Macbook Pro is on, with black screen

Hi,

My Macbook Pro turns on fine, after booting up I see the login screen for a second and then the screen goes black. I met a guy who told me it was some kind of back ground light bar that has failed. Can someone tell me the proper name so I can find and buy it? I am over 4 hours away from the nearest Mac repair center so I'll attempt the repair myself, first. I'm very mechanically and inclined so it might be relativity simple. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,