Chosen Solution
The top of my screen is noticeably dimmer now than in the past. “Easy,” I thought, “it’s the top backlight going out!” But now I’m not so sure. See, whenever the iMac wakes from sleep, the screen is nice and bright for about ¼ second before going back to its now-normal dim state. Can anyone tell me what’s going on? Is my backlight in fact going out, or is something else going wrong? I’ve checked the brightness control in Displays, and calibrated the screen, with no improvement.
Sorry I missed this the first time :-( Sadly your system uses CCFL’s which over time do fade in brightness as they get close to burning out. Just like your office ceiling CFL’s do. While you can still get replacement CCFL’s they are a bear to replace and if you’re not careful easy to break as well. Here’s a good guide to follow: Removing CCFL from iMac 20in LCD CCFL assembly. If you’ve never attempted anything this complex you might want to opt out and just replace the complete LCD unit. While more expensive it is a lot less work and risk. Here’s the IFIXIT guide: iMac Intel 20" EMC 2133 and 2210 Display Panel Replacement.
