Dell Precision T3500

Question

Hi there, my computer won’t turn on. The amber light is on, on the motherboard and whenever I press the power button, it blinks along with the 1 and 3. Sometimes it does turn on and I can use it for hours and then I turn it off and go to use it an hour or a day later and it does this blinking thing. Any ideas on what it might be or how I can fix this would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Will N.

bradthetechnut · Accepted Answer

Precision T3500/T5500/T7500 Workstations Diagnostic Lights and Beep Codes

If replacing size 2032 battery doesn't work, diagnostics confirms what I was thinking - likely a bad PSU.

Can also try: How to Run a Power Supply Unit Self Test On a Dell Desktop or All-in-One Computer

bradthetechnut · Accepted Answer

Try a different PSU, whether it be aftermarket brand name or Dell OEM.

DELL-Cares · Answer

Hello, We see you are looking for technical assistance. We request you to start a private message with us, and we will be happy to assist you.

Chino de Oro · Answer

You can give it a fresh coin cell battery for starter.  Here is the service manual for your system if you didn't have it already.  Take note of your current BIOS settings prior to replacing the battery as it will reset some settings.

Will.nevy · Answer

Thanks. One more thing I should mention, even when I unplug my computer, the amber light on the motherboard stays on. Not sure if that’s important.

Chino de Oro · Answer

The amber light stayed on the motherboard is common.  It's residuary power and would dissipate after a moment.

bradthetechnut · Answer

A bad PSU can still give the green light and spin the fans when the test button is pushed with PC off.  What the green light means is all internal peripherals are good.  It still sounds like the PSU is bad.

Will.nevy · Answer

I thought I solved it but I did not. I tried plugging into different outlet and then using the PSU test button (after replacing the coin cell battery) and the fan sounded normal, green LED was solid, but still same issue when power button pressed. I had the computer in sleep mode overnight last night and at some point it shut itself down if that is of any significance.

Will.nevy · Answer

Update. service tag is and express code is   I changed the coin cell battery and then pressed the PSU test button. The fan sounded normal and stayed on until I released the button. The green LED was lit up solid the whole time as well but still same issue when I press the power button. Thanks, Will

Will.nevy · Answer

Hey, thank you for all the help. This computer is old and I’m fixing it for the first time (other than hard drive upgrade) so I’d say that’s pretty good. I got it to start and first thing it did was 'update system' and it is running now but I will most likely get a new PSU anyway because it’s obviously causing some problems. Again, thanks for the much needed help.

DELL-Cares · Answer

Welcome to Dell Social Media Support.

Could you private message us the Service Tag, so we can look into this for you right away? You could refer to the below link to find the Service Tag: https://dell.to/3jZDev8

bradthetechnut · Answer

You're welcome.  : )

Precision Fixed Workstations

Dell Precision T3500

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