Dimension 4600 has yellow flashing light on front when power button pushed

jaxofny

Are there any 'Beeps' when the 4600 is powered on, or are any  of the diagnostic lights on the back panel, lite?

See HERE 

<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>

A Blinking Amber light, this usually means the power supply is receiving the correct input voltage, but is having an output failure.

Open the case and check all the power and data cables, by removing and reseating them.

Bev.

Hi Shesagordie,

Thank you for your reply and sorry for thr delay. Family member in Hospital. In answer to your question of whether there are any beep codes or lights. No there are none. The only light that flashes yellow is on the front panel and a green light on the motherboard.

jaxofny 

Using your 'know' working power supply,

Hold power button in for several seconds to discharge the residue power.

Remove all the PCI cards, the video card [if applicable], memory, all peripherals, disconnect the data and power cables to all the drives, check that the front panel cable is connected to motherboard, with nothing else connected to the system, reconnect the power cable and power the system on.

If you do not get any beep codes or diagnostic lights on the back panel, then it would appear that the motherboard has died.

As far as I know, the only way to test a processor, is to try it another Socket 478 system, or replace with a know working processor.

Bev.

Hi Again Shesagordie,

I also used another working power supply to see if the improper voltage was an issue and it did nothing. I have found out from my sister whose computer it is, that she said there was a warning message about a fan failure and she continued to use the machine. It's nice when they tell you after the fact!

OK, now I'm thinking that the processor or CPU is bad, what do you think? (flashing yellow light on front only)

Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

Jack

Hi Bev,

I did as you suggested and N/G. I guess that the board is shot and will just try to order another one. Do you have any suggestions on where I could get a replacement board? This unit is more than a couple of years old and I would think that Dell wouldn't carry it anymore.

Thank you for your time &  knowledge and willingness to share it!

Have a great day.

Jack   :emotion-2:

Jack.

You can buy a 4600 motherboard from HERE @ $99.99 Free S&H.

Bev.

I had this same problem.  Computer would not turn on at all so I ordered another PSU and got the yellow flashing light.  After lots of frustration I flicked the little red voltage jumper on the back; I guess it wasnt fully seated because I switched it to 230 and then back to 115 and everything worked fine after that.  This is probably a low-percentage fix, but just another check mark off the list of easy things to try.

I had this same problem.  Computer would not turn on at all so I ordered another PSU and got the yellow flashing light.  After lots of frustration I flicked the little red voltage jumper on the back; I guess it wasnt fully seated because I switched it to 230 and then back to 115 and everything worked fine after that.  This is probably a low-percentage fix, but just another check mark off the list of easy things to try.

joearaiza 

Maybe not, I had exactly the same problem with a new power supply I was installing several years ago, the red toggle switch was stuck in, what I call ' a neutral position' and only found the problem by using a power supply tester on 24-pin connector.

Bev.