iMac Intel 24" EMC 2134 and 2211 Display Panel Replacement

You have to be extremely careful when pulling out the LCD Temp connection as it doesn't want to come easy. I almost pulled the entire connection off the logic board using too much force. I therefore, used a pair of hemostats to grab the male end (the very top of the connector) and used a small screwdriver to hold the base of the connection in-place (female end attached to the logic board) in order to pull the connector apart.

There apparently is a variant of the EMC2134, like Pierre Scerri said. It has its LCD temp sensor underneath the LCD; the thin wires are about 5 in / 13 cm long and taped to the back of the LCD, and only about 2 in free, so lift the LCD gently.

There is a connector on the place where the LCD temp connector is on the iFixit photo, but in this variant it is marked 'CPU FAN' and there is no reason to disconnect it.

The logic boards in my computer are black, not blue.

Okay. It was extremely difficult. I had to use precision screw (1.4 m/m). It worked on one of the screw. The other one... I was forced to use a hexagon bit at 1.5 size to a success with extreme precision and careful maneuver. I just hope nobody else experiences this as much as I have. Good luck.

Depends on exactly where the tape was positioned originally; this determines whether it will easily pull “up”. I find that grabbing the connector opposite the screw holes with two fingers and jiggling it free was dead easy. Much easier than keeping a grip on the tape tag.

On re-assembly, Have something ready to rig the display! reconnecting the lcd cable is the most difficult step in the whole procedure

I agree with the previous poster, this is indeed the most challenging part. I ended up removing the screws for the IC board that this connector connects to. This allowed me to pull the board up an extra inch and plug in properly. 4 screws, 120 seconds, done.

As said previously, reconnecting the data cable is really difficult and I managed to bend a pin. Thanks to good support from ifixit staff I managed to bend it back - not sure how as it's so small. Unscrewing the IC board is a good idea. If I ever had to do this again I would avoid disconnecting this cable and just move it out of the way, or disconnect it at the other end as previously suggested.

LIke others mentioned, this was the most difficult step because of the awkward angle. Working alone I managed to get it off but found it much harder to line it up properly for reattachment. What I ended up doing was getting someone to hold the the LCD (resting on the left side, perpendicular to the iMac which was laying down) and I removed the 4 screws that hold the power supply in place. Removing those screws allowed me to lift the power supply a couple inches which made it so much easier to reattach. I wish I had done that when I was trying to remove the cable during disassembly. Good luck!

This was near impossible to remove as there is no room to grip the connector and no easy way to wedge something in there to help remove it. I felt like giving up but the hard drive removal and swap was so easy you just need to get someone to hold the screen for 10 minutes. Don't try removing the cable ... you most likely will get frustrated unnecessarily.

I did not disconnect the LCD power cable as others recommended. I simply rotated the LCD to the side, rested on table. This worked really well for me and did not have to be concerned about reattaching this complex connector.

I agree with others. Just lift display and lean against a prop, perpendicular to table. No need to disconnect, which is error prone.

Les commentaires sont tous en anglais à cette étape, et j'aurai dû faire l'effort de les lire avant de perdre 1h à cause de ce connecteur. Effectivement, il n'est pas nécessaire de débrancher le connecteur de l'écran, car c'est une vrai galère à remettre sans risque de le casser. On peut donc laisser l'écran branché, à la verticale, soigneusement incliné sur un mur, l'imac toujours posé sur le bureau. J'espère que ce message sera utile, car j'aurai bien aimé qu'on me le dise avant !

+1 for removing the LCD cable from the screen side, not the mac side.

Not removing it, depending on the lenght of the cable which doesn't seem to be fixed, might not be an option for everybody.

Remove cable from the LCD Display not the board

Fully agree with others. It is easiest is to remove cable from LCD display instead of trying to pull it off the board. It comes off the board very easily, but it is difficult to put it back onto the board. It is easier to snap the cable bad onto the LCD Display itself.

