Solved! Dell Inspiron 3580. No power, no lights. How do I test the DC jack?

[supergomguy]

Hi guys, my Dell Inspiron 3580 recently decided it wasn't going to turn on anymore. When plugged in there are no lights and nothing happens when I press the power button. The AC adaptor seems to be working as the light comes on and it charged my sister's laptop. I have disassembled the laptop and tried unplugging the battery to run directly off ac power but nothing worked. I have found the DC jack which I think could be the issue, however, I can't find any available locally (in South Africa) and it is a bit pricey to ship on in from ebay or somewhere. I want to know how I can test this jack to confirm it is faulty before spending money on a new one when something else could be the issue. I don't have a multimeter right now but I will try and borrow one later today. Thanks in advance.

 

[AlHuneke]

When you say the charging light, are you referring to the light on the charger box? If the charging light on the laptop is not coming on, try pressing gently on the connector up, down and side to side. Hold some pressure in each position for about 5 seconds and see if the laptop light comes on.

You can find the connection points for the jack (this may not be easy) inside the laptop and verify you have the voltage printed on the charger (usually around 20 volts DC).

I hope you are using ESD precautions when poking around inside your laptop. It is easy for static discharges to damage components.

 

[supergomguy]

When you say the charging light, are you referring to the light on the charger box? If the charging light on the laptop is not coming on, try pressing gently on the connector up, down and side to side. Hold some pressure in each position for about 5 seconds and see if the laptop light comes on.

You can find the connection points for the jack (this may not be easy) inside the laptop and verify you have the voltage printed on the charger (usually around 20 volts DC).

I hope you are using ESD precautions when poking around inside your laptop. It is easy for static discharges to damage components.

Thanks I have tested this. The charger is showing the correct voltage and the connection between the dc jack in the laptop and the motherboard seems fine. Measuring the voltage where the jack connects to the motherboard shows the correct voltage. What’s the next step? Could this mean the motherboard is dead?

 

[AlHuneke]

Sorry for the delay. Your response ended up in my spam folder......

It sounds like there is a problem with the internals. There are a few components that a good technician can replace, but only a few. I have seen power switches fail. You can check to see that the switch is opening an closing using the ohms scale on your meter. Unhook the PC power and battery when you do this. Otherwise your next stop is probably a repair shop. Sorry.