How to replace laptop backlight lamp (CCFL)
In this guide I will disassemble a laptop LCD screen in order to remove and replace the backlight lamp (CCFL).
Replacing the backlight lamp is not an easy task even for experienced technicians. If you do something wrong you will permanently damage the LCD screen and have to buy a new one. Proceed on your own risk and do not blame me. 
Some recommendations before you start:
1. Work in a clean room. You don’t want dust and lint inside your LCD screen.
2. Make notes, so you know how to assemble your screen back.
3. Take pictures.
4. Before you remove something, take a closer look at the part and memorize how it is assembled.
5. When you are assembling the screen, remove dust and lint with compressed air. Do not use cloth.
The backlight lamp (CCFL) is located inside the LCD screen, so we are going to take it apart. In this article I’m not going to explain how to remove LCD from a laptop, it’s been covered before.
Here some examples:
Removing LCD screen from a Dell laptop.
Taking apart IBM ThinkPad display panel.
Removing screen from Toshiba laptops.
Remove sticky tape and foil from the back of the screen and glue it somewhere so you can reuse it later, when you assemble the screen.
Removing tape from the backlight cables.
On my screen the green circuit board was glued to the plastic frame with a double sided tape. Carefully unglue the circuit board. Be very careful, do not flex or bend the circuit board.
The circuit board has been unglued.
Place the LCD screen on the side and start removing the metal frame witch secures the LCD to the plastic frame. There will be many latches on all sides of the frame, you can unlock them with a small screwdriver.
Continue separating the metal frame from the plastic base.
On the following picture you can see that frame, LCD with the circuit board and screen base have been separated. Be careful, do not touch internal components with your fingers. Handle all internal components by the sides.
Place the metal frame and LCD with the circuit board aside. You’ll need them only when you assemble everything back together.
There will be a few transparent layers inside. Carefully remove them from the screen base. Do not separate the layers, just put them aside together.
Keep everything organized, so you have no trouble assembling the screen.
Start removing the metal cover from the backlight lamp (CCFL).
The backlight cover has been removed.
The backlight lamp (CCFL) cables are routed through small plastic hooks.
Unroute the backlight lamp cables.
Now probably the hardest part in this disassembly process - removing the backlight lamp and reflector. The backlight lamp is secured inside the reflector so you have to remove both and then separate them.
Before you remove the backlight lamp and reflector take a closer look how it’s assembled and mounted to the screen base. Fitting the backlight and reflector back in place could be a very challenging task.
The reflector is glued to the screen base with a double sided tape.
After the reflector has been unattached from the screen base, you can start removing the backlight lamp. As you see on the picture, I marked the left side of the reflector with a red dot so I know where the red cable goes when I assemble everything back together.
The backlight lamp (CCFL) has been removed from the reflector.
In order to access the backlight lamp leads you’ll have to remove the rubber caps from both side of the lamp. I’m not sure if you can touch the backlight lamp with your fingers, so I would use rubber gloves.
Cabled on both sides of the backlight lamp are soldered to the backlight leads. In order to access the leads you’ll have to remove the black insulator on both side of the lamp.
Unsolder both cables from the old backlight lamp and solder them to a new one.
You can test the new backlight lamp (CCFL) before you install it back into the screen. Connect the backlight lamp into the inverter board and turn on the laptop. The backlight lamp should light up.
From my experience, on some laptops the backlight lamp will not light up until the video cable is connected to the LCD screen. In this case you’ll have to assemble the LCD screen and then test it.
You can search for a new CCFL backlight lamp here.
Entry Filed under: LCD Screen Repair
December 9th, 2007 at 1:10 pm
[…] As soon as I turned on the laptop, my backlight lamp lighted up. Yep, that’s the problem. The laptop screen has a faulty backlight lamp. […]
December 14th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
Where id you get the lamp and how much?????
December 15th, 2007 at 12:27 am
Tony Virnoche,
I didn’t replace the CCFL while I was creating the LCD disassembly guide, I just took it apart as an example to show how you can access the backlight lamp.
If you are looking for a new backlight lamp I guess you can buy it through this site. They have a good selection of backlight lamps from $9.99 to $14.99
December 21st, 2007 at 11:23 am
Hi,
How can I test inverters in a lab?
