Acer Aspire laptop backlight stopped working?

nikeair94 · 20 Oct 2011 at 01:20

I kept wandering why my backlight kept turning off on my Acer 5720. Turned out I had my settings to 'turn brightness to low whenever charger is disconnected' and I had a faulty charger which would disconnect and reconnect randomly but at first I thought it was the backlight that was broken then later found out it was the charger.

Check your brightness settings maybe? Its a longshot but thankfully worked for me.

I also experienced my mousepad stopped working and found a shortcut on the keyboard to deactivate your mousepad then activate it again which worked fine for me.

The shortcut was FN and F7

Again, it is a longshot but give it a go. Hope I helped, although I doubt it.

GTO656 · 20 Oct 2011 at 01:35

nikeair94 said:
I kept wandering why my backlight kept turning off on my Acer 5720. Turned out I had my settings to 'turn brightness to low whenever charger is disconnected' and I had a faulty charger which would disconnect and reconnect randomly but at first I thought it was the backlight that was broken then later found out it was the charger.

Check your brightness settings maybe? Its a longshot but thankfully worked for me.

I also experienced my mousepad stopped working and found a shortcut on the keyboard to deactivate your mousepad then activate it again which worked fine for me.

The shortcut was FN and F7

Again, it is a longshot but give it a go. Hope I helped, although I doubt it.

Well when I turn the brightness up the backlight would quickly go off so I have to turn it down to the lowest.
as for the mousepad I pressed FN and F7 like you said and it works again(must off switched off when my backlight stopped working) :0. So you have helped me. cheers mate.

Now Im gonna be returning my new inverter that isn't compatible and return for the right one(silly seller sent wrong one out when I clearly bought the one thats compatible with my laptop). But oh well. guess Im gonna have to wait another few weeks or more but will let you know how I get on.

GTO656 · 21 Oct 2011 at 14:03

I might be able to take a picture for you guys to look, is there an backlight switch or bulb in there?

GTO656 · 4 Nov 2011 at 17:15

Soz guys been spending time finished building my gaming rig below, Ok so I went ahead and opened the panel above the keyboard for the microswitch cant take picture as its quite deep- its got about four metal buttons on it so im not sure if its that.
Similar to this- http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=laptop+microswitch&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4GGHP_enGB451GB451&biw=1280&bih=815&tbm=isch&tbnid=xhLftYBx5lF-hM:&imgrefurl=http://www.lada.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php%3Fp%3D68423%26sid%3D37763dbdfa3693b7fa14a366d6edd7a5&docid=Pwwcqm5-gKvMcM&imgurl=http://www.ladaniva.co.uk/rpc03.JPG&w=800&h=533&ei=ZBy0To3uE83n8QO4w6ylBQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=125&sig=109166653838747312684&page=2&tbnh=131&tbnw=175&start=27&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:19,s:27&tx=115&ty=79

on the back of the monitor I cant see no bulb light. So is it the inverter or the microswitch that needs replacing??
I've just checked again and everything is showing up on the LCD but no light so dont need to replace LCD.
any1 know plz

beermonster · 4 Nov 2011 at 18:02

I think yours will have a magnet type switch I'd have thought if you can't actually see one near the very bottom of the screen housing

GTO656 · 6 Nov 2011 at 14:07

beermonster said:
I think yours will have a magnet type switch I'd have thought if you can't actually see one near the very bottom of the screen housing

Hmmm can't see one, should I go ahead with getting a new inverter since that has the biggest chance of being the problem?

beermonster · 6 Nov 2011 at 14:36

It's the cheapest option imo, magnet switches rarely fail. You can always just sell it on if it doesn't fix it and then try a screen or cable.

GTO656 · 6 Nov 2011 at 17:57

beermonster said:
It's the cheapest option imo, magnet switches rarely fail. You can always just sell it on if it doesn't fix it and then try a screen or cable.

Hehe cheers, yeh guess so if that doesnt fix I'll try the other options. but I really do hope its the inverter. Gonna look for the right one.

GTO656 · 8 Nov 2011 at 19:46

Ok so I have just ordered one and I should get it by Thursday. hopefully the backlight shud come back on

.

GTO656 · 9 Nov 2011 at 21:53

Just got the tracking so will get it tomo.

GTO656 · 10 Nov 2011 at 11:15

Received it 100% sealed new condition. hooked the new inverter in same problem

.

GTO656 · 10 Nov 2011 at 11:18

So it obviously not the inverter, I tried the backlight and it lit up at a tiny flash. Surely its the backlight thts not fuctioning.

I've read that the backlight bulb is inside the LCD monitor? guess im gonna have to open it up. I mean there must be something in there that must power up the light.

GTO656 · 10 Nov 2011 at 18:11

any ideas guys?

beermonster · 10 Nov 2011 at 19:36

Yes the back light is in the screen but it's power by the inverter. It's basically like a fluorescent strip light in your kitchen, same thing applies you swap the starters first before changing the lights themselves. However in a laptop screen it's just easier to change the actual screen as they are sealed in from the factory, it is possible to change but I don't believe you can buy them, just swap them over from a faulty screen that has a good backlight.

GTO656 · 11 Nov 2011 at 20:39

beermonster said:
Yes the back light is in the screen but it's power by the inverter. It's basically like a fluorescent strip light in your kitchen, same thing applies you swap the starters first before changing the lights themselves. However in a laptop screen it's just easier to change the actual screen as they are sealed in from the factory, it is possible to change but I don't believe you can buy them, just swap them over from a faulty screen that has a good backlight.

OK thx again, yh im not planning to get it repaired at shops as its gna cost like over £100. Gonna take my time to delicately opening the LCD screen up.

Chillimonster · 12 Nov 2011 at 16:50

I've got an aspire one A150 thats dead (well, the lights are on and no ones home!)

It powers up, and just sits there, screen is perfect as is the case, so dunno what the fault is, so was selling it over on AVF as spares or repairs (not listed it on here).

dannyjohnson · 14 Nov 2011 at 07:28

On the keyboard press the " fn " + " F5 " try!

GTO656 · 19 Nov 2011 at 23:43

I've already tried it for brightness, doesnt light up anymore.

Bubba · 22 Nov 2011 at 22:10

Changing a backlight can be done, ideally you need a clean room or you will end up with specs of dust inside your screen, the tubes are very fragile so be careful, you can usually buy a new tube for a few pound but the problem could also be your cable or even an issue on your motherboard.

A good laptop repair place should be able to diagnose and repair the fault for no more than about £70, even if its a mainboard issue.

GTO656 · 26 Nov 2011 at 00:45

Im still gonna go ahead and open the screen up but £70 still much money.