Modis Backlight Out

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  • twincity
    Junior Member
    • Feb 2008
    • 15

    Modis Backlight Out

    Hello everyone,

    Recently, our 9 year old Modis' backlight went out completely after the unit was dropped. The unit still works; just cannot see the display unless you shine a light down on the screen or plug the output to a external monitor. Snap-On wants to replace both the motherboard and lcd and buttons for $1,500. Has anyone ever run into this before? Is there a way to test the output from the motherboard to the lcd? Or should I just purchase an lcd assembly from overseas and see if that fixes the Modis? I don't want to spend a lot of money on the Modis, since we just purchased a Solus Ultra.

    Thank you,
    Robert
  • chaskuss
    Senior Member
    • Dec 2009
    • 192

    #2
    Been there, done that, sort of.

    While I have not done this on a Modis, I have done it on my grandson's Gateway laptop. Recent investigation has told me that the Modis' screen is a CCFL, just like most laptops. When the screen "appears" to go dark, yet by shining a flash light onto the screen, you can see the text and/or graphics on it, very dimly, it means that you have blown out the fluorescent "back light" tube in the display screen.
    First time this happened to me on a laptop, I spent over $60 for a used screen off of EBay for my daughter in law's laptop. Next time it happened, I did a Google search and learned that the display screen can be taken apart. There is a TINY fluorescent tube in there, that goes bad. I ordered a new tube for all of $12 off of EBay and installed it in my grandson's laptop. That made me a hero for a few days with the family.
    It was very stressful to do, as the tube is about as thick as a thick piece of uncooked spaghetti [and just as brittle] ! The replacement was made worse by the unwanted attentions of 3 of my granddaughters [6 to 9 years old]. With them bothering me, I felt like the star of the movie THE HURT LOCKER!
    Note to self. Next time I need to do that, buy an extra back light tube, in case I "screw up" the first time. The moral of this sad tale is that I would not be afraid to attempt to replace the back light tube in the display screen of a Modis. Or you can just get the model number off the screen and buy a new one for about $200. Hopefully, this will help the next poor slob that this happens to.
    Almost forgot, the back light tube is located in the top of the display, running horizontally. Don't worry, there is nothing else in the display that is fragile or easily damaged.
    Charlie
    Last edited by chaskuss; 01-07-2015, 05:09 PM. Reason: added last two sentences.

    Comment

    • chaskuss
      Senior Member
      • Dec 2009
      • 192

      #3
      "How to" web link

      I found several videos on You Tube on how to change the back light. Most of them are worthless. This web link is fairly good. See

      In this guide I will disassemble a laptop LCD screen in order to remove and replace the backlight lamp (CCFL). ...


      There are loads of tutorials you can find using a Google search.

      Charlie

      Comment

      • Joe Rappa
        Snap-on DSD
        • Aug 2007
        • 2050

        #4
        Great Tip!
        "You don't build a reputation on what you're going to do"
        Henry Ford

        Comment

        • chaskuss
          Senior Member
          • Dec 2009
          • 192

          #5
          Originally posted by twincity
          snipped Is there a way to test the output from the motherboard to the LCD? Or should I just purchase an LCD assembly from overseas and see if that fixes the Modis? I don't want to spend a lot of money on the Modis, since we just purchased a Solus Ultra. Thank you,
          Robert
          Forgot to address this. If you hook up an external monitor and it works, you have no problem with the video chip on the Modis. The issue is strictly in the display. If it was dropped, you broke the back light tube.

          Charlie

          Comment

          • jbakers1
            Junior Member
            • Oct 2007
            • 18

            #6
            Mine too

            Originally posted by twincity
            Hello everyone,

            Recently, our 9 year old Modis' backlight went out completely after the unit was dropped. The unit still works; just cannot see the display unless you shine a light down on the screen or plug the output to a external monitor. Snap-On wants to replace both the motherboard and lcd and buttons for $1,500. Has anyone ever run into this before? Is there a way to test the output from the motherboard to the lcd? Or should I just purchase an lcd assembly from overseas and see if that fixes the Modis? I don't want to spend a lot of money on the Modis, since we just purchased a Solus Ultra.

