Dell Inspiron 1100 screen problem

[lmark]

Hey all, new to the forum and hope you can help.

My laptop is about 4-5 years old and has been working fine. I pulled a bone headed move a while back and left the car window down and the computer got rained on. I dryed it as best I could and had my brother in law take it apart to check for moisture. He found none inside and powered it up. It worked fine for a couple of days. When I picked it up from him, I took it to work and powered it up. The power lights come on and you can hear it booting up. However, the screen is black. If you look very close, you can see the windows logo as it all boots up but it is very very dim, almost can't see it at all. Aside from the possible moisture problem, has any one experienced these symptoms? Any ideas are welcome as I really don't have the money to just buy a new one. My brother in law is a tv repair guy and could most likely make the repair if we just knew where to start.

I thank you in advance and hope to here from you soon.

Larry

 

[kimsland]

It's the Inverter board (which happens to be high voltage, and easily damaged hardware) behind the bezel of the screen. You will need to replace it.

 

[lmark]

Wow that was fast.

Ok, since I am electronically challenged and researching this for my brother in law, can you describe what the inverter looks like, where to look for it, how much it should cost for the replacement part, and where to find the replacement part?

Again, thanks for your quick response.

Larry

 

[kimsland]

Yes, Dell lol

Please look here https://www.techspot.com/vb/topic100658.html
And download the manual

The inverter board is quite small, and inexpensive

 

[lmark]

Ok, which link do I need to go to?

 

[lamo]

kimsland, yes, quite inexpensive. but if the signal backlite_ena(which comes from videocard or KBC controller) isn't present, the new inverter board won't solve the problem.

 

[lmark]

Never mind, I found it.

Thanks again

 

[kimsland]

Well you could
Chat with Customer Support
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/chat/hardware_chat?c=us&l=en&s=gen

Lets just hope it's just the Inverter board

edit:
Oh you found it

 

[lmark]

Well, what else could it be? Any ideas?

 

[kimsland]

kimsland, yes, quite inexpensive. but if the signal backlite_ena(which comes from videocard or KBC controller) isn't present, the new inverter board won't solve the problem.

Well it could be the screen !

Start with the Inverter board

 

[lmark]

Wow, you are way over my head. I am assuming that the inverter board is the first step in repair. Is this like a mechanic who just starts trying new parts until its fixed?

 

[kimsland]

Yes start with the water in the radiator and go from there !
We'll get to the motor later

 

[lmark]

Ok, so my brother in law will look for the inverter. Is there a part number on it or is that in the manual that I can't seem to download?

 

[kimsland]

Well you could
Chat with Customer Support
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/chat/hardware_chat?c=us&l=en&s=gen

Lets just hope it's just the Inverter board

edit:
Oh you found it

.
.

 

[lmark]

gotcha, chatting with them right now.



Thanks for all the help.

Larry

 

[lamo]

look, guys... i've just mentioned some cases in my practise. it's about backlite_ena signal. it means, that in some cases replacing inverter board won't solve the problem. that's because this signal is absent. in this particular case, of course, you sholud start from inverter replacing. as for me, i would like to start from cheking voltages which comes to inverter board. lmark, you should remember, that inverter may go down into safe mode(this is overvoltage protection), and the reason can be, for example, broken LCD backlight lamp.

 

[lmark]

They say the inverter board is part of the lcd screen and that the screen will have to be replaced?

 

[lamo]

so look for it on ebay. that's normal practise from official techsupport.

 

[lmark]

Will do, what exactly am I looking for..........just an inverter board for an inspiron1150?

 

[kimsland]

Yes http://search.ebay.com/inverter-boa...QfsprZ0QQssPageNameZRC0022?_trksid=p1638.m120

You may need the part number, stamped on the board itself

 

[lmark]

Great, so if that doesn't fix it I guess the screen is next? Is there anything else it could be?

You have all been great,

Thanks again

Larry

 

[kimsland]

kimsland, yes, quite inexpensive. but if the signal backlite_ena(which comes from videocard or KBC controller) isn't present, the new inverter board won't solve the problem.

Yes it could be the Motherboard itself !

 

[lmark]

Well that sounds expensive! If I hook an external monitor up to the laptop and it works, does that tell me anything?

 

[kimsland]

It would help, but signal backlite_ena refers to the laptop's LCD, so even if the external works, that does not mean the Inverter wil be the 100% fix in this case.

Start with the Inverter !

Oh, and try an external monitor too, that way you can actually see what's happening

 

[lmark]

Well, I got the external monitor hooked up and it works fine. My next step will be to get a new inverter board and try that. One thing that I did notice is that when I power up the laptop (with internal monitor) I can very faintly see the balloon's popping up on boot up in the lower right corner.

Does that give me any more to work with?

Thanks

Larry