fluorescent lamp in lcd panel and inverter circuit pricelist

Description:HTTP 404. The resource you are looking for (or one of its dependencies) could have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Please review the following URL and make sure that it is spelled correctly.

The term ‘flat screen’ applies to a wide range of TV types, from LCDs to the latest 4K and Smart models. A flat screen means the TV’s screen surface is flat rather than convex like older models. There can be several different types of flat-screen TVs, from older LCD to the newest Smart and 4K TVs. The type impacts the repair costs because more advanced and expensive TVs have more costly components to replace or fix. In addition, some TV repairs may not always be possible on that type. For example, it is not possible to replace the screen on a plasma TV if it cracks and begins to leak. The table below shows common television types and average repair costs for each:

Repairs for LCD TVs cost between $60 and $400. LCD televisions are one of the most popular options on the market, available in a wide range of sizes and styles. They use an LCD (liquid crystal display) with backlights to produce images. The backlights, screen, and other components may get damaged over time and need repairing.

LED TV repairs range from $60 to $400, depending on the scale of the problem. LED televisions are a specific type of LCD TV that use LED backlights to illuminate the liquid crystal display. These TVs usually produce more colorful and vibrant images and are more energy-efficient, but the LED backlights may need to be repaired or replaced over time.

4K TV repairs range from $100 to $275. A 4K television provides some of the clearest and most detailed images because of the very high resolution of its screen, providing more engaging viewing experiences. There are different types of 4K TVs, including some that use LED and others that use OLED. Basically, a television is considered 4K if it has ultra high definition. These models can be expensive to purchase and repair, but in many cases, repairs may not be possible on these units. So, their overall repair costs may be lower simply because some repairs may not be offered.

OLED TV repairs cost between $100 and $400 on average. They are the next step up from a standard LED TV, with OLED standing for organic light-emitting diodes. OLED televisions can achieve deeper blacks and higher contrast compared to standard LED screens. However, they can be very expensive to purchase and repair.

Plasma TV repairs average $100 to $400. These televisions are made up of pixels filled with gas that light up when an electrical current is applied. They are less popular today, and most companies have stopped making them. But they can still be found in many homes and are subject to problems like screen burn and distorted colors. While some repairs on these TVs are possible, many issues cannot be repaired due to their design.

Smart TV repairs cost between $100 and $400. These TVs have Smart technology and connect with your home’s WiFi network to download updates and access apps and the internet. They are more advanced than other TVs but still have various components that can break and require repairs. Many Smart TVs can have basic components. So even though they may be more expensive to purchase, they are not necessarily the most expensive to repair. That comes down to how the television is made and what makes it Smart.

TVs are made up of various parts and components, all working together to produce lights, colors, pictures, and sounds for your entertainment. Over time, accidents may happen that damage these parts, or they might just wear down over the years through repeated use. The table below shows common TV repairs and the costs for each.

HDMI port repairs for a TV costs between $60 and $250. Sometimes, HDMI ports fall out of position and may simply need to be repositioned. In other cases, one might stop working due to a more serious fault and require technical repair work.

TV speaker repairs range from $75 to $250, depending on the type and damage done to the speaker. Faulty speakers may simply need rewiring or minor adjustments, or they could need to be cleaned or replaced, so the exact costs and amount of work vary.

Backlight repairs average $100 to $150. The backlight is what illuminates the display of your television, providing the brightness and color. It may be in the form of LED light strips or fluorescent lights, depending on which television type you have. If these lights develop a problem, a repairman must open it up and make adjustments to get them functioning again.

TV inverter repairs cost between $100 and $200 each. The inverter powers up the backlights for your television, and they can stop working if their capacitors break down. Repairs are made by fitting new capacitors in place.

Water damage repairs on a TV range from $150 to $400. In some cases, if too much water has gotten into the TV, it may be beyond repair. In less severe situations, a repairman will take the television apart, dry it out, and put it back together successfully, repairing any damaged components.

TV screen repairs cost between $200 and $400, but in many cases, repairing the screen is not possible. Since the screen is usually the most expensive part of the television and one of the most sensitive to impacts and other damage, an expert may advise you to simply buy a new television instead of having it repaired. It is worth getting a diagnosis if the screen issue is not too severe because issues like flashing pixels or distorted colors may be fixable.

TV panel repairs average $200 to $400 in some cases, but some panels cannot be repaired. For this reason, many companies do not offer panel repair. So if your television gets a crack in the panel, you may be better off buying a new unit instead.

Power board repairs cost between $200 and $400. The power supply board allows it to turn on and function, and if it breaks down in any way, it may simply stop turning on. Often, a repairman can replace some of the capacitors and make other adjustments to repair a faulty board, rather than having to replace it entirely.

In some cases, your TV components may not be able to be repaired, or it might be more cost-effective to replace them with new ones. The repair price includes the cost of new parts, plus the labor required to fit them into place and remove the broken components. While some components can be replaced, they may be extremely expensive or cost-prohibitive to do so. This is mainly in the case of panels and screens because they often contain too many parts to replace on their own. The table below shows average costs for a variety of common replacements:

Fuse replacement in a TV costs between $60 and $150 and is one of the easier replacement jobs for a repairman. Glass and ceramic fuses on your TV’s power supply board may blow in certain situations and need replacing. To replace a fuse, the repairman opens the TV to access the power panel and swaps out the fuse.

Replacing a TV capacitor is inexpensive, starting at $60 up to $200. If more than one capacitor needs replacing, it is usually less expensive to replace the entire board. Capacitors cannot be repaired, so replacement is the only option.

TV bulb replacement costs average $75 to $200. Bulbs are usually found only in older models of LCD TVs or projection TVs. They are used to illuminate the display so that the picture can be seen. Bulbs are relatively easy to replace, but the material costs are a little higher with bulbs when compared to other components, leading to varied replacement prices from model to model.

TV backlight replacements cost between $100 and $200 on average, depending on the television size and scale and the type and number of lights required. If you have LED lights, parts may be more expensive, leading to higher total costs. Usually when backlight problems occur, the bulbs or diodes are dead and need to be replaced.

Picture tube replacements range from $200 to $300 on average. Picture tubes, also known as cathode ray tubes or CRTs, are only used in older TVs. So, this is not a replacement job you need to worry about with an LED or LCD TV.

