I've had the Apple Thunderbolt Display for a little more than a year, and it has started to intermittently go black for a few seconds at a time. When it does, I usually lose connection to my usb devices connected through the display. If I let it go on, it blanks more and more frequently until the system kernel panics.

So far, I've tried cleaning the contacts with rubbing alcohol. This made them more visually attractive, but did not solve the problem.

Second, I tried using another macbook pro, but it had the same issue.

I've noticed that the thunderbolt connector heats up significantly when it's in use. I'm wondering if there's a heat-related issue that could be causing a broken connection in the electronics inside the connector. Any thoughts?