Chosen Solution
I am attempting to repair a macbook which has recently been dropped from about 2 feet, it was closed, and landed on the display hinge (directly on the casing of the inverter board.) The Damage (all damage happened immediatly upon dropping): No backlight, though picture is clear as day (with a flashlight) There is no flickering, the connections were not loose. I don’t think it could be a wire but I am not sure, I cannot take out those pink and yellow wires, but I do not SEE any damage. The computer booted to a hardware test screen when I turned it off and on. For some reason, the computer said that I had a bad hard drive when I ran a hardware test, but I bet that was just because it got knocked loose, it booted fine (besides the backlight) the next time I tried. I already tore apart the computer and the display, and I do not see any visual damage to the board (though, I do not have much experience with this yet). And there are no severed cables. I would like to know if there is any way that I can test to see if it is the board or some pinched cable, without having to swap out with this computer’s display… Or, if some professional just knows for sure, and says so, that would be good too. Thank you for your time. Update Update, it isn’t the inverter board, I will see if I can borrow a multimeter from a teacher, what cables should I test, Could Someone provide a picture of where I should place the probes and what setting? Or maybe just a quick guide? How would I get to the other side of the pink+white wires, behind the lcd screen?
My best guess (without seeing the machine) is that the backlight tube inside the LCD is broken. Quite possible after such a crash. In that case you will have to replace the LCD panel. Good guide how to swap it without opening the computer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vD_snbFa9…
Here’s the guide I use to do this: MacBook Core 2 Duo LCD & Inverter A1181 (fast method) Replacement
If you have a multimeter handy, you could test the inverter cable’s continuity. It is a simple 4 pin cable, no crossover or anything like that. I can tell you, however, that it is almost assuredly the inverter board. I see the inverter board go bad all the time for various reasons weather it be physical damage or wearing out. I have only seen a broken inverter cable once. That was on a test machine which was having parts replaced daily, and the cable was eventually fatigued.