HDMI port replacement on a TV costs between $200 and $300. Damaged or broken ports may simply stop working or be incompatible with certain HDMI cables. In this case, a new port must be fitted and connected to the circuit board, requiring a couple of hours of labor.

TV motherboard replacements average $200 to $400. Often when a problem occurs with a motherboard, it needs to be completely replaced rather than repaired. The motherboard controls the TV’s functions and features, and a broken motherboard makes your television completely unusable.

TV screen replacement costs at least $400 to $1,000 and often much more. The screen is the most expensive part of a TV. So usually, the cost of replacing it is higher than just buying a new unit. In some cases, this is because the screen cannot be replaced without also replacing most of the other components, particularly for TVs like LED, LCD, or plasma. Most professional repair companies do not offer screen or panel replacement as a service.

TV panel replacement costs a minimum of $400 to $5,000 and often a lot more on some of the high-end 4K and Smart screen displays. Because the cost of a replacement panel is so high, it is usually more cost-effective to simply purchase a new television. Like the screen, this is due to the number of components involved. Therefore, most repair places will not offer panel replacement as a service.

You might not know exactly which part of your TV is broken or damaged at first. The symptoms of a broken television vary from vertical colored lines across the screen to audio issues, power problems, and even situations where the television starts normally but then turns itself off. For this reason, most repairs start with a diagnostic so that the problem can be found and a plan made for repair. For some repairs to be made, the part will need to be replaced, while in other cases, repair or replacement of that part may not be possible. The table below shows common problems and average repair costs for each.

Repairing a TV that will not turn on costs between $60 and $400 because there are many potential causes. It might be something as simple as a blown fuse, which can be replaced quite cheaply. Or, it could be a motherboard or power supply issue, which is more costly to fix.

Damaged cables on your TV can be repaired for between $75 and $200 in most cases. Over time, cables can get frayed, twisted, or broken, but professionals can cut away the damaged parts, add in new connectors and repair the damage, or simply replace the bad cables with new ones.

Expect to pay between $75 and $400 to repair a television with no sound. There are various reasons why your TV’s sound stopped working. It is most likely a fault with a speaker, which can be repaired or replaced. Or, it could be a deeper issue associated with the motherboard, which may also need fixing or replacing.

Repairs for this problem cost between $100 and $200. If your TV’s picture appears for a moment and then vanishes, it is most likely an issue with the inverter. A repairman will open it up, diagnose the issue, and decide on the most efficient solution.

Repairing vertical lines on the screen averages $150 to $400. This is usually an issue associated with your TV’s control board or motherboard, which may be damaged and need to be either repaired or replaced. It could also be caused by a loose cable, but it will need to be opened up to diagnose the issue and repair it.

Repairing horizontal lines on your TV costs between $150 and $400. It might be an issue with the motherboard, or it could be a problem with loose cables between the panel and the control board. To fix this issue, the television needs to be opened up and analyzed by a professional repairman.

Repairing a cracked TV screen costs from $400 to $1,000 or even more. Cracked screens cannot be repaired, they can only be replaced, and they are very expensive, sometimes exceeding the cost of a new TV. For this reason, if you have a cracked screen, it will probably have to be replaced entirely.

There are many different brands and companies that make TVs. Some brands specialize in certain types, while others make a wider range of products. It is common for the brand to impact the cost of repair because there may be specific issues or costs related to that brand.

While you may choose a specific brand based on the technology, cost, or resolution, keep in mind that brands may also have varying costs for repairs and the repairs types that may be available. Regardless of brand, most TV repairs fall between $60 and $400, although some repairs may be higher.

The cost to fix a Philips TV is $60 to $100. The typical issue with Philips televisions seems to be that they have a mind of their own. They turn on and off and sign in and out of apps randomly. While a solution doesn’t seem to be forthcoming, Philips is steadily losing customers due to a firmware problem.

Fixing a Sony TV will cost you about $60 to $400. This popular brand has a reputation for simply becoming disabled with no power or sound. Unfortunately, the customer service at Sony isn’t always the best. Customers are often frustrated when it comes to warranty work.

To fix your TCL TV blank screen, you should expect to pay about $60 to $400. One characteristic repair of the TCL brand is a black screen with no picture. This can be a fuse that has blown, or it may require a major change, such as a new main board.

Damaged cables can cause a TV to flicker or grow dim. Repair prices for damaged cables are $75 to $200. Samsung TV owners cite this flickering or dimming of the screen as a common issue with this brand. Sometimes the settings for the eco sensor1 or the energy-saving feature create this problem. Turning either of those off may fix the issue.

Some of the most common issues with this brand are banding at a repair cost of $100 to $200 or sound with a cost of $150 to $400. Color problems may be related to adjustment and can be fixed for a low cost of $75 to $100, HDMI connections are often fixed at the cost of $200 to $300, and streaming problems may be corrected with a software update. Software updates can be done by the owner, but a repairman will most likely charge a minimum fee of $75 to $100. Banding presents as sections of bands where it should be smooth. Sound and color can go out over time in the LG brand. HDMI and streaming can become difficult as technology emerges and changes.

Hisense TVs have a history of display difficulties and could cost you about $100 to $200. Typically, it means you need a new inverter, or it could signal the beginning of the end for your Hisense television.

Panasonic TV owners often experience the power clicking on and off and may need a new main board at the cost of $200 to $400. The reset button may help. The repairman will need to replace the motherboard of the TV if that fails.

The Vizio TV is known for its screen of death (a blank or black screen) and usually costs about $200 to $400. The problem is most often a blown motherboard, and replacement is the only option. A factory reset may be a solution. If that doesn"t work, the motherboard is the best possible answer.

Labor costs for TV repair vary depending on whether you have the television repaired in your home or drop it off at a repair center. Having someone come to your home will have higher costs than taking it to a technician.

A television repair technician has earned a career certificate or Associate’s degree in electronics technology or a related field. Expect to pay between $40 and $60 per hour in labor for someone to fix your television. Some technicians have minimum costs for some repairs, particularly if they travel to you. In this case, you may find that even if the repair only takes an hour, you may need to pay a minimum of two hours of work.

The amount of time to repair your TV depends on what the problem is and the availability of parts. Most jobs can be completed in 1 to 3 hours when the parts are on hand.

Most technicians charge you a diagnostic fee upfront. This fee is for determining what the problem is and can run between $75 and $150. The cost is often waived if you allow the shop’s technicians to make the repairs for you.

