Lenovo laptop problems, possibly charger

[sorcerer]

I know there was a topic somewhere on here recently about testing laptop chargers but I can't seem to find it now.

Anyway, a mate of mine bought a Lenovo G710 laptop about 18 months ago and has hardly used it - probably not even had two months of total useage in that time. He went to switch it on the other day and nothing happens - no fans, no lights, HDD doesn't spin up, it's all just dead.

The only thing I can think of for a total lack of life is that the charger has gone faulty and the battery is flat. I've got a couple of universal chargers around the place but, of course, Lenovo use the oblong plug/socket, not the round ones, so they're no good.

I've had a multimeter on it and there's definitely 240V into the charger but nothing out. My question is, does the charger have to see some sort of load on the end to work, or can I take it that the complete lack of output voltage is a genuine sign of a deceased charger that has shuffled off its mortal coil?

 

[NYJimbo]

You are talking about the charger with the tip that's shaped like a usb port ?

You do not have to put a load to test it, it will put out voltage when plugged in.

Be sure to test it correctly. Ground/Negative is the outside metal
and positive is the inside walls, NOT the center pin. The short walls
are metal on the inside so you have to poke the test lead inside a bit but do not touch the center signal pin while testing.

It should produce at least 18volts but could be higher for that model, so be sure to set your meter for 20+ volts just in case.

 

[sorcerer]

Yes, that's it, the USB-shaped plug. And thank you Jimbo, I didn't realise that the centre pin isn't a power connector.

When I put the meter across the outer and inner walls it's showing 19V as it should, so there's obviously some other reason for the laptop's complete deadness - looks like I'll have to strip it down to investigate further.

Cheers