Apple Cinema Display 20 dim and flashing light

I think I know the problem I have but I wanted to see if anyone had ideas before I spend $200.

I have an Apple 20" cinema display (the old picture frame version not aluminum).
The screen is bright on the bottom but fades to dimmer as you get to the top. The light is giving the two short flashes, and one long which says I have a backlight problem. Heres the kicker.

If I yank the cord out of the back of my computer and plug it back in, the monitor kicks on perfectly with no blinking light and perfect backlighting. It does this on multiple machines so I think the video card is rulled out. I also think these rules a burned out bulb. So what I read is that the board in the monitor needs to be replaced. I can't find one for less than $125 and I wanted to be sure thats it before I try it.

Any ideas?

Sounds to me as an inverter board problem. That piece should be around $50-$60, maybe even less. Taking the old Cinema Displays apart isn't very difficult, you should be able to install it yourself.
The problem is that Apple doesn't sell service parts that are not CIP (customer installable parts, like memory for example) to anybody else than to certified service centers. So you need to go through them to get the part.

Agree with Avalon. Sounds like the Inverter board. Had an IBM Thinkpad with almost the same problems. It was the Inverter board. A Capacitor fell off in my case and was an easy fix, but I bought another board just in case.

Any ideas where to shop. The best price I've found on the net is $120.

Thanks!

Avalon said:

Sounds to me as an inverter board problem. That piece should be around $50-$60, maybe even less. Taking the old Cinema Displays apart isn't very difficult, you should be able to install it yourself.
The problem is that Apple doesn't sell service parts that are not CIP (customer installable parts, like memory for example) to anybody else than to certified service centers. So you need to go through them to get the part.

Click to expand...

I found this solution and it worked

I have a 2 year old 20" Apple cinema display, and it's done this 3 times - try this!

Turn off your Mac, then unplug it, then unplug the monitor from your Mac.

Leave it to sit for awhile (I usually give it 15 minutes to be sure) then plug it all in and try it.

This has saved me from the 1/2 dim screen and flashing light on 3 occasions. It always seems to happen while the monitor is sleeping. After unplugging everything, the light doesn't flash and the backlight is fine for another 8 months or so.

source:
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum49/730.htm

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I thought since this was the first forum I found on google for this problem that I would try to be a good citizen and post the solution. The way I suggest doing this is:

1. turn off your computer
2. unplug the monitor
3. watch a movie on you laptop, I recommend "The Departed", with dinner and a glass of wine.
4. come back plug it in

If it stats up and your monitor is all normal again, please post the solution on another forum.

It worked...

april1 said:

I found this solution and it worked

I have a 2 year old 20" Apple cinema display, and it's done this 3 times - try this!

Turn off your Mac, then unplug it, then unplug the monitor from your Mac.

Leave it to sit for awhile (I usually give it 15 minutes to be sure) then plug it all in and try it.

This has saved me from the 1/2 dim screen and flashing light on 3 occasions. It always seems to happen while the monitor is sleeping. After unplugging everything, the light doesn't flash and the backlight is fine for another 8 months or so.

source:
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum49/730.htm

----

I thought since this was the first forum I found on google for this problem that I would try to be a good citizen and post the solution. The way I suggest doing this is:

1. turn off your computer
2. unplug the monitor
3. watch a movie on you laptop, I recommend "The Departed", with dinner and a glass of wine.
4. come back plug it in

If it stats up and your monitor is all normal again, please post the solution on another forum.

Click to expand...

I too have a 20" Apple cinema display (polycarbonate frame) and after I got off the phone with a client, I turned and looked at my screen... AHHHHHH. My screen was graying at the top... and the little light flashed 3 times (then off for 7-8 seconds)... and continued. So... I did what everyone does... SEARCH... and found this thread.

Indeed... I followed what April had said above (following the link as well)... and it fixed the problem.

problems with display

Hello, I first ran into this issue in Jan of 2006 not realizing the true nature of the issue, I found some good information about replacing and repairing the unit.

What I found was that the problem was not related to the inverter or the backlights.

The problem turned out to be directly related to the ambient temperature of the display.

This morning I had the same issue, the temp was at 40 degrees.

by using a small air heater, placed about 10 to 12 inches from the rear of the monitor, I could increase the ambient temperature to normal room variant which is around 70 degrees.

Because the component nature of the monitor and the materials used to build the inverter, on occasion the unit may not power up correctly in colder than normal room temperature.

one caveat, avoid using direct heat appliances, such as a hair dryer, this is risky and should not be attempted.

I purchased a small holmes air heat unit for about 15.00 usd, this can work well to gradually increase the temp.

My routine for this procedure is to shut down the computer, then disconnect the power to the computer.

After this is accomplished, disconnect the monitor cable from the computer video card.

Place the heating unit about 10 to 12 inches from the rear of the monitor and set the heat on low between the second or third setting, this is approximate to about 70 degrees.

The entire process usually takes about one hour from start to finish.

once the monitor has been slowly warmed to normal room temp, connect the monitor to the video card and connect the power back to the computer.

Then wait about 10 min before booting the computer, normally this works the first time however, depending on how cold your unit became prior to the power problem, you may have to start the procedure over again.

If you have the money you can always just buy a new monitor, but if you are like me and you would rather spend your money on new computer toys, then this is a solution that does work, at least most times.

Apple 20" cinema display dimmer top

I had the same problem as Havanger and his solution worked for me.

"Yank the cord out of the back of your computer and plug it back in, the monitor kicks on perfectly with no blinking light and perfect backlighting."

I'm not sure if the cause of all this it's the inverter board, the backlights or the ambient temperature of the display. But whatever it is all your options in how to take care of this really worked.

Thanks to everyone!!!

T.