Often, you must decide whether it is worth repairing your TV because in many situations, the cost of repairs is higher than the price of a new TV. For example, when screens are cracked or damaged, the cost of replacing a panel is usually much higher than simply buying a new TV.

Consumer Reports recommends replacing electronics whenever the cost of repairs equals or exceeds half the cost of a new purchase. It is also recommended that you replace your television if the new version is less than $200, or if your screen is smaller than 32”. For example, it costs around $150 for a new motherboard in an LG Model 24LF452B 24” TV, which takes around one hour to repair. As a result, you would pay between $190 and $210 to repair your old set, while it is possible to purchase a new one for less.

If you invested a lot of money in your television, the costs of repairing an inverter or getting new backlights may be far cheaper than replacing it. This is why it is often best to ask a professional to diagnose the problem and give you a quote for the repair work. Then, you can compare the price of repairs against the cost of a new TV and decide what makes sense. If your TV breaks down repeatedly, you have multiple repair bills over the course of a year. It might be time for a new television even if a single repair does not seem too expensive.

To minimize repairs and help your TV stay in working order for as long as possible, take care of it as well as you can. Here are some useful TV maintenance tips:Do not leave the TV on if you are not actually watching it. They can run for tens of thousands of hours, but there is no need to waste those hours. So, avoid leaving it on in the background, and make sure to turn it off when you leave the room.

Try not to leave your TV on for too long at a time. Like other appliances, televisions can start to get very hot the longer they are left on. They need to be turned off now and then to get a chance to cool down and rest before being switched back on.

Keep your TV clean. Over time, dust, pet hair, and bits of dirt can build up on the screen and get inside the television via vents and ports. This dust accumulation can affect a TV’s operation and make it more likely to break down.

Consider using a surge protector to keep your TV and associated devices and appliances safe. This can be especially important in areas that experience a lot of storms or frequent power cuts because sudden cuts and surges easily damage your TV’s components.

When positioning your television, leave space around it to provide airflow. This helps prevent the TV from overheating and cools it down more quickly when you turn it off.

Additional Considerations and CostsDIY. In some cases, television repair can be performed as a DIY project. There are numerous how-to videos available that are easy to watch and understand. Parts for most sets are also available online. However, if you are not comfortable with the process, always call a technician rather than attempting the repair yourself.

DIY issues. While DIY repair is often possible, it is not frequently recommended. There is some risk of electrocution, and you might also damage the TV even more by improperly installing a t-con board or ribbon connectors. If you are in doubt, it is best to leave this job to a professional.

Obvious solutions. Before seeking repairs, first look for the obvious. If your set will not power on, it could be a problem with your outlet and not your TV. Try plugging your television into a different outlet to see if that resolves the problem. If that does not fix it, ensure you have not tripped a breaker, and check that the power cord is fully seated.

Remote control. A set that powers on and off at random is sometimes caused by issues with the remote. Try removing and replacing the batteries or using a different remote if possible.

Warranty. When purchasing a new television, buying an extended warranty can spare you the unwanted expense of repair bills in some cases. An extended warranty is largely based on the price of your television. Expect to spend between 10 and 20 percent of your set’s cost on an extended warranty to help cover damage. Ordinary warranties only cover manufacturer’s defects and, therefore, cannot be used to pay for damage due to neglect or accidents.

Warranty repairs. When having warranty repairs made, drop the set off at a local shop whenever possible or have them come to you. If you need to ship the television off, get a tracking number so that you can locate your set if it gets lost.

Scams. Television repair scams are quite common. Before hiring someone to fix your set, find out what experience and training that person has. Check references and online reviews as well.

In-shop repairs. In-shop TV repair services may involve a pick-up and delivery charge if you do not take it in yourself. While some may do this for free, others charge between $40 and $75 to pick-up and deliver the TV back to you. Additionally, customers that live in rural areas may have to ship the television. If you do this, make sure you obtain a tracking number and proof of delivery. The repair service will contact you with the list of recommended repairs and the cost and request a debit or credit card to pay for the repairs before completing them.

Television repair costs vary widely, but the average consumer pays between $100 and $300. Prices depend on the make, model, and size of your set, as well as the availability of parts. It is generally more expensive to repair an older model than it would be to replace it. New televisions are becoming more affordable every year, but the price of parts remains steady or even increases as older parts become rarer.Can a flat-screen TV be fixed?

Yes, flat-screen TVs can frequently be fixed, including issues with the screen, sound, lighting, cables, and interior components. However, there are some situations where flat-screen TVs cannot be fixed, such as when the screen is severely cracked.How do you fix a broken TV screen?

Not all TV screens can be fixed or replaced. Certain types have components behind the screen that can be damaged by its removal. However, if you choose to proceed, remove all external cables, unplug your set, and lay it face down on a flat, soft surface. Remove any screws holding the frame in place and then gently remove the frame and set it aside. Put your new screen in place and reconnect the internal cables in the same manner you disconnected them. It is usually best to get a professional to handle TV repairs, and the cost of replacement screens is often very high. So, it may be more cost-effective to get a new TV.How many years will a flat-screen TV last?

This depends on the make and model of your TV and your viewing habits. Many modern TVs last 60,000 viewing hours or more, equating to 30+ years for a typical person. However, its lifespan can be reduced if it is not properly maintained and cared for.Does turning the TV off shorten its life?

No, turning a TV off will not usually shorten its life in any way. It is actually recommended to turn TVs off when you are not using them, allowing them to cool down and extend their lifespan.Is it okay to leave a TV on all night?

This is not recommended. If you leave a TV on for too long, it may overheat, which could damage interior components like the motherboard. It may also do damage to the screen and risk ‘burning’ an image into the display, as well as damaging the backlights.Do Smart TVs use more electricity?

Generally, no. Most modern Smart TVs are designed to be as energy-efficient as possible, with some models even using less energy than conventional TVs. It all depends on the TV make and model.

UPDATE 2004-09-23: I have actually replaced my own bulb some time ago! A while after posting this, I found a source for CCFL lamps–Mouser Electronics, based out of Texas. With a catalog the size of a small metro phonebook, they have everything. Soooo. Couple of things: Make /sure/ that you measure your old bulb precisely. Anticipate that the new bulb will have flared tips at both ends. Be gentle when bending the leads, and make certain you form them properly if the old leads were shaped strangely. These little guys are cheaper than expected–less than $20 including shipping for a bulb. That’s about it. Email me if you have more questions, or concerns. Good luck!

