2012 iMac 27" Backlight dead...

[Fried Chicken]

It was working this morning, then I got back to the computer and the backlight was off.
I did a PRAM reset, and it came back. Then I was fooling around and *poof* gone.

I'm on the phone with apple now (they've been hugely helpful in the past).

Is it possibly not a hardware issue? I even read somewhere filevault disk encryption can cause this to happen.

 

[Fried Chicken]

Anyone?

 

[codernova]

Sounds like maybe a capacitor for the backlight is failing...? Can you see an image on the screen if you use a flashlight on it?

 

[Fried Chicken]

Sounds like maybe a capacitor for the backlight is failing...? Can you see an image on the screen if you use a flashlight on it?

Yep;

I'm thinking a capacitor too, but I don't know where to find it.

 

[codernova]

I'm not the one to ask, but I'm sure there's a how-to or a paid service that could fix an iMac's inverter or capacitors. Maybe someone else here has experience with it?

 

[Fried Chicken]

I'm not the one to ask, but I'm sure there's a how-to or a paid service that could fix an iMac's inverter or capacitors. Maybe someone else here has experience with it?

Surprisingly difficult to find.

But that's not the difficult part, the difficult part is finding what capacitor to replace in the first place.
Even Louis Rossmann couldn't help.

[edit]

I should add, I suspect it's the Power Supply. I have a brand new logic board in here (courtesy of apple, despite being out of warranty by 3 years). It could also be something built in the display. I also suspect a cable somewhere might not be connected right.

I'll open the iMac tomorrow and report back.

 

[Brian Y]

Given the backlight inverters can be had for around £20, it's probably not worth your time hunting down a capacitor!

 

[Fried Chicken]

Given the backlight inverters can be had for around £20, it's probably not worth your time hunting down a capacitor!

For the 2012 slim models?

I think it's on the logic board as per this post:
https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/366379/Where+is+the+inverter+circuit+in+the+late+2012+iMac

Which is really annoying considering apple just put in a new logic board

 

[codernova]

If they just replaced it, I can't see how it's the inverter then. Have you called Apple since the repair?

 

[Fried Chicken]

If they just replaced it, I can't see how it's the inverter then. Have you called Apple since the repair?

I did, but I do't have a nearby apple store, and they don't really work on "vintage" products....

AS IF 5 years old is "vintage" -_-

it's my iMac; I have my 2006 iMac and it's still working fine. AND CPUs haven't gotten much better over time, nor have GPUs, with all this emphasis on stupid laptop computing.....

I need to call them again