Ibook screen goes dark

Question

Hi,
I can get it to be normal when I turn it on again, or sometimes by closing and opening it again, but it only stays bright for a minute or so. Help!! I've tried taking out the battery, waiting and restarting again.

Answer 1

The cause of this kind of issue is generally associated with
the hardware, to include circuits and/or wires to the display
that run through the hinge area; so if the computer is set up
to share an external display (mirror) you could tell if the wires
to the attached internal display are a source of the problem
by having a second display running off the video port.
The computer originally shipped with a VGA mini adapter, so
if you still have that and a VGA display, you could test the
video card output, since the external display port would still
work if the wires through the hinged section of your iBook
are failing. However, there are other circuits which could be
responsible for the display's winking out.
Depending on which iBook G4 model you have, you could
look into an iFixit manual online to get ideas on the parts,
by name, which could be responsible for this issue. Most
of them are not necessarily something a casual user would
go into and repair; yet with attention to detail plus some
skills, there are some repairs one could do at home.
• iBook Repair - iFixit:
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Browse/iBook
Some of the display issues, if not related to wires to/from it,
may be more involved; so hopefully the hardware repair is
only limited to these kinds of causes. Another cause known
to be behind a failing display, related to a graphic processor
chip with weak solder joints, flexing on the logic board.
The cables are a possibility; such as the inverter and also
there is a switching assembly which makes the display
sleep when the lid is closed; sometimes, that fails.
You may be able to further troubleshoot this kind of issue to
see what is affected, and narrow the problem to a more likely
cause. That may help in determining the costs to fix it, too.
A few experienced iBook repairers visit these forums and
may be able to offer some better detailed ideas on this matter.
Good luck & happy computing!