Some number of years ago, my father gave me his old work laptop. It was a home-style laptop. A Compaq Presario 1681. Compaqs, I have since determined, are not going to be a sort of computer I will ever purchase myself. This system, I should say now, has had numerous issues. But anyways. After using this system extensively, in a manner which was not prescribe by the surgeon general (long nights hacking beauticious MUSHcode, and leaving it on as a -server- under linux), it began to develop issues. First was the screen going floppy on me, which was annoying and mechanical. I’m not good at mechanical, and to this day, it is still floppy. It has no tension in one of the feet which clamp onto the skeleton of the laptop body. I guess the gear-teeth got stripped, from what I can tell. Other issues developed, which next included the screen itself–the subject of this text.

What happened was an annoying thing. The laptop’s LCD screen turned orange-red. Not completely. I mean, you could still -read- everything just fine. Just that everything had an orange hue. Not only is this annoying, but it is most likely unhealthy for you. (Your eyes are not used to staring at one hue for hours at a time, I imagine.) I dealt with it by attaching an external monitor. And then the system began overheating more and more, and finally melted its own solder, on the DC jack. Hence, she died, and was shelved for some number of years.

For most computers in this situation, with most owners, this would mean the end of a potentially useful life. A computer without a use is landfill. But then, a few weeks ago (as of this writing, 10/4/2003), around the beginning of September, I was rummaging through my garage, looking for a stereo y-adapter (which I never did find) for hooking various sound sources together. And then I found the old laptop. Dusty, stuffed haphazardly in a box of miscellanous other computer-related things. And so I get brave. I pulled her out, as well as her AC adapters, and began messing about with it in my room. Obviously, the power had long drained out of her batteries, and since the AC adapters didn’t work (her solder melted. Remember?), I was left with one choice.

Okay. Well. I should regress, and note now. I had two choices. I could have shipped her off for repairs; but I’m cheap, and I know I’ll get charged anally. So that left me with fixing it myself. This in and of itself consisted of prying her apart, and carefully removing each and every part of her chassis to get to the motherboard, which itself was nigh impossible to remove. (I’ll do disassembly instructions, some day, maybe.) Finally, with that removed, I worked at resoldering the DC jack properly. That finish, reassembly was a breeze, and she charged to a full 100% within the hour. I was very pleased. Finally, she booted up, and I was greeted with an orange-on-darker-orange version of ‘COMPAQ’ as her BIOS snappily shifted bits and bytes about. And then she bit me. She had no functional bootloaded; but that didn’t matter right now. I would later reinstall Windows 95, and then upgrade to 98. But that was some time later. What struck me, as I stared at a blank screen, with a single underscore in the corner, was how orange everything was. And then I felt inspired to fix that, before doing anything else to her.

It was at this point that I briefly installed Linux and such, so that I could open an image editor (the Gimp), to throw some color bars on the screen. I took out my prismacolors, and drew identical bars on a sheet of white paper, held it up to the screen, and took a digital picture. (available at the link below) Just for proof. And comparison. Then I got to the real work. Turning her off, pulling her battery, and making to to have discharged anything nasty in my body, I began prying the LCD screen off. I first detached it from the body itself. (her feet brackets were removed by their screws, and any cables/sheet-cables were removed from the main system) I then proceeded to remove the front bezel-panel from the LCD (there were four screws, covered by rubber feet), to give access to the LCD panel and circuitry proper.

For anyone who has never seen the inside of one, they are rather simple. Mine, being for a laptop, also had a microphone mounted inside, but other than that and its cable, the guts were the LCD screen itself (surrounded by a hard metal bezel), the cable attached to it, the inverter board (I’ll explain later) and the cables to it. It’s a very neat package.

Anyways. After that was done, I dismantled the LCD screen after removing it from the screen body itself, and finally got to the backlight tube. (This was a very hard thing to get to.) Finally, I removed the tube from the reflector, attached it to the inverter board, attached the board to the laptop, and turned it on with only those two things connected. Sure enough. I had an orange backlight tube. At this point, I should explain that this is wrong. This backlight tube should, ideally, be pure white, without variance (though each manufacturer will design their LCD screen to varying definitions of ‘pure white,’ thereby lending any screen with a replaced CCFL tube a slight color variance) so that your screen colors (produced by the liquid-crystal color pixels) are represented naturally.

Now, having determined that the source of the problem is most likely the tube itself (which are usually rated for around 20,000 hours or so of operation), and not the inverter board (which output variable voltage; a voltage drop should not change the color of the tube. only the brightness), it’s time to find a new tube. This, however, I will warn you, is not easy. In three days of researching that very thing, and nothing else, I found nothing useful. I found one or two merchants online that would, naturally, take your LCD and replace it for you at a figure of $99 or so. If you aren’t comfortable doing this operation yourself, I’d suggest finding such a place, and paying the $99. (Try my links section below.) It really isn’t worth damaging a $300 LCD panel over a thing that is 250mm long by 3mm in diameter. ;P But me, I want to replace it myself. And nobody in known existance seems to sell them, by themselves.

I made the next logical step, and tried the local stores in town. Most notably were Radio Shack (who is an authorized HP repair center, btw; they handle the Compaq laptops, too. But not in-house, which is what I need.), who wasn’t able to sell me or order the lamp by itself. The store manager wasn’t even nice about it. So I’m not returning there ever again. The second place I went was a local electronics supply store that is housed in a warehouse, called Norvac Electronics. If you’re ever in need of electronics supplies, and you live in the Northwest in an area with one of these, go there. They certainly had more than I expected them to have. In fact, they even had CCFL lamps.

Don’t think it was that easy, though. Their lamps were too big. How? Too big around, in diameter. The lamp reflector housing was too small for the lamps they sold, so I walked out empty-handed. (excluding my laptop; they were nice enough to let me dismantle it in-store for explanation and to try to see if it would work.) I was at a loss. Nowhere else in town had them, and I couldn’t find them online. I could find vague references to cost, but none of them would work. It sounded like it would be a cheap operation. Something like $8-30 for a single tube. That’s all I needed. I just needed to find a place that had them.

