Dell Inspiron 17 N7110 Not charging

[River Valley Computer]

We had an elderly client bring in his wife's Inspiron N7110 in - not charging. We tried several Dell 4.62A power adapters, replaced the power jack, even replaced the motherboard and 3 new batteries. Updated BIOS to A13 (latest). Still not charging. We all have experienced this many times before and it's usually the power jack. Not this time. We tried to tell him it is going to cost more to try to fix this than another computer but his wife had passed this year and this was her computer and he wants to have it working. Any ideas? We are out of them. PLEASEEEEEEEEE!

 

[Blues]

This is the type of puzzle that with the green light to go it would be kind of fun but also hair pulling because right now it feels like no logical explanation remains. Is the Dell 4.62A the exact model power adapter this model used originally? I would suspect you asked but have you asked about when it stopped charging and any thing that may have happened to the device when the problem began or just prior to it?

 

[Diggs]

replaced the power jack

This would have been my guess as the little center barrel gets broken on them sometimes and is not readily apparent.

 

[fincoder]

When I think a faulty computer isn't worth the troubleshooting or parts costs or its a very trick repair that I don't want to do, but the customer insists they want it fixed, I tell them to use the manufacturer's repair service. They're welcome to contact Dell and request service. Most manufacturers have a fixed-price diagnosis fee which is payable if not going ahead with the quoted repair, and this usually covers courier pickup and return. Not cheap but no other practical option.

I assume you've suggested copying data from the laptop? In my mind a loved one's files are more important than the hardware itself. Some people assume wrongly that a laptop needs to be fixed to keep the files.

 

[phaZed]

Bad motherboard charging circuit. Replacing the MB is about the only thing left.

 

[River Valley Computer]

.

Bad motherboard charging circuit. Replacing the MB is about the only thing left.

We had a N7110 MOBO in our old Dell stock (customer refused Repair) - we just kept it for times like this.

 

[mikeroq]

Bad motherboard charging circuit. Replacing the MB is about the only thing left.

even replaced the motherboard

It seems perplexing that the motherboard, dc jack, battery, and ac adapter have been replaced and it is still not charging. Seems to point to multiple faulty parts. Maybe both motherboards are bad.

Unless it is the CPU, memory, screen, keyboard or something else that is connected but I can't imagine those being the cause but anything is possible.

 

[River Valley Computer]

It seems perplexing that the motherboard, dc jack, battery, and ac adapter have been replaced and it is still not charging. Seems to point to multiple faulty parts. Maybe both motherboards are bad.

Unless it is the CPU, memory, screen, keyboard or something else that is connected but I can't imagine those being the cause but anything is possible.

Our thoughts exactly.

 

[nlinecomputers]

It's a 10 year old laptop. Not worth repair. There's a point when imo it's unethical to offer repair.

 

[NviGate Systems]

The ability to charge is dependent on the adaptor giving the correct response over the 3rd pin, which is a sense resistor that allows the board to know what know which adapter is plugged in. Both Dell and HP use this trick.

Have you tried other Dell AC Adapters? Because although that adapter may work on some systems if it doesn't have the resistor that laptop wants, it won't charge. Also check that Adapter warnings are not disabled in BIOS, or it won't tell you if it sees a problem.

 

[Blues]

So the donor MB was harvested from a refused repair? What issue(s) did the system the donor came from have? The donor MB might not be good it might be worth looking to get a guaranteed working MB to at least test on.

 

[River Valley Computer]

So the donor MB was harvested from a refused repair? What issue(s) did the system the donor came from have? The donor MB might not be good it might be worth looking to get a guaranteed working MB to at least test on.

Actually we tried two. One we had in a Dell shipping box from several years ago and another one with a cracked screen. What other techs are not realizing is it isn't a matter of economics, it's a matter of love of someone he lost. He could probably buy Dell out. We know it's eating our time up a little but he has been a customer of ours for years. When he had a large real estate company in town with over 30 agents to now as a residential customer. He's in his 80s and lost his partner of over 60 years. He wants to keep as much of her as he can and we are only trying to help. It's going to be a freebie from us. Plus it's now become a challenge - I have been doing this for over 40 years and my other guys a lot of years too.

 

[britechguy]

While I get, really I do, the sentimental side of this he can keep the computer itself forever as a non-functional totem.

If he was not actually using the machine (and I doubt he was) then extracting the data somewhere that he can access it would be a kindness.

In instances like this, grief sometimes clouds things, and some gentle questioning can often result in answers you don't expect that make your life, as well as that of the client, much easier.

 

[frase]

I think this is one for the Ghostbusters team, the lady seems to have become part of the laptop - a ghost in the machine.
I don't understand either as you have replaced the entire assembly.

 

[Diggs]

...then again you can pick up a complete running unit on Ebay and use as much or as little of it as needed. They're not as cheap as I expected though....