Shimodax
Level 1
(60 points)
Q: Brown spots, dark smudges and irregular backlight (possible geeky fix)
There is an archived topic about this here: http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9112325 and I'm bringing this up again because I had a similar problem with an out of warranty machine and eventually fixed it ... not for the faint of heart though.
I did not take a picture but there were brownish vertical stains on the display which were clearly not digital (i.e. not pixel oriented, so no video card, cables involved) but just looked like dirt or dust or stains on the display.
The obvious solution (which also seems to take care of the condensation issues) was to remove the outer glass with suction caps and cleaning it on the inside and also cleaning the actual display behind the glass. This did not yield any results though.
The Mac being out of warranty already and replacement panels from Apple being prohibitively priced I ended up ordering one on Ebay (if you want to do this, look for something with a part number of MW240WU2).
The replacement went well. There are excellent instructions on how to dismantle an iMac here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-10210484-17.html (although they do it to replace a hard drive), it takes about one hour to take it apart and put it together again.
However, now having the old panel around and the new working fine, I was a bit more courageous and decided to actually open the old display panel itself.
Knowing that I had a working Mac, I was now no longer in fear of finally breaking the thing entirely it ... and with that relaxed attitude was actually quite easy: There is a metal frame around the panel with holes, snapped onto the black plastic frame of the display body. On the back there are small gaps between the frame and display, obviously intended to lever the snaps open. Using a small screwdriver, inserting it into the gaps between the metal and plastic removed the metal frame easily. It's definitely not harder than opening an iPod/iPhones (with iPods usually something breaks, the display just opens without damage).
Having the frame loose, panel lying flat on the desk, I carefully folded the metal frame up (it's taped to the display at one side which sort of works like a hinge). Inside I found a thin glass plate (the display itself) which could also be folded up (flat cables attached at the bottom). And yes, there was dirt on the back of the glass and on top of the backlight beneath it. (The display panel is not sealed and I guess the fans blew dust into the panel itself).
Bottom line is: There are issues (at least in my case) with dirt on the actual inside of the display panel itself. With warrranty, the panel should be replaced. Out of warranty and with technical skills, you can replace the panel yourself with items off Ebay. And with a bit of courage you can even open the panel and clean it on the inside.
Finding this I dismanteled the iMac again and sealed the openings on the side and top of the new panel with tape and have a working panel as backup.
Not sure how many people want to go that far, but I thought I'd share the experience.
I did not take a picture but there were brownish vertical stains on the display which were clearly not digital (i.e. not pixel oriented, so no video card, cables involved) but just looked like dirt or dust or stains on the display.
The obvious solution (which also seems to take care of the condensation issues) was to remove the outer glass with suction caps and cleaning it on the inside and also cleaning the actual display behind the glass. This did not yield any results though.
The Mac being out of warranty already and replacement panels from Apple being prohibitively priced I ended up ordering one on Ebay (if you want to do this, look for something with a part number of MW240WU2).
The replacement went well. There are excellent instructions on how to dismantle an iMac here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-10210484-17.html (although they do it to replace a hard drive), it takes about one hour to take it apart and put it together again.
However, now having the old panel around and the new working fine, I was a bit more courageous and decided to actually open the old display panel itself.
Knowing that I had a working Mac, I was now no longer in fear of finally breaking the thing entirely it ... and with that relaxed attitude was actually quite easy: There is a metal frame around the panel with holes, snapped onto the black plastic frame of the display body. On the back there are small gaps between the frame and display, obviously intended to lever the snaps open. Using a small screwdriver, inserting it into the gaps between the metal and plastic removed the metal frame easily. It's definitely not harder than opening an iPod/iPhones (with iPods usually something breaks, the display just opens without damage).
Having the frame loose, panel lying flat on the desk, I carefully folded the metal frame up (it's taped to the display at one side which sort of works like a hinge). Inside I found a thin glass plate (the display itself) which could also be folded up (flat cables attached at the bottom). And yes, there was dirt on the back of the glass and on top of the backlight beneath it. (The display panel is not sealed and I guess the fans blew dust into the panel itself).
Bottom line is: There are issues (at least in my case) with dirt on the actual inside of the display panel itself. With warrranty, the panel should be replaced. Out of warranty and with technical skills, you can replace the panel yourself with items off Ebay. And with a bit of courage you can even open the panel and clean it on the inside.
Finding this I dismanteled the iMac again and sealed the openings on the side and top of the new panel with tape and have a working panel as backup.
Not sure how many people want to go that far, but I thought I'd share the experience.
iMac Alu 24", Mac OS X (10.6)
Posted on Sep 9, 2009 2:30 AM
