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Broken Internal Display Connector 27" iMac

sorry for bumpin and old thread like this but mine worked on 3 out of 5 imacs so far. its deff not an easy job to handle especially if you didnt just rip the pins out of the connector itself and left them soldered on the board like some of the ones i got in did....if you tore off the connector pins and the little metal sheet that the solder sticks too then u make your job that much harder because you have to somehow scrape away the black surface covering the trace so the solder has something to stick to since the pad is gone. I had to go out and get a stereo microscope to get the job done since everything was so damn tiny but i got lucky since i picked up a used one for cheap but they can typically run u about 500 plus bucks for a good clear pictured one and i must say it makes soldering those tiny pins safely much easier since you can see if anything is touching one another. The best way for me was to take some plumbers glue which is kinda rubbery and clear even when it dries and use that to hold the connector in place that way you have it secured tightly but at the same time if you feel like your off a little bit you can just take it off the board without it being permanent like crazy glue wuld be and best of all it adds extra support to the connector so if you do get everything soldered back up properly its les likely to be ripped off again and keeps is tightly mounded in its rightful place. I hope this all made sense and that it helps others out since i keep getting these mofos in and im not sure why apple would make the connector this way especially on an almost 2k dollar machine.....then again they went cheap on the packing too and we all know what happened there....so sad....lets hope things like this get resolved later on but until then keeeeeeep repairing em since it is a good way to buy low sell high especially on ebay ;)
 
This is a great thread. Thanks to all for their contributions.
Although my iMac 27" i7 hasn't been repaired I se a light at the horizon :)

Here you'll find a technical datasheet for the connector.
http://jae-connector.com/en/pdf/SJ038319.pdf

Right now I'm trying to gain more experience with a ripped DVD player.

Ronald
---
 
Unfortunately the supporters I contacted don't have any connectors of this type.
I was told they are not produced anymore :(

Is somebody out there who got one spare connector to send me?

Frustrated
Ronald
---
 
I bought a new connector from ebay.co.uk: link
Manufacturer Part No: FI-X30SSL-HF
As well as some Kapton tape, solder paste with needle dispenser and a hot air rework station.

My plan is to tape up the area around the connector to protect the other solders from heat.
Then use some solder wick and a chisel point iron to remove the old solder from the board.
After that apply a tiny amount of solder paste to the earths and a line across the 30 joins. Then ill position and line up the new connector and use the hot air reflow station to gently heat up the board and melt the solder paste which will reflow on to the feet and hopefully not bridge any joins due to the flux compound and the surface tension of the solder which draws it to the connectors. Leaving a beautifully mounted connector. So no need for individual soldering with magnifying glasses.

I will video this and put it on youtube if its a success so that others can do the same.
 
Has anyone had success with the 2-pin LCD Temperature Sensor thats attached to the main board? This part is broken on mine.

I fear I need a new logic board or computer :eek:
 
Madkeys - LOL IDK how you found that oddity, but good job. Yes, please report back when the time comes. Very interesting someone out there is able to do such a repair.
 
Just replaced my HDD and ended up with a blank screen. My connector is still in place but it might have loosened a bit, are these two parts marked with red circles supposed to be soldered on to the logic board?

eadimaaea.jpg


My connector:
fadilaaea.jpg


What do you think? Is it supposed to look like this? If I look underneath the connector the pins still seems to be soldered to it.

I would love to get this computer running.
 
lasse! said:
Just replaced my HDD and ended up with a blank screen. My connector is still in place but it might have loosened a bit, are these two parts marked with red circles supposed to be soldered on to the logic board?

Image

My connector:
Image

What do you think? Is it supposed to look like this? If I look underneath the connector the pins still seems to be soldered to it.

I would love to get this computer running.
Click to expand...

Those two are grounds. They need to make solid contact or else you could have a problem. Might be time to whip out the solder and soldering iron!

EDIT - The pictures are spotty in regard to whether they load or not. I saw the diagram of the connector, but did not see your picture.

Also a side note, this was actually a thread of mine from years ago. I had abandoned the old "wingzero1285" handle due to having a hacked email account that had the same handle.

I can confirm that I had experience with soldering this connector back to the logic board with success. It can be done by hand. It is EXTREMELY tedious though and I never want to do it again.

