toughbook CF W4 LCD problem

Greetings all.

After more than a year of faultless service, my beloved Toughbook CFW4 is having LCD troubles.

Specifically, after initially working fine the monitor will suddenly go dark. There is a slight image still visible if I shine a light on the screen, which makes me think the inverter is the trouble. However, opening and closing the top makes it work again for a bit, so I am not sure that there is not a loose wire or connector.

Problem is the thing is still under warranty, but I bought it in the US and am now in Japan (Kyoto), so warranty service is a big hassle. I could open the screen myself and see but...

Any thoughts?

 

After two years of perfect operation I have the exactly same problem now. Did you get any advice on how to deal with the problem.

I am on Linux, so switching to konsole and then back to X brings back the backlight, usually only for a limited period of time.

 

That's the inverter going out.