So a month passes, and I took the computer apart and made it into a simple box with an external monitor, so that I could at least use it without wasting the hours of life for the LCD screen itself. Or the inverter, or anything else like that. It’s sitting on a speaker right now, hooked up to everything, without its top cover, with its components exposed. WHEE. I pulled up google a few hours ago, and typed in my search string.

Lo and behold, something comes up. JKL Lamps Corporation. (“If it lights, and you need it, we have it!”) This is a company that produces and distributes miniature lamps (of the old visible filament style), laptop ccfls, various other ccfls, UV ccfls, and inverters for above. And what do you know, they have a product listing with pictures right on their page. With pdf catalogs. And links to their ditributors, which allow online ordering. I am shocked, and very pleased. Plus here’s the greatest part: The prices for the tubes are $15 for the most expensive type they have , with $10.29 being the cheapest (and for most of them, I should say) each. Now, the only problem is that they list them by specification, and I don’t have the specifications for my current lamp. But I know who will.

The manufacturer of my inverter board. Dissecting it from my LCD screen once more, I gaze over it carefully for a long time. (I can’t tell if there is a capacitor in it or not, though I assume if there is it is discharged) Markings on the back indicate ‘Delta,’ and so I pull a google on Delta Electronics. Instantly, I come up with a Taiwanese company that produces a number of electronics components. And after some searching, I find the inverters. I know who made it, for sure. And after peering over their parts listing, I peer at the part no. on my board, and search for that. No luck. It doesn’t appear to be manufactured anymore. (This laptop is old. ‘97, at best.) I sent an e-mail tonight to their US technical support rep, requesting specifications on this very board. I’ll have to wait until next week for a response, though. However, I did find a similar part-numbered component on their site, and so I may base my tube decision on that if I receive no response, or no help. (Really, I can make a best guess anyways. There aren’t many choices for the length I need.) So once I get the specifications, I’ll be able to order the lamp from one of JKL’s distributors, get it, and simply install it. That’s it. From reading the instructions on several other websites about replacing them, I may or may not have to resolder the leads to the lamp to the inverter board connector. No biggie there, though. Once that’s done, I should have a perfectly functional laptop LCD screen again.

A laptop LCD screen is comprised of several basic elements. As a whole, you have your LCD screen itself, a backlight bulb, and an inverter. (Not counting the controller boards and such for controlling your video.) LCD screens will always vary. Configurations are wide and broad. In general, though, they will always have the above.

The LCD screen itself is what presents the image. With no power to the monitor, you have a black screen, which looks really slick. It is comprised of several layers of various elements, housed in a metal bezel. Either on the sides, or the top/bottom of the screen, a reflector is mounted with the backlight. The elements of the LCD screen include (from back to front, visually), the mirror/reflector of the backlight. Usually a very high-reflective metal, or similar setup; sometimes, the mirror may be the only source of light, and there will be no secondary light source. This is why some LCD screens do not work in the dark. On top of the mirror is a polarization filter (to only allow light to pass in one direction), and then a sheet of glass (or some transparent polymer). Next is one of the most important components. Essentially, there are two sheets of transparent electrodes, with liquid crystal sandwiched between them. These many, many electrodes will change the orientation of the crystals, to allow/disallow light to pass through them. (Because of this orientation, this is also why LCD screens will appear to be in odd colors, or darker, when viewed at non-standard angles. The properly orientated crystals will now be under the wrong colors, or orientated in such a way so as not to allow the light to shine any way but directly forward.) On top of the outer layer of transparent electrodes is another sheet of glass or polymer, with a polarized filter on it. You may or may not have another layer on top of this, for simple protection purposes. The rear sheet of glass, before the mirror, will be made with various different methods. Either it will be constructed in such a way so as to diffuse the light evenly from the rear over the entire pane with methods I don’t entirely understand myself, or it will just be opaque on one side (generally, the side opposite the mirror), hence diffusing naturally.

Now, you can get gray shades by making the crystals only change orientation partially. (Hence allowing x% of the light to go through; otherwise it’s 0% or 100%.) You can get color by adding more filter layers. (IE, the three primaries used,arranged each as a pixel, with each color affected by a electrode.) An interesting note is that you can use a magnifying glass to view the spaces between where the electrodes operate. They appear black. Also, the layout of the color pixels is RGB; Red-Green-Blue. The same theory applies to regular CRTs; only they use an electron gun and I don’t really know what else. Anyways. The only other parts of your screen are the various controller boards, which vary by manufacturer. These control which pixels do what. Yay.

The backlight is just a fluorescent lamp. Basically. The technical name for it, generally, is the Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp, or CCFL. It is this lamp which brightens your screen in the dark. (There is another kind found in older PDAs and watches, called Electroluminescant; but that relies on a different method.) The lamp(s) will be mounted on the top and bottom of your screen, or on the sides. If you only have one, chances are it will be on top. With most screens, the CCFL will be part of the LCD screen itself; in others, it will be removable easily with only a screw. The lamp(s) will be as long as the screen is wide, or tall. Occasionally, two lamps will be placed side-by-side. The lamps themselves are comprised of the glass, filled with whatever gasses the manufacturer filled it with. There is no filament inside, meaning they will last a lot longer than typical ‘hot’ neon fluorescent lamps. At either end will be a lead wire. If there are two tubes, they will be daisy-chained. Otherwise, one wire will loop back towards where the first terminates. These two wires are then mounted into a plug which attaches to the inverter board. These lamps, it is worth mentioning now, are extremely high voltage. The highest I’ve found was 1,[email protected](Start)[email protected] Be careful. Not only here, but with the LCD itself, as it can contain high voltages as well. The backlight will be mounted inside a metal reflector, which is then attached to the inside of the LCD. Basically, the reflector bounces any light from the CCFL that doesn’t go directly into the LCD, back into the LCD. It is highly reflective; hence, you should wear gloves or something similar if you are going to mess with it. And that’s it. The light, being extremely bright as compared to your standard fluorescent lamp. (~32,000Cd./m2) They are very fragile, being ~3mm in diameter.

