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DavidCar

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 19, 2004
525
0
The display on my iBook is flickering occasionally. Getting dimmer for a few seconds, then coming back. (600 Mhz dual USB) Does that mean my display is in the process of dying, or does a real demise come suddenly with no warning?
 

londonweb

macrumors 6502
Sep 14, 2005
260
0
london
blaskillet4 said:
Well, considering fluorescent bulbs die like that, its probably dying... Sorry :(

Hold on a sec! It could just be a dirty or faulty connection with the screen- I had this once on an old Sony PC laptop- It was too much hassle to fix it so I just learned to live with it, but if you wiggled the screen around it would come back fine and last until you jogged it again. It worked like this for months before it properly died and wouldn't come back on again. How long has yours been like this? have you tried wiggling? (incidentally the first rule of engineering, just above kicking)
 

alexprice

macrumors 6502a
Jan 8, 2005
646
3
DavidCar said:
The display on my iBook is flickering occasionally. Getting dimmer for a few seconds, then coming back. (600 Mhz dual USB) Does that mean my display is in the process of dying, or does a real demise come suddenly with no warning?

Sounds like a inverter cable problem, it could be the inverter, but from past experience if the inverter has a fault, it simply wont power the bulb(s) at all.

Either the inverter or the cable would cost around £100 to replace at an AASP.

Alex Price
 

Mord

macrumors G4
Aug 24, 2003
10,091
23
UK
it's a common fault, the cable that powers the backlight is getting dodgy from the stress in the hinge, you can get it replaced for about 50 bucks at an apple store.
 

DavidCar

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 19, 2004
525
0
Hector said:
it's a common fault, the cable that powers the backlight is getting dodgy from the stress in the hinge, you can get it replaced for about 50 bucks at an apple store.
I can get what replaced? The cable or the hinge? My auto-sleep hinge switch hasn't worked for years.

The problem has gone away for the moment. Earlier, it was sometimes responsive to moving the iBook, but also to clicking the scrollbar. (Apparently from pressure on the trackpad.) Now, using it on a desk, it seems to be more stable than when I was using it on my lap earlier.

It started after I got a memory upgrade Friday, so I don't know if it makes sense to consider that may be part of the problem. Is the backlight power cable anywhere near the memory slots?
 

DavidCar

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 19, 2004
525
0
When it is acting up it is not responsive to a simple screen wiggle.
 

Mord

macrumors G4
Aug 24, 2003
10,091
23
UK
the sleep thing is caused by a magnet just under your keyboard on the right side which triggers a switch in the lcd, the magnet could have moved or the cable could be damaged, take it to an apple store to have it check out, i just replaced my whole bezel which replaced all the cableing.
 

alexprice

macrumors 6502a
Jan 8, 2005
646
3
DavidCar said:
I can get what replaced? The cable or the hinge? My auto-sleep hinge switch hasn't worked for years.

The problem has gone away for the moment. Earlier, it was sometimes responsive to moving the iBook, but also to clicking the scrollbar. (Apparently from pressure on the trackpad.) Now, using it on a desk, it seems to be more stable than when I was using it on my lap earlier.

It started after I got a memory upgrade Friday, so I don't know if it makes sense to consider that may be part of the problem. Is the backlight power cable anywhere near the memory slots?

Not the hinge just the cable.

One end of the cable plugs into the logic board just by the ram slot.

The fact that the sleep function in the lid (the reed switch) isn't working suggests more that it is the cable as the inverter and reed switch cable are one.

Alex Price
 

DaveP

macrumors 6502a
Mar 18, 2005
506
433
I have some display cables I could unload cheap (I'm not home right now and don't remember exactly what ones). I replaced the metal bezel and hinge on G4 iBook with a G3 display and have most of the G3 wires. PM me if you are interested in replacing some cables yourself. I will warn you it's not the easiest job. It's not all to hard, but if you are not comfortable working on computers I would not recommend it.
 

DavidCar

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 19, 2004
525
0
DaveP said:
I have some display cables I could unload cheap
Thanks for the offer, but I don't want to try that approach.

alexprice said:
...just by the ram slot.
It is sounding more like the cable is the problem, and I appreciate the advice. It seems to work fine as long as I use the iBook on a table, but this morning the brightness decreased 50% for several minutes, then even briefly blacked out when I was using it on my lap. I'll take it back to where I had the memory installed to have them double check the cable connection.
 

DavidCar

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jan 19, 2004
525
0
When we tried to reproduce the display problem at my Apple Authorized Reseller, the most predicable way to make the display flicker was to push on the case to the left of the trackpad, or in various places in that area. I understand there is another display cable in that area, and I could have them work on it for a while to try to reseat the cable. It is still usable most of the time, presently it is dimmed a bit, and it can also be used with an external display. I don't want to put a lot of money into it while I'm trying to justify getting a new computer.
 
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