[kennedy]

6 months after AppleCare ran out, my 15" Apple Display's backlight went out.
"No biggee", I thought... and I ran it to my local Apple Store expecting them to pop in new backlights. They answered "We send it out; it'll cost $472 to replace."

Uhhh... I can buy a brand new LCD display for less than that!

Soo, is it possible to replace the backlight for under $200?
Or should I just throw my display in the trash and go buy a new one?

And if the latter, which manufacturers make LCD displays with easily replaceable backlights?

[tooki]

The backlight issue is one the manufacturers would rather sweep under the rug. They'd rather sell you a new display than replace a $20 tube. (Which is also why they don't make replacing the tube trivial, which could easily be done.)

If your backlight went out, most likely one of the following two things died: the actual backlight tube (there are usually two of them, so you'd expect only one of them to die at a time), or the inverter that supplies power to the tubes.

Neither part is exotic, and both are readily available if you're willing to crack open the display.

The main source I've seen listed for them is http://www.jkllamps.com/. I've never used them, but they seem to have a wide selection of parts.

Note that you probably need to disassemble the Apple display in order to see what LCD part is inside it. Then, armed with the LCD's part number, you can call JKL and order the correct tube or inverter.

tooki

[Cadaver]

Yup. This is true for all LCD display manufacturers, not just Apple.

[stevesnj]

tookie is correct, the Apple display I think is made by Samsung and like any other LCD bulb it can be replaced after reseaching this issue for a few months. This company seems very knowlegable and has basic instructions on how to replace the bulbs. Good luck and if you can solder or know someone who can this may be a good option.

http://www.moniserv.com/doc/ccfl.htm