This is really a good way to break the cable! Avoid the stress easily by removing the four screws (T-9) holding the video board down, then lift the edge near the cable before removing. Also, the cable is easily reattached to the board with these four screws removed. Reattaching without doing so is time consuming and quite difficult. This approach is easier than removing the cable from the LCD.

Reconnecting the LCD Connector was the only challenging part of this procedure. I must have bent the pins on the LCD connector when taking it off so was unable to reattach. I ended up taking off a bracket that was adjacent to the LCD connector as well as the other end of the cable....O I disconnected these 2 pieces and was able to examine the other end of the LCD connector I was able to bend the pins back into place and the connector snapped back into place. The display works and the hard drive works as well. Thanks iFixIt!

I wish I had read your comments about not disconnecting the LCD. It was really hard disconnecting and connecting it back was !@#$. I managed to twist some of the pins so in the end I had to unscrew the board, twist the pins back and plug the cable. When I restarted, I really thought that it was never going to work. So a down point for not pointing to comments at step #11. Otherwise great tutorial.

Too difficult to re-connect afterwards. Accidentally, one pin was bended when re-plugged. I ended up unscrewed the power board, and fixed the pin. Re-connect and OK.

I found a far easier way. Just gently turn the screen 90° to one side and don't disconnect the cable! If all you are doing is replacing the HD, there's plenty of room without disconnecting the cable. At least on my machine the cable is flexible and I didn't have any problem making room. Way, way easier.

Thanks for the suggestion to remove the IC board. This was indeed the easiest for me, after spending 15 minutes trying to reconnect the cable.

I didn't disconnect the LCD cable. I stacked some books on the side and put a blanket on them. I was then able to fold the screen next to the computer LCD still connected. Should some iMacs have a shorter cable this may not be an option to everyone. Thanks for good tips everyone.

I also did not remove LCD cable. Just rotated the LCD away and propped it by the edges with the plastic inserts from the box my new drive came in. Plenty of room to get to the HDD.

No need to remove the LCD panel.

I agree this is the toughest step in the process — and the most unnecessary. I was able to rotate the panel out of the way without disconnecting it, placing a cloth between the chassis and the panel now leaning against it to prevent any inadvertent damage.

As others have stated, disconnecting the inverter cable from the power supply first is NOT the way to go. I ended up damaging the cable trying to get it out before I went to disconnect it from the LCD panel end instead. Much easier to do and much less prone to damaging the cable or it's insertion socket.

The guide needs to be updated and the suggestion to pull the inverter cable downward from the power supply removed. It is not a good idea and will cost you at least a few days and $10 to replace the cable should something go wrong. Please update this guide.

Get the male part out of the female fitting is a standard problem with boards. There are pulling/clamping devices you can get at electronics stores to pull the fitting out. They are like fuse pullers many car fuse boxes are equipped with. IFixit should sell them with the kit. I did it all without any problems, formatted the drive and then installed the operating system and defeated Apple who wouldn't even consider replacing the drive in my "obsolete" machine which my wife now uses instead of a crappy Dell PC.

If you are just changing the HDD, instead of removing the cable at the left, simply pivot the LCD 90 degrees counter-clockwise and gently set it back down. This allows one to access the HDD to swap.

I completely agree, it is way easier to remove the LCD cable from the LCD panel itself

I didn’t find my own solution in the previous comments, so here it is… Oh, I worked on the Apple iMac "Core 2 Duo" 2.8 24-Inch (Early 2008) A1225 EMC 2211.

I simply lift the LCD panel from the other side! Look at the photo in the previous step: after you disconnected that cable (data cable) you can lift the lcd panel and rotate it and the cable is long enough to bring the panel at a 90 degrees position (vertically in the air).

Than it’s up to you. I tried to place the panel side on the table but again the cable was too short. So I placed it on the inside of the case, which is free from other cable and boards. Not elegant, I know.

The important part is that in that position I was able to remove the 4 screws from the Power Supply board and easily disconnect the LCD cable! And it’s equaly easy to reassembly it.

Important note: the LCD panel is pretty heavy! Be very careful with the edges (the metal is sharp). Don’t let it fall. Don’t touch the boards and the other components.