it's a hardware or software issue.

You're pretty much going to have to bend over if you have Lenovo do it for you. You'd probably be better off picking up another from the outlet, then selling yours, from a cost perspective. I believe the LCD cable comes out the of the LCD on the left side by the hinge, then down into the X220 and plugs into the motherboard. Grab a copy of the HMM to see the basics. I think the screens are available via eBay if you want to give it a go yourself. The cable will be less expensive. You might want to try that first. Good Luck.

 

Sadly, it is indeed a hardware problem. The problem happens in Ubuntu, bios, windows, etc. I even noticed another more subtle problem, seems like images are getting burned into the screen too. If I leave the screen displaying an image for a few minutes and then I go back to my desktop, I can still see some faint outline of the image. It didn't used to do that. I suspect the LCD panel is failing.

Any idea on how much Lenovo would charge to fix this? 300-400?
I guess I can buy my own panel and cable if needed for under 120 combined. You are correct that the video cable comes through the left hinge and into the motherboard, but I'm not sure where exactly it goes or connects. I read the hardware maintenance manual and did not find this bit of information. Can anyone help? How do I access the display/video connector on the motherboard side and where exactly is it?

Thanks for your help ZaZ.

 

My whole screen did that, not just a column, and was replaced under warranty.

There are a couple of threads on this on the lenovo support forums. Here's mine. There's another one linked in my thread that has a column scrambled.

 

Replacement by Lenovo would be $750 I think.

 

Ouch. Whatever happened to the legendary reliability and ruggedness of the Thinkpad? I have super cheap consumer grade HP and Toshiba laptops around here that have never had a problem in years but my X220 just can't help but fail in all kinds of random ways. I guess I'll either look elsewhere when I need a new laptop or get 2 or 3 years of warranty instead of the standard 1 year.

 

If they had to design and test them all so they never broke, they'd cost a lot more. While in the aggregate a business class notebook is less likely to break, every individual notebook tells its own story. I don't think a new screen is that expensive and it's not that difficult to replace.

 

So I see that my IPS LCD is LP125WH2(SL)(B1) but I think there are multiple variants of this panel. I also understand that some earlier variants had ghosting issues. Can anyone suggest a good version of this panel and a place to purchase at?

 

So I purchased the LP125WH2(SL)(B2) LCD panel to replace my current one. This is the SLB2 panel, my original panel was the SLB2. I have verified their datasheets and found that they are virtually identical except the SLB2 has marginally higher power consumption but same everything else. I believe the later X220s used the SLB2 panel which fixed some of the complaints with the original SLB1, the only issue I noticed is that the SLB2 has NO mounting screws. How the hell are you supposed to mount this thing with no screw holes? The panel is otherwise indistinguishable from the original. Drill holes? Tape? Any ideas?

 

If the display you purchased has no screw holes than you have the wrong display. Have a look at this video, and you see clearly how it is attached to the frame.

Is your new display "frameless", or does it have these lashes just without screw holes?

 

You are correct that this is indeed not the standard x220 display, The standard one is the SLB1, the SLB2 is a very similar IPS LCD display that came out a few months after the X220 one. Anyway they share the same interface and are 100% compatible. I was able to install it just fine onto the x220 but there are no screws holding down the screen, I instead just have some ghetto install comprising of double sided tape holding the lcd onto the lid and then the bezel on top which is screwed down. Now that the install is all done, it looks and feels just like how it was when it was new. Despite the ghetto method of install, it feels nice and sturdy. The SLB2 display has much less backlight bleed and no ghosting at all unlike my original X220 display. Viewing angles and colors look the same. Some have said the brightness on this display is higher, but it looks the same to me as the original display.

 

Well done, it's good that you managed to install the screen.