[dsquared]

Hi All!

First post here, anyway, I'll get down to it:

Something's been up with my iBook [PowerPC G3 800Mhz, 640MB RAM, 80GB 5400 RPM (just replaced early this year), purchased early 2003] lately.

Ever so often, when I adjust the position of the screen by moving it closer, it goes black (its as if the screen brightness has been turned down totally, I can still make out a slight semblance of what's on the screen though).

To remedy the situation I close my iBook, wait for the sleep light thing to glow and open it again, making sure the screen is set at a wider angle.

This has been going on for a while, and now it seems to be getting worse. Every time the hinge is brought closer to an acute angle, the screen just goes flat out black. I find myself having to use the computer with the screen positioned at a increasingly obtuse angle.

Anybody has this problem or know what's up? Please enlighten me. Thanks in advance!

Cheers

[dreilly1]

Your inverter board and/or backlight cable is hosed. Eventually, it will take your motherboard with it. It's only a matter of time. Your iBook could persist in this state for a more months, or it could die tomorrow.

I would make a full backup and then get it fixed ASAP. Your warranty is expired, so if you don't have AppleCare or a third-party warranty you'll have to foot the bill yourself. But get it fixed now. It will be expensive, but less expensive than buying a new iBook. If your motherboard dies, then you may as well buy a new iBook.

If you replaced the drive yourself, then you might be able to replace the inverter board and backlight cable yourself. pbfixit.com has some good diagrams on their site, and also sells parts. The inverter board id $70 there. I'm not sure if you can replace the backlight cable separately from the entire screen, the screen is $300 for the 12" there.

This happened to me twice in the past two years with my 800 MHz G3 12"! Fortunately, I bought the AppleCare back when I had disposable income.

[Dave N]

This is most likely a bad reed switch cable. The reed switch is a little metallic switch that turns the display off when you close the iBook lid. It does this by coming into proximity of a magnet in the iBook housing -- the magnet pulls the "reeds" in the reed switch apart and thus cuts power to the display. The problem actually isn't in the reed switch, but in the wires that run from the main body to the display. These very thin wires pass through the screen hinge and thus are subject to bending and breaking. They eventually become frayed from repeated opening/closing of the iBook and can cause the screen power cut outs you are experiencing.

This happened to my iBook earlier this spring. I solved my problem by replacing the reed switch unit (wires and all). This is a cheap part ($20), but the labor of opening up your iBook is fairly involved. If you're not good with your hands or electronic equipment, then I would suggest taking to a repair center.

Here is a thread I started about my problem, with links to the part and other resources.

http://forums.macnn.com/69/mac-notebooks/255975/is-this-a-logic-board-problem/

[dreilly1]

Yead, forgot about the reed switch, that's the likely culprit. The first time my iBook died, they has to replace that. But by the time I sent it in, whatever shorted out in the reed switch cable burnt out the motherboard too! (I'm on Motherboard #3, by the way...)

[tikki]

MacAuthority in Nashville quoted me $110 to replace a reed switch ($80 labor, $20 part) if you want a starting point for how much it might cost to get it fixed.

[dsquared]

thanks a lot for the reply guys!

unfortunately today the screen's backlight officially failed. no amount of coaxing and moving and restarting has brought it back to life.

repairing it seems to a be a bit of a waste, since i've already spent a great deal on it, and most of the hardware is a tad bit outdated already.

if i leave it as is, but use it with an external monitor and keyboard as a desktop only system, it should be fine yes?

would the backlight failure i.e. reed switch problem cause any other problems to other parts of the 'book like the logic board or something?

just really worried right now, 'cos i haven't been having the best luck with this mac.

cheers

[Dave N]

If it's truly a reed switch/cable problem, then you should be fine with an external monitor. If you shine a flashlight through the back of the screen, you should be able to make out your desktop, indicating that this is a reed switch problem rather than a logic board failure. I used a monitor with mine for about a week when my reed switch failed. As far as I know, reed switch and logic board failure are two completely unrelated problems.

[dreilly1]

Originally Posted by Dave N

As far as I know, reed switch and logic board failure are two completely unrelated problems.

Like I said above, in my case the motherboard died shortly after the reed switch finally gave up. I assume that if the reed switch cable is frayed and exposed, it has the potential to short out something on the motherboard.

[Eug Wanker]

Check out Apple's iBook extended warranty program for this. It ended in March 2005, but I think may still be good for machines that were purchased less than 3 years ago.

And yes, my iBook 600 had similar symptoms, and eventually the motherboard had to be replaced.