Fixed a monitor with a dead backlight using a flashlight

Was working on a customer's 32" LCD last Tuesday and no backlight, but I could see the image at a certain angle. Ended up using an LED strip from an old laptop screen I had in the truck, 12 volt adapter, and some patience. Anyone else ever salvage parts from one thing to fix another?

2 comments

2 Comments

nathan_bailey1mo ago

Did you try shining a flashlight through the back of the panel at an angle? I remember fixing an old Vizio that way once. I used a 12 volt LED strip from an old car light I had laying around. Took some tweaking to get the brightness right, but it worked for about six months before the customer finally upgraded. These days I keep a box of random LED strips and adapters just for this kind of repair. Sometimes the simplest fixes are the ones that surprise you the most.

the_sarah1mo ago

Well hell yeah, I've done that trick more times than I care to count! @nathan_bailey hit the nail on the head about keeping a stash of random LED strips, that's basically become my standard approach for dead backlights. If you tape the strip to the back of the panel and get the voltage right, the customer usually walks out happy and it buys them years instead of months.