There are a couple of threads on it on the 'other' site... but a brief explanation :)
The original connector is a HSC (heat sealed connector) which has an adhesive on it which conducts where it's supposed to and insulates in between. The LCD itself has some very fine electrical elements in the glass which conduct through the LCD pixels to then make the display work. Over time, as we all know the screen can 'lose' the pixels - which is basically where the adhesive on the ribbon cable has gotten weak, and this then causes it to lift, and not conduct in places and thus cause pixels to not get turned on.
I did look at trying to get replacement ribbons made, but then had this idea when I was reading about multimeter screen repairs, but was pipped at the post by a seller in France that also sells these, but the fact that someone else has done it was proof that it was a viable solution. In fact, I spent what worked out to be about £20 including postage to buy one - just to see with my own eyes that it works properly!
These connectors work in such a way that the black bit in the middle is a big sandwich of conductive material, and then an insulator, conductor etc all the way down (they are called Elastomeric connectors, or more widely known as Zebra connectors which is what I originally stumbled across about a year ago when I was searching for LCD connector repairs and ribbon cables, when I was looking at going down that route). Each conductive slice is about 0.18mm wide, and likewise with the insulator - and when looked at from the top (closely) looks like a zebra stripe.
The pink bits on the outside are just pieces of rubber, to bulk up the connector and provide rigidity. This connector gets sandwiched inbetween the PCB and the LCD, and then conducts the electricity through the conductive slices from the board to the screen, and hey presto - working pixels.
These connectors are a little bit taller than the normal gap between the board and screen, so that when the face of the HEVAC is then screwed back together, it puts pressure across the bottom of the LCD and the connector, to make a nice solid connection between LCD and PCB.
I managed to find a place in China which would do me a production run of these - made to measure - but the minimum they would do was 500 of them... which was a bit of a gulp moment when hitting 'order' because if my measurements were wrong, then none of them would have been any use... Luckily they all seem to be OK - I've tried 2 of them now, one on a spare HEVAC I have, and one on a 'parts/testing' HEVAC unit - both with perfect results.
I am planning over the next week or so when I get a moment outside of fixing window switchpacks and door latches for people, to whip the HEVAC out of Snog, and do the swap on that and then install it and use it day-to-day for a bit.
The whole assembly seems solid when it's screwed back together, and the screen/connector aren't going anywhere due to the pressure they are held under.
Fingers crossed it's a decent long-term solution... and hopefully a lot cheaper than a second-hand HEVAC which may end up with the same problems!! The only question I have is: Why didn't they use them to start with!!
'06 4.2 Supercharged Black/Cream "Jess" -- Bought April 2021 (NZ)
'01 4.6 Vogue Black/Lightstone "Snog" -- Bought Jan 2012
'99 4.6 HSE Cobar Blue/Lightstone -- Sold March 2009
'95 4.6 HSE Epsom Green/Tan -- Traded June 2008
