Acer Aspire 5738 screenlight problem

Hello, I have an Acer Aspire 5738, running Windows 7. Lately, my screen has decided to go black for no apprent reason at all. It comes and goes, it can be when I turn it on, when I have had it on for 5 hours with no problems, so it's totally random when it happens. It does not go totally black, if I had a bright window of something on the screen when it happend, I can still see some of it. Altough very faint. And I can actually move my mouse to it, and see the clicker move around on it. But I have to strain my eyes. Sometimes it comes back, other times I turn the laptop off and wait for a while. When I then turn it on, it can still be "black" or be totally normal. It is like the computer has decided to turn the light WAY down at random times. It does not help to increase brightness manually (by, pressing "Fn"+ "Right-Arrowhead", which is used to turn the light up and down). Any suggestions?

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JackE

2 possibilities. First, dirty video cable contacts. Remove the battery & power supply. Then remove the screen bezel & keyboard in order to re-seat the video ribbon cable connections a half dozen or so times to clean the contacts.

Second, if you have a habit of opening/closing the lid a lot, the ribbon cable itself might've developed a conductor break usually near the congested hinge area. Replacments are fairly inexpensive.

http://www.amazon.com/LotFancy-Notebook-Compatible-numbers-50-4CG13-022/dp/B00637VC4C/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1425909641&sr=1-1&keywords=aspire+5738+video+cable

Jack E/NJ

snjomorkr

Thank you Jack, two very possible suggestions, considering the desktop is closing in on its fifth birthday. Is it hard to do the first operation? Do I need anything more then a small screwdriver?

JackE

Not too hard. There are likely two small phillips head screws hidden behind round tape covers at the bottom of the screen bezel. Once they're out, the bezel should lift up. The screen ribbon connectors may have a piece of gummy tape securing it. Remove the tape, and reseat several times. Either re-use the tape or scotch tape it to secure.

The motherboard connector end of the ribbon requires removing the keyboard, which isn't as easy unless you have 3 pairs of hands. It's usually held in place by a half dozen plastic catches near the top edges & sides of the keyboard. They're prone to breaking but aren't a big deal since the keyboard can be easily held in place with designer-color duct or electrician tape that won't be noticed. My keyboard and case are black so plain old electrician tape does the job.

I'd try removing the screen connector first. And see if that works out for you. Don't forget to remove the battery while you're trying to reseat these connectors.

Jack E/NJ

MikeNick

I have the same sympton with my old Acer 4830T. Its ofen barely awake after sleep! Smiley Happy Meaning that the screen still awakes but works faintly. I used <Fn>+F4, let it sleep and just awake again. It usesally works! But one day, It stops bright, although it still works faintly! The main reason is a bad connection between MB and screen. The connection is around the Logo Acer on the screen, so I decided slightly press around the Logo to force the connection getting back, and.. voila... the screen brights again!!! Maybe, am I lucky? I don't know, but it's just a solution you can try.

Have a good luck!

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