The last part of your LCD panel screen is the inverter board for your CCFL. Here is a basic diagram for a DC/AC inverter. One thing to note, from what I understand, is that these inverters are not like your typical DC/ACs that may be found for 12VDC-120VAC for running household electronics in a car or somesuch. These produce an output waveform that is nearly a square wave. This is simple, and doesn’t require much to do, but for most electronics equipment, an advanced version producing a pure sine wave is required. The inverter itself just takes input 12VDC, runs it though some hoops and a transformer, and outputs your 120VAC. Understand, though, that as your output (V) increases, your output (W/A) decreases. That is given a basic inverter, of course, which doesn’t deal with the things that a ccfl lamp requires. Like, for example, dimming. And nearly 2,[email protected], from a 10-20VDC input. What this means is that instead of just having your input DC%2B and ground, there are extra pinouts. For an inverter board similar to mine, it has two 18.0V ± 10% inputs and two grounds. That provides the main power. Power to the inverter board itself is provided by a 5V On/0V Off input. Dimming is controlled with the BL-Adj pin, at 1.0V ~ 5.0V. And of course, the high voltage DC output pin, and the return pin. Boards may vary, but for CCFL controlling, these things are generally common.

Replacing the CCFL is a task that may be difficult, depending on your brand of LCD screen. Basically, you’ll want to remove the external plastic cover to your monitor, to gain access to the LCD screen itself. Remove the two leadwires from the inverter board. (Which should have a small transformer on it, two output wires, and somewhere around six input wires that go to some power source; whether it be the computer, or the main power source of the screen.) If you are able, at this point, to simply pull the CCFL/reflector out, do so carefully, being careful not to snag the wires on anything. If you aren’t able to do this yet, you’ll need to disassemble the LCD panel itself by removing, first, the metal bezel, and gaining access to the metal reflector that houses your CCFL tube. The reflector will usually have small rubber/silicone mounts that will keep the tube firmly in place. The next step is to replace the tube in the reflector. If your new tube has a new connector already, then all you need to do is place this new tube into the reflector. Otherwise, carefully desolder the old connector from the old tube, and solder it to the new tube. You may need to cut (with a razor or exact-o) the silicone/rubber off of the old tube, and replace it on the new tube. As soon as your solder is sufficiently cool, replace the silicone/rubber, and place it back into the reflector, and assemble as need be. Please ensure that you know what you are doing with your CCFL tube. You need to get one with exacting specifications to your old one.

If you don’t know the specs to your old tube, you’ll need to contact the manufacturer of the inverter board. Look on it for a manufacturer name and a part number. (IE, Delta, with a D symbol in a triangle.) Contact the manufacturer, and ask them for the output AC start and lamp voltage, and current ratings for your board. Then make your purchase of CCFL tube appropriately. If you can’t find the manufacturer of your inverter board, you should contact first the manufacturer of your screen/laptop, then the manufacturer of the LCD panel itself. (Which should normally be etched, or on a sticker; as well as a part number. They may be able to help you with the specifications also.) If you are not able to locate the manufacturer of the inverter board, please remove it, take a digital picture of both the front and back of it, and contact me. I may be able to help.

Please be aware that you are working with high voltages here. You should take proper precautions not to do anything stupid, like licking the inverter board. Especially if it’s turned on. It may have capacitors. It may have stored charges. So may the LCD panel. It says DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE, for a reason, you know. I will not be held responsible for anything you do with the information I’ve provided on this page. If you don’t know what you’re doing, like I don’t, then don’t do it. Pay the $99 to have your CCFL tube replaced professionally, or just buy a brand new screen for $300. Because I won’t pay for it. Take caution, as these are sensitive electronic devices, with transistors the size of a pinhead, which could EXPLODE VIOLENTLY with a static discharge from your body, thereby ruining the need for your $10.92 CCFL tube you just bought, and necessitating a $150 Inverter board. Or worse. Wear an anti-static device, or continuously discharge your body of static by touching something grounded (a metal water pipe, et cetera, if you’re in an older home; damned new plastic pipes). BE CAREFUL with the new and old CCFL tube. THEY ARE MADE OF GLASS AND WILL HURT LIKE A MOTHER BITCH FOO IF IT BREAKS AND IMPALES YOU. Not to mention they’ll be broken, then, and useless. THEY ALSO CONTAIN TRACE AMOUNTS OF MERCURY GAS. Which makes it ILLEGAL in most places to just throw it away. Not only are these suckers deadly to you, they are deadly to the environment. Contact your local city folks to find out what to do with hazardous things such as these. Be gentle with the LCD screen as a whole. As I mentioned earlier, they are composed of GLASS LAYERS. Which means, if you push or pull to hard when trying to take it out of its mounts, you MAY BREAK IT. The first laptop I ever used had its glass fracture, and puncture the liquid-crystal element, thereby making the screen warped and defective. This happened on a trip across the country, in a U-Haul. And it was in the cab, with me. I remember it being about $700 to replace, back then. You don’t want that to happen. Do not disassemble the LCD screen any more than you have to. Only take it apart enough to remove the CCFL. If you get even a single speck of dust in one of the layers, you will have dead pixels. I guarantee it. Dead pixels can also occur if your CCFL shatters while still in the housing. This sucks.

I don’t know everything. I am not a certified technician. I am just a guy that knows how to fix stuff. As a result, I may not have told you everthing. By following any instructions on this page, you take full risk and responsibility for your actions, and discharge any legal right to sue me, or place blame on me for things you did. Mmmkay? kthx.

Tools There will be some tools that will come in handy during all of this. Obviously, a small phillips-head screwdriver, and a set of hex. (My laptop uses a T8 for almost all of the hex-screws. There are maybe three or four phillips in the entire system.) Keep a flathead, preferably a big mutha, on hand for prying things apart, and a small one for maneuvering the locks on cables off. Pliers are handy. Use a long strip of duct tape, doubled around so that you have two tape surfaces, and attach it to your workspace. Put your screws on it, in the order that you took them out. If you want, you can make a diagram of where the screws came from. Keep your parts organized as you take them out, and memorize how you got them out. Do not force things too hard. Tweezers are useful for some small parts, and especially for things that drop in inconvenient spots. One of my tool sets has a pair of teeny-assed pliers, about 2 1/2 inches long and with a total tip area the size of a pen point. These are handy. You’ll also have hex bolts keeping things in the air. I use pliers for these, because I don’t have a nut that fits them. Tighten these are far as you can when you put them back in. Lastly, keep a razor blade on hand, for cutting tape that may be used internally. Oh, and lest I forget: Bright lights, and a flashlight. And a lot of patience.

This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.

A: Either the backlight doesn`t work anymore or the the inverter is defective. If the display luminance was already weak or the light had a pink hue or the light was already flickering at start-up it will be the backlight which has to be replaced. If brightness was good and the malfuntion arose suddenly its with high probability the inverter, which has to be exchanged or fixed.