            Thank you,
            Robert
            Mine went out also and i checked with snap on and they wanted 1900 so i took mine apart got a display number and will try to fix it myself. pt #Kyocera
            KHS072VG1AB-G00 219.00$ i will let you know how it gos.
            Last edited by jbakers1; 01-09-2015, 06:28 PM.
            jbakers1, Yakima Wa
            I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.

            Comment

            • twincity
              Junior Member
              • Feb 2008
              • 15

              #7
              Hello All,

              Thanks for replying to my post regarding the Modis backlight. Since then, I have purchased a ccfl display with the correct part number off of Ebay. It came from a vendor in China. The one I purchased looks identical to the one in the Modis; however, I have the same issue. I can increase the contrast to barely see the display; but the brightness control does basically nothing. I don't know if the China display is not Exactly the same unit as what Snap-On uses or if I have a mainboard issue.

              I have also purchased, off of E-bay, one of those ccfl testers. I wired it up and tested both of my displays. They both lit about the same brightness. That's why I believe my problem lies within the Modis' mainboard; but don't want to gamble anymore money on it. I'll just keep using an external monitor. I purchased a used Vantage Pro for doing labscope work when a road test is needed or a quick fuel pump waveform test across the shop.

              Robert

              Comment

              • Witsend
                Banned
                • Nov 2012
                • 2942

                #8
                Too bad you cant piggy back a small self powered modern tablet like a kindle Fire right over it and get some sort of an App and cable to USB adapter to slave the use of the Kindle Fire's screen display as a small piggybacked self powered external monitor.

                Comment

                • jbakers1
                  Junior Member
                  • Oct 2007
                  • 18

                  #9
                  Originally posted by twincity
                  Hello All,

                  Thanks for replying to my post regarding the Modis backlight. Since then, I have purchased a ccfl display with the correct part number off of Ebay. It came from a vendor in China. The one I purchased looks identical to the one in the Modis; however, I have the same issue. I can increase the contrast to barely see the display; but the brightness control does basically nothing. I don't know if the China display is not Exactly the same unit as what Snap-On uses or if I have a mainboard issue.

                  I have also purchased, off of E-bay, one of those ccfl testers. I wired it up and tested both of my displays. They both lit about the same brightness. That's why I believe my problem lies within the Modis' mainboard; but don't want to gamble anymore money on it. I'll just keep using an external monitor. I purchased a used Vantage Pro for doing labscope work when a road test is needed or a quick fuel pump waveform test across the shop.

                  Robert
                  Thanks for the heads up. i haven't ordered my display yet maybe i should try the ccfl tester first. Mine acts the same as what you are describing.I found a video of Scott the mechanic that wired a 10" display on his that might be an option if i can figure out how he did it.
                  jbakers1, Yakima Wa
                  I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.

                  Comment

                  • chaskuss
                    Senior Member
                    • Dec 2009
                    • 192

                    #10
                    Originally posted by jbakers1
                    Thanks for the heads up. i haven't ordered my display yet maybe i should try the ccfl tester first. Mine acts the same as what you are describing.I found a video of Scott the mechanic that wired a 10" display on his that might be an option if i can figure out how he did it.
                    He did it one of two way. First way, he disassembled the Modis to the point that he could disconnect the connector for the back light tube at the mother board [Pink & White wires] at connector marked CCFL on the mother board. AND he unplugged the flat white ribbon cable from the original display where it connects to the back side of the mother board. He would then have plugged these same wires & ribbon cable from the new display onto the connectors on the mother board.
                    Second way, he used an adapter board to connect to the external VGA connector, located at the bottom of the left hand grip. There is a rectangular "knock out" plug you have to remove from the grip, to have access to the 15 pin DSub [aka VGA] connector on the motherboard.
                    Personally, I think he did it the first way, as he also has a 22" flat screen computer monitor. I believe he is using the VGA port to run that larger monitor.
                    Laptop computers also have a small circuit board which contains an inverter board. This is the other possible cause of a dim screen. Unfortunately, this circuit is built into the mother board on the Modis.
                    Before you spend the money for a new screen, yes, test yours. If yours tests bad, you might also consider taking your old LCD display apart. Do a Google search and try to find a replacement CCFL fluorescent back light bulb and replace it. You have nothing to lose, doing this on a bad display. The tube is about 10% of the cost of a replacement display.
                    I disassembled a friend's Modis completely apart last night. I'll post some photos I took of the areas of interest to you, within the next few days, when I have the time.
                    Last edited by chaskuss; 01-10-2015, 09:02 AM. Reason: added last paragraph & fixed spelling error.

