Help with broken LCD

[Bowsky]

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on what to do in my situation. A few days ago the backlight on my Dell 2405fpw started flickering. It is now at the point where it only stay on briefly before going completely out. Unfortunately, it just went out of warranty, the the three year replacement plan ended just two weeks ago. I called Dell and they were able to offer me a 24" replacement for $350, although I am not sure what model.

I've heard a lot about this being an easily fixable problem, but have so far not been able to come up with a solution to my specific case. Right now I am willing to try just about anything before caving in and buying a new monitor. If anyone has any suggestions or can offer help that would be great.

 

[ther00kie16]

If it's the backlight, you are probably out of luck as they don't sell CCFL replacements for anything larger than 20". If it's the inverter, you could find that a few places.
With that said, there are some interesting ideas out there such as using LED arrays as a replacement backlight. Or maybe you can try 15" White Cold Cathodes though I doubt those would be bright enough.

 

[ther00kie16]

Actually 15" is too short, I was thinking the CCFLs were on the sides but they are actually on top and bottom.
So you'd need about 20 2/3" or about 525mm.
I found this place that sells 3mm diameter 520mm CCFL for 23" LCDs, which would work but you may get slight dimming at the 2 sides of your LCD.
There's also this manufacture that makes all sorts of CCFLs but I don't know how you are going to be able to order their products.
You could try this site as it seems they take orders for any model. Whether or not they'll be able to fulfill that order is another question as they may only be able to fill orders on the models they have in their list.
According to their website, I would guess that the Dells are 2.6mm diameter and they have a 2.6mm diameter 520mm CCFL that would be your best bet with a 24".
I'm starting to sweat as I'm not sure what I'll do when my 24" starts dying.

 

[0roo0roo]

can't wait till leds replace damn cathode backlights.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
can't wait till leds replace damn cathode backlights.

Fortunately, they already are. Aside from that, there is a lesson for CCFL backlit LCDs. Turn 'em off when not actually using them. Do not use a screen saver with an LCD - it serves no purpose other than (possibly) entertainment than to spend backlight hours.

 

[Bowsky]

Thanks for the advice. I think I am going to try out ccfldirect.com first. I'll be putting in the order tomorrow after I get a chance to open up the screen and make sure I have the right numbers for the part, and that is indeed the CCFL that is broken. I'll be sure to let everyone know how this goes.

Thanks again.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: corkyg

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
can't wait till leds replace damn cathode backlights.

Fortunately, they already are. Aside from that, there is a lesson for CCFL backlit LCDs. Turn 'em off when not actually using them. Do not use a screen saver with an LCD - it serves no purpose other than (possibly) entertainment than to spend backlight hours.

well sure on higher end laptops, but its not really taken over to any large degree yet and yea use power saving...leaving lcd playign screensaver is just hastening its death.