Question Laptop (Lenovo G50) Turns on for a brief moment, then off

[fs055]

First the details. If I plug in the AC adapter, it makes the battery light (orange) flash on and off constantly. If I remove the battery, this stops happening. I have also determined that the battery either holds no charge, or cannot be charged by this laptop, because it only ever even attempts to power on when the AC adapter is plugged in.

The main issue is when I try to power on the laptop. A white light next to the camera blinks once, the white power light in front of the laptop turns on (solid), and I hear the computer start up. I've confirmed the fan spins, and I can hear the hard drive working too, but otherwise, nothing. After a period of time (usually between 20 and 60 seconds) the computer powers off for ~5 seconds, then starts back up. This keeps going until I disconnect the AC adapter.

So far I've done all the following:

• Cycled out the power by removing the battery and holding the power button for 30+ seconds
• Attempted to run without the battery
• Left the AC adapter plugged in for a few hours to charge the battery, then attempted to run with just the battery (did not turn on)
• Disassembled the computer and ensured the fan/heatsink were clean and not full of dust
• Disconnected and reseated the power delivery cable, fan, LCD cable, hard drive, and a few others miscellaneous unrelated things during disassembly
• Attempted to use an external display
• Reseated the RAM

From my inspection, the motherboard didn't look to have any obvious burn/damage marks visible to the naked eye. I'm at a loss for what to do. I could buy a new power delivery cable and try that out, but I'd like to have a better idea of what I'm doing before I waste money on things that might not be at fault, given that the computer still powers on, so power CAN go through the current one.

Is this typically an issue with motherboard capacitors that only a repair center can fix, or perhaps something I can do at home I haven't tried yet? Any help would be appreciated.

The laptop's warranty has already expired. I do not have another compatible AC adapter or spare batteries to test.

 

[webworkings]

Try replacing the battery first. This may well be the issue. Strange as it sounds, some laptops do not like to run without a battery that works (even if just a little) installed.

You also didn't mention if anything does or doesn't show on the screen when this all occurs. If nothing shows up, you may want to also try connecting an external display and see if you get any messages on the screen. This is, of course, if the attached display isn't showing anything and could be an additional problem.

 

[fs055]

Try replacing the battery first. This may well be the issue. Strange as it sounds, some laptops do not like to run without a battery that works (even if just a little) installed.

You also didn't mention if anything does or doesn't show on the screen when this all occurs. If nothing shows up, you may want to also try connecting an external display and see if you get any messages on the screen. This is, of course, if the attached display isn't showing anything and could be an additional problem.

Right. The screen is completly blank, and I've already tried using an external display, which didn't work either.

 

[webworkings]

Then the battery would be the next step. Hopefully that will resolve it, otherwise it can get costly after that.

Just make sure you get an OEM battery and not aftermarket. Yes I know they cost more, but it is better to get the right part and not risk damaging the device. While aftermarket is good for some things, laptop batteries is not one of them.