I have one notebook with a dark display. How can I know what is bad: the inverter or the backlight?..of course before buying a brand new one.
Can I have a spare backlight just for testing inverters? Are all the inverters compatible with this spare backlight?…What about the connector and the output voltage?
December 21st, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Yes, you can. That’s exactly how I test the backlight problem. I have two test backlights with two different inverter connectors, I removed these backlight lamps from broken screens.
When I have to troubleshoot a laptop with backlight problem, I disconnect the screen from the inverter board and connect my known good backlight lamp instead. If my lamp lights up, most likely there is a problems with the customer’s LCD (backlight). If my test backlight lamp doesn’t work, most likely this problem is related to the inverter board (or video cable, motherboard).
This is the only reliable test I know.
I’ve been using my test backlight lamps for a long time with many different laptops and never had a problem. For example, may backlights are for 15″ LCD screens but I also use them for troubleshooting 17″ and 14″ laptops. So, from my experience, any backlight lamp should work fine you just have to have the same connector type for the inverter board.
I don’t know, I never cared about it.
January 12th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Before my screen went black, i had a big black “stain” on the bottom right corner, like something was burning. The screen was also flickering… and then it turned black….
I ordered a new inverter and tried it right away, but my screen is still black! I noticed that if i look at my screen from an angle with an external light, i can see the icons and everything which probably means that the screen isn’t dead.
Do you think that my problem is the backlight lamp?
thanks!
January 12th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
blackjak,
If you installed a known good inverter board and it didn’t fix the problem then most likely you have a problem with the backlight lamp (CCFL).
Your screen was flickering before it went out and usually when it happens it’s either bad inverter or failing backlight lamp.
Unfortunately, the only way diagnose the problem is testing the laptop with another working backlight lamp or LCD screen and see if it lights up.
Just in case you can try reconnecting the video cable on the motherboard, it’s possible that the connection got loose and the inverter board is not getting power from the motherboard.
Also, check the lid close switch (if you have any). Make sure it moves freely. When the lid close switch gets stuck inside the case, usually it happens when it’s dirty, it cuts off power from the inverter board. The laptop “thinks” that the display is closed because the lid close switch is pressed down, as a result the backlight is off.
January 20th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
anyone know what the problem is with an lcd that has light but lines int? i dont thint the backlight is faulty as it is bright screen, just lines and odd patterens
the monitor out works ok so i assume the video chip is aok
cheers
nate
January 20th, 2008 at 5:41 pm
Nathan,
Do you see lines on the entire screen or just on a part of the screen? Can you see any image on the LCD screen at all?
It’s possible that connection between the video cable and LCD screen or motherboard is loose. Reseating connections on both ends of the video cable might help.
Check out this post: Laptop has bad video on the LCD screen. What is wrong?
January 20th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
i cannot see any image, the lines are severe
i posted a pic at
http://www.healthmarketingstrategies.com/dv8000.html
the lines are rather severe, and it sometimes brighens up to a white screen
January 31st, 2008 at 12:14 pm
hi guys……i have a mx35s329 purchased in december 2004. luckily it hasn’t given any major problems unitl now.
recently i have observed some screen flicker. the screen sometimes blacks out…….but if i press firmly just beside the “control” key on the left side of the laptop the display comes back on. tapping the computer gently on the right palm rest also brings the display back on. i am thinking its some kind of loose connection, but do not know which wire.
there is a problem with the key board too. some of the keys don’t work. i recently replaced the key board, but broke the clip while inserting the ribbon of the new keyboard. do you guys know if the key board clip can be replaced.
past service history includes a FL inverter replacement and ac adapter replacement.
i have had no problems with respect to heating shut downs, charging the battery, dc connector pin and system crashes.
hope you guys can help out.
January 31st, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Nathan,
sounds like a problem wiht the LCD screen.
You’ll find more tips for troubleshooting bad images on LCD in this post:
Laptop has bad video on the LCD screen. What is wrong?
By the way, did you test the laptop with an external monitor? Video on the external monitor is fine?
January 31st, 2008 at 9:44 pm
gautham,
It’s possible that connection between the video cable and the motherboard is loose. You can try reconnecting the video cable.
Take a look at the step 7 in this disassembly guide for a Satellite M35X laptop. You’ll see the video cable just above the keyboard, on the right side. Unplug the video cable from the motherboard and then carefully plug back in. Be careful with the connector on the motherboard, there are a lot of pins inside.
