Chosen Solution
After the LCD suddenly switched to black I tried everything with no luck, including resetting the PRAM and shining a torch but couldn’t see anything at all. I have replaced the LCD panel and when I boot it up it’s still black, BUT I can now see my login screen when using a torch. Any ideas?
Tough one, on an older machine the inverter would be out but this machine does not have one nor an LED driver board. I’m pretty sure you can get an external monitor to work (but test it if you can). I’m having a senior moment right now, I know this answer. It may come to me or maybe @danj will remember. Anyway he’ll get a notice to look at this question.
If you get a tech who can solder parts on your motherboard then you can get your back light on and see your screen again. When the laptop is apart there is a plug the monitor (display) wires plug into and quite near this is a small chip which is the driver for your back light. The Apple tech can unsolder it and reinstall a new chip on your motherboard. I have done it but it takes a special butane soldering pencil with the usual solder tip removed to heat up the chip to get it off and put the new chip back on. I also have heard some home owners insurance on electronics as a rider with the fire insurance and contents will pay out a claim. The cause of this failure surely can be associated with a lightning strike on the electrical system causing a surge to the motherboard and the weakest part dies. hey would pay for a whole motherboard. Good luck
If using a known good LED-LCD doesn’t fix it, then your backlight circuit needs repairing. Since you had the fuse jumped and still didn’t fix it, it means the rest of the circuit is faulty. It could be the LCD connector on the board, the back-light driver, or a couple of other components. Usually these happen after liquid damage, if liquid is spilled on the computer the fan will fling it onto the back-light circuit. Close examination with magnification will reveal that, if any. Either way you can usually have it fixed by someone accustomed to board repair. There are many in the UK. If you don’t know anyone, you can check my profile. There’s a link with a list of technicians who can repair it for you. Most if not all accept mail-in jobs.
