Alienware M14X - Speaker Lights, Trackpad Not Functioning & Screen Backlight Flickering (solved)

So, I've been following several threads here on this site while trying to repair my laptop. Ultimately I repaired the laptop. Here's how I did it.

Issue: Speaker lights were either off or the wrong color. Track-pad was off and and would not turn on with Fn keys (clearly hardware related). LCD back-light was flickering rapidly (like a strobe light).

Steps to resolve:
1. Connected laptop to TV to test video card (it was functional)
2. Followed steps in article: No lights (AlienFX issues) on Alienware Systems | Dell US
3. Discovered that pushing my hand down on the face of the keyboard would stop all the issues.
4. Opened the laptop up revealing the guts & turned it on (don't do this without an anti-static strap). I left all the wires connected (yes, it was a delicate mess). Started probing each connection with a cheap plastic screwdriver (don't use metal, if you complete a circuit you can really mess things up). Eventually, I found that there was a lose connection between the track-pad and motherboard under the palm-rest assembly. It was a ribbon cable with one of those little clip connections.

Solution: The ribbon cable underneath the palm rest assembly can loosen over time. Remove the palm-rest assembly and re-seat all connections underneath it.

References:
M14X Service Manual - ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-prod...ptops/alienware-m14x_service manual_en-us.pdf
M14X Troubleshooting Guides - http://support.dell.com/support/top...ment?docid=431145&lid=1952063&DoNotRedirect=y
Various Forum Posts about this Laptop.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience, will pass it on if I see any of those errors in the future