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

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.

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

Yes, Dell lol :)

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

The inverter board is quite small, and inexpensive

Ok, which link do I need to go to?

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.

Never mind, I found it.

Thanks again

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

Well, what else could it be? Any ideas?

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

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?

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

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?

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
.
.

gotcha, chatting with them right now.



Thanks for all the help.

Larry

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.

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

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

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

Yes http://search.ebay.com/inverter-board_W0QQ_trksidZm37QQdfspZ1QQfromZR40QQfsprZ0QQssPageNameZRC0022?_trksid= p1638.m120

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

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, 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 !

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

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

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

The Inverter board lights up the Display, without it (ie if it's faulty) your display is still there but very faint (hang on, that's exactly what you have!)
:)

Very cool, will get one soon.

Thanks again for all the help.

Larry

Ok, purchased my new inverter board on ebay ($30 with shipping), installed it, had no screws left over, powered it up and all is back to normal. Thanks so much for all the help, you guys rock!

Larry

Searching for an Inverter for an Inspiron 1100 will be all you need to search on eBay. There are several people who sell new ones for about $15 to $18.
I agree that it is the likely cause.
The tricky part is when it arrives. You need a #1 philips screw driver of high quality steel. You will have to remove 7 to 9 screw covers which are rubberized. They just pull or pry out. Then remove all of the hardware, and the screen. All together, there are 18 very small screws. If your memory is bad, photograph each step along the way. The inverter will be on the bottom of the screen beneath the screen. It has two sockets which must be unplugged. Replace the old one with the new one. Reassemble using the blue screw goop that keeps the screws from falling out. WalMart and hardware stores have it. Coat the threads with blue, then screw them in. Use a medium grade of rubber cement to replace the screw covers. In an hour, you are done.
If that doesn't work, you need a new screen which installs the same way... and costs about $100 to $140 for a new one, plus shipping. There are several suppliers on eBay, and several idiots. The best one uses a screen that permits adjustments to the output. The best new ones allow adjustable light output, and come with the inverter.

That's great news
You saved near a thousand dollars through Dell support