Alright, When Dad bought the family computer back in... 03? it came with a gateway FPD1830 18in LCD. Time has past, years gone by, and I come home for spring break to dad saying it isn't working. Turns out when you turn it on it flickers and then goes out. Turning it off and on again yields the same. My first instinct is to say backlight. While flickering, the picture appears perfect as it has ever been, it just dies. The LCD's menu also flickers, further pointing me to the backlight. So we got a new one, and I'm sitting here with a display that needs a little refurbishing, and before I go spending ~$50 on a part I'm looking for someone to agree with my diagnosis. I haven't seen a CCFL die, but the flickering reminds me of one that you just turn on.. only backwards. I'm a novice with electronics at best, but this says inverter to me. Agree Disagree? Thanks
I've seen a laptop screen with a dead backlight but working otherwise. Easy way to check and see if you're in the same boat. 1. Hook up the lcd to a computer that's known to work. 2. Start up windows like normal and when enough time has passed you know there will be an image on the screen shine a bright flashlight onto the screen. The light from the flashlight should reflect back to you and dimly show you an image.
A quick google brings up this article with links to other useful info. Do the symptoms match? A few caps are cheap enough, but rather than spend $50+ on maintenance I'd be looking at a modern widescreen for Dad.
Hmm, didn't think there would be such a wide base of disgruntled 1830 owners. Ahh well. Thanks for looking cpemma. Dad has a new 19inch widescreen, I'm just trying to resurrect this one for my poor college student use. That article was very helpful, looks like I'll probably replace the inverter rather than attempt a repair. I've found comparable boards for about 50 that I can install myself. Thanks again.
you sure the backlight is $50 for it? i've seen lately a few sites that specifically sell generic backlights and most are under $20. might want to shop around a bit more. anyway back to your problem yeah it sounds like the backlight is going bad, gl with the fix.
No, I've explained, it's not the lights themselves, it's the inverter. Six output, inverters that work with my CCFL array sell for between 100-50 everywhere I've seen them. If you'd like to direct me to a compatible inverter board for less I'll be more than happy to look though. http://www.lcdrepair.us/1800inverter6633TZA015A.html