----------

Also, there are 3 total connections from the LED panel to the iMac logic board and power supply if I recall.

The actual internal video connector (the one you think you may have messed up)

A power connector

A sync connector (very tiny connector)

Perhaps the power connector or sync connector are not connected fully? I would test those two before messing with the delicate display connector.
 
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wingzero1285 said:
For those iMac owners who have broken that internal video connector off the logic board and are left scratching your heads as all the pins are destroyed on that little connector… I have found a solution!

This part is something that can be ordered! The model number of the part I ordered is FI-X30SSL-HF. It is made by JAE. The number stamped on the original part is actually FI-X30SSLB-HF. The B for black. This piece I ordered is actually beige. I took a chance by ordering FI-X30SSL-HF because I could not find the B model ANYWHERE! I ordered this part from Mouser Electronics. It was about $22 shipped from Texas to New Jersey. I figured I had nothing to lose.

I verified that the original display wire would fit into this connector. Also its feet line up with the pads on the logic board. I soldered it down moments ago.

My only issue is I have yet to post any results because in a last ditch effort last week, I tried to splice the original display wire to solder it directly to the logic board. I attempted this because I figured I had nothing to lose and that the little tiny connector had no model number.

Boy was I wrong. I found that model number stamped to it by using a magnifying glass. So now I wait until my video cable arrives from applecomponents.com. Ah the waiting game. Hope to post positive results. The solder job was tedious but doable with a 15w pointy soldering iron and the right tools and materials. Will post again tomorrow or wednesday!

And to think I was so close to selling this and going back to building my own PC… at least with a PC I know how modular parts are and easily replaceable they can be… gotta love APPLE!

Side note, does anyone else feel that Apple's over all quality has gone down over the years? I feel like the machines in the early 2000's being produced in Taiwan were of much higher quality. I don't know maybe its me. Or maybe I feel this way because I was tinkering around inside of an iMac as if it was a mid ATX tower...


Edit - This was with a 27" iMac 2010
Click to expand...

Agree internal parts of iMac are low quality and very sensitive
 
Johnf1285 said:
Those two are grounds. They need to make solid contact or else you could have a problem. Might be time to whip out the solder and soldering iron!

EDIT - The pictures are spotty in regard to whether they load or not. I saw the diagram of the connector, but did not see your picture.

Also a side note, this was actually a thread of mine from years ago. I had abandoned the old "wingzero1285" handle due to having a hacked email account that had the same handle.

I can confirm that I had experience with soldering this connector back to the logic board with success. It can be done by hand. It is EXTREMELY tedious though and I never want to do it again.

----------

Also, there are 3 total connections from the LED panel to the iMac logic board and power supply if I recall.

The actual internal video connector (the one you think you may have messed up)

A power connector

A sync connector (very tiny connector)

Perhaps the power connector or sync connector are not connected fully? I would test those two before messing with the delicate display connector.
Click to expand...


Thank you for your answer!

I think I've triple checked the 3 connectors. One pin on the vsync cable maybe a little bit broken but i've googled and it seems like the display works even if the whole cable is missing?

What do you about my connector? I will quadruple check all cables but it looks kind of strange that the connector isn't totally attached to the board..
 
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lasse! said:
Thank you for your answer!

I think I've triple checked the 3 connectors. One pin on the vsync cable maybe a little bit broken but i've googled and it seems like the display works even if the whole cable is missing?

What do you about my connector? I will quadruple check all cables but it looks kind of strange that the connector isn't totally attached to the board..
Click to expand...

You may want to take a magnifying glass to it and see what is going on. I soldered the pin all the way to the left and the pin all the way to the right down, as I found a spec sheet indicating that they were both grounds.

Try and get a good look, a drop or two of solder and a hot soldering iron can clear it up if this is the case. The pads may even have enough solder that you just need to reflow it with a hot iron.

Otherwise, so Apple "Genius" will recommend a $1500 logicboard since they have no clue how to solder things nor would they ever resort to that.
 
FI-X30SSLB-HF is simillar for imac 21.5 2009 late? i can solder it carefully like other or i need something more?
 
madkeys said:
The broken LCD connector. I'm sending off my 27inch to thisn place. I;ll report an how good a job they do!
http://www.galaxyhp.com/b27-inch-Intel-iMacb--LVDS-Connector-REPAIR_p_434.html
Click to expand...

