X61 - LED Indicator failure

[newbiiie]

Hi All,

I am having a problem with my X61, in that the LED indicators don't seem to function.

The WiFi and Bluetooth indicators are fine, when activated they illuminate to show activity.

However ALL of the remaining LEDs don't seem to function.

i.e. When plugged in, on battery, caps lock, number lock, sleep do not illuminate when they should... oh and when the system accesses the hard disk...again, no LED

The inverter board appears fine...could it be the cable that connects the LCD, Bluetooth and inverter to the mainboard?

I have run system tests and everything appears fine.

Any help would be appreciated.

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

do you have warranty still? it could a capacitator going out.. 

[newbiiie]

Hi,

Unfortunately, no warranty...

The reason being that the person i purchased the X61 from, opened the machine and messed around with the ethernet port.  The serial number of the machine does actually show a valid warranty on the internet, when checked but a telephone conversation with the Lenovo service centre said that due to the customer doing the above, the warranty is now void.

(Why is it that an internet check shows a valid warranty?  This was the only reason i was willing to purchase a second user Thinkpad, my first T41 was brand new)

I opened the system up and saw that the LCD ribbon/cable was damaged:

The part that feeds into the LCD I/O socket is fine but the part of the ribbon that 'branches' off to the right, and is adhered/stuck onto the 'base', underneath the keyboard is damaged.

If you imagine the ribbon to be in the shape of a letter Y, with the bottom connecting to the base, under the keyboard, and the left hand part of the cable feeding underneath the LCD and into the I/O of the LCD, the right hand part simply sticks to the base under the keyboard.

It is this (right hand part) which appears to have somehow been cut, to around 90% of the breadth of the ribbon.

I did try to repair it but what i don't understand is that the right part of the cable does not plug into anything...it simply sticks to the base with some black tape.

(Any idea what this part of the cable/ribbon does?  Is it an 'Earth' wire?) 

Other than this, the inverter is fine, the Thinklight is fine, the LCD is fine...just those LEDs!

Again, the WiFi and Bluetooth LEDs are also fine, all in all the system is beautiful.

I was considering purchasing a new cable but it is quite expensive and i had a feeling that a new cable would not remedy the malfunctioning LEDs.

I think the suggestion of a capacitor malfunction makes more sense....

I will also speak to the Lenovo service centre again to see what, if any, solution they can offer.

There are a few questions in the above...again, any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

I don't know if you can Private Message erik (ask him to look at this post) the moderator on this board, he has done a total revamp of his X61 and he should know more than i do in your case.

Message Edited by lead_org on 07-19-2009 05:41 PM

[newbiiie]

Hi

Thanks for the replies.

I couldn't find erikP, however, a search yielded the username erik (moderator) to whom i have sent the PM...hopefully things will work out!

Thank you, once again

[lead_org Microsoft MVP Contributor]

sorry a typo yes Erik... woke up early this morning.. and bored at work in the LNG processing plant...

[erik SuperMod]

it sounds like you need to replace the LVDS cable (aka: the LCD printed ribbon cable).   the inverter itself sounds like it's ok.

[newbiiie]

Thanks for the response.

As mentioned earlier, the part that is damaged seems to be 'earthed' (simply stuck on with sticky tape) to the base unit, under the keyboard as it does not connect to anything.

Is that the case?

Does it not make sense that a capacitor as blown?

The reason I say this is that the Bluetooth and WiFI LEDs function as normal.

What say you?

Thanks!

[erik SuperMod · Accepted solution]

a capacitor?   no, that doesn't make any sense.   why would you think that?

the LVDS cable has three functions: to control the LCD, to control the BT module, and to power and illuminate the inverter.    the LVDS cable carries a signal for every indicator light on your inverter.   if the cable is damaged, it could prevent specific lights from working, especially if it's a series of lights (ie: lights on the left work but lights on the right don't).   BT and wifi lights are on the far left, leaving me to think your LVDS cable is cut somewhere on one side of the cable.

you've said above that your cable is damaged.   why not replace it and see if that fixes the issue?

[newbiiie]

Thanks for the reply.

Am currently in the process of sourcing a new LVDS cable...

As soon as i have replaced it and hopefully got the LEDs to illuminate, I will post the joyful news!

I am also going to be testing a new inverter with the old LVDS cable so lets see what happens.

Main reason for not going with the new LVDS cable straight away was finance constraints and the 'grounded' point i have mentioned a few times...

hopefully the issue will be resolved.