/Two/ faulty R31 displays .. ?

Hi All,

I recently got the R31 with no display system out to play with and
assuming a backlight issue (inverter or CCFL) I found a complete
'tested and working' display and have just fitted it.

Unfortunately it's exactly the same as the original one where in
bright light you can see the display working but no backlight?

I get external display ok and the little keyboard light turns on and
off so that's also getting to the screen etc. I've also made sure the
brightness was turned up.

So, what are the chances this /is/ another faulty display or is there
a fuse or known issue with this model / range please? ;-(

Cheers, T i m

p.s. For those who have played with this range of machines I've only
pushed not screwed the screen connector in for now (in case they were
important to the functionality etc).

Somewhere on teh intarwebs T i m wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> I recently got the R31 with no display system out to play with and
> assuming a backlight issue (inverter or CCFL) I found a complete
> 'tested and working' display and have just fitted it.
>
> Unfortunately it's exactly the same as the original one where in
> bright light you can see the display working but no backlight?

Hi Buddy,

When you say that you bought a 'tested and working display' do you mean
simply that, the /display/ or are you meaning the whole lid?

If you only got the panel proper then I'd say it's 99% likely that your
inverter is shot.

Best,
--
Shaun.

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a
monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also
into you." Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

> I get external display ok and the little keyboard light turns on and
> off so that's also getting to the screen etc. I've also made sure the
> brightness was turned up.
>
> So, what are the chances this /is/ another faulty display or is there
> a fuse or known issue with this model / range please? ;-(
>
> Cheers, T i m
>
> p.s. For those who have played with this range of machines I've only
> pushed not screwed the screen connector in for now (in case they were
> important to the functionality etc).

On Tue, 25 Jan 2011 21:02:08 +1300, "~misfit~"
<> wrote:

>Somewhere on teh intarwebs T i m wrote:
>> Hi All,
>>
>> I recently got the R31 with no display system out to play with and
>> assuming a backlight issue (inverter or CCFL) I found a complete
>> 'tested and working' display and have just fitted it.
>>
>> Unfortunately it's exactly the same as the original one where in
>> bright light you can see the display working but no backlight?
>
>Hi Buddy,

<waves>
>
>When you say that you bought a 'tested and working display' do you mean
>simply that, the /display/ or are you meaning the whole lid?

The whole lid. Like it was a stand-alone TFT etc. I managed to get the
complete thing (actual display with supposedly working back light,
hinges, inverter, cable and plastics) for about what you can pay for
an inverter and it was supposedly 'tested and working' (with a 30 day
g'tee). The logic being at that price it's a straight go / no go swap
test and if it works I could use the known working parts to faultfind
the original.
>
>If you only got the panel proper then I'd say it's 99% likely that your
>inverter is shot.

I was thinking that but unsure if it could be something on the
mainboard that was feeding / powering the inverter (about the only
fault that could stop two functional screens from working).

If you feel that's unlikely / unheard of and if you know the inverters
are a bit 'fragile' then I'm happy to get another / new one and see
what happens.

Cheers, T i m

p.s. If I knew what pin on the mobo socket fed power to the inverter
cct then I guess I could put a meter on it?

p.p.s. I've notified the supplier of the 'working' screen that it
isn't on my laptop and I asked if they had the / a working mobo they
might also like to sell. They are looking into it. The problem with
this situation is I can't /prove/ the display isn't working. On that
though, what sort of inputs are we looking at to the inverter itself?
Is it just 'power' and it then does it's LVDC to HV conversion on it's
own? (I'm thinking if I split the plastics I could have a measure on
the i/p side)?

On Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:30:19 +0000, T i m <> wrote:


>>> Unfortunately it's exactly the same as the original one where in
>>> bright light you can see the display working but no backlight?
>>

So, it seems the lid switch can get stuck down and that just turns off
the backlight .... <Doh>!

To be fair to me this is the first lid switch I've ever dealt with and
it was only after trying a supposedly tested and working second screen
assembly did I start thinking the fault was elsewhere and did some
more specific Googling.

I came across the suggestion an experiment to see if you could spark
the backlight into action by 'pressing the lid switch on and off' and
that got me to checking mine. At first I couldn't see 'a switch', just
a place where the lug on the screen would go but gently prodding in
that general area with a cocktail stick (my eyes aren't particularly
good and generally use one of those illuminated magnifying lamps when
I'm doing some proper work like this) when I heard a tiny 'click' and
it felt different with the cocktail stick. I could /then/ see a little
plastic switch lever sticking up. ;-) I switched it on with the
replacement screen / lid and there it was .. "IBM". Swapped it back to
the original screen and that seems fine also. ;-)

Oh well, we live and learn. ;-)

The T22 still seems bizarrely intermittent on startup and the info
given to be my the PO of "It will generally start but typically after
between 2 and 62 presses of the power button" seems pretty accurate.

The shame though is when it /does/ start it runs very well. I wonder
if it's a failing timing capacitor on some POST power_on_reset type
thing?

Cheers, T i m

Somewhere on teh intarwebs T i m wrote:
> On Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:30:19 +0000, T i m <> wrote:
>
>>>> Unfortunately it's exactly the same as the original one where in
>>>> bright light you can see the display working but no backlight?