                    Comment

                    • chaskuss
                      Senior Member
                      • Dec 2009
                      • 192

                      #11
                      Originally posted by Witsend
                      Too bad you cant piggy back a small self powered modern tablet like a kindle Fire right over it and get some sort of an App and cable to USB adapter to slave the use of the Kindle Fire's screen display as a small piggybacked self powered external monitor.
                      Find a device with a VGA output [external monitor] connector and he can plug it into the VGA port under the left hand grip.

                      Comment

                      • chaskuss
                        Senior Member
                        • Dec 2009
                        • 192

                        #12
                        Originally posted by twincity
                        Hello All,

                        Thanks for replying to my post regarding the Modis backlight. Since then, I have purchased a ccfl display with the correct part number off of Ebay. It came from a vendor in China. The one I purchased looks identical to the one in the Modis; however, I have the same issue. I can increase the contrast to barely see the display; but the brightness control does basically nothing. I don't know if the China display is not Exactly the same unit as what Snap-On uses or if I have a mainboard issue.

                        I have also purchased, off of E-bay, one of those ccfl testers. I wired it up and tested both of my displays. They both lit about the same brightness. That's why I believe my problem lies within the Modis' mainboard; but don't want to gamble anymore money on it. I'll just keep using an external monitor. I purchased a used Vantage Pro for doing labscope work when a road test is needed or a quick fuel pump waveform test across the shop. Robert
                        Robert, if you still have the original display, I'd take it apart to see if the back light tube is broken. Dropping the Modis will very often break this fragile florescent tube.
                        If your new display only differed by the last digit, don't worry. I've seen Modis' with -G00 7 -G01 suffixes. That just indicates a newer revision of the same part.
                        How well was the replacement display packaged, when it arrived? That's a LONG trip from China. It could have had the back lamp tube damaged during shipment. Might want to try to replace the tube in your original display.

                        Comment

                        • scottmechanics
                          Member
                          • Jun 2013
                          • 42

                          #13
                          The 10 Tdi monitor

                          Hi guys
                          I try my best to keep things simple
                          The modis screen works fine ,just was not big enough ,I like to see what going on
                          So first bought a 5" Tdi screen of eBay £30 go or $55
                          For a car stero came with vga plug it runs of 12 volts supply
                          Tried it picture was fab used modis battery all was good (not to much drain on battery's) so saw 10" same thing very thin no big buttons just touch the screen
                          For on and off also added led batt display ti keep an eye on voltage
                          When scanning in the vehicle I it drops below 8 volts time to change battery
                          Bought a spare screen Eak0253L63a snapon took the back off the 10" monitor pus 4 small bolts in it and bolted to the snapon screen the old screen keepin the new should I sell it one day
                          All works fine but could do with a bigger stronger battery
                          Thank from scott

                          Comment

                          • vasau
                            Senior Member
                            • Jul 2007
                            • 119

                            #14
                            Shake your Modis. If you can hear flying parts in it, the CCFL circuit on motherboard is failed.

                            Comment

                            • chaskuss
                              Senior Member
                              • Dec 2009
                              • 192

                              #15
                              Possible, but not the most likely cause

                              Originally posted by vasau
                              Shake your Modis. If you can hear flying parts in it, the CCFL circuit on motherboard is failed.
                              More likely that any noises are caused by a broken back light tube. Imagine a fluorescent lamp that's about 1/8" in diameter. An item like that is quite fragile. I've circled the CCFL inverter circuit on the mother board below.



                              You will have an awfully hard time convincing me that this area of the mother board is more likely to break into loose parts, rather than an 1/8" diameter glass tube. Did this happen on your Modis? Any photos?

                              Charlie

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