iMac G5 1.9 LCD Replacement

[kjs862]

Hey guys,

I just wanted to share an experience with everyone. My cousin's iMac G5 1.9 (iSight) started having problems. Upon turning on her machine, the computer booted up, but the display would remain black. Upon bringing the computer into an Apple retail store, a genius told her that she would need a new LCD display because the one currently in her computer has burnt out. Apple wanted $500 to fix the machine, so I told her I might be able to do it for cheaper. I found a second hand LCD panel on ebay for $95 and installed it according to the instructions on ifixit.com. The installation went very smoothly, however we are still having the same problem as with the first LCD panel. That is, the machine boots up, the LCD turns on, but remains black. I was hoping by sharing this experience with everyone, someone might have a suggestion that could help me cousin.

Best regards,

kjs862

UPDATE: As I just finished writing this poste, and right before I was going to hit "Submit New Thread" the display came out and seems to be working fine. This is very strange.

 

[RonYosafi]

how did u write the post

 

[kjs862]

how did u write the post

With my computer, the computer that was having the problem is my cousin's computer.

 

[CubeHacker]

When you say the LCD "turns on" but stays black, I assume you mean that you notice the backlight turn on, yet nothing is displayed on the screen?

I am fairly certain that Apple misdiagnosed your problem. When you turn the iMac on, does it chime? Can you hear the hard drive clackering away as it loads the OS? Or do the fans just rev up to max speed and nothing else happens?

I suspect your iMac has fallen to the same fate as most iMac G5's - capacitor issues. It can cause many issues, including no display graphics. I would check the motherboard for leaking/bulging capacitors.

 

[kjs862]

When you say the LCD "turns on" but stays black, I assume you mean that you notice the backlight turn on, yet nothing is displayed on the screen?

I am fairly certain that Apple misdiagnosed your problem. When you turn the iMac on, does it chime? Can you hear the hard drive clackering away as it loads the OS? Or do the fans just rev up to max speed and nothing else happens?

I suspect your iMac has fallen to the same fate as most iMac G5's - capacitor issues. It can cause many issues, including no display graphics. I would check the motherboard for leaking/bulging capacitors.

Thanks for the response. It turns out that the computer is acting up again. Last night when I started using the computer, the screen started to display some artifacts: https://files.me.com/kjs862/208m18. Shortly after, I played around with the computer doing various tasks such as youtube, web browsing, and activating the screen saver, and noticed the problem slowly stopped, and finally completely stopped. I put the computer on sleep overnight only to find it not working this morning.

When I turn on the computer, it chimes, drives bootup, and the backlight turns on, but nothing is displayed. Even after I give the computer a minute to settle, I can use the brightness keys on my keyboard and volume keys and they both work.

As you suggest, I will now check the computer's capacitors. Your help is much appreciated. Thanks.