February 9th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Forgive me if you mentioned this elsewhere or another reader already asked but when testing the backlight as you do on this post and troubleshooting-laptop-with-backlight-failure must you use the backlight specific to the model you are working on or can you use any backlight? We have plenty of working, spare backlights available at the shop where I work but not necessarily all of the models we use regularly.
Thanks
February 13th, 2008 at 5:29 am
Seramar,
I think for test purposes you can use any working backlight lamp.
I have only two working backlights with different connectors for the inverter board and I use these backlights all the time. I’ve been using my lamps with many different laptops (with different LCD sizes) and never had any problem.
February 24th, 2008 at 6:40 am
Very helpful website. A good resource for end users and no doubt some professionals as well.
February 29th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
thank you! the warranty on my son’s computer ran out in nov.
using your directions he replaced the backlight lamp.
March 12th, 2008 at 12:43 am
Excllent Guide to Replace the FLOROSENT LAMP.
Thanx a lot……..
March 12th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Can you tell me, where to look for the CCFL backlight. Apparently no one in Bangalore, kolkata, India stores these backlights.
March 18th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
i recently replace my backlight, but in the process i dirty up the optical layer that spread the backlight, can i clean it, if i can how.. and if i can’t where can i get a new optical layer.
March 19th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Very comprehensive guide… I’m thinking about changing my ccfl too, although it hasn’t conked out yet, but it has become rather dim over time.
Thx to this guide I might give it a try.
March 20th, 2008 at 3:49 am
Since Toshiba claimed they can just change whole LCD instead of backlight bulb and asking US$ 702, you see right US$ 702 for LCD panel…SO i have nothing to loose other than try above replacement which gave me courage to do so..Thank you very much for nice detailed work and demo done above…with my best regards
March 21st, 2008 at 11:05 pm
[…] How to replace laptop backlight lamp (CCFL) […]
March 24th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
thank you for the instruciton how to replace the backlight of my laptop, it help me a lot, i appreciate that.
March 26th, 2008 at 5:13 am
do you know at what voltage the backlight lamp works?
March 27th, 2008 at 5:56 am
Hello there,
I have a problem with my laptop, the back light seems likes is not getting electricity from the inverter.
I bought a new CCFL lamp and connected to the Inverter output. When I turn on my computer the lamp turno on for like half a second and then it turn off, and it did that like 3 times, and after that it never turn on again.
So my question will be, is the back light turn on all the time when you connect a new one?
And with the monitor connected, is the lamp turn on always?
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:18 am
That helped me to replace backlight for my old laptop. Thanks a lot.
April 10th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
I’ve already removed the ccfl but cannot find where to buy a new one. I have a Toshiba satelite bought in 2005.
April 13th, 2008 at 8:21 am
How can I find out the part number for a lamp for Fulitsu Lifebook C2210? This is a 15 inch screen and has a Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp. The part number for the screen is LTM15C460F (or CP121857-02)……Thanks
April 13th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Hello. Looks like you’d be the one to ask about this.
I’ve only looked at your bit on how to replace a ccfl
and to reach it to do so. My problem however is that
everything seems to be working great I just can’t see
anything on the screen that is working because obviously
the bulbs out. I took everything apart and ordered a new
lamp on EBAY but after soldering and testing it as you show,
the damn thing isn’t doing anything. The laptop is a Gateway
4542GP. And it is my parents. I used it for a week and it’s
my ass if I don’t fix this sucker! How can I test the bulb W/O
the inverter? I don’t have a voltmeter well it’s not working
itself so I’m kinda screwed as far as testing that right? The
voltage required for the bulb is A/C right? Please Help!!!!!!!
April 15th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Anthony,
Search on Google for companies selling CCFL lamps for laptops, here’s one: lcdparts.net
After that contact them and explain what you are looking for. Most likely they will help you to find CCFL for your screen.
April 15th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Steve Yaroscak IV,
Can you see a very dim image on the screen? Any image at all? Did you try replacing inverter before replacing backlight lamp?
When the backlight stops working I usually follow these steps:
1. Check the lid close switch to make sure it’s not stuck inside the laptop case cutting off power from the inverter board.