A: If the backlight was already flickering or had a pinky hue in its corners or if the display is more than 3 years old and was constantly in use, this means that the CCFL is exhausted and at its end of life.

The inverters are more difficult to check. If they are not loaded by a CCFL they usually don`t work. For a short time you can simulate a CCFL by using a resistor with values of the CCFLs working voltage over working current (e.g. 600 volts / 5 mA = 120 kohm at 5 watt) and check wether high voltage is generated. Inverters normally can have 3 basic defects:

1.Check the output coil at the contacts for the CCFL with an ohmmeter. If its below 500 ohm or on the other hand infite its defective. If this coil of your device is defective you will need a new inverter. There are no spare coils available as these are designed for their special application. If our listed inverters are of no help you may like to contact us for a supplier of your inverter.

3.The coil driving transistors are a source of defect sometimes, too. Check for function and replace with a similiar transistor. Easy to get from big sellers of electronic components, like Farnellinone or Conrad.

A: In principle, yes, if you are technically skilled. But as a rule of thumb we recommend repair or service centers, which are specialized in that job. They have the necessary equipment to check and test the whole backlight circuit and are trained to deal with the necessary caution.

Q: I opened the display and I have build out the CCFL with the necessary caution. The original CCFL is 250mm long and 3mm in dia. You offer CCFLs of 245 mm and 2 mm or 4 mm dia, only. Can you offer CCFL with 250 mm and 3mm dia, too?

A: Inbetween we offer 250mm x 3mm, too, but as an exception you can make use of another dia at the same length, too. In general we recommend to take almost the same dia. To take another dia depends on the available space. If there is room for a 4 mm dia CCFL you can take that type. If not, than the 2 mm dia will fit. The length of the replacement CCFL should come close to the original lamp. If we don`t offer this length take the next smaller one. (In case you need quantities, min. 30 pieces, of a certain type of CCFL that is not listed, we can offer to manufacture the exact type you need in about 4 weeks).

Q: My TFT flat screen is defective. The repair center says that the inverter/driver circuit inside is responsible for the malfunction and has to be replaced, but they don‘t have or can‘t get a replacement circuit. What can be done?

A: As there is almost much space in TFT flat screens in case of emergency our standard inverters can help you to fix your display again to a sufficient degree. The inverter is supplied by the 12 Volt DC source of the original inverter circuit. Needless to say that this info is for professionals, only, as one has to add a fuse and to switch the regulating lines of the original inverter/driver circuit to ground or +potential. The brightness can`t be regulated directly, because of the missing dimming function of our standard inverter/driver. Indirectly you can adjust the TFT flat screen itself to a darker mode what gives in result less brightness.

Q: In my old laptop I found right and left each side one tiny fluorescent tube. One recently burnt out and since the display is illuminated unproportionally. Would you suggest to replace both or only the burnt out CCFL?

A: Yes, it‘s better to change both in that case and when your display is already opened so far. The other reason is that with a new CCFL and an old lamp you will have unproportional light emission again, although smaller in effect and the load of the CCFL inverter circuit is not symmetric anymore, means stress for the inverter.

Q: The backlight of my notebook is nearly down and unfortunately it‘s out of warranty. The local dealer told me that the display has to be exchanged completely for about 600.- € or to buy a new notebook. What can I do?

A: That’s a typical situation, „throw away your car when the lamps are down“. Look, here comes a better solution. If you are not technically skilled to replace the CCFL inside your notebook yourself, contact us for a local service address which can fix that for you incl. our CCFLs.

A: Yes, that may occur. Imagine that each manufacturer of CCFLs has his own „white-light“ mixture for his CCFL. So, to confuse you: white is not white! And this means that the intensity of the basic colours differ to a small extend with the result in differences of hue. Mostly not really disturbing. One gets used to that very quickly. You can adjust this either with a gamma correction in the grafic options of your operating system (e.g. Windows XP).

A: CCFLs and EFLS can`t work at all without a tiniest trace of mercury inside the tube.This is the reason why CCFLs and EFLs are exempted from the RoHS and are considered to conform RoHS.

A: CCFLs with a dia of 2.6mm and bigger are most appropriate for that purpose. These are not too bright at too small diameter to hurt the eyes and they are not so extremly fragile like dia 2.3mm or smaller. For dia 4.1mm we even have clips to snap-in the tubes body. To prepare the lamps you will need silicon caps (2 for each CCFL), silicon cables with connector to plug into the inverter. Additionally you need an inverter. Our standard inverters usually work with 5, 12 or 24 volt DC supply. Means you need an AC power supply for your countries AC voltage, too. E.g. for an application of 2 CCFLs with 500mm x 3mm driven by 1 double-output inverter you need a power supply of 12 Volt DC at 1.2 A. We offer those jackets for a plug-in of the power supply, too, that you have all parts at hand.

A: Yes, of course. We do not offer only the replacement lamps, but even different whit-colours(3200°K more red, 5200°K near daylight, 7800°K more blue) for common lamps. So, you may like to test another kind of white for your lamp?!

A: Please don‘t throw it away like the usual rubbish. The lamp contains small quantities of mercury gas. You can send back this lamp to us or you can bring them to special storehouses which sell fluorescent lamps in general. Some countries like Germany, Switzerland and Austria have free poison collections once or several times a year. You can bring the old CCFL to them, too.

About: I have a passion for tweaking things. Whether it be modding video game consoles, creating custom laser displays, or any creations with lights I love solving problems through unorthodox means. I like to go whe…

Time for a replacement or addition to home-lighting? As normal incandescents and compact fluorescents create rather uninteresting color tones , this guide has been created to create a unique and vivid method of lighting up your living areas.

Cold Cathodes, or Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lights (CCFLs) are very similar to a normal fluorescent tube used in lighting many offices and signs. These are different in that they do not require a large, high-voltage ballast, but they rather run "cold", with small inverters that amplify voltage to activate a paint coating inside of the tube. CCFLs are simple, cheap, and incredibly bright for their size. They have a tendency to make the air around them glow, which can be very beautiful and even entrancing.

This is perhaps the simplest instructable I have yet made. Parts are minimal, and putting everything together doesn"t venture into complex wiring. For all the parts needed to complete three bars, I paid about $80. Using PVC parts, acrylic tubes, CCFLs, and a laptop power supply, we can create some superb lights.

