DELL Inspiron 1525 screen becomes very dim on power ON

Hi,

I bought a DELL Inspiron 1525 model last year in March. Everything was perfect till yesterday when all of a sudden, when I put the power plug and switch it ON, the laptop screen becomes dark. If I look carefully, I can see the Icons on the screen (which is very dim) suggesting the laptop is working properly. Another thing is that when the power plug is switched OFF, I can bring back the screen to its normal functioning. I tried changing the brightness through BIOS settings, but it didn't help. I tried changing the adapter also but of no help. Is the problem at the level of software as in do I need to change some settings say change the video driver? Or is it at the level of hardware wherein I need to give it to a technician for solution? Please suggest.

 

Is the screen also dim on the BIOS screen if you boot with the adapter connected?

If so, there is some problem with the connector on the motherboard.

 

How dim is very dim? Is it dimmer than the lowest brightness setting on your display? You might have a dying inverter or back light if everything else is working properly...

 

I'm having the same problem with a Dell Inspiron 1520. I thought it might be a bad screen inverter, but now I don't think so. Like the original writer, the screen only goes dim while plugged into the AC/DC power adapter. It does not happen when only on battery power. If I plug in, the screen goes very dim, then I can unplug, close laptop lid, open it and the screen will be fine.

Any ideas on what causes this? Has anyone successfully repaired this problem?

thanks,

Matthew

 

I know you've probably done this, but have you checked the power plan settings, specifically the screen brightness under A/C vs battery.

Like I said, I know you've probably done this, but no harm in asking...

 

Try booting into the BIOS. Under "Display", there should be options for brightness. Make sure that both the "Brightness" and "Brightness (AC)" levels are at their highest.

 

Hi folks,

I found a fix for this problem. It is very simple. All you have to do to boot to BIOS and load default-save and exit..Do this when laptop is running on battery. Once booted to windows connect power code and see the difference. This worked on my XPS-M1330.Hopefully, it should work on any dell.. Please let me know.. Thanks

 

My new screen is not black-dark - but significantly dimmer than my original (cracked) screen. The backlight/inverter are fine. But the fn+arrow and/or any other attempts to adjust the brightness fail. It's all wiggy, 1 is dim, 2 lighter, 3 dimmer, 4 light again(but same as 2 only), 5 dim, 6 dim, 7 light, 8 dim...

I tried your solution laptopwiz it did nothing for my (1525) dark screen :cry:

 

I had the EXACT same problem on 2 laptops at my job. (note, the screen has been replaced in both of them. I assumed that was why it was like that.)

I found that the LCD and the BIOS are synced via serial number. You need to re-flash the bios to re sync the two. This should help.

 

Could you please elaborate a bit on this - Is it something that only an Engineer should do or something that we can attempt at home.

I am facing the exact same wiggly issue on my screen as 'winterbagel' mentioned.

I switched to Vista from XP, had my screen replaced and am facing the wiggly issue.


It would help a lot if you could elaborate your suggestion...

thanks!

 

1525 Inspiron Laptops have HUGE, HUGE problems with LCD bulb failure due to the hinge design.

Grab a 1525's lid and close it, slowly. Watch how the shell flexes. Means BAD TIMES for the LCD Bulb .

On these units, the Backlight Inverter is attached to the LCD Display, and they are sold as one unit.

If you've replaced the LCD Display, and 1-4 act normally, then setting 5-8 get dimmer, then the LCD Display is not on the BIOS' Whitelist for approved LCD Displays. This is a long standing issue with Dell Laptops previous to the current Studio Line (which Dell has thankfully not included this "Feature" in.)

Long story short, you're facing down a LCD Display Replacement, again. Make sure to order it using the Dell Part Number, not the Mfg Part # from the back of the screen (ie. LTN154AT07, etc).

If you can't find the Dell Part#, check Dell's Support Site for the My Computer's Configuration page. It'll have the screen's part #.

 

I forgot to mention it is Inspiron 1520.
You suspect it could be the same issue on this model as well?

 

inspiron 1720 here. aftermarket lcd replacement. same wiggy backlight problem except its very useable still. I just have to Fn + up arrow until I can find the correct brightness setting every reboot.

 

Same thing goes for the 1520.