A long time ago, my monitor went black. Totally pitch black, couldn't see ---Cleveland steamer---. I was kind of depressed since it was my favorite monitor.
What was weird was the control interface was still visible, so I couldn't work out what the problem was. I was getting ready to toss it when I decided to fiddle with the controls, it was then I noticed the brightness and contrast were set all the way down to zero.
I reset them back to their defaults. Turns out my cat really likes sleeping around my PC, especially my monitor. Her fat ass would push the control buttons and tweak my settings. I almost threw out a $500 monitor because of that.

Check your settings, make sure they're all correct.
Since the LCD lights up then goes dim, there might be a loose connection somewhere inside. Check the bulb while you're at it.
That's all I have. Like a

, I gave two of my LCD's away and the rest have shattered bulbs or are really poor resolutions. I've got one functioning flatscreen right now. Oh well.
