T400 screen flashes then goes black

Question

As the thread title says, my lenovo t400's screen recently started flashing. It wasn't that bad at first but it increased in frequency and started to be very annoying. I noticed changing from battery to cable would temporarily stop it, also turning down the brightness helped.
However the problem started getting worse and now when I am forced to have it on the lowest brightness settings. If I turn it up it starts flashing erratic and then the screen turns off. The system itself keeps working though and if I turn the laptop off or in sleep mode and then turn it on again the screen "works" again (still with flashing). Ofcourse if I left the brightness above its lowest level it will instantly go black again.
Also most likely related, half of the screen (left side) has taken on an "redish" collor.
What could be the problem and is it something I can fix myself?

Answer 1

naraga wrote:
On the back it says type: 6474-B84. I assume you mean that?
And yes if I were to shine on the screen with a flashlight I can see the content.
Correct, these are the original specs of the machine:
ThinkPad T400 (6474-B84):
P8600(2.4GHz), 2GB RAM, 160GB 7200rpm HD, 14.1in 1440x900 LCD, Intel 4500MHD, CDRW/DVDRW, Intel 802.11agn wireless, WWAN option, Bluetooth, Modem, 1Gb Ethernet, UltraNav, Secure Chip, 9c Li-Ion, WinXP Pro
I can think of three possibleculprits, LCD cable defective, inverter defective or LCD panel's backlight  defective. The cable and the inverter will be cheaper to replace, the panel will be more pricey I guess, (I don't know the current LCD panel prices).
T400's came with standard CCFL and LED screens. You need to find out which one you have. You can try the part lookups page from Lenovo and follow the instructions here: http://support.lenovo.com/en_CH/product-and-parts/partsLookup.page?
(You need the machine type and your serial number, please don't post the serial number here in the forum)
P.S.: If you have a LED screen cluprits could be the cable or the panel, no inverters there AFAIK)
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