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.
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October 31st, 2009 at 4:38 pm
Hello, I need just a little advice. I have an HP DV5 1011ea and the screen has always been dim on it’s maximum brightness setting compared to my other laptops. I think all DV5 1011ea laptops have this brightness problem and I was wondering if it could be fixed by replacing the backlight? It’s annoying me since I can barely use the laptop properly in daylight even inside the house. Any advice? I was wondering that maybe the screen doesn’t let so much backlight go through it also and if I change both the backlight and LCD scree, would it be of much help? Thanks for any advice!
October 29th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
Ima Tool,
If you not sure which one is causing the problem, the inverter board or backlight lamp, go with the inverter replacement first.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:13 pm
Jason Taylor,
I agree with your.
I made this guide almost 2 years ago when one laptop screen would easily cost you $250-300.
These days you can buy some new LCD screens for $70-80. If you can afford that just replace the whole LCD screen.
Replacing the backlight lamp is more fun project.
October 29th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Regarding the radioactivity question, I am not sure, and was actually hoping someone else would answer, but it would not surprise me if these ccfls are indeed radioactive. They snap apart easily, so this is reason enough for us to not repair them. CHANGING A CCFL IS A DIFFICULT REPAIR. I do not suggest it. Hardest part: keeping the order of all those sheets straight.
October 28th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Thanks for the guide!
As many have mentioned, this isn’t an easy task, make sure you have plenty of room to work, and all the tools you’ll need. For a few of the screws, you’ll need a phillips #000 and be careful not to strip them out.
I just finished replacing my backlight lamp only to discover it was the inverter after all… If you’ll excuse me I’m going to go slam my face against the wall for a while.
October 17th, 2009 at 6:24 am
I broke the “Wire” that goes to the Back lite. It dose not look like a copper wire. It looks like it is fabric. What should I do to repair it?
October 3rd, 2009 at 10:59 am
Thanks for the info. replacement was successful. A few comments – I have a HP DV5000 which is similar to your pics.
As far as touching components, this is only an issue related to static shock. It is best to use a grounding strap when working with any electronics. Static can damage semiconductors. It may not blow them out, but cause them to fail early so watch out. It is caused by your body friction against rough surfaces but dissipates quickly. If you don’t use a grounding strap, try touching a pipe or a chassis frame or something to discharge first before handling components. Holding things by the edges is a good practice but difficult to rely on when trying not to shock electronics.
A fluorescent bulb is OK to touch. It is Halogens that need to be clean because oils left on the surface of the bub can create thermal stress points and shatter the bulb as they get very hot.
My assembly used quite a lot of industrial adhesive tapes but nothing was glued. These can be carefully peeled back but they are sometimes unusable afterward. You can replace them with metal furnace tape and carton packing tapes if necessary.
It is a good idea to replace the inverter at the same time. Although this should not be necessary, mine failed shortly after I replaced the back light bulb. If it is old, the inverter is already weakened. They are inexpensive and will save trouble in the long run.
October 2nd, 2009 at 7:10 am
Thanks a lot…It gives me enough confidence ..It’s just wonderful job,Lovely pictures that clearly understanding
each and every steps.Though it is tough job but u made it
excellent way..
Keep it up..
Again Thanks a lot.
September 28th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
Thanks for the infomation and picture it saved me a lot of money
September 20th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Rhonda,
Agree 100%. It’s not easy. Not everyone can get it done successfully.