backlight turns of from time to time, need help

[fendeanson]

There's a macbook I'm considering purchasing on ebay right now. The seller says:

Also, the backlight on the monitor occasionally shuts off. I don't know why but if you close the machine, then open it up, it usually comes back on. This is a known issue with some MacBooks.

I know that sometime Apple will fix known problems for free (like the palm-rest chipping problem). Does Apple fix this for free?

 

[klaze]

It sounds like the normal backlight option where when you don't touch it for a while, the backlight goes off, then like few minutes later, the computer goes to sleep. There's an option where you can keep the backlight on even if your not really using it. I'm not sure if this is it though.

 

[eman]

I know that sometime Apple will fix known problems for free (like the palm-rest chipping problem). Does Apple fix this for free?

Most likely no. Could be a software or hardware problem.
For software problem: Reload and update the OS.
For hardware problem: I would first replace the battery connector (I assuming this is a white/black macbook).