I have same problem. My Macbook A1342 Late 2009 turned on but the screen is black. I can see everything on desktop with a flash light. My story are following:
The old screen is freezing at some point when starting up. I have to fold/move the screen a bit to get it fully started up. So i thought it is LVDS cable
I tried to replace LVDS but nothing changed. It still turned on, took installer disc and made sound like it reading the disc. I still can see things on desktop with a flash light
Now it ordered a brand new lcd screen panel. It turned on but black screen. I can see everything on desktop with a flashlight.
I did not see apple logo on back of screen light up.
Do you know how to fix it?