My 16 year old reports that her Macbook, a little over three years old, is having problems. Specifically, the back light randomly goes out and the screen goes black. If she toggles the screen brightening button it will come back or it will also come back if closes and opens the lid.
Any ideas about this? Do any of the technicians in Prince Rupert work on Macs? The unit is out of warranty now. Should we be calling Apple?
Thank you for any and all replies.
Update. Okay my kid tells me that this is not happening when her mac is plugged in. So perhaps maybe her battery is going?
Was doing some reading the other day. could be the smc. Check the apple knowledgebase for how to reset it.
Edited to add: unless mig has a better solution then go with what he says.
[quote=“jesus”]Was doing some reading the other day. could be the smc. Check the apple knowledgebase for how to reset it.
Edited to add: unless mig has a better solution then go with what he says.[/quote]
Thanks for that, jesus. Okay the back light is still shutting off while it is plugged in, but, it is not happening quite as frequently.
Here’s a test you can do. When it starts to flicker, turn the brightness down a couple of notcesh then back up again, and see if the flickering goes away. Use the keyboard brightness keys for this.
Thank you for the reply, MiG. That sometimes works, but, the screen usually doesn’t flicker it just goes completely black. Then she’s able to bring the screen light back by closing and opening the lid.
[quote=“hitest”]
Thank you for the reply, MiG. That sometimes works, but, the screen usually doesn’t flicker it just goes completely black. Then she’s able to bring the screen light back by closing and opening the lid.[/quote]
FLV inverter board is dying, here is a trick, if the screen gos black, take a flashlight and shine it sideways on the screen then try clicking on something can you see the image but not really ?
if so, then its the LFV inverter board, not hard to replace either.
[quote=“jase”]
if so, then its the LFV inverter board, not hard to replace either.[/quote]
That sounds right to me, jase. Thanks for the reply. 
Yup, it’s most likely the inverter board. We’ll replace it for you, hitest. Will let you know the details soon.
You are a good man, MiG! Thank you! 