2. Reseat cables on both ends of the inverter board.
3. Replace inverter board.
4. Finally replace the LCD screen. I do not replace CCFL lamps for my customers, I do it only on my own laptops. It’s very time consuming repair.
April 26th, 2008 at 1:05 am
I have a LCD which is built and looks exactly like the one above. (do they all look the same?????)
My problem is that I have a horizontal line running across the screen.
I dismantled the LDC, but it seems that the LCD has leaked (?) at the edge where these lines appear. Can this be correct ? I can send you some pictures if I have your mail id.
Any help appreciated.
Thanks.
April 26th, 2008 at 10:20 pm
Dexter,
I don’t think that you cannot fix it. If the LCD screen has been damaged you’ll have to replace the whole screen.
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:59 am
I should be very grateful if you could inform me as to whether cold cathode fluorescent lights (CCFLs) used as LCD backlights use a radioactive material which emits beta particles to start the ionization of the gas unlike the hot fluorescent lamps where the cathode is explicitly heated in order to excite the electrons causing their emission.
This question is prompted by the Wikipedia article on CCFLs which stated that CCFLs may contain a source of beta radiation in order to start the ionization process.
As our computer monitor is placed on the only table in the house, use of the table for other purposes means that I have to face the back of the monitor where the backlight can be seen through the grill.
Looking forward to your response,
Yours faithfully,
Julia Howard
May 5th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
i have a similiar problem with my screen where i need to use a flashlight to see the screen . i havent gotten as far as replacing the inverter or the bulb. My question is that whenever i open the lid i hear a little buzzing sound from the base of the screen . could that be a bad connection could it be the bulb trying to turn on ?or have i just never noticed this sound before? its very low.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:12 am
I have the same problem as blackjack (posted on 2008 jan 12) on a Dell D510m. Besides the flickering and dim lcd problems, I also noticed that the bottom left corner of my screen started BURNING/MELTING and caused some pixels to turn black, while the baclight was working at maximum brightness. When the backlight went completely off, I replaced the inverter and the problem remained. But having disassembled the bezel, I could finally notice SPARKS coming from inside the ccfl casing.
Before going further in my repair process, does anyone know if a faulty CCFL can cause overheating, or is it just a bad connector, and can it cause the inverter to die ?
Thanks for the guide.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
update.
My problem was due to a soldering defect from the manufacturer. I suppose that the high voltage combined with a tight environment started to weaken the rubber pin around the cathode. Once the rubber pin altered, the problem intensified so that it caused some plastic parts to melt, especially one of the corners of the thick reflector layer, and weakened the CCFL glass/electrode (heat effect probably). Hopefully, the LCD matrix wasn’t affected.
This is a fire hazard Dell and all CCFL based manufacturers should reconsider seriously !
May 9th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I just replaced a CCFL for my laptop, an Acer Travelmate. I bought a new LCD because mine was dropped by my younger brother and cracked in several places. I got a good deal, but as it turns out, good deals come with a price. The LCD had a burnt out backlight.
I skipped almost all of these steps because I live in a house with pets and children. Not wanting to contaminate the inside slices I took out the backlight from my old LCD, just tore the whole damn thing apart. It was a 2″ wide assembly that ran across the bottom of the LCD.
I then proceeded to bend the metal of the new one (very risky, I know, but if I didn’t take it out this way it would’ve never worked again, something would have broke).
I used 2 eye glass screwdrivers to get the bottom layer set into the unit so that it could provide proper light to the whole thing.
Bent the metal back into place, plugged everything in, works like a charm. It is a tad too bright in the left/right corners but I’m not worried about it as it works and that’s what matters more then anything.
I also wouldn’t recommend ANYONE DO IT THIS WAY. DO IT THE RIGHT WAY UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE NO CHOICE.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:24 pm
what is the normal cost to repair the back light if I took it in for repair
May 16th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
What is the VOLTAGE GOING to the Pink and White Cables AFTER the Inverter? If I had a power supply to test the bulb directly what would i use?
May 18th, 2008 at 11:20 am
George,
Check out these instructions for testing laptop inverters.
May 19th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
I have tried replacng the LCD still got the dark screen and went ahead replaced inverter itself and the inverter with the cables, still have the dark screen..What is the las step? I have replaced the LCD but did not work..Do you think it is the main signal cable????
June 6th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Ahmet,
You said that you replace the inverter with the cables. Did you mean the video cable?
