17 R4, power bricks turn off

Question

Hello!

I am in need of a little bit of assistance. My 2017 17 R4 laptop has been running 24/7 for months. Basically using it a small server.

Last week it just shut off. When I went to investigate the power brick LED was turned off.

When disconnected from the laptop, the power brick LED turns on just fine.

As soon as I connect it to the laptop I hear a small buzz or arc? Not sure what and the power brick just turns off.

I no longer have a battery to check if it's the internal power cable being faulty.

When I disconnect the internal power cable from the motherboard and connect the power brick it remains on.

I also tried it with another power brick, same results

Could it be my motherboard is dead?

Or could the internal power cable still be at fault?

Many thanks

crimsom · Answer

Hi @Bennyboo welcome to this free user-to-user Alienware laptop discussion forum.

The Alienware 17 R4 DC Power Input Jack Plug with Cable is DP/N 0K5M1, may have a fault and it is a low cost item.

ejn63 · Answer

There is a short circuit inside the system somewhere. Carefully scan the mainboard for evidence of failed components, particularly in the vicinity of the DC jack. If there is something clearly faulty, the mainboard will need to replaced. If not, it could be a bad DC jack or even a USB port with internal damage (check inside each USB port for bent pins.

Bennyboo · Answer

So I finally got a new DC jack and time to work on it

I checked for bent usb pins and possible malfunctions on the mainboard

I installed the new DC jack and reconnected everything, I left the backplate open to see if anything shorts.

To my surprise it did make an arc around the new DC jack right after (inside) where the power brick is attached

It seems to have arced sowhere next to it, I think to the eyetracker or a piece right next to it

Not sure what to do now

I took it back appart, I can send some photos of the mainboard if it could help

Thanks

crimsom · Answer

Hi @Bennyboo thank you for sharing update.  Please share photographs in next post. Thank you.

crimsom · Answer

Hi @Bennyboo thank you for sharing system board photographs. The CPU fan assembly wants cleaning to remove dust and debris. The DC IN socket and its local system board looks good from above.

Having purchased new DC Power Input Jack Plug with Cable, you reveal "To my surprise it did make an arc around the new DC jack right after (inside) where the power brick is attached". As this seems to be the problem region, can you send photographs of the DC Jack? Alienware 17 R4 power-adapter port | Dell US

Please consider $100 Dell Laptop Repair | Dell Repair | Laptop Repair | Notebook Service Center (parts-people.com).

Bennyboo · Answer

Hello

I do regular maintainance on the fans every 8-12 months to clear debris and dust, only the fanblades remain dirty since its harder to clean for me

I cleaned it the first time I opened the laptop and also did a repaste of the cpu and gpu

I don't see any visual differences when comparing both cables, some photos:

red circle is the original cable

I checked the 100$ dell laptop repair, but I am from Europe and probably wont cover for international shipping?

If the mainboard is dead I will just configure a new desktop pc instead and reuse my old drives instead

Many thanks,

Benji

Alienware

17 R4, power bricks turn off

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