Laptop Power Supplies (~$13 each): They are cheap, regulated (which is normally very expensive), almost always provide 12v+, and are compact. It doesn"t matter what brand you buy, we are cutting off the connector for raw wire. Be aware that on eBay some prices are very high, since laptop users whose power brick broke are desperate for a very specific model that matches their computer, it"s o.k. to get off-label. Your voltage can be anywhere from 12v->16v. The inverters can take a range of power, pretty much anything under 16v and higher than 10v is acceptable. As far as the power supply rating, 60 Watts is pretty common, and should be plenty for four tubes (I have been running twelve CCFLs inside three tubes from a 64W for a couple months, though it gets very hot). The average single 12 inch CCFL pushes 12v DC @ 400mAh, or around 4.8 Watts per CCFL. To calculate Wattage, simply multiply Volts times Amps.

I prefer getting Fujitsu laptop power supplies, simply because they are compact and they"ve served me well in the past. Another very acceptable supply are those for large LCD computer monitors (21"+). I just searched "laptop fujitsu 16v 4A" on eBay and bought a supply for $13 including shipping.

You have many options here. CCFLs come in various sizes, ranging from 4" -> 36". The largest commonly available colored CCFL is 20", and those generally run about $15-20 per CCFL, and require their own special inverter. For the purposes of this guide, I will be using the most common CCFL type: 12" colored bars. The most common colors are Red, Green, Blue, White, and UV, and I don"t suggest unusual colors like Yellow, Orange, or Purple, as they never shine the colors that website photos suggest.

There is a difference between purchasing CCFLs and a CCFL kit. A kit contain two tubes, an inverter, power cords, and a switch, and are generally the best purchase when getting new lights, while just CCFLs means only replacement tubes.

Xoxide.com: I"m only listing them because they sell 20" CCFLs which can be hard to find, then again, each costs $20, which can be too expensive, especially when you can get four 12" tubes (48" worth of light) for $12 elsewhere.

FrozenCPU.com: They have the biggest selection of CCFLs I"ve ever found. They have some very unusual tubes, such as tubes with micro-inverters built into them, focused direction tubes, along with uncommon sizes.

Whenever I need high quality plastics, I always purchase from TAP Plastics (Plastic Rods on the Left). They sell a huge range of acrylic and polycarbonate materials, though for this guide, we are only using round acrylic tubes.

1 1/4" diameter, 6" long, 1/8" wall pipes are $11.65 each. Watch out for shipping though, I had my pipes cut to 57 inches for some working room and to avoid a $10 oversize shipping charge for anything 6" or longer, cuts are free.

We need a very specific diameter of acrylic, since we want our CCFLs to fit snugly. The widest point of a CCFL (diagonally) is 0.8". CCFLs including their end-cubes are 12.25" long. Subtracting the wall thickness is 1 1/4" - 1/8" = 1.125". This gives our CCFL 0.325" to fit in with, which is perfect since we need some space for wiring. Also take into account the size of the CCFL inverters (shown later), though for me they fit snugly within this 1 1/4" pipe.

6x Plugs: Though I used caps which go over the PVC pipe which I find easier, you could just as easily use a PVC plug that goes into the pipe to make it more clean/compact. You will need some extra length on your acrylic pipe to make up the difference however.

Obtain a computer, look inside for a molex power connector (rectangle with four pins, with a yellow, a red, and two black wires). Connect the inverter to the molex, the CCFLs to the inverter, and flick the red power switch on the thin metal plate.

The blue rectangular boxes are the power inverters. They convert 12v DC to around 700v AC. We need to pop off the protective hard cases, because they are too large to fit into the tube. Take any thin object, a screwdriver, a paper-clip, a knife, and pry off the bottom plate from the four dents on the sides.

Connect two CCFLs to each inverter, and lay them on the ground next to the acrylic tube with the inverter in-between its two CCFLs. This way, we will know the practical, full length  our acrylic tube needs to be. Calculate in if you are using caps or plugs for your final piece, and cut accordingly with your hacksaw.

With your four tubes and inverters next to the pipe, take some speaker wire, and measure from each inverter to about a foot past the pipe. It"s fine to have plenty of spare wire, we will just snip it off later.

The white insulated wires that are attached to each CCFL are about a foot long. While we could just squish the CCFLs into the acrylic tube, when the white wires are crunched down and crossed together their power fluctuates, called leakage. We need to shorten them, which will make them fit more compactly, and not have issues with brightness, flickering, or simply turning off.

The two wires coming from each CCFL are not labeled, there isn"t any easy way to determine which is positive or negative. The simple answer, is to take a sharpie, and mark a single one of the wires with black marks. I"ve attached a picture explaining. This way, we can simply cut them both, and know the marked wire is the same.

Please be extremely careful to not pull on the white wires on the CCFL side. They can easily snap/tear out of CCFL itself, and then you have nothing to solder to. Just take it slow and gentle when stripping the white wires.

This is a trick that not only makes for cleaner wiring, but prevents the possibility of the wires shorting out, or in the case of dealing with high-voltage, greatly lowers the amount of leakage at the weak points where we cut. When you cut your wires, simply make one wire cut an an inch or two long than the other. Do the reverse for the opposite, connector end. Again, look at the images for reference. When soldered, they will match perfectly, with the cuts around a half-inch apart.

The inverter has both its connectors on only one side. Thus, one CCFL wire will be immediately at the connectors, and the other must travel the length of the inverter. Make sure you take this into account when cutting, one CCFL must have its insulating wires longer to go along the inverter.

It"s time to solder our insulated wires back together. This is extremely basic soldering, just reconnect the staggered wires. I strongly recommend using shrink-wrapping, since it will provide some electrical insulation and strength to the bond. If this is not practical, you can always wrap the wires with a good deal of electrical tape.

Also solder your speaker wires to the red/black cable that connects the molex to the inverter. Almost all speaker wires have markings along a single wire, whether it is text, "+" symbols, or a black line. Just make sure that you know which marking goes to the red (positive) and black (negative) or the inverter power connector.

Apply electrical tape to the entire underside of the inverters. There is some real danger to having the inverters exposed, I at one point had an electrical short that produced a great deal of smoke from a positive pin on the AC underside of the inverter, jumping into the negative DC of the speaker wire. Applying electrical tape to the bottom connections prevents that.

To put it simpl