First of all, I assume that all new parts you installed are in a good working condition. If you replaced the LCD screen, inverter and video cable but still experience the same problem (very dark image on the screen), apparently that’s related to the motherboard. I don’t know what else can cause this problem. I’ve seen that before but it’s not very common. In most cases replacing the inverter board and LCD screen after that fixes the issue.
By the way, check the lid close switch - a small button located close to one of the hinges. Make sure the close switch moves freely and is not stuck inside the laptop case. When you press on the lid close switch it cuts off power from the inverter board (and backlight lamp). A dirty switch may stuck inside the laptop case and because of that the laptop “thinks” that the switch is pressed down. In this case there is no power coming to the inverter/backlight lamp and the screen remains very dark even after the laptop is turned on.
June 16th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
I have replaced the inverter with its own cables not the video cable. I meant the inverter board and the cables that go into the inverter.
When I replaced the LCD, unfortunately I purchased the wrong model but it did still work. the cables weren’t the same as in the new lcd but the screen did show that black screen again.
I haven’t tried to change the video cable itself. Now it is the turn to replace the CCFL tube but it looks complicated. And after you said it may be the motherboard, I even thought that it is not worth the time I put into repairing it. I should have just sold the damn thing and got a new cheap laptop. well, well…we’ll see if I can do this tube replacement..
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:58 pm
I just replaced the inverter and still have the dark screen, very faint image. Before I tackle the backlight replacement I have a quick question, I bought the laptop as a gift and immediately had to wipe Vista and installed Windows XP, could I be having a driver related problem? The screen went dark just a couple of months after I changed the OS.
June 23rd, 2008 at 10:29 pm
M Neher,
No, this is not a driver related problem. This problem could be related to the backlight lamp, video cable or motherboard.
Check out this post: Troubleshooting laptop with backlight failure
You may find some useful information in there.
By the way, you can find a new backlight here for around $15. You can find one with wires already attached to it, so you can plug it into the inverter and test before you open up the LCD screen.
July 1st, 2008 at 1:23 am
I am interested in replacing my 15.4″ WXGA with any of the following: WSXGA, WXGA+ or WUXGA
my question is, are lcd connections to the inverter and the motherboard standardized? are the lcd panels themselves standardized as well, i.e. are all 15.4″ laptop panels created with equal dimensions?
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Hi, I just got a free laptop that isn;t working, it boots and runs fine with external monitor, but the laptop monitor remains dark and there is a LOT of heat where the LCD cable plugs into the motherboard. The screen flickers once when initially powered on and thats it. Bought a new LCD cable, and it does the same thing. Does this sound like a backlight, LCD inverter, or a motherboard problem?
Thanks for your help and the great article!
July 10th, 2008 at 1:40 am
I have replaced both an inverter and the screen with a working backlight, still see a dim screen. Spent hours stripping the laptop and checking for any lose cables to no avail. Anyone any ideas?
PACKARD BELL E6310? My only guess could be the inverter which i bought of ebay is faulty or the videocable is faulty or even the motherboard….please help anyone
August 7th, 2008 at 9:10 am
hi, i dropped my asus f3sc and it broke at the hinge. i was too stubborn and continued to use it till one day, the grease dried up cos it had been exposed to the open air for far too long, then when i was opening my notebook, a couple of the wires connecting the LCD to the base came out and i lost my screen… just the backlight because the webcam still works. i can still see images when i turn it on but i have to tilt it towards light… cant do any bios operations anymore, etc. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SOMEBODY HELP ME>>> I NEED HEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLPPPPPPP. how do i fix it???????
August 15th, 2008 at 8:33 am
I have a Toshiba 5205-S503 with a LCD backlight bulb that out. I attempted to replace the BLB but I basically destroyed those little rubber connectors that cover the solder connections. I attempted to cover the solder connections with one wrap of black electrical tape and reinstalled. The monitor worked beautifullly for about 20 seconds, then there was a high pitched sound and the monitor went out again. I figure maybe it the connecting wires got shorted. I have an extra back light bulb. Any suggestions for how to reinstall without those tiny little rubber booties? Thanks!
August 17th, 2008 at 7:38 am
If you are talking about the black rubber booties, that is simply heat shrink tubing which you can buy at an electronics store, or a home improvent store.