Do I need a new screen. Please tell me I don’t.

[RobbieD]

Hi. I was replacing the HDD for an SSD following the instructions on ifixit, but when I put the screen back together after testing (which went fine), I get the whole right half of the screen black. It fades out, not a solid line down the middle where it’s fine then it isn’t, but more a smearing effect. So I removed the screen again to check whether maybe I didn’t connect one or both of the two screen cables correctly, but they were fine and disconnecting/reconnecting didn’t make any difference. Have I damaged it beyond repair? Pulling my hair out right now.
[automerge]1585680549[/automerge]
It’s a 5k late 2015 model by the way.

 

[chscag]

Very likely a damaged cable or connector rather than the display. Damaging the cables or connectors when removing them is easy to do. The difficulty is that you can't see the damage. Those cables and connectors are fragile.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I can't help you but feel for you. My guess is that it's probably a damaged cable, or you zapped it with static. Where I live we have some 3rd party apple repair places that would not charge an arm and a leg to diagnose it. But I don't think it's the screen as much as it is the graphics chip or cable?
[automerge]1585681224[/automerge]
Hahah chscag posted while I was typing and got distracted by my wife who is working at home, so he beat me to the punch and posted 5 seconds before me...

 

[RobbieD]

Visually inspecting the cables and they seem ok but if it’s a static issue then that’s something else. Is it possible to replace these cables? Would prefer that fix rather than a new screen $$$

 

[chscag]

Visually inspecting the cables or connectors usually does not reveal anything. You will need to swap them out in order to determine if that was the problem. I hate to do things that way myself but sometimes component swap is the only way to resolve a problem. As far as I'm aware, the cables can be replaced. You'll need to find out the exact replacement part number and then find the cable(s). Ebay is always a good place to start. Lots of good repair shops on eBay also sell parts. Try this guy:

Bauder Industries | eBay Stores

Welcome to my eBay Store. Please add me to your list of favorite sellers and visit often. Thank you for your business.

www.ebay.com

Good luck.

 

[RobbieD]

Visually inspecting the cables or connectors usually does not reveal anything. You will need to swap them out in order to determine if that was the problem. I hate to do things that way myself but sometimes component swap is the only way to resolve a problem. As far as I'm aware, the cables can be replaced. You'll need to find out the exact replacement part number and then find the cable(s). Ebay is always a good place to start. Lots of good repair shops on eBay also sell parts. Try this guy:

Bauder Industries | eBay Stores

Welcome to my eBay Store. Please add me to your list of favorite sellers and visit often. Thank you for your business.

www.ebay.com

Good luck.

Thanks. One other thing I noted is after doing some research, the four LEDs on the motherboard are all green. Not sure if that means anything useful. I’ve ordered a Mini DisplayPort to hdmi adapter to see if the video out to an external monitor is ok, and take it from there.

 

[chscag]

Thanks. One other thing I noted is after doing some research, the four LEDs on the motherboard are all green. Not sure if that means anything useful. I’ve ordered a Mini DisplayPort to hdmi adapter to see if the video out to an external monitor is ok, and take it from there.

That's a great idea for troubleshooting. Good thinking, and let us know.

 

[RobbieD]

That's a great idea for troubleshooting. Good thinking, and let us know.

Tried connecting to an external monitor via Mini DisplayPort to HDMI and it works fine, so that tells me the Mac itself is ok, is that right? If so, next step try new cables...

 

[Fishrrman]

(sigh)
One of the hazards of "doing it yourself"...