Sorry, been a while since I've had a chance to peek in here.

> So, it seems the lid switch can get stuck down and that just turns off
> the backlight .... <Doh>!

Ahhh! Oh well, you've fixed it and have a spare and we've all learned from
your experiences. Thanks.

> To be fair to me this is the first lid switch I've ever dealt with and
> it was only after trying a supposedly tested and working second screen
> assembly did I start thinking the fault was elsewhere and did some
> more specific Googling.
>
> I came across the suggestion an experiment to see if you could spark
> the backlight into action by 'pressing the lid switch on and off' and
> that got me to checking mine. At first I couldn't see 'a switch', just
> a place where the lug on the screen would go but gently prodding in
> that general area with a cocktail stick (my eyes aren't particularly
> good and generally use one of those illuminated magnifying lamps when
> I'm doing some proper work like this) when I heard a tiny 'click' and
> it felt different with the cocktail stick. I could /then/ see a little
> plastic switch lever sticking up. ;-) I switched it on with the
> replacement screen / lid and there it was .. "IBM". Swapped it back to
> the original screen and that seems fine also. ;-)
>
> Oh well, we live and learn. ;-)
>
> The T22 still seems bizarrely intermittent on startup and the info
> given to be my the PO of "It will generally start but typically after
> between 2 and 62 presses of the power button" seems pretty accurate.
>
> The shame though is when it /does/ start it runs very well. I wonder
> if it's a failing timing capacitor on some POST power_on_reset type
> thing?

I had an X31 that did something similar and replacing the RTC 'BIOS' battery
fixed it. <shrug> Not saying that it'll fix yours though. ;-)

Best of luck,
--
Shaun.

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a
monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also
into you." Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

On Sun, 6 Feb 2011 15:00:08 +1300, "~misfit~"
<> wrote:



>> The T22 still seems bizarrely intermittent on startup and the info
>> given to be my the PO of "It will generally start but typically after
>> between 2 and 62 presses of the power button" seems pretty accurate.
>>
>> The shame though is when it /does/ start it runs very well. I wonder
>> if it's a failing timing capacitor on some POST power_on_reset type
>> thing?
>
>I had an X31 that did something similar and replacing the RTC 'BIOS' battery
>fixed it. <shrug> Not saying that it'll fix yours though. ;-)

I'd not done / checked that so I've just pulled it and it's 2.98V. A
new (untagged) CR2302 I have here measures 3.29V on the same DMM (both
offload of course) so worth a go. ;-)

Thanks again,

T i m

Somewhere on teh intarwebs T i m wrote:
> On Sun, 6 Feb 2011 15:00:08 +1300, "~misfit~"
> <> wrote:
>>> The T22 still seems bizarrely intermittent on startup and the info
>>> given to be my the PO of "It will generally start but typically
>>> after between 2 and 62 presses of the power button" seems pretty
>>> accurate.
>>>
>>> The shame though is when it /does/ start it runs very well. I wonder
>>> if it's a failing timing capacitor on some POST power_on_reset type
>>> thing?
>>
>> I had an X31 that did something similar and replacing the RTC 'BIOS'
>> battery fixed it. <shrug> Not saying that it'll fix yours though. ;-)
>
> I'd not done / checked that so I've just pulled it and it's 2.98V. A
> new (untagged) CR2302 I have here measures 3.29V on the same DMM (both
> offload of course) so worth a go. ;-)
>
> Thanks again,

You're welcome, good luck. :-)

(That reminded me that I need to replenish my supply of tabbed CR2032s [and
heatshrink-'wrap']. I have a few new un-tabbed batteries but no new tabbed
ones. I'd rather not pay Lenovo's prices [or any laptop manufacturer's for
that matter].)

Cheers,
--
Shaun.

"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a
monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also
into you." Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

On Mon, 7 Feb 2011 12:19:25 +1300, "~misfit~"
<> wrote:

>>
>> I'd not done / checked that so I've just pulled it and it's 2.98V. A
>> new (untagged) CR2302 I have here measures 3.29V on the same DMM (both
>> offload of course) so worth a go. ;-)
>>
>> Thanks again,
>
>You're welcome, good luck. :-)

I don't think you were wishing hard enough. ;-(

New battery, same outcome but worth a try etc.

FWIW I was talking to an eBay seller and he suggested 'T22's had
something funny about their CMOS batteries (he had one and had bought
a new battery for it)' but I'm not sure where he got that from or even
if it's true etc.
>
>(That reminded me that I need to replenish my supply of tabbed CR2032s [and
>heatshrink-'wrap'].

I have quite a few batteries (market, loads for little) and quite a
bit of heatshrink about from general use and RC models.

> I have a few new un-tabbed batteries but no new tabbed
>ones.

I have a large soldering iron that was bought for tabbing racing 'C'
cell packs. I think the key is get it clean, fluxed then fast and hot
(assuming you don't have a spot welder that is). Never been a problem
but only used on Nicad and NiMH's so far (and a few button cells of
different types).

> I'd rather not pay Lenovo's prices [or any laptop manufacturer's for
>that matter].)

;-)

I saw some quite cheap on eBay complete with covering and the little
lead / plug. I might have even bought one had this mornings experiment
worked.

Cheers, T i m