Acer Aspire 5738z Blank screen

[daninozz]

Hi all,

So here’s the story,

I have the Acer Aspire 5738z laptop now it’s been a great little laptop nothing special but has done everything i need it to do until recently.

I was casually working on my laptop one day and noticed down the bottom notification bar that my laptop battery was saying must be replaced, I didn’t think much of it at this point as all I had to do was just be plugged in because without power my battery would die in under half hour. One day I went to boot up my laptop and I couldn’t get any video signal from the laptop at all, I could see all the correct LED lights were on but still nothing on the display, also I could hear both the fan and hard drive spinning away.

I thought possibly at this stage it was just the battery, so i ordered one from eBay and replaced the battery and bam I had a post screen and thought everything was working perfectly fine and then blank screen.... people have suggested it’s the backlight or LCD panel that is broken but if that was the case I wouldn’t have got a post screen on my laptop even if it was just for a moment.

Today I tested my laptop on an external monitor and it works fine so I know the on board VGA works not a problem it’s just the main VGA on board that is causing the issue. I have done so much research online and nothing seems to solve the issue.

This is extremely interesting when I turned off my laptop removed the battery and held down the power button for 20 seconds, put battery back in booted it up and I got a very faint ACER screen. I also tried to see if maybe I accidently hit one of the display function keys which switches my display from internal to external. I got a display for 10 seconds then it went back to blank screen...

I have tried to reformat the computer no luck still no display works fine on an external. I have tried updating my bios on my laptop from 0.34 to 1.25 hoping this would fix the issue but still problem remains. Also while I was going through my Bios today I noticed the SATA controller was set to AHCI and not IDE so i tried changing that setting back to IDE however still didnt work.


I have also tried to test each individual memory slot and still nothing.. im at a loss here guys anyone got any suggestions?

cheers

Daninozz

 

[webworkings]

Have you tried opening it up and checking the ribbon cable that connects the display to the laptop?

If it is pinched, bent, loose, dislodged, damaged, etc., then this could cause your problem.

 

[daninozz]

Have you tried opening it up and checking the ribbon cable that connects the display to the laptop?

If it is pinched, bent, loose, dislodged, damaged, etc., then this could cause your problem.

Hey mate Yes I have both the LCD cable and the inverter cables are tightly connected. the thing is like I said above I get a video signal when I power cycle my laptop then it goes again. could the bios battery cause this issue maybe?

 

[webworkings]

Hmmm... I don't think it would be the BIOS battery. Although you have gotten the display to show a couple of times since the start of the issue, I would not be surprised if the display is the actual problem. Especially since you said an external display works fine.

 

[daninozz]

Yeh im thinking soo too, I watched multiple youtube videos to test to see if the backlight is broken. I shined my LED flashlight towards the screen and couldnt see anything sadly I think its the screen causing the issue. I just dont want to buy a new screen put it in and then find its still not working.

 

[webworkings]

I can understand that. Just remember that if it was anything else, it would effect the external monitor then as well.

 

[daninozz]

Issue has been somewhat resolved its the backlight that seems to have failed, I used my phone light to check the computer screen and I could faintly see a desktop. now Ive gotta sort out how to test if its the inverter or the backlight causing the issue.

below Ive attached a screenshot that you can see just barely that I have a desktop background.

 

[webworkings]

Yep. Barely see that windows logo. Just remember to calculate the total cost before you try replacing some of the display rather than just the whole thing. Sometimes replacing the full display is cheaper, and less work.

 

[daninozz]

Hey mate,

Yeh I've purchased a new inverter board on ebay so hope it works if it doesnt ill look at replacing the screen.

 

[webworkings]

Great. Do let us know how it turns out.

 

[daninozz]

Hey mate,

So I thought I would dismantle the laptop again just to double check cables in case maybe they are not secured. however when I dismantled I could see that all the cables were securely in place so either its the inverter or the backlight of the LCD pannel.

Im still waiting for a replacement inverter, Im not sure whether its possible to get any tools to test an inverter? at this stage I cant narrow down what it is until I get the replacement and test it out from there.


I found an inverter laptop tester online that ive purchased through ebay.

I have seen online how to test a lamp only problem is I dont have a working screen to test the inverter on hints why im buying the inverter tester.

I do however have a multimeter that I can test the inverter board on, my only question is what is the output that will tell me that my inverter board is ok and that the problem is the LCD screen.

also my research has told me that the issue im facing has one of three outcomes.

1. My LCD screen

2. My Inverter Board

3. Lid close switch


the third option im keen to learn more about only thing is I cant find this little switch on the laptop itself even when I dismantle the laptop any help?

 

[webworkings]

As far as I know a lid close switch isn't usually easily replaceable. Never tried myself.

 

[daninozz]

As far as I know a lid close switch isn't usually easily replaceable. Never tried myself.

Yeh if I replace the inverter and the screen and it still doesnt fix the issue ill know its the lid switch really hoping I dont have to replace it though lol.

 

[webworkings]

Well fingers crossed it is one of the other two.

 

[jarotech]

Hi, the problem could be just the fuse F1.

 

[webworkings]

jarotech

Hi, the problem could be just the fuse F1.

Some days my mind is shot. I completely forgot about fuses! Thank you for the reminder.

 

[daninozz]

Hi, the problem could be just the fuse F1.

oh seriously haha how do I replace fuses in the laptop? are they on the motherboard?

do I need to buy a new motherboard if the fuse has gone?

 

[webworkings]

It is not, obviously, your exact computer, but the images and info on this page should give you a better idea of what you are looking at/for.

https/nwapchelp.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/dim-laptop-led-f1-fuse-just-below-the-motherboard-connector/

 

[jarotech]

To know if the fuse is blown, measure pins 21,22,23 on the LCD connector, they all are connected together. You should have a voltage a little less than the adapter. If you do have the voltage on those pins, then the fuse is good.

 

[daninozz]

Hey guys,

So great news it was the inverter. I have replaced with a new inverter and it works perfectly. very happy wish I hadnt ordered the inverter tester but at the end of the day its all fixed so issue resolved.

below ive added a screenshot with the success.



Thank you for everyone who has helped me troubleshoot this issue greatly appreciated!