iBook display problems

[nashisdstuff]

hello. i am working on a 12" iBook G4. when i boot the computer, i can faintly see the apple logo for a few seconds, then the screen goes black again and after a few more seconds i can see the desktop. (if this is relevant to the problem, which i doubt: everytime the machine boots iPhoto pops up immediately, i assume because of unifinished progress, as well as the calendar docklet AND system message saying the system time and date are set to a time before some month in 2001. forgot the month.) when the desktop comes up it is SUPER dim and extremely difficult to navigate. i have attempted to brighten the screen using the F-functions and have went into the system preferences and made sure the brightness is turned up in the control panel. i have done heavy research about this problem and the first advice i got to was to replace the inverter board, so i did this to no avail. then upon further research i stumbled upon a website suggesting that the backlight had gone out, as this is an older machine. so i ordered a new backlight and installed it. booted up, no cigar. having exhausted MY knowledge and my research it seemed, i took it to a local store and the tech guy there told me it was either the LCD going out (which didn't make a whole lot of sense) or the motherboard could be going bad. he attached the laptop to an external monitor he had there and everything seemed fine. so his suggestion was that the LCD was going bad. so i ordered a "tested working" LCD and have installed it, needless to say i spun my wheels yet again, as i am here hoping someone can brighten my screen again. any suggestions? replaced inverter board, backlight AND LCD!!! ARGH!

 

[chscag]

Did you change the video cable (from the logic board to the LCD) when you swapped out the LCD? If not, that could have been your problem all along.

Hooking up an external monitor bypasses that connection and everything else associated with the LCD. Since the external monitor functioned OK, that means the graphics and logic board are OK.

 

[thurstmw]

Im going with inverter is still bad. Try another.

 

[nashisdstuff]

Did you change the video cable (from the logic board to the LCD) when you swapped out the LCD? If not, that could have been your problem all along.

Hooking up an external monitor bypasses that connection and everything else associated with the LCD. Since the external monitor functioned OK, that means the graphics and logic board are OK.

sooo, you're telling me that after i've replaced ALL these parts, that's there's still a chance that the signal cable from the board to the LCD is bad? is there any way to test any of this?

 

[chscag]

No way to test the cable without swapping it out. When a notebook computer advances in age - over time the cables can get brittle due to the heat within the machine. That causes internal breaks and connector ends that no longer make good contact.

Not saying that it is the cable, but since you've changed everything else out..... Of course you could be very unlucky and like the previous post stated, the inverter you replaced could be bad. Not likely though.