CF-29 Inverter question + Needed

Hello all,
I have a question about the CF-29 inverter... Can someone provide DIY directions on how to check for power from the board to the inverter, and power from the inverter to the LCD? I keep up our Toughbooks for the police dept I work for and suspect the inverter. The laptop powers on and you can see the windows screen in the background. The laptop works fine with a external monitor. I also tested the LCD bulb with a known good one and it doesnt light. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone has a CF-29 inverter for sale I would be interested as they are different than the CF-28..which we have several.

Thanks for any help,
Kevin

 

The signs you have are of a failed inverter
I replaced one, a month ago in a cf-29
I Was warned that the output voltage is quite high, so I did not test for fear of being zapped or blowing my mulitimeter

Don’t worry about testing just buy a replacement , if by chance its not the fault you will have it for the other units when needed

Alex

 

Thanks Tomcat,
Could you tell me where you purchased your inverter? We tried buying one from our radio shop and it must be the wrong one as it did not work. I provided the model number from the bottom sticker and it came but was not exactly the same size. We only have 1 CF-29 so I would like to be sure.

Thanks so much,
Kevin

 

Post the model # of the cf-29
I am sure that someone on the forum will have a spare from a cracked display
Alex

 

OK Here it is:

Panasonic CF-29 inverter needed
The model number is CF-29EWPNZKM

Anyone with one for sale please let me know.

Thanks again,
Kevin

 

Bump for the day..thanks

 

I don't think it is the inverter... I had the same issue on two 1.3GHz CF-29s... You could see the image on the background... Just no backlight. I thought it was a fuse but could not track it down. I swapped inverters and it was no help. I ended up just buying basket case CF-29s with cracked displays and putting those displays on the others as replacements and they worked great. So now (somewhere in the depths of my shop) I have two CF-29 motherboards that won't light the LCDs...

Your mileage may vary....

 

Thanks Toughbook,
Would you think it is screen related based on your experience.. or a motherboard problem? would you have a know good LCD or Motherboard for sale?
Thanks for your response,
Kevin

 

Kevin... Try the inverter first as it is your cheapest possible fix.

Ebay is where I would go for LCD/motherboard/Inverter... AFTER posting in the BST forum here that is.

 

I've had lousy luck with the MK2 CF-29s (1.3) I have had the same issue rick and was unable to fix, I've also had a few of them with the "Burn" mark on the screen that looks like a dark area. Only seen this on the 1.3s, I finally quit buying them due to this. Never had these issues with the other MKs. Anyone else seen this trend?

 

Life sucks. I just bought the CF-29 MK2. I was told that they are the best in CF-29 line. This never ends.

 

Did you happen to notice what lcd panel is used, and if it is different that the other mk's

Connor , I am sure this is a very small percentage overall
You have had a lot of cf-29's over the years
I know of trends with display problems on some models in the business class, but I am sure I would of noticed this issue on cf-29’s

Alex

 

Nah I didn't check the LCD brand or part numbers, and to be honest I've only had like maybe 3 or 4 MK2s but they all had similar problems with the LCD so I dunno I stopped buying them a while back after I had bad luck. I've had awesome luck with the MK1, 4 and 5

 

The only issue that I have seen with the MK2 is that they will sometime show up without the touchscreen working at all. I have never had one stop working on me if it WAS working when I got it... But I think Psych0Thrasher and others were having the same issues with MK2 units.

And as soon as I say that... I now have a 1.6GHz unit (MK4) that showed up with the touchscreen not working at all. It is not the ribbon cable on the inside nor the touchscreen controller board. I think I will take a gander at the schematics and see what I can see.

 

I have noticed the touchscreen issues in the last 6 months
Psych0Thrasher had a very large percentage that were not working
And more and more are showing up
I think that is wise to stick with overall good condition units, and be wary of the beat-up models

Alex

 

That's the weird thing about the 1.6GHz unit I have now... It looks almost brand new!

 

Out of 7 MK5s I purchased recently 4 had non working touchscreens same issue, luckly Panasonic covered them all under warranty