BURNING SMELL AS I TRY TO GET HELP FOR THIS PRO BLEM

mykeys9

First you need to power the 531s off and disconnect the power cord from the outlet.

If you have a Dell warranty in effect, contact Dell ASAP about this, no warranty, then open the case and try to locate the component the burning smell is coming from, or take the system to a local computer repair shop. 

The Inspiron 531s Service Manual is HERE

 Bev.

Can you please be a bit more specfic on what is happening. Does the burning smell happen if the computer is switched on or not?. If it is switched off and the burning smell happens then it's the case power supply that has gone faulty and you need a replacement. If the computer powers on and you can enter the BIOS then in my professional experience the case power supply is ok. The burning smell would be coming from an electriconic component on the motherboard. The number one fault for burnt parts i have seen on Dell motherboards is the south bridge IC shorting out due to a faulty peripherial device, usually a USB device, the second top fault is a faulty RS232 controller IC and the third is a faulty network controller chip. If the unit is in warranty then get Dell to sort it out, if it is out of warranty then you could open up the case and have a look inside. The south bridge chip does not have a heat sink on it so you would be able to see straight away if it was that IC that was causing the smell. It could also be another part on the board that has burnt out, but this all depends on the power state of the computer, does it power on or not.

Hi,

Thanks for your response.  The burning smell comes when I turn the computer on.  Sometimes much stronger than others.  It has been going on for one week now.  I am using the computer now as I reply.  I will turn it off when I am finished with this response.  If this helps you with any advise you can give please let me know.  I will power up again in an hour or so..

At my computers mercy,

Mike

i would not be using the computer AT ALL. Something is failing and can cause a serious problem or even possibly a fire. Turn it off and CONTACT DELL IMMEDIATLY

Considering you are using the computer to respond to the messages it would appear as though a) the case power supply is working ok and b) the components on the motherboard i specified in my earlier post have not failed. The south bridge IC controls not only alot of the supply voltages to the motherboard but also controls the peripherial devices, CDROM, hardisk, USB, so if all those devices are working then the south bridge could not be burnt. Responding here i am assuming your using the onboard network connection and not a wireless connection or an added PCI network card so that would rule out the network controller IC. The RS232 IC would really only be used if you was using a phone line to use the internet, or using a serial mouse but i'm assuming your using neither.

It is possible that one of the fans has stopped working and is slowly burning itself out. A cable could have come loose and is stopping the fan from rotating. It is also possible that an insect has got inside the computer and has got burnt (funny as it sounds, i have seen this occur on motherboards and case power supplies). Due to other devices being in there, like hard disks, DVD drives, sound cards, graphics cards, any one of them could have gone faulty (if such items are installed).

To be honest, the only real way your going to tell where the burning smell is really coming from is to remove the side panel from the computer and let your nose guide you to where the burn smell is coming from. A burnt electronic component gives off a long lasting smell so it should not be too difficult to trace where the strength of the burn smell is coming from.