Chosen Solution
I replaced my old cracked screen with a new LCD screen of the same make and model. Model B116XW02 V.0 LTN116AT01 CLAA116WA0A LP116WH1-TLN1 TLP1
Now when I turn the laptop on, the screen is totally black. But when I shine a bright light on the back of the screen, an image appears on screen. So is this a dead backlight or bad inverter? Weird thing is, the old screen lit up fine, it was just badly cracked. The new screen is totally dark. BUT now when I try in the old screen, it’s also totally dark but passes the flashlight test. So what’s the deal? Did I blow the inverter somehow? Damage a cable? I’ve checked the connections a hundred times and it’s driving me crazy. I don’t even know where the inverter is on an Acer TravelMate 8172T and I can’t mess around with the board. Please help!
@miss_jessi that looks like an LED backlit display. Most likely it does not have a separate inverter. The circuitry will be part of your motherboard. Give us the exact model number for your replacement screen so we can verify this. Check your connector. Make sure that it is properly seated and that it does not look like it burned. IF that checks out you may have to consider posting some really good pictures of your logic board etc., with your question. that way we can see what you see. Hopefully we will find out the make and model for your specific motherboard and that schematics are available. Adding images to an existing question UPDATE 02/02/20
pinout for the LED backlight on the controller board