Sorry to bump an old thread, but how did sending your iMac to this place turn out?

----------
wingzero1285 said:
Mine broke when I pushed the video cable's connector in too hard when reassembling my mac after an ssd upgrade. The female connector, which is soldered to the board, has pins that are bent at 90 degrees. Pushing too hard just broke all the pins right where they were bent 90 degrees. It was a total "HOLY *****!" moment. But I cooled off and figured it out afterwards.
Click to expand...

I did the exact same thing. Did you have to desolder the pins still sticking out of the motherboard where you broke it off before soldering on the new chip?
 
FruitCompanyGuy said:
Sorry to bump an old thread, but how did sending your iMac to this place turn out?

----------



I did the exact same thing. Did you have to desolder the pins still sticking out of the motherboard where you broke it off before soldering on the new chip?
Click to expand...

Yes I had to desolder the busted pins still left on the pads. Took to each one with a magnifying glass and a small needle nose plier.

It was quite the ordeal!

(wingzero1285 was an old handle of mine).
 
Johnf1285 said:
Yes I had to desolder the busted pins still left on the pads. Took to each one with a magnifying glass and a small needle nose plier.

It was quite the ordeal!

(wingzero1285 was an old handle of mine).
Click to expand...

I'm debating just soldering down the large ground pads and seeing if I can get the busted pins to touch. Did that ever cross your mind, or just way too unstable?
 
FruitCompanyGuy said:
I'm debating just soldering down the large ground pads and seeing if I can get the busted pins to touch. Did that ever cross your mind, or just way too unstable?
Click to expand...

Yes, in a sense.

I first repaired the connector by soldering the broken pins back together. However it was not a good solution it eventually broke.
 
Johnf1285 said:
Yes, in a sense.

I first repaired the connector by soldering the broken pins back together. However it was not a good solution it eventually broke.
Click to expand...

So it worked correctly, but eventually broke randomly later after you had the iMac back together?

Thanks for all your help btw. You're the only person I've heard about who has successfully fixed this. Still debating trying to fix this vs shipping it off to that company that someone mentioned above.
 
Yeah it eventually gave way.

If you have the right tools and patience, you can repair it. It is doable. Were you able to source the connector, or is that hard to find now? Option 2 is to find a non working 27" iMac logic board and just get the piece off of it and then relist it on eBay. Something to consider...
 
Johnf1285 said:
Yeah it eventually gave way.

If you have the right tools and patience, you can repair it. It is doable. Were you able to source the connector, or is that hard to find now? Option 2 is to find a non working 27" iMac logic board and just get the piece off of it and then relist it on eBay. Something to consider...
Click to expand...

I've found the connector on eBay, but I'm just trying to do the minimal amount of effort since this is kind of an insane repair :)

One last question... what kind of solder did you use when replacing the connector? Thanks again for all the help!
 
FruitCompanyGuy said:
I've found the connector on eBay, but I'm just trying to do the minimal amount of effort since this is kind of an insane repair :)

One last question... what kind of solder did you use when replacing the connector? Thanks again for all the help!
Click to expand...

I used Silver Bearing 0.22" diameter 62/36/2 rosin core solder with a little fine point 15watt soldering iron, both from Radio Shack. The iron could have used a bit more heat, as desoldering the original solder was a bit annoying. 20watt should be good.
 
Just to follow up (since it annoys me when people never follow up)... I ended up going through galaxyhp for the repair since I wussed out. It so happens they don't do the repair themselves, they send it to a repair shop in Fremont, CA. I happen to live about 25 min from there, so I drove it in (seriously, what are the chances). Dropped it off on a Saturday, it was ready on Monday. Works 100% now. I still went through galaxyhp so they would get their commission since I didn't know about the shop, but if you want to go straight to the source:

https://www.dttservice.com/imac.html

Pretty happy with the service. They hooked the LCD back up and even cleaned under the glass, just like new.

Thanks for all the help from everyone in the thread (and especially to Johnf1285 for answering all my annoying questions, and madkeys for finding a shop that can actually do the repair). Writing this post on my fixed iMac :)

Edit - On a side note, galaxyhp seems to have upped their price from $198 to $238 now, strange. Anyways, DTT seems to offer it directly for $195.
 
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