Chosen Solution
I have a MacBook Pro A1226 with Glossy Display. My backlight still worked, but was flickering and looked like every other light was lit most of the time (striped lighting from the bottom.) A friend said he has a MBP that was the same age as mine that the nVidia chip died and never got it fixed, so I could have his screen. So I took my laptop apart, replaced the screen with his, turned it on and there was no backlight. I checked the display shining a flashlight through the Apple logo and there was a picture, just no light. So further checking his MacBook Pro model (which I should have done in the first case), his was a A1260. So I put my screen back in because though flickering, it was working. Now my screen has no backlight working, but the image does work (again, flashlight through Apple logo.) I’ve tried resetting the PRAM/SMC/PRAM. Any clues what’s going on here? Did I fry something on my motherboard by using the wrong display?
Ok, I had to change the inverter, but also had to change the Left I/O board as I must have bent/broken a pin on the original board when I unplugged the inverter cable. The missing pin went to the brown cable, so there was my issue. Once the Left I/O board and inverter were replaced, the laptop works fine! This is also proof that an Early 2008 MacBook Pro (A1260) Left I/O board is exchangable with a Mid 2007 MacBook Pro ( A1226) I/O board. I saw people had swapped out mainboards, so I figured I’d give the I/O board a shot since the laptop would have sat useless without a working screen anyhow.
It’s been forever since I repaired one of those, but I believe it’s the inverter cable that providers the power that lights up the screen. It’s Step 14 in this guide: MacBook Pro 15" Core 2 Duo Models A1226 and A1260 Display Assembly Replacement I would recommend unplugging and replugging that connection and make sure its cable isn’t being pinched. There’s also a chance that 1. the replacement monitor isn’t working properly or 2. the port on the main logic board is damaged. Good luck.
