inspiron 1545

[BriansTechSvc]

looking for a second opinion to my current diagnosis of this inspiron 1545 i have on my bench.


customer dropped off stating machine wouldn't boot up. i tested the power adapter and am getting 19.5v at the tip of cord (as it stated on the power block) when plugged in no lights would come on. (customer informed me that battery would mostlikely need to be replaced it would only last 2 mins on battery power at any given time)

i got the replacement battery and the replacement DC power board (daughter board that connects to the motherboard) i replaced the DC power board put everything back together and still got nothing.

when going to unplug the adapter i noticed the LED light was off although the adapter was plugged in. upon further inspection the light goes out when plugging the adapter into the DC port.....


sound like a faulty motherboard? i am going to pull the DC power board back out and test the cord on it when not connected to mobo but is there anything i am missing???


many thanks!

 

[River Valley Computer]

Have you tried a 'genuine' Dell charger. There is a big difference between them and a cheap Chinese take off. If you have tried that then I would bet a bad mobo. They are designed to shut down on a motherboard failure. This is assuming the replacement power board is good.

Normally the 1545s are pretty reliable.

Good luck.

 

[BriansTechSvc]

RVC thanks! I tried a genuine (one that came with machine) universal (rocketfish I believe) and a knockoff from eBay all sane result.. Still have to test the replacement power board but its all seeming to lean to the mobo... Which is disappointing since this repair is and should have been fairly easy if it were just the power board.. Oh well!

Thanks again!!

 

[River Valley Computer]

If it is the MOBO they are not that expensive ($30-50) on Ebay and since you have it apart would be quite simple. Most of the vendors have 30 day warranties.

 

[Martyn]

Looks like a fault situation if the light on the charger goes off when plugged in to the dc socket. Assuming the charger is ok there is a fault condition and the power supply is shutting off in protection mode. Try also without the battery in as I've seen a faulty battery cause a problem. I seem to remember some Dells won't work at all without the battery in. Inspect the usb ports for a short.

 

[BriansTechSvc]

I noticed that! Not sure the client will want to go for it. However I do want to get this machine up and running it is still in really good condition despite the potential mobo failure.

Have you gotten any mobo's on eBay before? I haven't done it before they're never within range to warrant repairing the machine over replacement. Just don't want to get a bad board and have to further delay the repair..


Thanks again!

 

[BriansTechSvc]

@martyn I'm going to pull the power board out tonight and test.. Will also try without battery. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[BriansTechSvc]

Tore everything down and tested the replacement DC jack power board and got same results led stays on when the power board is not connected to the motherboard and as soon as it is the power supply shuts down when plugged in.

Told client it must be a bad motherboard. Awaiting their decision on weather to go on with repair or if they want to buy a new computer.

Thank you guys again for the suggestions!

Brian