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Inspiron 1520 - Power Supply gone again



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 21st 10, 06:46 PM posted to alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
J
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Posts: 18
Default Inspiron 1520 - Power Supply gone again


My Inspiron 1520 laptop is 3 years old and the power supply has stopped
working again. I am now looking at a third one from Dell. Very costly
business, but is this the norm? I mean one new PS every year on average? My
machine is very well looked after and the cables are never tugged or fankled
up, so why the PS has conked out yet again, I have no idea. The little green
led is not lighting up, the fuse is okay as well, so god knows what the
problem is.

Does anyone know how to open one of these things? I am at the stage now
where I grudge paying 50 quid again, so ready to have a go at the
electronics and try to find/repair the fault, but I have to pen the darned
thing first and there's no screws.

J



  #2  
Old November 21st 10, 08:29 PM posted to alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
RnR[_2_]
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Posts: 3,394
Default Inspiron 1520 - Power Supply gone again

On Sun, 21 Nov 2010 17:46:47 -0000, "J"
wrote:


My Inspiron 1520 laptop is 3 years old and the power supply has stopped
working again. I am now looking at a third one from Dell. Very costly
business, but is this the norm? I mean one new PS every year on average? My
machine is very well looked after and the cables are never tugged or fankled
up, so why the PS has conked out yet again, I have no idea. The little green
led is not lighting up, the fuse is okay as well, so god knows what the
problem is.

Does anyone know how to open one of these things? I am at the stage now
where I grudge paying 50 quid again, so ready to have a go at the
electronics and try to find/repair the fault, but I have to pen the darned
thing first and there's no screws.

J




I bought a couple for a 1405 and it ran around $20 or so. I agree
that 3 sounds a bit much in 3 years. Maybe you should invest in a UPS
as well to make sure your electric feed is not the problem.
  #3  
Old November 24th 10, 04:01 AM posted to alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
William R. Walsh
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Posts: 930
Default Inspiron 1520 - Power Supply gone again

Hi!

My Inspiron 1520 laptop is 3 years old and the power supply has stopped
working again. I am now looking at a third one from Dell. Very costly
business, but is this the norm? I mean one new PS every year on average?


Nope. Dell replaced the adapter for my LatD800 once under warranty, back
when it was still fairly new. It worked but made an evil sizzling sound at
times around the AC power input. I do move the adapter around, have traveled
with the machine and it's never missed a beat. I suspect something else is
going on--don't know what.

Does anyone know how to open one of these things?


It's usually not possible without violence. They aren't designed to be
opened. Do be aware that there really are hazardous parts inside--parts that
operate at high switching frequencies (nasty) and are directly connected to
the AC line (nastier, if not the nastiest).

If the light does not come on, you probably have a connection cable with an
internal short-circuit. That would be the first place to look--if you tweak
and abuse the cable while the adapter is plugged in, does the green light
even flash?

Buy one from a trustworthy seller on eBay or similar. I do not generally
recommend the "universal" adapters that are sold.

William


  #4  
Old November 25th 10, 03:23 AM posted to alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
Martin Walker
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Posts: 20
Default Inspiron 1520 - Power Supply gone again


Does anyone know how to open one of these things? I am at the stage now
where I grudge paying 50 quid again, so ready to have a go at the
electronics and try to find/repair the fault, but I have to pen the darned
thing first and there's no screws.

J

I opened one up once and found all the components covered in epoxy potting.
That pretty much makes it not serviceable. I bought a replacement on eBay
for less than half of Dell's price and it's been working fine for 2 or 3
years now.

  #5  
Old November 25th 10, 05:49 AM posted to alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
Bob Villa
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Posts: 488
Default Inspiron 1520 - Power Supply gone again

On Nov 23, 9:01*pm, "William R. Walsh"
m wrote:


If the light does not come on, you probably have a connection cable with an
internal short-circuit. That would be the first place to look--if you tweak
and abuse the cable while the adapter is plugged in, does the green light
even flash?



William


This is a surprise from you Mr. Walsh! Don't you mean an open-
circuit?

I bought a Dell (from China) on eBay...I had to replace the AC cord
because it was poor quality and intermittent. (It plugged into the
brick and I used the old one)

  #6  
Old November 25th 10, 06:30 PM posted to alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
William R. Walsh
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Posts: 930
Default Inspiron 1520 - Power Supply gone again

Hi!

If the light does not come on, you probably have a connection cable with

an
internal short-circuit. That would be the first place to look--if you

tweak
and abuse the cable while the adapter is plugged in, does the green light
even flash?


This is a surprise from you Mr. Walsh! Don't you mean an open-
circuit?


No, I do indeed mean a short-circuit in the low voltage cable leaving the
adapter. If there is a short, as there sometimes is, the power supply
circuit "crowbars" and shuts down to prevent damage or violent failure
(usually, anyway). I can see now that I should have been more specific. Must
have been tired. :-)

It could be a lot of things causing the problem for the OP, but that is one
of the most common failures I see in laptop power bricks--the two conductors
in the low voltage cable somehow get to touching at uninsulated portions and
that's it...no more power.

William


  #7  
Old November 25th 10, 08:53 PM posted to alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
J
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 18
Default Inspiron 1520 - Power Supply gone again


"Martin Walker" wrote in message
...

Does anyone know how to open one of these things? I am at the stage now
where I grudge paying 50 quid again, so ready to have a go at the
electronics and try to find/repair the fault, but I have to pen the
darned thing first and there's no screws.

J

I opened one up once and found all the components covered in epoxy
potting. That pretty much makes it not serviceable. I bought a replacement
on eBay for less than half of Dell's price and it's been working fine for
2 or 3 years now.


Thanks for all the advice and info guys!

I ended up buying one form a guy on ebay who said they were brand new. He
buys from China, apparently.
I paid £19 for it which I thought was nice, but I am a lil worried as the
new one is only '63 watts', (app) and the 'old' one was '90 watts'. Is this
going to be a problem? I 'think' the new PS is warmer to the touch than the
old one. Also, when I first attached the new one to the laptop a message
actually popped up to say there was a power difference and that it would
take longer to re-charge the battery and that it might get rather warm...'or
words to that effect.
Do you think this new PS might be dangerous?

J



  #8  
Old November 26th 10, 12:02 AM posted to alt.sys.pc-clone.dell
Bob Villa
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 488
Default Inspiron 1520 - Power Supply gone again

On Nov 25, 11:30*am, "William R. Walsh"
m wrote:
Hi!



If the light does not come on, you probably have a connection cable with

an
internal short-circuit. That would be the first place to look--if you

tweak
and abuse the cable while the adapter is plugged in, does the green light
even flash?
This is a surprise from you Mr. Walsh! *Don't you mean an open-
circuit?


No, I do indeed mean a short-circuit in the low voltage cable leaving the
adapter. If there is a short, as there sometimes is, the power supply
circuit "crowbars" and shuts down to prevent damage or violent failure
(usually, anyway). I can see now that I should have been more specific. Must
have been tired. :-)

It could be a lot of things causing the problem for the OP, but that is one
of the most common failures I see in laptop power bricks--the two conductors
in the low voltage cable somehow get to touching at uninsulated portions and
that's it...no more power.

William


Thank for the explanation...it makes sense! It's too bad no one makes
a good replacement plug end.

J the Dell that I bought from eBay was $14 with shipping and I'm still
using it (2 yrs). I did have to replace the primary cord and trim the
plug (low volt side) to fit better.
 




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