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July 2nd, 2017 10:00
z14 Hinge or Connector Problem - I think
I have a z14 that is several years old. I've been very happy with it and it continues to work well - with one problem.
I noticed a few months ago that opening the lid failed to wake up the laptop. I often leave it running and plugged in while at home. I just close the lid and it goes to sleep. Open it the lid, and it prompts for login. But no any more.
Then I discovered that there is apparently something amiss with the connection to the display. It acts like it is dirty or worn in some way. If I move the lid forward and backward, the display cuts in and out. Often when I boot up, I have to move it back and forth in order to see the login screen and continue. It's getting worse. I have also found that if I hold the side of the lid / screen and exert a light twisting pressure, the screen goes off and on.
What is the mechanism through which the laptop detects an open and closed lid? I was thinking it might be associated with the hinges, but from information I've seen, that doesn't seem to be the case. My hinges, btw, are tight and seem fine.
When the display is working, it works just fine. It's either on and fine, or off it seems.
Where should I start to diagnose this problem?
Thanks for any advice or information you can share.
Tom
ejn63
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July 2nd, 2017 12:00
There's usually a magnet located somewhere in the lid and a switch in the palmrest that trips the cut off. The other issue could be a loose connection or faulty LVDS cable (the one that runs between the back of the screen and the mainboard.
Does an external monitor cut out at the same time as the internal one does when the display is moved? If not, the problem isn't the lid switch-- it's more likely the video cable.
TomDC
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July 2nd, 2017 13:00
This is a really helpful suggestion. Can't believe I didn't think to try this. So yes, the external display seems to work fine. I pulled up the display options panel. While I'm seeing both displays, all is well .If I move the lid and the laptop display goes away, the display panel only sees the one external display. That suggests to me that you are correct. It is either bad video cable or a bad connection on it. I guess I'll need to start taking things apart to figure that out.
Thank you again.
Tom
TomDC
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July 2nd, 2017 18:00
Well, my first response to you hasn't appeared yet, but here's a second one. Laptop is fixed.
I disassembled the whole thing and determined that the video cable connection behind the screen had come loose. It is taped, so it didn't actually separate, but would pull away just enough. Moving the screen back and forth had the effect of pushing on the cable and it would re-seat. But of course, it got progressively worse.
Only after the full tear down and rebuild did I realize that I could have accessed the cable behind the LCD without opening the laptop case. But of course I didn't know that and didn't know that would be the problem anyway. :)
What I had thought was a problem of waking up was really just a problem with the screen. It was waking up. I just wasn't seeing it. I realized that when I hooked it up to a monitor.
You got me heading down the right track. Thanks!
Tom