iMac Intel 21.5" EMC 2428 Display Replacement

Written By: Walter Galan (and 6 other contributors)

Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

Time Required

Introduction

Remove the LCD to access most of your iMac's internals.

Before beginning, unplug your iMac and lay it on a soft surface as shown.
Stick a suction cup near each of the two top corners of the glass panel.
To attach the suction cups we sell, first position the suction cup with the movable handle parallel to the face of the glass panel. While lightly holding the suction cup against the glass, raise the movable handle until it is parallel with the other handle.
If your suction cups refuse to stick, try cleaning both the glass panel and the suction cup with a mild solvent.

Gently lift the glass panel perpendicular to the face of the LCD enough to clear the steel mounting pins attached along the underside of the top edge of the glass panel.
Pull the glass panel away from the lower edge of the iMac and carefully set it aside.
During reinstallation, be sure to meticulously clean the inside of the glass panel and the face of the LCD as any dust or fingerprints trapped inside will be annoyingly visible when the machine is turned on.

Slightly lift the top edge of the display out of the outer case.
Do not lift it too much. There are several cables attaching the display to the logic board. Twisting or pulling the display assembly with the cables attached will damage your iMac.

Pull the vertical sync cable connector out of its socket on the LED driver board near the top left corner of your iMac.

Rotate the display out of the outer case enough to disconnect the LED backlight power cable from the LED driver board.
Disconnect the LED backlight power cable by depressing the locking mechanism while pulling the connector away from its socket (toward the bottom edge of the iMac).

Grab the plastic pull tab secured to the display data cable lock and rotate it towards upwards.
Pull the display data cable straight out of its socket on the logic board.
Do not lift up on the display data cable, as its socket is very fragile. Pull the cable parallel to the face of the logic board.